1994 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Sedan 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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Next-gen Cadillac Escalade spied with grille uncovered for the first time

The next generation of full-size GM SUVs is coming, and the Cadillac Escalade may the most anticipated reveal of them all. Lincoln has blown up the scene with its excellent Navigator, and Cadillac needs something revolutionary in response. Our latest set of spy photos show us what appears to be a camouflaged Escalade, but it’s missing some of the camo covering the grille. None of our previous Escalade spy photos have given us this detailed of a look at the grille before. The grille design looks like a blown-up version of the XT6 right now. ItÂ’s not the exact same pattern as we see on the Sport or Premium Luxury trims of that car, but the design looks like it comes from a similar mind. ThereÂ’s certainly no mistaking it for anything other than a Cadillac, as the Yukon and Tahoe likely wonÂ’t be sporting such gaudy front pieces — the jury is still out on a potential High Country trim, though. This particular tester looks like it was caught on GMÂ’s proving grounds, as the driver unsuccessfully tries to hide his face from the camera. Just like previous spy shots, these feature the same rectangular exhaust outlets and independent rear suspension down below. We still have no idea what the rest of the SUV is going to look like, but as GM is wont to do these days, a big grille is a certainty now. The camouflage conceals just how far it stretches from one side to the other, but weÂ’ll be interested to see how much of the design language is ripped from smaller SUVs like the XT6 and XT5. We have a feeling Cadillac plans on giving us something new and game-changing with the Escalade; we just donÂ’t know if the styling is up to the task yet.

Cadillac's CEO on Apple CarPlay: ’extremely clunky’

In this new world of advanced in-car infotainment and connectivity, car and tech companies alike are creating interfaces with mixed success. Apparently one system has annoyed Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen enough he's openly griping about it. In an interview with our friends at Yahoo Finance, the CEO had a number of complaints about Apple CarPlay, a system that, along with Android Auto, is rapidly becoming a staple of automotive infotainment. Though he acknowledged the system's potential, de Nysschen said CarPlay "is extremely clunky." He highlighted issues he's had with Apple Maps reacting too slowly for turn-by-turn navigation on the highway, app transitions that weren't smooth, and some quirks he found when using voice commands. While we won't say Apple CarPlay is perfect by any means, we're also not so sure it's deserving of such high-profile criticism, particularly from Cadillac. This is because Cadillac's own infotainment system CUE, has not been loved by those of us at Autoblog. And while Cadillac has announced it has a new version of CUE that might fix our issues with it, it's not exactly rolling it out expediently. So before ripping on other infotainment, de Nysschen, maybe make sure your own system in order. Related Video:

Ford C-Max Commercial Brings Cadillac 'Poolside' Ad Down To Earth

If we had tried to predict the first video response to the controversial Poolside video for the Cadillac ELR, we would not have thought it would center on compost. But, hey, it's always nice to be reminded that the real world is sometimes better than fiction. Instead of the chic swagger of 'Poolside,' 'Anything Is Possible' is all about getting dirty. The new short in question is called Upside: Anything Is Possible and it promotes two things: Detroit Dirt and the Ford C-Max Energi. As in the ELR ad, Ford's plug-in C-Max only makes an appearance at the tail end of the spot, but instead of the chic swagger of Poolside, Anything Is Possible is all about getting dirty. The ad stars Pashon Murray, co-founder of Detroit Dirt, which takes natural waste from around Detroit, composts it into soil and then spreads that around "forgotten parcels" of Detroit to create urban farms. Detroit Dirt gets its bio-waste from a lot of sources, including the Detroit Zoological Society (all that herbivore manure has to go somewhere), Ford and General Motors, but this particular ad was the idea of Ford's PR agency, Team Detroit. It was a frenetic shoot, filmed with an LA-based director right after a big winter storm blew through Detroit, and Murray couldn't be happier with the result. "This was Ford Motor Company pushing my story, letting me tell the story that I believe in," Murray tells AutoblogGreen. "I get to help push this car and I get to tell my story." She says that the Team Detroit and Ford had to agree on the message, "from my understanding, [YouTube] is where they wanted to start, not where they wanted to finish." The ad is already getting a positive response on Twitter, so we won't be surprised if it shows up in more places soon. "It's not saying Ford is better than GM. It's telling the story of a black woman who's working hard in Detroit." As Detroit Dirt has off-screen support from both GM and Ford, it's unsurprising to hear Murray say that the video "is not a rivalry thing." She notes that the ad agency Team Detroit came to her and offered to tell the Detroit Dirt story using the framework of the GM ad. "It's a parody on this commercial, but it's not saying Ford is better than GM," she said. "It's telling the story of a black woman who's working hard in Detroit." What is that story? It's about urban farming, recovery and recycling. Murray tells us that for the last seven or eight years, she's been dedicated to sustainability.