CUE Something Better: Cadillac Raises the Bar for Its Abysmal User Interface

Cadillac’s user interface has been one of its consumers’ biggest grievances. Last week, I heard a private chauffeur in an Escalade — a $75,000 car that makes you feel simultaneously wealthy and powerful — refer to the Cadillac User Experience (CUE) as “bullshit.” Even Johan de Nysschen admitted that CUE did not pass muster.

Clearly aware of how supremely loathsome the interface is, the automaker has announced that the next-generation user experience system will debut on the 2017 Cadillac CTS this spring. According to General Motors, the updated user experience will evolve with a customer’s connectivity needs — adjusting itself over time while offering a plethora of personalization, connectivity and apps.

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With CUE, De Nysschen Acknowledges Cadillac Aimed Low And Failed To Meet Expectations

“The first-generation CUE didn’t even meet our own expectations.”
Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac President — Motor Trend Interview — October 10, 2016

What was Cadillac’s boss trying to say? It all depends on where you put the emphasis.

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  • Ptcruiser Put a PTEazer nose on it and let Chrysler sell some. Make it a 2 seater with no back seats. Have two or three battery pack versions. Affordable 140 mile pack. 180 mile pack. 240 mile pack. All versions to offer plug in behind seats, pack plug ins under flat storage floor, for EGO batteries for extended range. Room for 4 or 5 across and 2 or 3 rows back. Apartment life could have two home chargers to charge up multiple EGO batteries. EGO batteries would recharge main packs when main packs are below EGO battery level. One way power draw. Since Apartment life is without charging abilities.
  • Varezhka Not the biggest surprise, considering that the new 500 is a platform sibling of a similarly sized (but dead) Opel Adam. And Italy, its biggest market, is not the best market for BEVs. Curious if it will be the same 1.2L I3 mild hybrid as the bigger 600.
  • El scotto Does it have buttons for HVAC and infotainment controls? Steering wheel controls count.
  • SCE to AUX Fiat USA is a joke, and may not exist in 2026. They could put a Hemi in a 500 and nobody would buy it.
  • SCE to AUX "CEO Atsushi Osaki said Subaru remains committed to its horizontally opposed engine because it's a brand-building icon....Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro said his company will develop future versions of its trademark rotary engine to run on carbon neutral fuels and combine with electrified hybrid setups."These statements say a lot about how lost these companies are.[list][*]Subaru sticks with the boxer because it's an 'icon', not because of any technical merits?! Sad - the boxer is a loud, inefficient engine - so they're right. Does anyone actually buy a Subaru for the boxer engine?[/*][*]Mazda predictably killed the rotary range extender on the extinct MX-30 because it couldn't pass emissions. That's the story of its life. It's a terrible engine, but Mazda slavishly wastes money on it every year.[/*][/list]