In seemingly no time at all, the Cadillac Escalade has become a major cash cow for General Motors, as well as a status symbol for well-to-do suburbanites everywhere. This is because it’s a swagger enhancer for anybody who drives one, despite some criticizing the SUV for being nothing more than a fancy Chevy Tahoe. And while the latter part is true to some extent, it doesn’t paint the full picture, and despite gas prices continuing their merciless ascent, the luxury SUV sells well. Well enough — if not profitable enough — to earn itself a fourth generation by what The Detroit Bureau reports will come in the year 2014 as a 2015 model. However, we wouldn’t flinch if it launched sooner than that, and by our analysis, it needs to.
For the next generation model, details remain vague, but it’s safe to expect the next generation body-on-frame luxurury SUV will double down on luxury, further distancing itself from the rest of its bloodline that includes the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon. It will also continue to be built at GM’s Arlington Assembly facility in Texas. In the meantime, feel free to check out the changes in store for the 2013 Escalade.
Photography: Steven Pham
Comments
A 2014 release date does not make sense. We already know the Avalanche is being discontinued after 2013 which seems to line up with the ending of production of the GMT900’s to make way for the next generation of trucks. My guess is that it will be released in early-mid 2013 as a MY2014 along with the rest of the next generation of GMT’s.
It’s all a matter of how fast Arlington can switch over. Also, the Escalade and Escalade EXT were not built in the same plant.
It still doesn’t make sense. Both the Avalanche and the Caddy EXT should be cash cows at this point. Why end their production but keep the rest of the GMT900 production going? They are built in Mexico where GM probably pays half the labor costs that they do in Texas unless they have plans to close the plant in 2013 for whatever reason. The sales, while low, are not really bad enough to warrant pulling the plug on those trucks ASAP.
This may seem a bit rude, but Cadillac needs to complete their line up a lot quicker……showing cars way before there ready for the road will drop excitement to own one….this escalade needs to before as 2014 model during the next super bowl..
Are you referring to any new Cadillacs in particular, or just speaking in general?
WOOOOO HOOOOO!
Joy to all the hip hoppers and trophy wives out there in the U S A! Happiness for all the uninterested, gluttoness grocery getters who feel a Tahoe with leather and better fake wood is a status symbol to shoot for.
Body on frame = stupid heavy, stupid super-sucker of gas. These trucks are a joke, and everyone but the above know it. Look, MacDonalds’ food will kill you – most everyone knows it but they keep on buyin’. If people are buyin’ people will build it. Sure doesn’t make me feel better about GM. This huge pig is no status symbol. It’s an idiot symbol.
2014 Escalade. Perhaps it’ll come with a hot tub. Maybe some big hair, big booty dancers with painted on hooker garb and nine inch heels. Maybe it’ll have an option for a huge gold chain to be hung from it’s hood ornament. If anyone, and I mean anyone is excited a new truck-based Escalade is planned – I give you a person with an IQ that is lower than average.
I hope the interior quality increases tremendously, the amount of chrome used is very subtle, or nothing at all, and the escalade should also be more lightweight and more fun to drive, because remeber cadillac’s trying to poisition itself as an American BMW, so each product has to be living up to its fun to drive standards.
James, you are very narrow minded. Some people have families with kids, who don’t want to pile containers on the roof, of a small uncomfortable compact, 3 ft. high in order to get everyone and their stuff from point A to point B. Some people have trailers for boats or race cars that need the towing capacity. The Escalade fills the bill for many purposes.
Tahoe does the same, and cheaper.
Still, you can’t justify both by tacking a lenghty list of requirement that only 2 people on earth can fufill. Thus, people buy Escalades for reasons other than what you’ve listed.
“Families” rate low on Escalade buyers minds.
Your argument certainly supports the existence of GMT’s as a whole – not necessarily the Escalade.
My family has always had at least two GMT’s sitting on the driveway consistently over the past 15 years. Compared to the competition (Expedition, Seqouia, and crossovers), they are unparalleled when it comes to comfort, ride quality, and the features you get for the price.
The Escalade, however, is nothing but a status symbol. It offers no significant enhancements or improvements over it’s Chevrolet counterparts yet carries a sometimes $10k+ premium over the Tahoe LTZ. This is what GM NEEDS to eliminate for this next generation of GMT’s and for the first time ever, I think they will. The Cadillac CUE system will be significantly better then it’s Chevy MyLink counterpart, features such as adaptive cruise control and automatic braking should all come standard, and it should offer more premium materials used throughout the interior. Features like these is what separates your luxury cars from the “standard” – not badges and lots of chrome.
