1972 Cadillac Eldorado on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2021 Cadillac Escalade getting a star-studded introduction

Now that Chevrolet's Tahoe and Suburban are out of the bag, it's Cadillac's turn to introduce its new body-on-frame SUV. The next-generation Escalade will make its public debut on Feb. 4, 2020. The Escalade could have been one of the stars of the 2020 Detroit Auto Show had the event not moved to June. That's far too late for Cadillac, so the company will introduce the model during a special event held in Beverly Hills, Calif. The date wasn't chosen at random; it's less than a week before the 2020 edition of the Academy Awards, an event Cadillac has partnered with for the past six years. It's reasonable to assume the Escalade will play a key role in the ritzy event. The Escalade won't look anything like its Chevrolet-badged siblings, as leaked images show a tall, upright rendition of Cadillac's shield-shaped grille, but we expect many similarities beneath the sheetmetal. It will be bigger and correspondingly more spacious than the outgoing model, and an independent rear suspension will make it more comfortable. Inside, the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment system's screen will blend into a single unit angled toward the driver. Powertrain specifications remain under wraps, though we expect a naturally-aspirated V8 will come standard. An earlier report claims the twin-turbocharged Blackwing engine available in the CT6 will not make its way to the Escalade, and we doubt Cadillac will follow Chevrolet's lead by making a 3.0-liter straight-six turbodiesel available at an extra cost. An electric model is in the works, however. The 2021 Cadillac Escalade will go on sale about halfway through next year with a base price in the vicinity of $80,000. It will again be available with a short or a long wheelbase. Once it's unveiled, the coast will be clear for GMC to round out General Motors' portfolio of full-size SUVs with new variants of the Yukon and the Yukon XL. They'll likely break cover during the first half of 2020.

Why the 2015 Detroit Auto Show will be the best since The Crisis

The Detroit Auto Show clearly has its swagger back, and the 2015 edition will be a veritable feast for the enthusiast senses. We're talking serious performance, and it will be exhibited in a variety of forms. Sports cars. Supercars. Muscle-bound luxury cars. They're all set for splashy debuts in January in the Motor City. It's another signpost that companies have recovered from the global economic crisis that gripped the industry from 2008-09. For a while, automakers played it safe at Detroit and other shows. Environmentally friendly cars were important, especially for General Motors and Chrysler that were living on loans from Uncle Sam. Ford, Toyota and other companies generally focused on their best-selling or core models. With a few notable exceptions, recent auto shows have been a bit more buttoned-down than in the past. Boring probably isn't the right word, but austerity has been reality. That's changing. Car companies are making money. Sales are up. Aside from the many nagging recalls – and they are notable – the industry now has the time and energy to make performance cars a priority. That will be offered in hard evidence in Detroit. A year from now when we look back at this auto show, we'll sum it up with one word: Horsepower. But make no mistake, this isn't frivolous. Sports and luxury cars are expensive. They're profitable. They boost images and highlight strengths. With that in mind, here are five significant performance-oriented reveals to watch for when the show kicks off in less than two weeks. 2016 Acura NSX Acura's reborn NSX is a strong bet to earn plenty of votes for our Editors' Choice awards. It's one of the most anticipated – and strung-out – reveals of the year. Think back: we actually saw an NSX concept at the 2012 Detroit show, and Acura has spent the last three years teasing the car in a variety of ways. The slow burn, however, means we know a lot about the NSX. It's will use a mid-mounted twin-turbo hybrid powertrain and run with all-wheel drive. It will also wear an innovative zirconium e-coat paint, a new paint process that Honda says is more environmentally friendly. Honda has also said it will build the new NSX in Ohio, where a large part of the car's development work has been done. The original NSX was produced from 1990-2005 and helped establish Acura's performance credentials in the United States. It was a landmark car and a shot across the bow of Ferrari, Lamborghini and others.

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe First Drive

Save for a few years of its century-plus existence, Cadillac has offered its unique brand of American elegance in two-door, fixed-roof bodystyles. Most of these cars were big, floaty barges, of course, though its most recent offering was the wedge-shaped CTS Coupe. But whereas the CTS Coupe was a statement car – angular and severe, with somewhat limited appeal except to design snobs and provocateurs – the ATS Coupe represents a return to form for Cadillac, with a proper three-box (engine-cabin-trunk) body and a slightly lower price point that should broaden its appeal among a larger swath of the market. Generally speaking, the 2015 ATS Coupe is a two-door version of the sporty ATS Sedan, though, surprisingly, the only common exterior components are the hood, headlamps, and sundry trim pieces on the front fascia (which features a slightly larger grille, a wider lower air intake, and the redesigned, laurel-less Cadillac crest). Even the mirrors are different. The body stretches 0.8 inches in length and 1.4 inches in width, the roof is 1.1 inches lower and the rear windscreen slopes at a flatter, sleeker angle. Interestingly, the windowsills are actually quite a bit lower, further slimming the car. Thanks to its 0.8-inch wider front and rear wheel tracks as well as more tumblehome in the C-pillar area, the coupe sits lower and looks more planted than the ATS sedan, particularly from the rear three-quarter view. Filling the wheel wells is a family of slick 18x8-inch wheels, with 18x9-inchers coming on the rear axle of performance models. Even if all those changes haven't resulted in a wholly new look the way the CTS Coupe departs from its sedan progeny, the ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. And for that, Cadillac deserves mighty praise. The ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. It is a proper coupe, of course, and as such is saddled with the expected limitations that accompany modern two-door packaging, notably rear seat access and limited rear headroom. Since the floorpan is common to both bodystyles, rear legroom is the same as the sedan's, though headroom shrinks a considerable 1.8 inches, making it hard for even average-sized adults to sit back there without their heads touching the window glass.