Serve up that crow Croc!

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Many of you might remember the VERY heated debate that took place between Croc and I back when the Escalade made it's debut in which I argued vehemently against the new 'slade stating that I thought it had lost the "IT" factor. In that debate Croc said that I often end up eating crow because of my stubborn and unwaivering opinions.

So I'm here today to be a good sport and say serve up the crow because I looked at a new Escalade in the flesh today for the first time. All I have to say is; WOW!

I was very impressed and encouraged by the new Tahoe. I am equally impressed and encouraged by the new Yukon (Which while VERY nice is a little too feminine for me---NOT a bad thing though) So I figured, the Escalade will be nice but nothing earth shattering since I've seen it's foundations. Boy was I wrong! The Escalade is probably the most desireable SUV I've ever seen in my entire life. (And I'm not an SUV buyer-per se) It's BEAUTIFUL and has the same, if not MORE presence than the outgoing model. And, if this is the future of Cadillac and this sort of 'SPOT ON' execution and attention to detail is the future of GM as a whole, then we're all in for a HUGE turnaround and a GREAT ride as GM enthusiasts.

Great job GM!

(I still haven't seen the Denali though, and I'm sure I'll like it better than the run-of-the-mill Yukon.)

[Satty]

(I still haven't seen the Denali though, and I'm sure I'll like it better than the run-of-the-mill Yukon.)

I'm notr sure Denalis are on lots, but in pics the 900s dont look as differentiated than the 800s did, so they could just be blending in. Oh, and the 'Sclade is a sweet ride.

[scharmer05]

i know what you mean, when i first saw the slade in pictures i thought that they dropped the ball. It was nice, but didn't think it had the presence of the old one....well finally saw one at the dealer the other day. white one, loaded, with the 22s and everything, and HOLY COW. I was almost speechless. It's a beautiful vehicle.

[tmp]

I guess I'm lucky, I actually saw it before I saw the pictures. The new Escalade is the only SUV that I've seen that I would be caught dead in. It has as much to do with the outgoing model as the Hope diamond does to a lump of coal.

And that's from someone who usually loathes SUV's

[Croc]

Well, since I'm feeling slightly benevolent, I'll let you get by with a turkey sandwich this time.

[07_Denali]

I have a new Denali XL ordered. I hope to get it in the next 4-6 weeks. Just today, I saw the first regular length Denali on a dealer lot here in MD. First one around from what I can tell. There are some slight differences in the detail on the exterior, but basically the same as the reg Yukon. There is a chrome upper and lower grill and different tail lights, and some added chrome strips here and there. I like the appearance of the Escalade better, but the money difference is crazy. My loaded Denali with every option you can get on the Slade (minus cooled front seats) is coming in at 13K LESS than the slade. That is significant.

[scharmer05]

And that's from someone who usually loathes SUV's

Why is that?

[tmp]

Because I think that too many people buy them for the wrong reasons:

"I need them so my family can be safe" Yes, that Exploder is so much safer than a Five Hundred.

Marge:

" I can't see anything there is a whole bunch of SUVs in front of me"

Homer:

" Don't worry about the SUVs there is a gentle curve ahead"

"I need to tow a boat" What, every day?

They are usually styled badly, get worse mileage and are allowed to pollute more than a similarly sized sedan. 90% of people that buy them never ever take them off-road, and at least in Los Angeles there's no weather that justifies thier existence.

[Drew Dowdell]

I love the new Escalade. I sat in one at Detroit auto show.

I have never owned or for that matter driven an SUV until last Saturday when I bought my Avalanche. Here is my take on SUVs after driving my CTS and Cutlass Supreme for the past 6 years:

1. I don't feel safer at all. I feel tippy and ungainly.

2. I drive fast not because I'm a fast driver, but because I feel like I'm moving slowly.

3. The Avalanche is extremely useful for me in my new business venture. Now that I have it, I really must have it nearly every day. The catalyst for purchasing "Hercules" was me trying to get 8 foot long pieces of trim into the CTS at home depot and having to rest them on the dash.

I feel the basic premise of your average SUV driver/buyer thinking they'll be safer in an SUV is substantially flawed. Sure they might be slightly safer in an accident, but given the choice of the Avalanche or the CTS in a hairy driving situation and I'll take the CTS every time because I can actually avoid the accident in the first place. Thankfully the CTS has a good safety rating and so many airbags that if I were to be in an accident, I'll probably survive.

Conclusion: For 99% of the buyers who buy an SUV for "safety" alone would be better off in a Subaru, Volvo, 500/Montego or Impala. Not only could they avoid accidents easier, they would be safer in one of those cars if an accident did occur.

Edited March 30, 2006 by Oldsmoboi

[Croc]

The main argument for SUVs with safety is that the winner of an accident is the driver with the most mass around him or her. SUVs are very heavy in comparison to similarly sized cars, and therefore help "win out" in an accident.

I haven't driven an Avalanche, but I am sold on crossover SUVs. Those are extremely fun to drive. Like the SRX or my M-Class.

[Flybrian]

The main argument for SUVs with safety is that the winner of an accident is the driver with the most mass around him or her.  SUVs are very heavy in comparison to similarly sized cars, and therefore help "win out" in an accident.

Say that to the Expedition the ran literally over the trunk of an Eighty-Eight and ended up on its side with its passengers helicoptered to the ER. Only casualty in the Olds was whatever was in that side of the trunk.

And even in the case where an SUV 'wins', it comes at the price of those in the car. That's a very selfish way of thinking, IMO. Besides, SUVs are more dangerous simply because the vast majority of their drivers recently upgraded from a Civic or Sentra and have no business being behind the wheel of what is a truck.

[Drew Dowdell]

SUVs are more dangerous simply because the vast majority of their drivers recently upgraded from a Civic or Sentra and have no business being behind the wheel of what is a truck.

what he said!

It's been a week... I'm still not comfortable in the Avalanche.

[Cory Wolfe]

I feel very unsafe in SUVs, especially our Blazer with it's $h!ty suspension.

[scharmer05]

yeah I think it is very true that some people don't have any business being behind the wheel of a SUV, but some people really do. I myself, probably don't need to be driving a suburban, but i do need something full size, with a v8. I am usually the only one in it, but on ocassion it is filled with people or cargo. I could go to a Tahoe or something similar, but once you are used to a Suburban, driving a Tahoe is ALOT different. I could get used to it i guess, but when you consider that you can get a suburban for pretty much the same price as a tahoe, especially when you are talking about used burbs and tahoes, why not just get the suburban. the burb gets the same mileage, in fact my suburban gets better mpg than my aunts 05 tahoe. There are many cases during the winter up here, where it is not safe to be out on the roads without a 4WD vehicle, I regularly tow a trailer, and I take mine offroad. In the summer, I pull a boat almost every weekend, yeah ever weekend. I tow a 4 place snowmobile trailer (steel by the way, my suburban even has a hard time pulling it sometimes) a few weekends out the winter. Year round, I end up on many roads and paths that nothing but a fullsize will make it down and in the spring, summer,and fall I have to go into fields often. Anyway, what I'm getting to is that alot of people actually do need there SUVs, so don't assume most people don't have any business driving them. Even if someone has NO reason to own a SUV, so what. If they want to pay for the $3 gas this summer, let em'. If i do trade my suburban, I will be buying another one that is E85 , I will be burning E85, and in that case i'll be using even less oil a year than someone who's driving a civic.