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Johan de Nysschen tells his side of the story

Automobile snagged time with ex-Cadillac, Infiniti, and Volkswagen of America boss Johan de Nysschen. General Motors decided to part ways with de Nysschen on April 18, 2018, after the German spent four years in charge of America's luxury brand. The longtime auto exec is a polarizing figure for enthusiasts, who seem to take a mostly negative view of his work at Infiniti and Cadillac. However, there's no denying de Nysschen is frank, and in the Automobile interview he puts an insider's perspective on a big bag of issues we can only speculate on. One of the biggest bombshells in the interview was that it wasn't de Nysschen's idea to move Cadillac to New York: "When I was recruited, I was informed that the company would relocate to New York," he said. Previous GM CEO Dan Ackerson had made the decision before hiring de Nysschen, then Ackerson let his new hire make the announcement. The big change came only two years after de Nysschen had taken over Infiniti after insisting Nissan's luxury brand move to Hong Kong. De Nysschen explained Cadillac's NYC move with the same rationale as Infiniti's Hong Kong move, so everyone assumed the new guy was doing his usual. He explains in the interview that after the move, "Folks who rooted for Detroit felt betrayed. Cadillac had an enemy." And that became a problem. He has nothing bad to say about GM or Cadillac, believing on the contrary that "GM is in a good position going forward." But he brought clarity to some of Cadillac's struggles. Among the issues was GM's "very vigorous" post-bankruptcy test for green-lighting a project. Another was the lack of specialization for the luxury arm. "Engines were generically developed with the Chevy brand in mind," he said, "and, then, 'Okay, well, yeah, it's good enough for Cadillac.'" That carried over into haphazard technology rollouts. "GM didn't have a specific technology roadmap aligned to particular brands," he said. "The process was, as they were developing new technologies, they would look at what product's launch date would be aligned with the maturation date and market readiness of a technology and go with it, whether Buick, Chevy, or what have you." De Nysschen worked to end such generalized approaches, which is how we get Cadillac taking the GM lead on technology and electrification.

GM offering factory-backed extended warranty for Chevys, GMCs, Buicks and Cadillacs

Cars are generally more reliable than ever before. When things do go wrong, every automaker offers some form of factory warranty (in most cases at least three years and 36,000 miles, though many extend even longer), providing peace of mind to new-car buyers that many faults will be fixed at no charge to the customer. Starting today, GM is offering a new optional plan that will extend the factory warranty on all new Chevy, GMC, Buick and Cadillac products. In the past, extended warranties have been offered as dealer add-ons, with all profits from these sales going to the dealership. GM's new program can be viewed as another nail in the the looming dealership-model coffin. According to Automotive News, some dealers aren't happy to see GM cut into their business like this, saying that it helps GM far more than it does dealers. GM says the new program will help keep customers in the GM family. Customers are also more likely to visit a GM service center rather than going to an independent repair shop. Currently, new Chevy and GMC vehicles come with three-year/36,000-mile warranties. Buicks and Cadillacs are covered for 4 years or 50,000 miles. The new program extends Chevy and GMC warranties to five years or 60,000 miles. Buick and Cadillac warranties extend to six years or 70,000 miles. GM, citing IHS Markit, says most owners keep new cars for about 6.8 years, so these warranties will cover most of the length of their ownership. The extended warranty will add between $1,000 and $2,000 to the price of a vehicle, and the additional cost can be rolled into the vehicle's purchase or lease price. Unlike many dealer extensions, the factory program covers the vehicle no matter who owns it. That should help increase the car's resale value if it's sold within the covered timeframe. GM says there's no deductible and no need to file a claim form when getting warranty repairs. Additionally, dealerships can continue to sell their own extended warranties or service contracts. Related Video:

2021 Cadillac Escalade Review | What's new, features, photos, Super Cruise price

The 2021 Cadillac Escalade is a heavyweight mammoth that is unapologetically bold and quintessentially Escalade. Its general shape and design still plummets from the same tree as a Chevy Tahoe or Suburban, but there’s no mistaking this SUVÂ’s new look for anything but a bejeweled, bold and brash Cadillac. That said, it does take advantage of all the lovely new engineering enhancements made throughout the GM SUV lineup, including the latest-generation magnetic dampers and a new air suspension system. Combined with the long-awaited independent rear suspension design, these pieces bring the EscaladeÂ’s ride up to par with the most comfortable and luxurious SUVs on sale today.  In addition to the ride improvement, CadillacÂ’s new interior is a tech and luxury fortress befitting its price. The new triple OLED screens scream luxury, and the design makes it competitive with LincolnÂ’s gorgeous Navigator once more (a far more comfortable and usable third-row seat helps in that regard, too). Under the hood, there's an interesting new powertrain option with this generation of Escalade: a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-six that brings decent fuel efficiency (23 mpg combined at its best) to a class of vehicle that typically achieves horrendously low figures. In total, with more space, more efficiency and vast improvements in every other category, the 2021 Escalade is poised to stand toe-to-toe with other luxury behemoths.  WhatÂ’s new for 2021? The Escalade is all-new for 2021. ItÂ’s the modelÂ’s first big redesign since the 2015 model year. 2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum View 60 Photos What are the Escalade interior and in-car technology like? The Escalade doesn't quite achieve the same elevated sense of fashion as Lincoln does with the Navigator, but it nevertheless makes a statement with its tech-forward take on luxury. The 38 inches of curved OLED screens we covered in our Escalade infotainment review dominate the dash in a brazen display of opulence. Large swaths of wood trim stretch across the dash horizontally and also adorn a substantial part of the center console. Your color and design options are plentiful, but it all depends on trim. The purple Dark Auburn is fantastic, and the light-and-airy Whisper Beige is another great option (pictured below). Real wood trim in various colors and patterns can be had, and varying levels of leather and suede coverage are available.