9th Mar 2018, 16:15

Unfortunately comment 11:26 brought some confusion to the table by saying that Chevy's fantastic plastic wonder-car was their "best" after a whopping 9 months of ownership.

9th Mar 2018, 19:42

Who makes a new plastic GM? You might have had a fiberglass and carbon fiber skin. Favorite “NEW” right out of the dealer was my choice of the moment, not any bought used. I am immediately taken by a great new car. 9 minutes works if I love it. Anything beyond that is simply a durability contest. If a car hits a shop a slight bit more that isn’t completely boring, it’s worth the joy factor alone. Are we done with this yet? Who’s shopping for a Cadillac?

10th Mar 2018, 01:47

Seems to me that some on here have a different definition or point of view on the meaning of various words.

Maybe this will help clear things up. If I or many others consider a car to be my best, it would go along the lines of owning it for a few years with minimal or no problems. Doesn't matter if you purchase new, used, inherit it or whatever.

On the other hand, a favorite car is something you may have always dreamed of owning, or maybe a classic that gets minimal use; also maybe something that was ordered the way you want it. If that's the case and the car turned out to be a P.O.S. it would definitely not be the best.

Here's my experience and logic towards this discussion:

Back in 2007 I purchased a '96 Lincoln Town Car as my everyday car; here it is eleven years later, 230,000 miles on the clock and it still serves as my daily driver for everyday use, long trips and so on. I never think twice about the age and mileage, just turn the key and go. Yes, a few typical repairs here & there, but that don't matter to me because I do my own work and maintenance.

Is this car my best? By far yes. Is it my favorite? No. I've owned a couple Cadillacs including an '87 Brougham that I thought were nicer luxury cars.

My favorite car was my '77 Grand Prix that was driven as a classic. Can't say it was my best because I never pushed it to its limits. In the four years I owned it was only driven a little over 5,000 miles. For sure it was my favorite. Beautiful car if you ask me.

With this said, maybe now we can move on as it would be a waste of typing space to argue this any further.

12th Mar 2018, 11:20

Not an argument, just thoughts. A list of a category might be even better. Best maintenance, best styling, best to drive, etc may show strengths and weaknesses of every car you ever had. A favorite classic in my opinion lacks in many areas compared to new. And I have had my share. I usually don’t drive new and old in the same day. The manual transmission is one area that is most pronounced. It actually feels like something is wrong with them after driving a new one. And all the other nuances of old vs new. I have yet to find a perfect car. Your favorite can change. Maintenance you cannot really argue with what was your best. But it could also be an incredibly boring vehicle or just getting around. An interesting discussion to ponder. There’s always another to try in the future.

13th Mar 2018, 16:17

I've always felt the Escalade was kind of a joke. It's just a Chevy Suburban doctored up with different trim and suspension bits. The early ones were probably the worst in that they hardly did anything to the underlying Suburban other than badges, some interior bits and wheels. The Suburban in of itself is already a fairly nice, luxurious SUV so I'm not sure why people will then blow 10's of thousands more for one that simply has some different trim.

14th Mar 2018, 11:48

You could pay 70 grand for a Suburban. So there is more than just money involved. Personally I like it better; more understated styling. There’s other GM models that have expensive trim levels like the Corvette. 10k upgrade going from a 3LT to a 4LT. Also going from a Honda to an Acura is another example. Your could trim out an Accord much in the same way. There’s other manufacturers doing much the same as well.

17th Mar 2018, 03:16

Depends on the Acura. There is platform sharing, and then there is badge engineering — two distinct ways of sharing components between separate models.

In the case of the Escalade, it’s definitely the lazy and cynical latter approach.

17th Mar 2018, 13:16

I think manufacturers play it safe and likely smart in the modern era. Drift too far away and vehicles may sit. A prime example, and granted this is way out there, is the case of the Plymouth Superbird. It was NASCAR driven, but you could buy a Road Runner similarly equipped for 1500.00 less. They often sat on new dealer lots for over a year. That 5 grand 1970 investment however would have been the smartest investment you could ever made. So with the chance of sarcasm or criticism on this analogy, it has some bearing today. A radical styling change for a more mature product segment may not sell to cover retooling and costs bringing it to production. A lot of cars in my opinion seem to be more a result of wind tunnel tests than aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Easier to rebadge, load up with options and creature comforts. Then pay the premium price.

18th Mar 2018, 19:31

I’m certainly not disputing the cost effectiveness of badge engineering, but it does not favor the customer in transactions. For the upcharge on a ‘premium’ model, I would expect more than a different badge on the hood and leather seats.

20th Mar 2018, 09:24

Plus the Escalade's added power, better turning radius, easier to park and higher trim level. If I were hauling a family of kids I would go Suburban. This isn’t anything new; this has been going on for decades, paying a premium going from Chevrolet to Buick or Oldsmobile for example. Let alone a Cadillac. I don’t think buyers in this segment are fretting over the added price or they wouldn’t be buying. If you go over to the luxury import segment, the cache or prestige or class factor also comes into play. Why buy a new Toyota base crossover when you can drive a higher cost new Lexus crossover? They both get the job done. For whatever reason in my neighborhood it seems to be the vehicle of choice. I wouldn’t want an Escalade or Suburban just over the size everyday.

20th Mar 2018, 20:55

The Escalade is by far the best-selling model Cadillac now produces, which to me is a bit depressing. If you see these things on the road they are... HUGE... as in we all thought SUVs in the 90s during the first SUV craze were big; these new Escalades look like you need a ladder to crawl into the seats.

But I digress: Instead of focusing attention on their sedans and cars, GM, Ford and even some of the Japanese and Euro automakers are focusing on these big jumbo SUVs. Sure - I get it: they are cheaper to produce and the profits are better, and if the consumer demands it, then they obviously will build them.

But it seems that old lessons get quickly forgotten and come the next recession the same will happen as before: Everyone will panic-sell these things, the used car lots will fill up with them and suddenly the manufacturers will find they have nothing but an aged fleet of not very appealing cars and small crossovers they neglected in favor of the aforementioned SUVs.

The new Escalade makes a statement yes. But they look utterly ridiculous to a cartoonish degree.