Press Release
America's leading luxury SUV arrives in Europe.
The Cadillac Escalade, which makes its European debut in 2005, is more than America's leading luxury SUV. It is also the vehicle which was the starting point for Cadillac's exciting product renaissance. Now, just as in America, it is set to redefine luxury vehicle expectations in Europe, with its strong lines and self assured stance, matched by a new Vortec 6000, 6.0 litre V8 engine developing a class-leading 257kW (345bhp).Once primarily a maker of large luxury sedans, over recent years Cadillac has literally, reinvented itself. The Escalade is the dynamic figurehead of Cadillac's broader vision and its lineup, which also includes the exciting and stylish STS, CTS and CTS-V sports sedans, the cross-over SRX and the elegant XLR roadster.
Escalade symbolizes Cadillac's commitment to bold, breakthrough products. But perhaps more importantly, it has served as a beacon for new buyers into the division and a symbol of Cadillac's revitalization. An instant hit with professional athletes, musicians, movie stars and automotive enthusiasts, Escalade's self-assured stance and strong lines have attracted younger, more affluent buyers to Cadillac, inspired song lyrics and created quite a following.
The aggressive front-end is Escalade's most distinctive exterior feature, reflecting Cadillac's design vision of combining Art and Science. It is distinguished by Cadillac's signature, badge-shaped grille, giving a contemporary, high-tech look, created in part by satin nickel finish and chrome accents. The brightwork highlights also extend to the running boards, luggage rack and door pull handles, creating an integrated appearance.
Other typically Cadillac refinements include power exterior rear view mirrors which feature power-tilt glass/power folding, heat, left-side electrochromic glass, puddle lights, turn signal indicators in the glass and a memory feature. The mirrors include a "curb" feature, which tilts them down to allow a driver to see the distance to a curb or the lines on a parking spot when reverse gear is selected.
The vehicle's front fascia incorporates two recessed tow hooks and rectangular halogen fog lamps. Both front and rear fascias wrap around painted steel impact bumper bars. The functional rear step bumper neatly shrouds a towing hitch. In the rear, Escalade has a distinctive, diamond-shaped center high-mounted stop lamp (CHMSL). The exhaust is fitted with a polished, stainless steel tip.
Protective body-colored cladding extends the vehicle's sheer lines into the side quarter panels and lower body. In the rear, the cladding flows down for extra body protection against stones. Integrated, body-colored running boards complete the look. The Escalade is fitted as standard with stylish 17" x 7J alloy wheels.
Stylish Interior
The interior of the Escalade features the high standards of design and luxury one would naturally expect of a Cadillac. A premium instrument cluster with bright chrome rings around gauges and more detailed graphics, place more crucial operating data in front of the driver and enhances Cadillac's luxury character. Italian luxury brand Bulgari designed the face of the analog clock, located in the console. Burled walnut trim offsets the white facing of the graphics for a harmonious, integrated look.The Escalade's comfortable seats feature a simple, clean, European-style appearance. The front-row buckets have 14-way power adjustment, power side bolsters and power lumbar support. Heated seating, with separate cushion and seatback settings, can be found in all bucket seats and in the outer positions on the optional second-row bench seat. The standard, premium nine-speaker Bose sound system includes an in-dash six-disc changer and digital signal processing for superb imaging, stage and spectral response.
A tri-zone heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system provides outstanding comfort, allowing the driver, front- and second-row passengers to adjust the temperature to their own comfort levels - up to a 30-degree Fahrenheit difference between the two front zones. The tri-zone ACC (automatic climate control) controls air delivery, fan speed, temperature and recirculating/outside air to provide faster warmups and cooldowns.
Powertrain
The best-in-class High Output Vortec 6000 6.0L V-8 makes the all-wheel-drive Escalade among the world's most powerful full-size SUVs with 257 kW (345 horsepower) at 5200 rpm and 515 Nm of torque (515 Nm) at 4000 rpm. Electronic throttle control helps ensure the smoothest possible interface with the Hydra-Matic 4L60-E heavy-duty electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive.Driver confidence is assured in unpredictable weather conditions with Escalade's full-time all-wheel-drive system, four-channel StabiliTrak system and a Borg-Warner one-speed full-time open-differential transfer case. Any of the four wheels can be independently controlled with the four-channel system, offering more stable, controlled ABS stops, improved fuel economy, reliability and serviceability, and greater yaw-stability control. Benefits include reduced understeer and proper brake pressure for traction and yaw stability control at all times.
Occupant protection
Side impact air bags are also standard for both the driver and front passenger. In addition, side-impact door beams and energy-absorbing foam blocks on the interior help protect occupants against head injuries.The Escalade has dual-stage frontal air bags for supplemental protection for front seat passengers. Dual-stage frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of air bag-induced injury. When the air bag system's control unit detects an impact, it determines whether the crash is severe enough to trigger a deployment, and whether the primary amount of inflation is sufficient. The primary stage alone will deploy in most frontal impacts requiring the supplemental protection of an air bag, while a secondary stage is designed to deploy in more severe frontal collisions.
Escalade uses GM's Passenger Sensing System (PSS) with the latest sensing technology to turn the front passenger air bag on or off. If the sensor system detects an unoccupied front passenger seat or the presence of a smaller occupant, the front passenger air bag is designed to automatically turn off so it would not deploy in the event of a frontal collision. A status indicator on the instrument panel alerts occupants that the passenger airbag is on or off.
Smart electrical systems
An advanced multiplexed electrical architecture greatly reduces the number of wires, splices and connectors, minimizes weight, and improves packaging efficiency, reliability and durability. The architecture enables the driver information centre, infotainment, automatic climate control and passenger-sensing air bag system. This is further enhanced by the use of a regulated voltage control system that includes a 160-amp alternator.The Cadillac Escalade is built in Arlington, Texas, USA.
