2007 Cadillac Escalade Custom on 2040-cars

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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.

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.

[UPDATE] Cadillac Blackwing gets ticket to Italy, to go to work in a supercar

UPDATE: It seems MAT's belief it had secured a supply of Cadillac's 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 was premature, and based on a handshake deal before GM sold its Turin engine center to Italy's Punch Group. Shortly after Hagerty ran the story, GM sent a statement to the outlet reading, in part, "We do not have an agreement in place with Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) to provide or sell the Blackwing engine. ... Our team is following up with MAT president Paolo Garella to discuss the misunderstanding." MAT also submitted a statement to Hagerty, saying, in part, "We thank GM for the clarification. Although a signed agreement was not finalized between the parties, we were under the impression that our counterpart was committing to making this engine available to MAT at conditions yet to be defined. ... We hope that this misunderstanding will not compromise our relations with GM and possible future collaborations." The original article follows: Some necessary cost-cutting at Cadillac led to switching the new CT4, CT5, and Escalade to older platforms. The revised architecture plan meant Cadillac's newest top-tier products couldn't fit Cadillac's newest top-tier engine, the 4.2-liter twin-turbo DOHC V8 known as Blackwing. That engine would serve limited duty at full power in the now-dead CT6-V, and at reduced output in the CT6 Platinum V8 trim before ending its bright, brief domestic life. But the story isn't over, the rebirth of Blackwing coming from a most surprising locale: Turin, Italy. Before the canceled Geneva Motor Show, Hagerty spoke to Paolo Garella, CEO of Manifattura Automobili Torino; that's the company better known as MAT, makers of the New Stratos and contract engineering house for boutique screamers like the Aspark Owl electric hypercar, Apollo Intensa Emozione, and SCG003C. Garella told the outlet, "We have an agreement with General Motors" for a supply of Blackwings, which would be developed and built at the General Motors Propulsion Engineering Center (PEC) in Turin. Since 2005, the PEC has been used to develop GM's global diesel engines and electronics. MAT's plan is to put the V8 into a new limited-run car MAT is creating from its own design. Then another surprising turn: Belgium-based global auto supplier Punch Group bought the PEC, with plans to work with GM on projects in progress until at least the end of 2021. Nothing changes as far as MAT is concerned, except perhaps a chance for an even closer collaboration with Punch Turin.