@Navis The Narrow Minded:
Oh Navis Navis Navis – what to do with folks like you — How about a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia to see what happens to your hard-earned gasoline dollar?…
I tend to flip that notion – small thinkers think in old-thought ways – like: “Need big tonnage boat to pull boat, or RV trailer…” Can I ask you why a cowhide and chrome plastic-laden Tahoe/Suburban in Wal-Mart luxe trim that sells for Mercedes E Class-S Class money is a good buy? Towing is a consideration. Depends on the size of the boat or RV trailer. You certainly cannot tow a fifth-wheel with an Escalade now, could you? Or if your boat is THAT big, you probably are in the market for a Duallie diesel ( Which is far more efficient and smart and come in crew cabs for all – da crue ). Sprinter vans get 22025 mpg and use a Bluetec clean diesel that’s quiet and clean. They’ll tow 5,000-6,700lbs. depending on equipment. Think your tow machine needs to be fly? You know – you have to have 12″ pull-down video screens or headrest monitors with PlayStation and Blueray?….If that’s you – I can steer you towards dozens of aftermarket equippers that’ll make your ride so dope you’ll want to don Snoop Dog golden teeth.
My point is – Tahoe/Suburban aren’t – and NEVER will be practical machines. No matter what you say- “family this, or utility luxe that”. Purchasing one is a poor decision any way you paint it. It’s a truck…A fullzized, full-framed, big heavy truck that will never do truck duty. Find an Escalade at a construction site? Find folks that just need to pull down 6-7 mpg ( 10-14 Escalade Hybrid ) while sitting in leather pulling their race car or horse trailer? That makes Escalade justifiable , right?
Navis, your argument is as weak as happy hour drinks at the Holiday Inn.
@James since Tahoe/Suburban is junk please tell me another route to fit all 8 members of my family in one vehicle and stack all our travel luggage on the roof.. Got any ideas for me? my escalade is AWD goes through mud and snow, has a powerful 6.0l engine and gas millage doesn’t matter. I didn’t buy it because its awesome MPG. My escalade is also my job site vehicle I work in a mine and drive it all through the dirt all day
@ Niv:
Niv, say you need 4 Wheel Drive. Say you need to pull snow machines in Colorado. Let’s choose a truck. Upcoming Colorado or even a Toyota Tacoma with a V-6 will do just fine. The rear of an Escalade is pure steel. No fiberglass cap there….It’s a huge waste of weight over practicality and it’s nonsense. I fullsized C/K GMC or Chevy can do more than an Escalade and haul the family depending on cab choice. Why laden the thing with 22″ Wheels and rubber so thin it’s good for a buckboard ride? Escalade = stupidity in my book.
Escalade Hybrid is an oxymoron like “jumbo shrimp” or “genuine imitation”.
What’s so luxury about gross waste and conspicuous consumption?
james….get back in your prius and stfu
@mik:
I think you just revealed your IQ.
Show me reasoning and justification for such an unjustifiable machine as the Escalade.
Tell me – do you feel, as an American — you just have some God-given right fund terrorism and be a fuel glutton? Tell me how many American soldiers you think have died defending our access to Middle Eastern oil?
If you opened your closed mind, you would see the situation world over, not in your little circle where you believe an Escalade or big SUV is a sort of status symbol. In reality owning one makes you look extremely selfish and narcissistic. An Escalade would be heaven if the world revolved around you.
I drive an escalade esv. I usually have 4 or 5 people with me. I frequently use the 4wd in snow and off road. I also tow quads on a trailer. I appreciate the better interior over a suburban. I feel it drives better than a van.
I am a die hard caddy fan, particularly the Escalade ESV! But I’m a lil displeased about some of the changes that are coming to Cadillac ESV’s! I hope U guy’s don’t do that body style I saw for the upcoming cadillac Esv! It looks cheap like the Dodge Durango. Ur a Class Above All That’s why U’ve aways stuck out. Ur luxury above all, but that look I saw YUK!!!!!!! Maybe I need to see it up close but so far the look isn’tgood at all. U’re gonna loose a lot of fans as well as customers WATCH!
