2020 Cadillac Escalade info

[kevm14]

http://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/cadillac ... -escalade/

Similar to the Yukon but with a more premium engine lineup.

The 6.2L is the base engine, of course.
Then they are rumoring the 4.2L TT out of the CT6-V at the 550 hp / 627 lb-ft output level.
And as the third variant, an electric drive version. And apparently that means fully electric, not some kind of hybrid.

My comments are that the 4.2L TT V8 nicely knocks the pants off of the Ford solution for the Navigator which is good. We'll see how an EV Escalade materializes and how good it is...(range, performance, price).

[kevm14]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3024 ... 855&src=nl

We'll just skip to 2021. Anyway this is the kind of tech that the Escalade needs to stay competitive.

Infotainment screens have started to shift from tablet-like sizes to creeping toward the precipice of television-size territory, and the 2021 Cadillac Escalade is edging even closer to that barrier. Cadillac teased that the upcoming luxury SUV will have a curved OLED screen.

Cadillac says that the screen, over 38 inches in size, will have twice the pixel density of a 4K television, which could result in some serious picture quality. If this screen will have streaming capability like the Tesla Model 3, catch us watching Planet Earth in the new Escalade.
In the teaser video, the top of the steering wheel lights up green, meaning the new Escalade will be available with Cadillac's Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system. Super Cruise is a level 2 autonomous driving system that allows the car to drive itself hours on highways without driver intervention.

From spy photos uncovered last week, we can see that the new Escalade is shaping up to be one impressive SUV. It'll likely come equipped with an independent rear suspension like its newly announced Tahoe and Suburban siblings, and as in the two Chevys, a 6.2-liter V-8 and the potential for a new 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-six could be the two powertrain options.

The 2021 Escalade will be unveiled on February 4 during Oscars week in Los Angeles.

I will say I like that instead of a me-too large vertical tablet stuck into the dash, this seems a little different, which is good.

[kevm14]

Lots of info dropped. I actually got a Cadillac e-mail exactly as the C&D and M/T articles rolled in.

2021 Cadillac Escalade vs. Lincoln Navigator: American Luxury SUV Icons Compared
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... DACF0B78C6

2021 Escalade vs. Navigator: Power and Performance
Lincoln's most recent powertrain upgrade leapfrogged Cadillac, boosting output of its twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 to 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque and routing it all through a new 10-speed automatic transmission. For 2021 Cadillac is ceding the high power and torque ground to Lincoln by retaining its 420-hp, 460-lb-ft 6.2-liter small-block V-8 (albeit now with dynamic fuel management and auto stop/start). That V-8 will, however, now bolt up to a 10-speed transmission that shares its essential design with the Ford/Lincoln 'box, but with independent tuning, specification, and manufacture. Our quickest current-gen eight-speed Escalade essentially ran neck-and-neck with a more heavily optioned Navigator that weighed nearly 300 pounds more. The new Escalade's independent rear suspension and added feature content may well add enough weight to offset any acceleration advantage its two new gear ratios provide, so let's call this a wash. Cadillac will eventually offer a 277-hp, 460-lb-ft turbodiesel inline-six engine in the new Escalade that will surely slow it down but deliver impressive fuel economy.

I don't think the diesel will show up in the Escalade. I think someone just got their wires crossed. Unless they actually announced this.

2021 Escalade vs. Navigator: Features and Amenities

Each of these trucks serves as its brand's flagship and rakes in epic profits, so few expenses have been spared on either, and both come seriously loaded. Cadillac is claiming some industry firsts—not just Navigator-trumping segment firsts—for this 2021 Escalade. The most obvious of these is its 38 combined inches of curved OLED ultra-high-def, high-contrast screens. Super Cruise is another industry-leading feature, delivering true hands-off-the-wheel driver assistance on 200,000-plus miles of highway under proper conditions. The system adds lane-change assist for 2021 (and Super Cruise will not be offered on GMC Yukon Denali or other platform mates). Cadillac will also be the first automaker to offer a branded premium audio system from microphone and headphone specialists AKG (a Harman company). Actually, make that two systems, with the baser one featuring 19 speakers and the uplevel setup packing 36 (!) speakers into the new Escalade's innards. We'll need to do some back-to-back listening with the Navigator's 14- and 20-speaker Revel audio systems (also by Harman) to crown a jams champ. The new Cadillac Escalade wins the rear-seat entertainment battle with available 12.6-inch screens besting Lincoln's 10.0-inchers. All 2021 Escalades ride on 22-inch wheels; base Lincolns make do with 20s. Soft-close doors are optional at Cadillac and not available on the Lincoln. Lincoln's Perfect Position seats adjust 30 ways; Cadillac's seats are less adjustable.

