All that money they spent developing the GM9k chassis and it's being shut down after only a few years.

 

keep the escalade flavor alive and you will retain the world class status of the product, loosen anything that makes it a star against competitors and you will lose the one true pillar Cadillac has. Escalade succeeds on the basis of its design more than anything, it's an elegant rugged attack all paths of life bold ostentatious yet still refined and sophisticated machine. lose any of that with lambda, or don't improve on that formula with lambda and you can kiss any equity cadillac has goodbye. yes the cadillac brand is in danger of losing relevance as it is now since their one true calling card is the Cadillac SUV. No, the sedans aren't enough at this point. they will need to hope the upcoming big sedan, CTS wagon and coupe are enough to keep them in the news. the SRX replacement on Theta-Epsilon looks weak, not something you should associate with a Cadillac and not something a large segment of luxury SUV owners want. the cheaper rigs can pull off the girly, less muscular look and still get away with some segment of the pie, but the real leaders have a lot of power to thier look. my opinion may change on that upon seeing it in person.

Escalade will need to retain that powerful look, with the unmistakable Cadillac fascia and presence, and retain elements of ride/handling and power that have helped Escalade succeed in the past. Escalade should go for the bank, modify the existing platform to include all aluminum construction, make it truly deserving of the Cadillac name, go for supreme handling prowess. If they want to truly take on the BMW name that's what they must do. IF they want to be a slightly better Lincoln, go on and do exactly what Lincoln will be doing, rebadge a FWD/AWD platform with some meaningful style changes and absolutely no enhancement to the underlying driving experience that defines a product and brand.

Cadillac used to be the star of the GM fold, the one that was actually being managed to compete with the best offered in America and abroad. So far they've had little success, measurable but small compared to how far the other brands have come through successful product introductions. The brand has been left behind, and GM's money problems have as much to do with it now as incompetence had to do with it in 2001-2006.

Ultimately, I'd rather them keep the existing Escalade longer, rack up the profits elsewhere, and revisit the Escalade brand when resources are plentiful and Cadillac can be restored to dignity, Escalade and CTS aside.

 

Does this smack of the Mustang II to anyone? Moving the Escalade to Lambda will emasculate it. And it's not even certain that the Lambda's are efficient enough to sell in this economy.

For the price the Escalade sells for, why can't GM just make it a rolling platform of efficiency technology? Cylinder shut-off, dual mode, and any other gizmos they can come up with.

 

This is the best move they could do and something that should have been done instead of the current GMT900.

I do wish that GM worked on a unibody SUV larger then Lambda, something that could cary both V6 and V8 as well as have 4wd and independent suspension front and rear.

The MB GL550 is exactly what the Escalade should be. Escalade has no point in having a BOF since its not designed to be any type of off roading monster, but it could have plenty of electronic assitance things that many luxury SUV's have now a days.

A unibody SUV would be perfect for Caddy. I would also shut down the ESV and EXT models as well. Leave the big luxury SUV's to GMC.
Id like to see a Lambda Caddy to make an R-Class fighter, a low slung, AWD V6 8 person hauler.

 

Who says that Lambda wasn't designed for a V8?

 

I should state that it should have a longitudally (sp?) set up, as well as allow for more suspension travel, as well as overall higher ground clearance.


What Escalade should be. GL550 is still a big SUV and seats 7.

 

Probably a very good move. I hope they invest some money to make it look very different from the others. Lambda is about the same size as the GMT-900s anyways. Escalades high price means they can make 2 mode standard.

SRX is the name for what was expected to be called 2010 BRX (aka Provoq)

 

Expect Cadillac to make new product announcement at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elelgance this summer. GM's centenial is one of the featured marques.

 

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but I don't think anybody buying an Escalade gives a flying f*** about gas prices.

 

Lets hope.

 

In 2012 gasoline will be at least $7 a gallon, if not closer to $10. BOF SUVs will be out of style. What works in the 90's/2000's isn't going to be what works in the 2010's. The only thing that will stop gas hitting that level is a global recession. If that happens I don't expect Escalade or any lux SUV sales to be great no matter what platform they are on.