@ James & Steve.
I can sort both of your difference is on fell swoop.
Cadillac ELV on Voltec: just scale the battery up by about 5X.
Problem solved. Steve gets his ESV, and James gets the green points.
@Steve: Steve, that is all well and good except you haven’t explained how you justify the waste of fuel.
Every single need to brought up – 5 or 6 passengers, towing, inclement weather and ride can all be met with another, less wasteful, less heavy and less impractical vehicle.
Of course it’s ride is better – but you miss one vital point, it’s weight. You can put 6,000 lbs. on a RAIL CAR and it rides better. I just cannot fathom how any individual who does not support Al Qaeda or embraces Arab world views can sit back and support his/her usage of a three ton monstrousity to do a job other more purpose-built vehicles can. You see, an Escalade, Tahoe or Suburban is a truck – it’s got a fullsized truck frame under it – and then the geniuses at GM, Ford, Toyota and Nissan weld on what basically is a steel canopy plus bracing for anti-flex replacing the ridgidity of a truck cab. Even a longbed KingCab is more efficient. Most of those can run a diesel.
Take the Mercedes Sprinter van. You say you want luxury and quality – hey, IT’S A FREAKIN’ MERCEDES! Sprinters are built to commercial standards which means they go up to 800,000 miles if you do the maintenance. Sprinters can be stripped down metal shells, like your FedEx van, or leather-lined land-Lear Jets, it just depends on your tastes and pocketbook. When you add the weight of 6 people ( and the offroad vehicles fit inside – not requiring a trailer ). 4X4 Sprinters are available in Germany, and large-wheeled 2WD Sprinters commonly ply the wintery roads of Oregon and Washington with snowmobiles, quads and dirtbikes inside. You can find loads of customizers online who make conversions worthy of presidents, or you can go here: outsidevans.com to find vans that are all-purpose rec vehicle machines. Sprinter turbo diesel vans come in 3 different lengths for your needs and pull in about 24 miles per gallon.
Let’s just say you doggedly hold to that big V-8 and believe as an American, you deserve to waste gas – Or perhaps you’re like some of my friends who believe the Oil Company’s rhetoric ( ” There’s plenty of oil in them thar hills, just let us drill baby drill! ” ). Maybe you’re well-off and you could care less about your neighbors, friends or fellow Americans. Maybe you just ignore nasty things like wars, or hundreds of billions of our tax dollars going to build more war machines and send more kids overseas to get killed protecting our access to foreign oil.
….Or maybe you’re just stupid.
….I’ll err on the side of friendship and peace, and assume you just haven’t considered such things and are open to better solutions to meet current needs. Any way we slice it, it’s becoming harder and harder not to look like some a**wipe driving a big Hummer, Escalade or Tahoe.
Ahem, what’s wrong with Arab people? Also, have you ever sat back and thought about the business case of building large body-on-frame SUVs? Simply put, they, along with trucks, are a big reason why GM is even in business, let alone able to have the capital to produce cars like the Chevy Volt. BOF vehicles are extremely profitable, and they fly off dealer lots.
Not sure why you even brought up the Sprinter. You don’t drive a Sprinter, you ride in it. Escalade owners will gladly drive their SUV, and have everybody stare — because maybe they want to look like “some a**wipe”.
Im not even going to argue with you, Ive tried and its a waste of time, but I will say a few things.
1. The number of racist people in America are rapidly declining, you are the last of a dying breed.
2. Did you know you are strong supporter of communism, which I assume you hate as much as Arab people.
3. I would argue that the millions of Americans who buy full size SUVs do not “support Al Qaeda or embraces Arab world views” .
Sprinters are Made in USA – just to add this plus also. Due to the 1960s Chicken Tax, all foreign trucks have to be disassembled and reassembled here in the USA.
Here’s video of two Outsidevan Sprinters plying snowy roads with their traction control switched on. I’ve added a couple other vids for your enjoyment.
Long wheelbased Sprinters in snow:
Luxo Lear Jet Sprinter:
Here’s a good mix of Sports Hauler/Luxo Sprinter: http://www.outsidevan.com/gnar.php
Short wheelbase, non-duallie: http://www.outsidevan.com/zion.php
Turbo diesels are low hp, high torque ( 325 lb/ft. ). I just give this as an example that you don’t have to sacrifice your high living to be smart and practical. Any which way you slice it, the Escalade is a big waste. Truck-frame-based SUVs have been a big profit margin mover for car companies getting fat welding steel extensions onto their trucks. They market to guys like Steve who see it as a status rig, and buy into the leather coating over a 5,800 lb. , cast-iron block V-8 pig.
You don’t need that to do what you want to do. There’s no status in being naive and wasteful. Just think, the longest Sprinter with tow package gets over twice the mileage of an Escalade/Tahoe, and a third better than the hybrid. Add to that, stand-up inside useability, and it’s a no-brainer. Look at what they charge for an Escalade…!!!!
@ Manoli: How in the name of all things sacred could you get THAT from what I wrote?!
You and I agree there is nothing “wrong with Arab people”. Arab people are people. They live their lives, they work, play and love and raise familys with many priorities similar to our own ( meaning Westerners ). “Arab people”, as you say — do not own oil companies. Arab Royals do. Perhaps you do not understand the culture in Saudi Arabia, and perhaps you like to lump the words “terrorist, and Al Quaeda” into one lump with all Arab peoples – but I suredly do not.
If you love Al Qaeda and terrorists that is your own right. But I do not. If you or anyone lumps ALL ARAB PEOPLE in with these groups they are not only fools , but definately racists, bigots and extremely narrow-minded.
Membersof the Arab Royal Family have been proven to be behind funding of all sorts of terrorism including 9/11. Our country was founded upon freedoms and human rights. Freedom and human rights really are not vocabulary found amongst the Arab Royal Family. Perhaps you are just naive of their treatment of women, foreign workers and their tight reign on over 45% or our crude oil needs we purchase from them
If you completely take my statements out of context and jump to conclude I hate a large group or ethnicity of humans – you still have to admit that America spends hundreds of millions of our monies to secure access to oil from and against countries that hate you — hate your way of life, and may even believe you are an “infidel” worthy to kill because you so not embrace his/her religion. Manoli, if you didn’t see when Iran threatened to shut down the Straits of Hormuz to our oil tankers this Spring – our oil prices rose 20 cents per gallon in one day! Manoli and Barbersher – if you cannot see that thousands of our troops have died in Iraq because Iraq has been the 4th or 5th largest supplier of crude to America year-after-year. Perhaps you are blind? Or perhaps you believe America is in a state of war for over 10 years to bring peace, and democracy to these places? Nobody believes that. Not one soul.
Mr. Chavez of Venezuela hates America. If you think this is a “racist, bigoted” remark. Do you read his own words? Do you not know who he is, and what he does? In other words, Manoli – are you blind? Or just THAT hooked on V-8 engines and burnouts? Venezuela is a very large exporter of crude oil to our shores. We need him, but he would cut our throats in a NY second. Is that a “racist” remark, or just the facts? If I say this — Do you and Barbersher say I am “hater of all the Venezuelan people”?!!! Perhaps a hater of Hitler and his Nazis in WWII would be a racist of all Germans?
To read that into my statements is truly a stretch, and I would encourage you to research who owns oil interests in Saudi Arabia, and who funded 9/11. It’s in the 9/11 Report given to Congress and it’s very widely publicized and written about.
One more point – When you buy gas-sucking cars and trucks who do you believe you support with your money? While you’re sitting at the pump pouring hundreds of dollars into the tank – do you ever feel it important to research where the profits go? Or how much the record profits quarter – by – quarter are? Of course not. You’d rather read into my post – and call me a “racist”, and a hater of all Arab peoples!
If one hates the KKK, what they do and what they stand for….Is it correct that this person hates all caucasion human beings? This is akin to what you and Babersher are saying. Hating evil and not funding it is sane and right. When you pump gas into a big fat SUV you’re as much as supporting all the mechanisms that stand against the American ideals of life, liberty and justice FOR ALL ( Arabs and all peoples. Period. )
You guys are stretching my words and mistaking their meaning.
Please thing two or three times before calling someone you do not know a racist.
Manoli: “…you don’t drive a Sprinter, you ride in it”
Please Mr. Katakis, you surely don’t have to agree with me, but what kind of statement is THAT?! I surely believe your opinion is as valuable as my own…That said, have you ever even driven a Sprinter van? They are quite nice to drive and yes, indeed you do drive one, they do not drive themselves.
Barbersher: “do you know you are a communist?”…. WHAT THE — ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!!
Man, you guys loooooove you some Escalade. For sure. I think it’s plain I stepped on some toes. Perhaps you could look at why you’d make such outlandish statements and judgements about a guy who shares with folks that gas guzzlers are unpatriotic and huge wasters of natural resources.
Manoli: …”Escalade owners will gladly drive their SUV, and have everybody stare — because maybe they want to look like “some a**wipe”.
Good potential Escalade ad campaign: DRIVE ONE – LOOK LIKE AN A**WIPE!
LOL!!!! : )
I’m not sure most of these comments are coming from, but an Escalade is the “only” SUV made with the torgue and horsepower that can pull the mountains in AZ. The only people that compare have not owned one! The ride, suspension, power and fuel economy is as good as anything with 2/3’s the horsepower and torgue. Get real, if you have need to pull anything, but don’t need a truck, it is the only SUV to purchase. GM could however increase the cooling of the transmission. This is the only complaint I have of the vehicle, and I’ve owned 2. If you need a high mileage “grocery getter” buy a Tahoe, Toyota or any other full sized SUV, but dont expect better mileage. I’ve owned/compared all of the full sized SUV’s one time or another and GM has the only ticket that does it all with the Escalade.
James,
Do you eat? Did you grow the food yourself? No, then you’re a fucker. Do you own any products made with petro chemicals…you’re a fucker. Do you own anything made with leather – shoes, belt, watchband? Murderer! You’re a loud mouthed, limp dicked moron. Have nice day:)
@ Human:
Are you human?
Your logic makes zero sense, and your vocabulary and lack of reason only outs you as some kind of uneducated hick. Sure, rednecks have a right to exist and have plenty of right to express themselves in whatever vulgar, senseless way they wish. I’m glad you’re here, and stand for all those who stand up for the existance and proliferation of large trucks with big steel bodies and huge cast iron V-8 engines.
This thread has proven that the large majority of readers here at GMAuthority are big fans of wasting gasoline. There is no shortage of rednecks, hicks or backwoods thinkers around – just dial up SpeedChannel on your cable or satellite and watch “Dumbest Stuff On Wheels”. Sadly, it’s not the cavemen that will help sustain America and our freedoms, rights and way of life.
To detest Escalades, Tahoes, Sequoias and the like on here is likened to being a “racist” and a “Commie”. According to you, to be verile, intelligent and American, you need to embrace manufacturers of vehicles that were blatantly made to support and fuel a mindset of waste and entitlement. In other words – If you are an American, you’re entitled to waste and spend on credit cards everything including the futures of your kids and grandchildren. Foreigners oft criticize us Americans as being gluttonous, fat, narrow-minded pigs. I detest such notions yet I shop at Costco and – why don’t you stop by your local Costco today, eat a hotdog and just observe the patrons. I counted at least seventy people weighing in at over 300 lbs. in about 1/2 hour of observation. Now is that you? Is this why you’re so upset? Do you feel you need a vehicle that supports your great girth and weight?
Manoli extols SUVs and says they’ve been a great cash cow for corporations such as Ford and Cheverolet. Do we really want what is best for these corporations more than we want what is best for our children, our country and our democracy?
If you go back and reread folk’s critiques of my posts – and you seriously think about what “needs” a huge SUV meets for their buyers…. You have to open your mind to realize vehicles such as these are in NO WAY “needed” or “the only tool that can accomplish tasks such as towing or all-terrain usage”.
Minivans tanked. GM doesn’t even make a minivan anymore. In the ’80s when Chrysler’s Lee Iacocca invented the minivan, they sold like MacDonald’s burgers. What happened? What happened was a very interesting study in human sociology and psychology. Suddenly, the popular minivan developed a stigma – that of a married, “soccer mom” mobile. Well, married does not equal “sexy” in the mainstream mind. A huge majority of folks started to believe being seen in a minivan was akin to being seen “dead”! People wear their cars. People buy hugely impractical cars to be seen as something they want to be, or as they see themselves. In this way, SUVS, or body-on-frame beasts were born. The largest selling vehicles in the USA are fullsized pickup trucks. Many buy 4 wheel drive models that never see dirt or rocks and ruts. It’s an image an American male likes to present to the world – he’s sitting up high, he feels superior, and many people use it’s truck bed on perhaps 5 – 10% of it’s road time. Most do the 9-5 commute each and every day, plodding along highways and byways in the ‘burbs and cities. Most trucks are sold on capability not useability. Enter the minivan backlash. Single and married parents needed the usability of a minivan without looking unattractive or boring as a human being. Buying a station wagon would only make one look as boring, but not have as much utility as in hauling ability. So manufacturers on the cusp of human trends saw an opportunity to keep their truck assembly lines buzzing at record pace by adding a heavy steel box to the back of their 4 wheel drive trucks and market them to baby boomers who wanted to support an image. They could look “sporty” – like someone who actually climbed mountains and travelled the backcountry even though they never left the shopping mall and Starbucks parking lot. Anyone who knows cars knows that data proves 90% of all SUVs never leave the paved road.
