The first thing you notice about Johan de Nysschen when you encounter him in person is that he's tall. The head of Cadillac doesn't intimidate with his stature, but appears in charge of things from the moment he walks into a room. When he's not smiling for a camera, his default expression is stern, like a school administrator giving a group of unruly boys a glare that dares them to try any nonsense on his watch. He has a serious voice to match.

But then, bringing the once-vaunted luxury division of once well-regarded General Motors back into contention on the global market is serious business, with no room for fooling around. Cadillac built plenty of cars over the past four decades that suggested that the unruly, spitwad-hurling boys of yesteryear had inherited its executive suite. But the automaker has been making good—sometimes great—cars again for the past few years, and once its leadership figures out how to sell them, there's no telling where the brand might go.

de Nysschen, a 20-year Audi veteran who comes to Cadillac by way of a two-year stint as head of Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand, talked about his plans for G.M.'s longtime crown jewel at the Washington Auto Show last week. He said he wanted to bring Cadillac back into the limelight as a brand preferred not only by Americans who felt compelled to buy American, but by everyone in the market for a luxury car. In short, he wants to restore the luster that turned the word Cadillac into a term denoting the best of any given thing.

Technology is at the heart of that, he said, building cars that are much lighter and more efficient with out affecting comfort, ride quality or Cadillac's "regal presence." In the coming years, Cadillac's cars will all benefit from fuel-saving devices such as start-stop, cylinder deactivation—even on its 4- and 6-cylinder cars, he said—and use of a variety of materials, including aluminum, carbon fiber, and high-strength steel.

AWN: How do you plan to make Cadillac more appealing to a younger audience in a way that BMW, Audi and other prestige brands already are?

JdN: The challenge for any brand is that over time, demographics change. By the end of the decade, 80 percent of buyers will be Gen Xers and Millennials. The brand that doesn't evolve will be left behind. We enjoy high familiarity and a big brand profile, but Cadillac is still seen as representing traditional luxury. We want to represent a more progressive, contemporary luxury. For example, when you see a beautiful lady in an elegant ball gown, that represents more traditional luxury. Then there's a beautiful woman in a sleek, black cocktail dress. The latter is elegant; more relaxed, but still premium.

AWN: Do you have anything planned for that Gen X/Millennial slice of the market?

JdN: Younger buyers are most active in the market segment below where we are now, but we're working on a product that will appeal to that audience.

AWN: We've heard you talk a bit about attention to detail and improving quality. Can you expand upon that?

JdN: Everything we do, we must execute to perfection. Everything from how the door closes to how the dealer acts to how golf events are conducted. Passion represents the pinnacle of excellence, and a lot of pride goes into our cars. We also want to stress that we are American. We have no idea whatsoever to be more German; the Germans already do a fine job of that. But we can be more American than the Germans. That means paying homage to American roots: hard work, a certain kind of hedonism.

AWN: You mean like the ELR commercial?

JdN: That commercial was not what we stand for. It's an example of how the brand needs to be executed consistently. We're bold, sophisticated, confident, optimistic. 

AWN: You said during your talk at the Washington Auto Show that the biggest hurdle to autonomous and semi-autonomous driving technology was regulatory. What's Cadillac doing to surmount that obstacle?

JdN: All automakers are examining the technical implementation of autonomous driving, and there are obviously legislative hurdles. There is going to be a time when an autonomous car is involved in a collision, and when that time comes, we have to figure out how to respond. We need to standardize communication between vehicles; the more encompassing the system, the better. But if manufacturers can't agree on standards, the cars aren't going to be talking to each other.

AWN: So how is Cadillac working with other automakers to standardize?

JdN: Automaker associations and formal industry bodies are working together reach consistency. These are the early days, and we need to approach this with optimism, but I think people want consensus; not just on a national scale, but globally as well.

AWN: Is there anything Cadillac is doing to increase fuel economy besides reducing the weight of its cars?

JdN: All manufacturers are looking at different ways to comply with fuel economy standards. I think plug-in hybrids are going to figure highly into our future strategy. They will probably enjoy greater access than full electric vehicles because of the range anxiety associated with those. Urban areas are more apt to embrace battery electrics, of course. We're also researching the use of fuel cells. But diesel is more realistic in the near term, because Cadillac has global aspirations. Diesel technology is a relatively easily obtained and cost effective strategy to raise fleet fuel economy and for entry into the EU.

AWN: What's the prognosis for Cadillac's Art & Science design language for the coming years?

JdN: What we must expect is ongoing evolution. The vertical orientation of the lights will stay, as will the wedge shapes you see on the current models. But there will likely be more organic definition; a softening of hard edges. But the Cadillac face—the grille—I think that's an important part of our image.

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