Believe it or not, DeVille draws younger buyers

Cutting-edge technology, rather than styling, appears to be having a greater impact on the current sales success of Cadillac's all-new '00 DeVille. And it's drawing younger buyers to the brand, as well, Cadillac says. Year-to-date sales through April are running 42.3% ahead of year-ago (40,588 vs. 28,530). Cadillac DeVille Brand Manager Patrick Kemp predicts deliveries will "go well over 100,000" units, compared to the 90,755 units sold in 1999. Cadillac makes no bones about it: Technology -Nightvision, Stabilitrak and OnStar - is DeVille's main attraction. Mr. Kemp reports 60% of drivers with Nightvision are using the technology daily. Cadillac is sold out on the 5,000 Nightvision units it had available for the '00 model year. Average age is creeping downward, but must drop further if DeVille is to hit the core Baby Boomer segment. The typical age for a current DeVille buyer is the mid to late 50s. Ten more years are lopped off DeVille's average buying age when just the DTS/DHS models with Nightvision are taken into account.