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Cadillac follows Lincoln in going back to proper names

Who else is excited for the 2025 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham? Right, don't all excitedly jump up and down at the same time. May make Earth wobble. In an interview with multiple outlets (and brought to our attention by Reuters and CNET Roadshow) that mostly covered Cadillac's electrification plans, Cadillac President Steve Carlisle indicated that the brand's Euro-style alphanumeric naming strategy will mercifully be coming to an end. CNET indicates it'll correspond with the rollout of new EV models, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it happen even earlier. Lincoln's similar decision has already proven to be successful, and it's always seemed like a matter of time before Cadillac followed suit given the two brands' similar history and market segments. The current naming convention of CT(number) for cars and XT(number) for crossovers was hatched in 2014 and is widely credited to former Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen, who had previously transformed Infiniti's naming convention into something similarly Germanic. That the man previously worked at Audi should be a surprise to no one. While people have generally been confused by the switch, we can't say it's any worse than the old CTS, XTS, ATS and SRX business that came before. At least de Nysschen's system had a hierarchy. Yet, for a brand once known for grand, stately cars and equally grand, stately names like Eldorado, Seville and, yes, Escalade, a European-style alphanumeric strategy never seemed right. It was at least indicative of Cadillac's constant attempts to emulate German brands rather than setting its own, uniquely American course (as Lincoln has done recently). That the most American and successful of its lineup, the Escalade, hung onto its name through thick-and-thin speaks volumes. So, will we really be seeing that '25 Fleetwood Brougham? That does seem rather doubtful. Beyond Eldorado, there's not a lot out there in the back catalog that doesn't reek of crusty old country club luxury. Or was garbage. Perhaps sampling from Cadillac's concept car file with something like Elmiraj? Whatever it comes up with, though, how could it be worse than simultaneously selling an XT5 and XTS? Cadillac Future Vehicles Luxury

Cadillac dealers frustrated over Escalade production snarls

Lincoln went through it during the launch of the MKZ last year, Jeep went through something similar with its Cherokee launch, and now the 2015 Cadillac Escalade has apparently caught the bug: dealer delivery delays because of quality control checks. Automotive News reports that Cadillac dealers have been waiting three times longer than usual - a month or more - from the time an Escalade leaves the assembly line to when it gets delivered. Worse, dealers are saying they don't always know where their vehicles are in transit, or when they are set to arrive. The situation has upset customers who have put down deposits and things have gotten so bad that some dealers have reportedly stopped taking pre-orders.
Cadillac says it has the delay, called "dwell time," down to two weeks, and it expects to cut that to a week by the beginning of September. The company said "a lengthy quality-assurance process on some interior parts" has caused the lag, the report citing additional issues with figuring out which vehicles should be delivered first. A spokesman said that more trucks have been put in the distribution system to work through the backlog, but it's clear it's still going to take some time to set things right, with one dealer telling AN that cars ordered in February and March still haven't arrived.
Brand chief Kurt McNeil said additional personnel are at the Escalade's Arlington, Texas factory to speed up the checks, and spreadsheets tracking every order have been distributed to field staff. Even with the snafu, though, the Escalade is Cadillac's best seller through July.

Want to beat LA traffic? Chargers QB Philip Rivers has found a way

Slogging through traffic in Southern California is about as pleasurable as being slowly eaten by bears or being the awkward third wheel on a bad first date. It feels like it's never going to end. After the team relocated to Los Angeles from San Diego, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers decided that three hours wasted each day in a car was too much. As The San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Rivers' rolling office makes his days more productive than ever. After deciding that he wasn't going to relocate his family to Orange County, Rivers was stuck with the prospect of either spending considerably less time with his children or skipping out on much-needed film work at the team's training facility (not really an option given his profession). Instead, he began investigating a number of options to make his lengthened commute slightly more viable and productive. First, he considered carpooling with a teammate. That was still too much of a pain. He looked at flying a helicopter, but unless it could land close to both his home and the practice field, it too was useless. A quick online search eventually led to the rolling footage review room you see here. Becker Automotive Design in Oxnard, Calif., builds these rolling offices for a wide range of customers. It sells modified Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, Ford Transits, and, in Rivers' case, a Cadillac Escalade with a raised roof. His needs were simple: a television and an HDMI input so he can hook up his computer. No fancy armor or recumbent exercise bicycle. His goal was to review game footage on his commute rather than slowly waste away behind the wheel of a car. Photos show a sea of leather and wood and a mini fridge, so it's not totally without niceties. Column | Philip Rivers' new ride allows him to stay home https://t.co/btwCEgIsFq pic.twitter.com/DHud3ho5UF — The Union-Tribune (@sdut) September 5, 2017 The Union-Tribune lists the price of the Escalade at about $200,000. That's not including the driver's salary. In 2015, Rivers signed a four-year deal with the Chargers worth $84 million, so he's not hurting for cash. If it increases productivity and saves the headache of being behind the wheel in traffic, we can imagine more people with means (and not just quarterbacks) will be opting for such daily transport. Related Video: