Just as designers looked upon the use of chrome in luxury watches in selecting chrome trim for the Cadillac XTS, they also researched furnishing trends for inspiration in selecting wood trims, paying close attention to color, tone, and grain movement when combining the wood such as sapele, olive ash, laurel burl and elm cluster with surrounding soft trim materials in the vehicle. Ultimately, designers selected the woods that embody the Cadillac brand and its luxury appeal.
For instance, sapele — a sustainable, fast-growing wood that’s known to enrich the sound of acoustic guitars, is offered in tones of “nutella” brown and “raven” black on the 2014 XTS, with its genuine nature and richness offering a lot of movement.
“By using multiple woods, we were able to come up with a rich mix of materials that will appeal to different customers,” says Cadillac design manager Erin Crossley. “Sapele, for instance, has a rich grain structure with a lot of movement. Just by looking at it, you know that it is genuine.”
Other high-gloss and open-pore wood trims include black marble burl, black olive ash, okapi contra, smoked laurel burl, and real “piano black” raven wood, some of which are seen on the interiors of other Cadillac vehicles. The range-topping XTS Platinum, for instance, features full Opus leather seat treatments and genuine Sapele wood details.
Outside of material-specific details, the interior of the XTS was also designed to provide a feeling of spaciousness, with various elements naturally flowing into each another.
“The woods featured in the XTS are purposefully placed to make the width and space of the interior feel as roomy as possible,” said Cadillac director of design Eric Clough. “It is this kind of attention to detail that luxury car customers have come to expect from Cadillac.”
And just like all of the Cadillacs produced today, the XTS follows the brand’s Art & Science design philosophy that calls for sharp, sheer forms, and crisp edges. The XTS, in particular, was named to the 10 Best Interiors of 2013 list out of a total of 46 nominees.
Comments
I just hope they don’t cheapen my ’13 Civic by copying the ebony wood grain on the dash.
Sorry, couldn’t resist a feeble attempt at humor.
I must admit, the material quality in the XTS is almost good enough to rival luxury cars many times it’s price range! I love the direction Cadillac has taken with there newest products. And it is certainly paying off. All they need to do now is focus on making the CUE system more user-friendly to win over the critics.