So what have we here….We have a society stuck on image control – who desperately seek to look non-boring by purchasing overpriced station wagons built upon 4 wheel drive heavy trucks. Manufacturers advertise the sizzle of looking sporty and climbing dirt roads – while making large profits on every unit sold. It’s very akin to MacDonald’s who spends hundreds of millions per year on marketing food that has very little nutritional value and contributes large deficits to our economy by feeding gluttonous Americans fats and salts sending out healthcare system into a death spiral – America suffering the largest percentage of heart disease and cancer on Earth. But it’s marketed as “fun” and “convenient”.
All you blowhards supporting Escalades and Tahoes know there are vehicles that get twice the mileage that seriously have all and more capability and utility than those fat pig rigs. Any one of you who lists a need or utility that can only be accomplished by a fullsized SUV is really brainwashed. When you make statements like: ” A turbo diesel van cannot do what my Escalade does!” is just mal-informed. Guys like you who state a station wagon built to the proportions of a large duallie pickup truck are just lost.
I like the guy above who states if you don’t need an Escalade you can just opt for the “high mileage” ( are you kidding me?! ) option of a Tahoe or Sequoia! Only a scant few of us need to tow horse trailers, large campers, big boats or big utility trailers. For those folks, you don’t need the sheetmetal and gross weight of a Suburban, Tahoe or Sequoia. For these needs, many a turbo diesel truck or duallie rig are available. Go whole hog and get the crew cab.
There is no sure justification for fullsized SUVs or even most midsized SUVs. They are tall, heavy station wagons built upon heavy boxed steel truck frames. In reference to gluttony and overconsumption of Americans who feel somehow entitled to waste – look at the modern trend. With increasing C.A.F.E. and C.A.R.B. standards we see the shift to crossovers of all sizes. What is a crossover? It’s the above without the truck frame. It’s still a station wagon – any way you slice it. Now they’re lower and less boxy, yet still a station wagon or minivan – only repackaged. So, like the countless diet plans and pills Americans waste billions on, they are attempts to still carry on the SUV myth of being “sporty and young” while still being able to haul some kids and some groceries.
Wow…have you ever considered a career in dunktanking in the carnival? You’re a very rude poster. Judging by your comments, you must not get in verbal confrontations very often….If the Escalade got better mileage some people would still be fat, foriegn companies would still try to enter the USA market to bring money back to their otherwise harsh economies, and gas prices would still be $5.00 us dollars before 2014 Valentine’s Day!
Did you come on the post to hope merely that cadillac would offer a vehicle you would like, or did you want to come off as an elitist to the rest of the Luxury Market consumers on comments?
I would wait on a response but I’ve got other things to do……that’s life
Another interesting marketing fact is how much hoopla people buy into while dishing out $40-55,000 on an SUV or crossover.
It’s capability that costs the consumer tons in gas costs and car payments. So, “I don’t need 4 Wheel Drive, but maybe possibly someday I may need it”…. It’s so common, it hurts. We buy cars and trucks based upon what we may need but never actually use.
I think we’ve all fallen victim to this mindest. I know I myself have purchased many TVs, stereos and gadgets in my life, buying top-of-the-line stacked with features that I eventually never ever used at all.
Hopefully we grow older and wiser. I think today’s emphasis on gas mileage in advertising and media will sink in. Perhaps people will realize “35mpg hwy” is really marketing-ese for “26 mpg COMBINED”. Hype is hype, it’s always going to be with us.
Dealerships and auto manufacturers have slowly switched to selling in-car tech such as infotainment and safety alert systems – from hyping ” maybe capabilities” like offroad or trailering. Such tech systems easily can add 20% to the profit margin of each vehicle sold.
