smk4565

Yes and $2k extra for TRD Pro stickers. I actually think this vehicle is one of the biggest rip offs on the market right now.

It has plastic body cladding, that means it can go off road. Less horsepower in this than a 1998 Pontiac Montana minivan, which was also a proven off roader.

China has displacement taxes and Cadillac (And GM) is reliant on Chinese market sales. GM sells more in China than they do in USA so they have to engine downsize.

I plan on waiting a few years since I like my current car. Then I'll get another used Mercedes. I would like an SL, but I don't know if I really want to live with a low to the ground 2 seater when I am 6'2". If not the SL, back to an another E-class.

But the GLS has 3 other power options at 483, 550 and 603 hp, Escalade has the diesel option now, do at least there is another engine choice. Looks doubtful that MB will bring the diesel GLS back here. I think a supercharged V8 Escalade would sell better than a diesel Escalade though.

Does GM have a FWD transmission that can handle 400 hp? I guess they can resurrect the XTS V-sport powertrain for an XT5 or XT6, but would either of those be any good? Or would they torque steer all over the place and have reliability issues? But again, I hear the "Cadillac could do it" but at the end of the day they don't do it. And others don't either (Acura, Lexus etc) but then you see a Lincoln Aviator with 400 hp base and 495 hp as an option, when Cadillac maxes out at 310 hp because that is all the front wheels can handle. If Cadillac was going to do all this stuff, have the brand product line, or have good marketing, it would have happened by now.

Who knows if they will really do a V8 in the CT5, that could easily get budget cut if the CT5 sells slowly out of the gate. SUVs are what sell, and Cadillac put all theirs on chassis that can't support much more than 300 lb-ft of torque, this is the great miss. And Escalade-V, we'll see if they actually make it. I think they should, it is easy profit margin, but they haven't done it yet after years of horsepower wars. In the 2020s things will probably become the EV wars, and the 6.2 V8 will seem like yesterday's powertrain.

Problem isn’t really Cadillac’s past, it is that the current product line isn’t good enough. And I sat in the CT4 and CT5 V’s, they are like Genesis G70 level interiors. Nothing special or class leading about them. They aren’t that much of an upgrade if any over the CTS and the CTS wasn’t selling.

I sat in a Kia Telluride at the auto show with a $47,800 sticker and it was nicer than an XT6. Kia is on point with that Telluride, easily the best interior in its own segment. But when they can punch above their weight class and have a better interior than Cadillac or Acura that is an achievement. And a problem for Cadillac, they don’t punch above their weight class which is what challenger brands have to do. Even the current Escalade which i get has been around a while, the interior on that is like Lincoln Corsair level.

Cadillac isn’t well defined because they change naming schemes every 10-15 years, their 2nd longest running nameplate dates back to 2016 and they are killing it off. They also change marketing and slogans every other year. No focus with this brand, no plan.

I think Cadillac's 3 best sellers are FWD, and they make up well over 50% of their total volume.

Daimler is still turning a healthy profit, just not as high as before. Ford had a $47 million profit last year, Lewis Hamilton made more than that. Daimler spent $10.3 billion on R&D last year which rose from the year before. Profit is down because EV and autonomous driving costs money. Better for them to pour money in now and be ready than to cut R&D and be screwed when the market shifts.

They redesigned the GLS for 2020 model year. And all GLS have electric motor boost so you have instant torque to bridge the gap to that 2,000 rpm point where gas engine torque starts kicking in. Also Mercedes doesn't really need a "hellcat" or "zr-1" sort of ultra GLS because it isn't a Mercedes halo product. The AMG GT, S-class, SL, G-wagen are their halo product, the GLS is like 5th in their hierarchy, where as an Escalade is by far the flagship Cadillac, the brand doesn't have anything else. Likewise with Lincoln and the Navigator. Mercedes already has $200,000 product for the fans that will pay that price. Cadillac does not have $200,000 product, but I would bet there are some die hard Cadillac fans out there that would spend $200,000 on a 755 hp Escalade with 2wd and Michelin Pilot Sport tires even if it is pointless, just so they can say they have the ultimate Escalade.

The GLS 450 is no doubt the top seller, but it's 0-60 time is about the same as the Escalade or Navigator, and the GLS580 beats them both before even getting to the AMG. There may be an AMG 73 hybrid GLS with 800 hp. They need an Escalade-V even if it isn't any good. Look at how Dodge got people to pay $80k for Hellcat Chargers that otherwise are a fleet sedan on a 20 year old platform. That is like Ford selling $80k Crown Vics. I think Cadillac should make an Escalade ZR-1 with the 755 hp Corvette ZR-1 engine, even if it was rear drive only, delete the 3rd row to save weight and they could sell that for $180,000 easily. Hell I would even rate it at 760 hp and advertise it as the most powerful GM vehicle ever.

I was talking about sales, GLS should have more appeal since they have versions from 362 hp to 603 hp, and the Maybach which is segment exclusive luxury. Much more bandwidth where as there is less choice at the competitors. Maybach is the top GLS trim. And if people didn't want high performance SUV's Lamborghini's #1 seller wouldn't be an SUV, Bentley wouldn't have a Bentayga Speed, Audi wouldn't have an SQ8, Ferrari wouldn't be joining the game, and no doubt Aston Martin's SUV will be their #1 seller.

I actually think the GLS may reign supreme. They have AMG and Maybach versions which BMW or anyone else doesn't have equivalents to. The X7 seems to be well reviewed and do well in comparison tests. GLS and X7 are both superior to Escalade, Navigator and QX80 in jus about every way except towing and they aren't beat there by all that much. These body on frame SUVs is like a Town Car going against an S-class.

Well the X7 was the #3 seller in the segment in 2019, and it was only only on sale for 7-8 months. We'll have to see how a full year goes with it, GLS and Escalade. The journalists seem to like the X7. And I am pretty sure the SRX was renamed XT5 solely because BMW makes an X5. I bet 7 years ago Cadillac had a 4 hour meeting to debate whether to change the SRX name to XT5, QT5 or MLT.

I am surprised that the Escalade wasn't renamed XT7 to better align with the current naming scheme and also position it better against the segment leader BMW X7. Because in GM thinking, an XT7 is greater than X7.

Well with the death of the Blackwing V8, GM can live and die with the small block V8. Silverado and Escalade have been bleeding market share with it, Camaro will probably be dead in 2023, although that has nothing really to do with the engine and everything to die with it not being an SUV. Although I think GM’s design department has let them down way more in recent years than the powertain people. Engines aren’t really GM’s problem, design is.

So Formula 1 cars, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Porsche got it wrong, but Dodge and Chevrolet get it right? Sure. They had the SLK, 4 cylinder supercharged, the 3.2 V6 and that 5.4 V8 with superchargers from the Daimler-Chrysler days, and they probably threw all those away for good reason.

Superchargers are mostly used by GM, Dodge and 90s Toyota Previa's. Not exactly the who's who of engine manufacturers. Supercharged engines suck gas too, electric turbo is better and faster.

My guess is this engine dies with the CT6. They don't have a crossover that can take a V8, CT5 can't fit it, they probably aren't going to make a sports car. That leaves the Escalade-V if it shows up, and I think they'll used the 6.2 supercharged there, because it is cheaper and easier.

Doesn’t even need a lift kit, maybe a 1 inch lift. Plastic body cladding = rugged and off road.

Slap some plastic body cladding on it and some Trail Rated badging and you have the all new Pacifica Montana.

Awesome MPG, I like the optional solar panel too, that is really cool. This new Sonata is really impressive, it looks good, has best in class interior and technology, now 52 MPG. They brought their A game with this car, it is a stand out.