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Expect greater differentiation in GM's next-generation SUVs

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the same cabin as a $45,000 Tahoe. Hilts says SUV buyers want more refinement than their pickup purchasing counterparts - and those same buyers also want their SUVs to have more exterior differentiation between the company's Silverado and Sierra pickup lines. Shocking.
That all sounds good to us, but we've heard this song and dance before. GM made big waves about how different the new-for-2013 Silverado and Sierra would look from each other, but judging by what we've seen so far, GM's stylists are painting in shades rather than with the full spectrum. For more on the what to expect out of GM's new SUVs, click on the C/D link below.

Cadillac V-Series Academy comes to Las Vegas [w/video]

General Motors has added another high-speed education course to the curriculum at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The desert track already hosts the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School with Chevrolet Corvettes, including the ZR1, and they've just added the Cadillac V-Series Academy.
Open now, the one- and two-day performance driving school teaches "the finer points of high performance driving" using the 556-horspower instructional aids known as the CTS-V sedan, coupe and wagon. This is different than than using the CTS-V at the Monticello Motor Club on the east coast - that's part of a sponsorship deal that Cadillac has with the track. The driving course at the Motorsports Ranch is its own program that was developed by Fellows, and we have no reason to think the Cadillac edition won't be just as thorough and enjoyable as the one with Corvettes.
Unlike the 'Vette edition, however, it doesn't appear that you get an invitation to the program if you buy a CTS-V model. Classes are capped at 12 participants and run $1,295 for a single day, $2,295 for two days. There are a video and a press release below with more info.

Cadillac confirms CT8/CT9 flagship, ELR successor

Cadillac has certainly been a hot topic as of late, what with Johan de Nysschen now running the joint, moving its headquarters to New York, and overhauling the company's naming structure (only to later publicly defend all of these drastic decisions). Now, looking ahead, de Nysschen is already revealing some details about what's in store for the future, including a raft of new products that include a large, long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival positioned above the recently announced CT6, along with a successor to the slow-selling ELR coupe.
In an interview with Reuters, de Nysschen says his company has "just signed off on" a new flagship tipped to be called CT8 or CT9. It will compete with the long-wheelbase versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series, and should come to market by the end of this decade.
Among other news, the South African executive said a followup to the ELR plug-in hybrid is in development, though it may not be a two-door coupe like the current car. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since the ELR has garnered nothing but slow sales and poor reviews since its launch.