It’s all about profit. And if you believe buying a big rig pig for what you may someday use it for in a certain situation – knock yourself out. But for me, being a victim of marketing, hype and salesmanship is not in any way patriotic or right-thinking.
James, are you a fag, gay, or transvestite?
You know what James your a moron it sounds more like you just can’t afford one and your mad let’s be real what happened you were bullied in school probably still and live home with mommy what it comes down to is some people work there asses off and just want to be In luxury doesn’t make them bad people just cause you don’t like something doesn’t mean your right and everybody else is wrong how would you feel if people put down computer geeks like yourself (judging by your aviator pic and if not who cares you judge people so oh we’ll how you like it) bottom line everything I the world nowadays Is bad for us you driving your Prius isn’t saving the world and me driving my escalade isn’t killin it nor supporting terrorism
Breathing now that being said you know your just a bullied virgin livin at home with mommy and you hate the world peace gotta go burn some gas in my truck lol
And by the way look how many people you responded to thus further backing up my statement of your such a loser you just sit home all day of your computer and argue with people while us escalade drivers enjoy life you can say what you want back but think tonight when your mom tucks you in damn this guy is right I gotta get a life
@James,
The Sprinter is a worthless alternative to a Suburban. Yes its somewhat more efficient and roomier, but that’s where the advantages end. The Sprinter is SLLLOOOWWWW. The Suburban is no rocketship, but it will leave the Sprinter for dead. The Sprinter is slow enough as to be completely unsafe on the highway. The Suburban can hit 60mph from a dead stop in 8s, the sprinter requires 18s to do the deed; that’s too slow. You need a decent amount of immediately available power to pass a car while towing. I guarantee that with a 4000lb boat in tow the Suburban will do 50-70 is less than a third of time the Sprinter will.
The Suburban fits in a garage, the sprinter does not. The Suburban has a quiet, refined ride; the sprinter feels like the work vehicle it is.
@Liopleurodon –
It’s odd you start your response with ….”Sprinter is a worthless alternative to Suburban.Yes it’s somewhat more efficient and roomier…”
Thanks for listing two obvious advantages right off the bat – but this is where your comparison goes wrong – AOL Autos lists Sprinter’s 0-60 time as 12.2 seconds, and you know Sprinter comes in low roof, high roof, long, mid and short wheelbase models. A short wheelbase Sprinter is roomier and more efficient and the standard-height model fits in any normal garage. You go on to state that the Sprinter is unsafe on the highway – you might tell that to DHL, Fed Ex and the umpteen other commercial carriers that use Sprinters daily and log millions of miles on freeways and highways.
Too many generalizations make a bad comparison. Sure, if you buy a high roof Sprinter, you won’t be putting it inside a standard household garage. Yet a Suburban has to be wedged in with a shoehorn, and according to AOL autos, the 5.3L V-8 version gets 15-21 MPG. What are your needs? A friend of mine who owns one and rarely drives it admits he generally sees 12MPG ( combined ) WITHOUT TOWING A THING. Of course, if you have light towing needs a Sprinter can easily tow a small boat, jetskis, dirt bikes and the like, with room inside for a large ATV and two rows of passengers. If you will be towing a three axle boat trailer with boat, or a large travel trailer – why would you choose a full-boat Suburban to do this job anyway? A diesel truck will do the job better and more efficiently. As with Sprinter, there are too many versions of Suburban to make base-broad generality statements. Are you talking 1/2 Ton Suburban or 3/4 Ton? 4X4 or 2 wheel drive. According to Motor Trend, a 4X4 Suburban 3/4 Ton 4X4 takes 17.6 seconds to get from 0-60 mph towing a 7500lb boat and gets about 6 MPG doing so.
Finally, please tell me when you will be blasting past cars in the passing lane with a 7500lb boat/trailer behind you because I’d like to be many miles away from you at that time. A very weak argument all around if I may say so.
james you obviously need some help. you sound like some type of schizophrenic. take care and god bless.
james what a hater, sitting in your empty room, nothing to do but tell other people what to buy and what not to buy, like some how buying a pruis is going to save the planet, I’m going out to start my trucks and let them idle, and yes i can afford the gas, you can’t, pompous looser
@Bob –
So Robert – are you a prophet? Do you have a website so I can join
your strange cult? Gee – how do you know I am here
sitting in a room devoid of anything wasting my life?
