Cadillac Teases Giant Escalade Screen Ahead of February Reveal, Predicts Future Sales Supremacy
Cadillac’s upcoming next-generation Escalade is garnering plenty of headlines ahead of its reveal, and not just because of leaked shots showing a very Escala-like take on the Chevrolet Suburban/Tahoe.
Redesigned from the ground up for the 2021 model year, General Motors’ full-size, body-on-frame SUVs aim to top the current crop in both refinement and interior room, and the pinnacle of that lineup will be no different. Cargo volume aside, we now know for sure it’ll top challengers in at least one measurement: screen size.
The General’s luxury brand is busy touting the Escalade’s whopping 38-inch curved OLED screen in the lead-up to its public debut. That unveiling, by the way, will take place February 4th in Los Angeles, with the premiere tied closely to Oscar night. Expect a barrage of marketing on Hollywood’s big night.
Stretching uninterrupted across the full width of the instrument cluster and center stack, the immense screen is said to boast resolution twice that of a 4K television, with color that’s especially vivid. It might rival the windshield for entertainment and useable info, too. Let’s hope the brightness adjustment doesn’t crap out.
In contrast to the Escalade, Chevy’s Tahoe and Suburban make do with an upgraded 10-inch touchscreen.
“From the highway to the big screen, the Escalade has been embraced by drivers and fans around the world,” said brand president Steve Carlisle in a statement related to the gimmicky tie-up. “We’re excited to introduce the 2021 Escalade during Oscars week in February.”
With the Detroit auto show moved to the summertime, it would seem that Oscar night has become a stand-in for the dead-of-winter trade show. GM started the SUV-Hollywood connection earlier this month, successfully (and unexpectedly) securing a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the Suburban.
Late last week, Carlisle predicted the Escalade would end the year as a best-seller in the full-size premium SUV segment, with GM CEO Mary Barra telling Motor Trend, “I’m very confident about the next generation of Escalade. Let me just put it that way.”
While Lincoln’s Navigator, all-new for the 2018 model year, is a newer and more refined vehicle than the Escalade, Caddy’s big guy needn’t worry about letting Carlisle down. Despite sales dropping 2.8 percent through the end of the third quarter, Escalade volume remains double that of the Navigator. At the end of September, Escalade sales comprised 26,535 units; Navigator volume stood at 13,201, up nine-tenths of a percent from the previous year.
Ford didn’t help the Navigator’s appeal or name recognition by leaving the model withering on the vine for many a year, thus giving Cadillac an edge. Neither the Navigator nor other high-end full-size SUVs give GM brass many sleepless nights, apparently.
“Yes, there are many competitors coming into the segment, but I think Escalade has a special place and will again exceed people’s expectations with the next model,” Barra said. “It’s iconic.”
That assertion will be put to the test on February 4th.
[Image: General Motors]
More by Steph Willems
Comments
Join the conversation
With such a ridiculously large high resolution touchscreen in a moving vehicle plus Caddy's below par infotainment system quality, we should assume every 2021 and up Escalade on the road will be piloted by a distracted driver.
The '90s-fetishizing child luddites at Jalopnik hate this, so I like it.