great, raps stars and soccer moms with too much power in another SUV

Originally posted by sarlacc23
great, raps stars and soccer moms with too much power in another SUV

Originally posted by pimpscls
thats a waste

Originally posted by gavriil
You make it sound like this will be a $40K SUV and hundreds of thousands of people will buy it.

This wont be cheap when introduced. V12s are very expensive to build.

Originally posted by sarlacc23
I on the other hand live in LA and shitloads of people will buy them.

Originally posted by heyitsme
c&d tested the twin turbo ext version


Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, 1557 Winchester Road, Decatur, Indiana 46733; 260-724-2552; www.lingenfelter.com.

Vehicle type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door truck
Price as tested: $126,620 (base price*: $124,500)
Engine type: twin-turbocharged and intercooled pushrod 16-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, GM/LPE engine-control system with port fuel injection

Displacement: 428 cu in, 7008cc
Power (SAE net): 700 bhp @ 5200 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 740 lb-ft @ 4600 rpm
Transmission: 4-speed automatic with lockup torque converter
Wheelbase: 130.0 in
Length: 221.4 in
Curb weight: 5709 lb
Zero to 60 mph 4.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 11.1 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 21.2 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 4.5 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 12.7 sec @ 106 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 182 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.83 g
EPA fuel economy, city driving: 11 mpg
*Base price includes all performance-enhancing options.

Originally posted by sarlacc23
You are right, for most parts of the country.

I on the other hand live in LA, the land of
1)rich assholes
2)people who lease these cars they cant really afford, but fake it anyway.

So out here, yeah shitloads of people will buy them.

Originally posted by kansaiwalker1
Just great, I can see some rap star losing control of the Escalade-V at 100mph and it will make a spectacular rollover and crash folowed by an impressive col of smoke.

the Buick LeSabre, Buick Park Avenue and Ford Taurus station wagon -- had claim rates of 0.5.

Eighteen months ago on a Hollywood sound stage, General Motors hosted a hush-hush meeting for 35 of the biggest names in entertainment.

No names were publicized. Videotaped remarks were kept private. One new vehicle was unveiled.

This trendsetting group included NBA and NHL stars. It included TV actors, movie producers, hip-hop artists and jazz musicians. Some were teenagers, others were 40 years old.

These tastemakers had gathered to see the 2007 Cadillac Escalade, which debuts next January. They are a small but significant band of trendsetters that Cadillac is consulting for its future product.

The sneak preview marks a significant change in GM's marketing strategy. When the current Escalade debuted in 2001, it was a hit with athletes and hip-hop artists who loved its roomy interior and in-your-face styling.

Caught by surprise, Cadillac had done nothing special to cultivate them. But this time, it sought out the trendsetters to catalog their likes and dislikes -- and generate buzz.

"We wanted to put the Escalade out in front of the people recognized as understanding 'cool,' " says Cadillac Marketing Director Jay Spenchian. "We wanted to see if they thought we were headed in the right direction. That way we still had time to make some modifications if we needed to."

Brainstorm session

The sneak preview took shape in late summer 2003 during a brainstorming session attended by GM executives including Chairman Rick Wagoner and John Smith, group vice president for vehicle sales.

"Is there any way to get current and future Escalades in front of them to see if it's the right direction?" Wagoner asked.

Smith and the Cadillac team arranged a special focus group.

One day in September 2003, GM ushered the tastemakers to the studio for back-to-back sneak previews. Most of the influencers in the group owned at least one Escalade.

Attending the Hollywood sessions were GM design chief Ed Welburn, Cadillac Vehicle Line Director Gary White, Cadillac Marketing General Manager Mark LaNeve, Escalade Marketing Director Kim McGill, Spenchian and the Escalade's design directors.

Behind the curtain

Spenchian declined to identify the VIPs, but one source says some of the attendees included NBA players from the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, several leading actors from the TV sitcom "That '70s Show" and some of the celebrities invited to GM's pre-Oscar fashion show last week. The 30-minute sessions ran from 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. One by one, each tastemaker navigated a labyrinth of large black curtains that separated several vehicles. Behind each curtain was a new model bathed in dramatic lighting.

Each VIP saw the Cadillac Sixteen concept sedan, followed by the current Escalade. They viewed the "Matrix" special-edition model of the Cadillac Escalade EXT, as seen in the movie by the same name, plus a prototype Escalade ESV Platinum edition, a vehicle with two ceiling-mounted TV screens and 20-inch chrome wheels.

Behind the final curtain was a black foam model of the 2007 Escalade, with a newly created clay model interior. Hidden cameras captured the tastemakers' reactions.

"We watched where their eyes went initially," says Cadillac spokesman Jeff Kuhlman, who attended the event.

The tastemakers did not recommend any significant changes to the sheet metal, which was just as well, since GM already had locked in the Escalade's exterior styling.

Focus groups are more commonly employed earlier in a vehicle's development, while there's still time for GM to alter the sheet metal. But for the new Escalade, other adjustments were still possible.

A lot of input

Cadillac learned a lot during the preview. The tastemakers offered suggestions for new colors and trim, wheels, the audio system, engine choices, exhaust modifications and placement of the Cadillac crest.

"That crest," Welburn says. "I heard over and over they wanted it large in the front and large in the rear and on the wheels and other unique areas."

Each tastemaker also had a chance to spell out his or her preferences in one-on-one chats with a designer. Normally, GM designers don't get instant feedback from focus group participants, Spenchian says.

But a problem arose: Some athletes stretched their 30-minute briefings into two-hour sessions. "I was given the assignment of moving the NBA stars out of the way," Welburn says. "Most of them didn't want to leave."

One VIP attendee was rapper Xzibit, emcee of MTV's "Pimp My Ride," a hit TV show that offers a tongue-in-cheek glimpse of the good life on wheels. Xzibit suggested modifications such as a rear hatch window that could be lowered and larger DVD screens -- "certain things you wish you could see in a car."

"Cadillac knows that we, as hip-hop artists, are spokesmen for some of their products," says Xzibit, who owns a Hummer H2. "We add a lot of aftermarket accessories to their cars. And if they can beat us to the punch -- if they can find out what we'd do after they make it -- they could put it into production first."

After the briefing, GM made subtle changes to the Escalade's color palette, wheel sizes and interior.

Cadillac also will create an advertising campaign that plays off the tastemakers' reaction to the vehicle.

Not everyone at GM thought the use of the influencers was a great idea. Spenchian says some staffers considered data from the VIP focus group to be unscientific -- therefore a waste of time.

"But, ultimately, we were impressed by the results," Spenchian says.

Cadillac will use VIP focus groups for selected vehicles such as the next-generation Cadillac CTS. Says Spenchian: "Rather than us sitting around thinking something is cool, why not get others who are cool to verify that for us?"