Interesting that GM did not go with a Bose option here. There are some major items in this category though.

One of the most important sections for last:

2021 Escalade vs. Navigator: Luxury/Craftsmanship
As transaction prices have risen, both companies have seriously upped their interior design and execution games. Lincoln accomplished a quantum leapfrogging of Cadillac with the level of perceived quality and craftsmanship of its 2018 Navigator. It offers three elaborate color schemes for the top Black Label trim level: Yacht Club blue with white piping and whitewashed teak trim; Chalet with Espresso and Alpine leather accented by Silverwood trim; and Destination in Mahogany red leather featuring diamond stitching and khaya wood trim.

Now it's Cadillac's turn. Four extra-fancy interiors include Very Dark Atmosphere/Brandy, a two-tone interior featuring faceted quilting—a unique pattern requiring a custom stitch pattern that looks sort of like a diamond with a drop shadow. It's accented by fineline Brandy wood. Next up are monochrome Jet Black and Jet Black with Bittersweet (maroon), each of which feature Mondrian quilting on the seat inserts. Picture aligned vertical double-stitches, inside of which are rectangles of different sizes divided by either double or triple stitches. Centered and inset within each of these is a rectangle of dot perforations. But the ne plus ultra interior is Gideon/Whisper Beige (picture mocha and cream) with linear marquetry wood trim. Remember the Escala show car from Pebble Beach 2016? That interior debuted the Escalade's curved OLED screen and featured liberal use of a beige fabric that looks like expensive suit material. The top Escalade interior apes the Escala's quite faithfully. Several species of wood are used throughout the eight different Escalade interiors, including one that appears to involve gluing stacks of long matchsticks at various angles and slicing through them so that they end up looking like woven carbon fiber.

Trust us, both Cadillac and Lincoln are delivering serious wow factor. Budget plenty of showroom time at both dealers before you pick a favorite.

I know these are just pictures but this seems pretty damn good.

2021 Cadillac Escalade First Look: Caddy's Ultimate Luxury SUV Is All-New
The fifth-gen Escalade's interior is revolutionary, and that’s a good thing
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... DACF0B78C6

2021 Cadillac Escalade Giant Curved OLED Screen: Fast Facts
Here's some barstool ammo for when the talk turns to big-screen SUVs.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021-ca ... DACF0B78C6

[kevm14]

2021 Cadillac Escalade Giant Curved OLED Screen: Fast Facts
Here's some barstool ammo for when the talk turns to big-screen SUVs.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021-ca ... DACF0B78C6

Just getting around to reading this. Here's what you can do with the main instrument cluster display:

Gauge view: The normal programmable gauge-cluster view typically centers an analog-look speedometer, flanked on either side by displays of info like time/date/temperature or infotainment.

Navigation map mode: A digital readout of the speed moves to the top center of the screen for all other screen views. This one displays the map in a variety of possible views.

Augmented reality: When navigation is active and a route instruction is coming up, the new Escalade's screen switches to depict a live camera image of the actual intersection, exit ramp, etc., with arrows overlaid to indicate where to turn. A pin appears on the live image to indicate destinations, too. (Further augmenting your reality will be audio prompts that seem to come from the direction you're being told to turn.)

Night vision: Night vision projects a thermally enhanced view of what's in front of the vehicle, complete with colored boxes around pedestrians, animals, or other dangers that have been recognized by the vision systems that are also informing the forward collision alert and automatic emergency-braking systems.

