A few days ago Cadillac announced that it would name its new flagship the CT6, breaking from recent tradition (and starting a new one) by introducing a number. Some folks groaned as Cadillac lost the opportunity to go back to “real” names (and purists were upset “Fleetwood” wasn’t revived), but it is what it is. However, the Escalade has managed to avoid the three-character strut, and it ain’t gonna change anytime soon.
Road & Track chatted with Escalade product manager Dave Schiavione, who said the Escalade’s name has meaning with consumers. Build a slightly less behemoth-like Escalade like a version of Buick’s Enclave and then the Escalade ceases to be the Escalade. Likewise, changing the model’s name to three characters squanders the equity of the Escalade name. In fact, the Escalade “was and remains the de facto halo vehicle for Cadillac until the CT6 debuts.”
R&T also asked Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell, who said, “Escalade remains. No reason to mess with it. Everything you say about it is valid.”
So while Cadillac continues to evolve, the Escalade remains steadfast as the Caddy that has one foot in tradition.
Comments
Well atleast one engineer at Cadillac still has a brain ! I think I got it now with the CT’s that are going to be used . For the average consumer , looking at any sedan Cadillac builds now , from the rear it is tough to distinguish what car you are looking at . From the ATS to the XTS they pretty much look the same . So adding a # to them maybe that will help disifere what you just seen going down the road . I own a SRX , will it have the same name in 2016 , I hope so , I have plans to trade mine in for the newbie , but I really don’t want to see it labeled a CT ( whatever ) !
Ya it doesn’t make sense to name the Escalade as XT7 or XT8
Just a thought:
I remember not long ago that they were considering expanding the Escalade family because of its recognition and brand equity, much like how Land Rover has the Range Rover family. Cadillac has not yet announced the naming structure for its SUVs moving forward. Could it be focused around Escalade? I don’t know how it could exactly work, but maybe something like the standard Escalade could be the Escalade6 to align the flagship SUV with the coming flagship sedan. Escalade ESV could be Escalade7 and align with the rumored ultra luxury sedan. SRX could be Escalade4, aligning it with ATS/CT4 and leaving room for the midsized three row Omega crossover to be Escalade5 and align with CTS/CT5. Then the alpha compact crossover could be Escalade3 and align with the sub compact car below the ATS.
All speculation, please don’t beat me up on this one. Just trying to spark some ideas and fuel further speculation.
It could work but I think that the Escalade and ESV could just be Escalade6 since the ESV is a long-wheel base model over the standard Escalade just like the CT6 model and its competition that have two wheel-base models.
The future CUVs will need to have a family resemblance to the Escalade to warrant the Escalade name. That way someone who owns the future SRX will say this is the baby brother of the Escalade.
I like David’s idea, align the SUV numbers with the cars like how Mercedes is going to do, but keep the escalade name in front and it works