You sir, are gifted…..
In the real world, Bob – I’d like you to consider the word: Entitlement…
Do you feel entitled to drive a big wasteful vehicle? Do you feel the soldier who
goes off to serve his country, putting his life on the line so you can drive that
big pig is a lesser soul than yourself? Maybe because you say, you have money?
How does that differ you from the wealthy Saudi who drives his Rolls Royce
that you fund – and while many Saudis fund global terrorism – even yes, against
your own country? Do you think about these things before you shoot off your
foul, sophomoric judgements on the interwebs?
Squareheads like yourself who waste fuel purposely to prove some point
that nobody but you understands — they are basically foolish dinosaurs
that don’t get out much – don’t read much – and don’t care, basically,
about anyone but themselves. In other words – It’s All About You, right?
The USA will go under, our republic be dashed – in your lifetime or your
children’s – if we do not get a handle on our addiction to foreign oil. Yes,
your big pig rig is powered by oil that comes across the world in a tanker
and is probably refined in Texas or somewhere in your state, then trucked
many miles to get into your tank. This process doesn’t only damage people’s
wallets, and threaten our freedoms, it is unsustainable. This means that
they’re not making any more oil, and when it runs out – as it always does
( do you know history at all? ) we will all pay with our blood, sweat and tears –
even moneybags like yourself.
So go waste gas on purpose – just do a few burnouts on your way to your
NASCAR race and champion wastefulness as you chow down on that
Sonic burger and fries to add another roll onto your pompous gut.
Flip off a Volt or Prius driver while on your way – show the world, just like
you did on here – what an inbred, clueless individual you are – and get that
bumper sticker: “It’s All About Me” just to drive that message home.
One thing is for sure, wasting fuel is having it’s toll on our society, culture
and economy. Romans used to eat a meal, go into the vomitorium, plunge
a pheasant feather down their throats and puke up the food, return to the
dining room and eat more, just to “prove” how great, rich and wasteful they
could be. Where is the Roman Empire now, smart guy?
So go waste, and eat, drink and be merry – for tommorrow you die – sheesh,
thank God our country has some folks with more IQ than you do,
or our days on this earth would be shorter than they are already!
I have to emphasize to Squareheads like Bob up there, that I am
through-and-through, a genuine car guy. I like a race car or classic
muscle car as much as the next guy – but I sincerely believe we can
have our toys for weekends, cruises, shows..etc. while still being smart
with a dollar ( for ourselves ) and a smart human, citizen and American
by using less fuel in our daily drivers. Those are the vehicles we use
each day for life, and the ones that put ourselves and our country in
a hole we cannot climb out of – The sinkhole of oil and gas dependency.
I can’t count all the Volt, Prius and hybrid owners I know who also own
showcars, classics and race boats and cars. These are folks that
get it, they understand the big picture, unlike Bob there who represents,
in my opinion – all that is wrong with America.
@ compassion
Do you know what a schizophrenic is? And ….. you feel someone
who speaks out against foreign oil addiction is one?!!!
LOL.
In reference to the Sprinter hate shown above…. If Sprinter is so
terrible, why is GM panicking right now and testing Renault-based
Opel vans in Canada? Renault?!!! Really, GM? Ppphh
The reason is Ford’s decision to build it’s latest-gen global van
here in good ole USA and market as soon as late this year. Yes,
the Chicken Tax of the 1960s insured foreign vans could not
compete here, so we were stuck with ancient technology Chevy
and Ford vans until today. Finally, Ford is responding to Sprinter’s
success in the market by cloning it as the Ford Transit, or T-Series.
http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/
Looks like an American Sprinter – huh?
Chrysler responded next with it’s Fiat FWD van, the RAM Promaster.
Gee, this looks like a trend. Maybe you guys have no clue
what you’re talking about.
Ford is also bringing America the new Transit Connect, a more
midsize van in both passenger and commercial trim – which
replaces their current, tiny Transit Connect.
GM is totally behind and dropping the ball in the van area.
Vans can easily be converted to luxo boats or limos – taking
the space away from the obese, truck-based Escalade.
I like to drive my 2012 Escalade. I cant wait for the new one to arrive , I will buy it. I often drive alone, or with my gf. I do not care about mpg. I like the smooth , quite, LARGE size. I buy Escalade becuase I CAN.