GM Unleashes Another Not So Fine, Not So Young Cadillac Cannibal
Way back in 1987, The New York Times began a story on GM with a lead that echoes through the ages: “Just about the last thing the General Motors Corporation needs these days is more ”cannibals.”’ With all the turmoil GM has endured since ’87, you might think that it would have taken The Gray Lady’s advice by now. But no. Motor Trend reports that the new Cadillac Escalade will be based on GM’s played-out Lambda platform, joining the Traverse, Enclave, Outlook and Acadia in cannibal Hell. As usual MT manages to look on the sunny side of the move, claiming that the Lambda’s “oversubscription” is precisely why “a Cadillac version makes economic sense.” And yes, it will likely be the only Lambda-based whip with a (small block- the new Northstar has been axed) V8 now that the planned Enclave Super has been canceled. Still, the new Escalade won’t just steal sales from well-equipped Enclaves, it will also put the squeeze on the Theta-based SRX CUV. Besides, if Caddy is still a legitimate luxury brand, shouldn’t its flagship Ute retain its fuel-swilling truck platform to keep it in line with such damn-the-fuel-prices competitors as the Range Rover and Hummer? After all, the new 2009 Escalade paid off its tooling costs within three months of going on sale. Unless of course this is just more cheap-and-dirty “retooling for increased energy efficiency” bailout loan fodder.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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@ nudave's "Aveo de Ville" comment: The moment GM puts the Crest and Wreath on an Aveo is the day I cut every single tie to Cadillac and General Motors, history be damned! Don't laugh; I think it's closer than we may believe...
I followed the link to the 1987 NYTimes article. Wow. Just change the model names and the whole article could be recycled.
Well, if there's any truth to this recent WARD, maybe this is evidence that GM is preparing to move everything to either Chevy or Cadillac and kill the other brands.
Gross! The only thing I dislike about driving is the fact that I have to see so many ugly cars on the road with me.