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2020 Cadillac Escalade spied for the first time

Cadillac is expanding its crossover and SUV range with a new three-row XT6, but that doesn't mean it has forgotten about the one that started it all. As seen in the above photos, the company is testing a new version of the Cadillac Escalade. It's well-covered, but there are a number of details that we can make out. We'll get to what we can see of the design in a bit, but the big news is the suspension. Like the new Tahoe we previously spied, the 2020 Cadillac Escalade will have an independent rear suspension replacing the solid axle set-up that GM's full-size SUVs have always possessed. Its rivals from Ford/Lincoln went independent long ago. We can't underline enough how much of a difference this will make. Handling should be less cumbersome and the ride will be smoother and less prone to jiggling over bumps. It would be improved even further if Cadillac continues to offer magnetically controlled shocks as standard. Inside, the third-row should be positioned lower, thus lowering the current sky-high load height and resulting in a third-row that's actually habitable. In other words, the Escalade won't be so archaic. You can see the visual differences between the new (top) and current (bottom) designs below. Now, as for the design, our best clue to the new Escalade's design is in the grille. The flashy slatted chrome grille of the current model is gone and in its place a more modest mesh grille with little studs pushed to the front. It's very much like the grille found on the new CT6 and XT4. Also, like those two vehicles, the headlights appear to have more horizontal elements than the very vertical examples on the current Escalade. The rest of the SUV is harder to make out. The profile is very similar to the current one, and will surely be shared with the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon models. The rear features new rectangular exhaust tips nestled into the rear bumper. The taillights will likely continue to stretch up the rear pillars. Like the suspension, the Escalade will continue to be generally mechanically the same as the aforementioned Chevy and GMC versions, albeit with the best parts standard. The updated 6.2-liter V8 with Dynamic Fuel Management first introduced on the Silverado and Sierra will likely be the standard engine. It will then be paired with the 10-speed automatic transmission. With the new Navigator so widely impressing in reviews and in sales, this new Cadillac Escalade will have to step it up.

Frustrated GM investors ask what more Mary Barra can do

DETROIT — General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra has transformed the No. 1 U.S. automaker in her almost five years in charge, but that is still not enough to satisfy investors. Ahead of third-quarter results due on Oct. 31, GM shares are trading about 6 percent below the $33 per share price at which they launched in 2010 in a post-bankruptcy initial public offering. The Detroit carmaker's stock is down 22 percent since Barra took over in January 2014. After hitting an all-time high of $46.48 on Oct. 24, 2017, the shares have declined 33 percent. In the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.8 percent. Several shareholders contacted by Reuters said GM could face a third major action by activist shareholders in less than four years if the share price does not improve. "I've been expecting it," said John Levin, chairman of Levin Capital Strategies. "It just seems a tempting morsel to somebody." Levin's firm owns more than seven million GM shares. Barra has guided the company through the settlement of a federal criminal probe of a mishandled safety recall, sold off money-losing European operations, and returned $25 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks from 2012 through 2017. GM declined to comment for this story, but the company's executives privately express frustration with the market's reluctance to see it as anything more than a manufacturer tied mainly to auto market sales cycles. GM's profitable North American truck and SUV business and its money-making China operations are valued at just $14 billion, excluding the value of GM's stake in its $14.6 billion Cruise automated vehicle business and its cash reserves from its $44 billion market capitalization. The recent slump in the Chinese market, GM's largest, and plateauing U.S. demand are ratcheting up the pressure. GM is one of the few global automakers without a founding family or a government to serve as a bulwark against corporate raiders. In 2015, a group led by investor Harry Wilson pressed GM to launch a $5 billion share buyback, and commit to what is now an $18 billion ceiling on the level of cash the company would hold. In 2017, GM fended off a call by hedge fund manager David Einhorn to split its common stock shares into two classes. Einhorn, whose firm still owned more than 21 million shares at the end of June, declined to comment about GM's stock price. Other investors said there were no clear alternatives to Barra's approach.

GM Super Cruise beats Tesla Autopilot again in latest hands-free test

DETROIT — General Motors' Super Cruise once again edged Tesla's Autopilot in an evaluation of 17 vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS) by Consumer Reports, the testing organization said on Wednesday. A Tesla Model Y fitted with Autopilot finished "a distant second," the group said, to a Cadillac CT6 equipped with Super Cruise, which GM is rolling out to more than 20 vehicles — including its new Hummer electric pickup truck — over the next three years. Safety and insurance researchers have frequently warned of the risks of consumers overestimating ADAS systems' abilities, a misconception increased by some automakers calling their products Autopilot, ProPilot or Co-Pilot. In 2018, the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise scored higher than a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot, in a Consumer Reports test of just four vehicles equipped with ADAS. In the latest test, conducted this summer on a track and on public roads, the Cadillac scored 69 points out of a possible 100, while the Tesla scored 57. A Lincoln Corsair equipped with Ford's Co-Pilot 360 system, finished third with 52. The critical difference in the Super Cruise system is a driver-facing infrared camera to make sure he or she is paying attention to the road and is ready to take over manual control when necessary, said Kelly Funkhouser, head of connected and automated vehicle testing at Consumer Reports. The group noted that Autopilot can shut off abruptly in some situations, while Super Cruise did a better job of notifying the driver when the system is disengaging. In recent European safety testing, a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot placed sixth out of 10 systems, getting high marks for performance and ability to respond to emergencies, but falling short on its ability to maintain a driverÂ’s focus on the road. Related Video: Green Cadillac GM Hummer Tesla Safety Technology Autonomous Vehicles Electric Super Cruise