2017 Cadillac Escalade Luxury on 2040-cars

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Cadillac imagines the future of luxury transportation with a drone and a pod

Besides more screens and electric cars, GM and Cadillac made sure to pay tribute to the other darlings of the tech industry: autonomous cars and drones. Both concepts take familiar ideas but add a touch of Cadillac flavor. And don't expect either of them to show up in reality anytime soon. The most fanciful of the two is the Cadillac VTOL concept, which stands for vertical takeoff and landing. It's a fully autonomous drone meant for shuttling people, likely wealthy executives, from rooftop to rooftop in busy cities. It's a single-occupant aircraft with a 90-kWh battery pack and is fully autonomous. It has four sets of two rotors that propel the drone to a top speed of 56 mph. The exterior is unique in having the front and rear sets of rotors at different heights, whereas most seem to have the cabin hanging from the rotors. You can spot some Cadillac cues in the beveled, angled edges. The other concept is the Personal Autonomous Vehicle or PAV. It's a fairly generic-looking autonomous pod with a pastiche of Cadillac design cues such as slim lights and angular trimmings. Cadillac says it's meant to be a social space, hence the wraparound bench seats in the cabin. Cadillac doesn't seem to have forgotten personal comfort, though, as you can spot a single-person recliner. Comfort is key, and Cadillac says the PAV would have biometric sensors to read the passengers and adjust the climate control, humidity, lighting and scents to make the the environment as pleasant as possible. Passengers will have control of vehicle functions via voice and gestures. At the end of theses vehicles' reveals, Cadillac teased more far-flung concepts coming soon. One of them will be a two-seat vehicle and mentioned that it would be for "you and someone very special" for more "intimate" trips. Related Video:

Corvette's Performance Data Recorder headed to other cars, will Cadillac ATS-V be first?

For 2015, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray gained a novel piece of high-performance technology: The Performance Data Recorder. This trick system combines video from a front-mounted camera with in-car data and GPS information to help drivers record and study their lap times, complete with data overlays. While it's a clever tool for track days, it's also finding popularity as a built-in dash cam of sorts. To this point, the technology has been a Corvette exclusive, but General Motors' executive vice president of global product development, Mark Reuss, has confirmed to Autoblog that it will soon be available in other vehicles.
At a media luncheon on Thursday, we asked whether GM was keen to expand usage of the technology to other models, and if we could expect to see something soon. Reuss coyly replied, "What's soon?" When we suggested the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V (which is scheduled to debut at next week's LA Auto Show), he replied, "There will be other uses, and it won't be that far away. How's that?"
Certainly not an outright confirmation, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to see the next high-po Cadillac roll under the klieg lights at the Los Angeles Convention Center next Wednesday brandishing more than just 450 horsepower.

Cadillac's Butler announces surprise departure

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Cadillac's vice president of global strategic development, Don Butler, has resigned. Butler has held the position since April, after a term as vice president of US marketing for General Motor's luxury brand.
As the report explains, the timing here is pretty unfortunate for Cadillac. Butler is the third high-profile member of Cadillac's brass to depart in recent months, following the firing of US sales boss Chase Hawkins and the pending departure of Susan Docherty. Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told the Detroit paper, "Bob [Ferguson]," global boss for Cadillac, "and other leaders asked him to stay on. Don's here in the office today - and told our team that his decision is purely on a personal level. After three years of putting everything into Cadillac, he is stepping away for some personal time, and to consider new avenues in his life."
Butler says his decision is part of a decision to "recalibrate, reassess my priorities." Whatever the reason, it's an unpleasant surprise for Cadillac, which has been on a surge in 2013, with 30-percent jump in sales on the heels of the hot-selling ATS.