This is some cool tech. Night vision has been done before with the 2000 DTS (though currently most notably by Mercedes) but that augmented reality seems pretty cool, and new. I wonder if that only works with the integrated nav, and not a phone projected nav (i.e. Carplay).

I believe this is the first series of OLED panels in a car, and it provides an actual benefit:

The broad horizontal format and high placement of the three screens on the dash keeps the attention of the driver and front passenger up closer to the windshield, and the bright, high-contrast OLED technology negates the need for a big brow to shade the displays. The thin-film technology allows a leather-wrapped binnacle that also includes a backlit Cadillac crest on its reverse that's visible through the windshield.

OLED Offers the Blackest Blacks
Anyone who's been comparison shopping for TVs lately probably has learned this much: Organic light-emitting diode pixels generate their own light and are lit individually, whereas most other current TV/display screens employ a liquid crystal to generate color while an LED positioned behind generates the light. LCDs can block all light pretty effectively, but the light source behind them tends to bleed through a bit, resulting in grayer blacks.

Because the single layer of OLED material mounts to a flexible plastic substrate, the displays can easily conform to virtually any shape that glass can be curved into. Likewise, there's no technological restriction to a rectangular or square form factor—note the tapering corners at the outboard edges of these screens.

The display geekosphere may refer to active- and passive-matrix OLED, but the latter is never used for anything with live moving camera images. The new Escalade's screen is therefore AMOLED. POLED is a marketing term manufacturer LG uses to indicate the plastic (as opposed to glass) substrate that holds its OLED matrix and allows it to be curved. These days most OLED displays are both AMOLED and POLED.

Who Follows the New Escalade into the OLED Breach?
Industry watchers at oled-info.com reported a news story from the Korea-market daily Hankyung that identified LG as the supplier of both the Cadillac screen and a forthcoming Mercedes-Benz E-Class OLED display. LG currently produces nearly all the OLED panels for the consumer market.

I think this is a leap ahead of the glued on tablet LCD displays we are currently seeing. That can't be understated.

My LG phone (from 2017) uses OLED. Also, Samsung apparently is choosing not to compete which is kind of odd.

I don't know if this matters but GM has had a formal business relationship with LG Chem (CPI) since at least ~2007 as they were doing the Volt. LG Display is a different subsidiary though.

[kevm14]

2021 Cadillac Escalade First Look: Caddy's Ultimate Luxury SUV Is All-New
The fifth-gen Escalade's interior is revolutionary, and that’s a good thing
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... DACF0B78C6

In 2019, it was the Chevrolet Corvette that we were desperate to see, and the wait seemed interminable. This year it's the opposite end of the spectrum that has us transfixed in the big daddy of bling, the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, which has had us waiting, wondering, and worrying it might not live up to the hype.

And make no mistake about the hype. The Escalade is the flagship of the Cadillac brand, and Cadillac is the only luxury brand GM has left. It's also a full-size vehicle, and that's a profitable footprint for any brand. It's the sales leader in its segment, and Cadillac is also GM's tech showpiece. And the new 2021 Escalade has a high bar to clear, with the stylish Lincoln Navigator garnering critical acclaim.

The expectations are also high because GM execs have built them up. It started with former Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen, who kept promising the new Escalade would be worth the wait and blow us away. His successor, Steve Carlisle, was equally full of promises albeit in his more quiet demeanor.

GM CEO Mary Barra herself made no bones about how she felt. Asked by MotorTrend if the 2021 Escalade would blow the Navigator out of the water, she didn't even blink: "I'm very confident about the next generation of Escalade. Let me just put it that way." The Escalade became the flagship for Cadillac at a time when other brands had large sedans in that role. The Escalade also made Cadillac cool again, and the brand needs a re-injection of that as it works to rebuild its portfolio and reputation.

We've been let down by Cadillac before. The XT6, a smaller three-row SUV, failed to excite with styling that paled in comparison with the new Lincoln Aviator's. But some compromises were made in XT6 development, which shares underpinnings with the XT5, whereas the new Escalade has had high-priority status and the resources that come with it. The fifth-generation Escalade, on sale this summer, is a whole different animal, and our first look is heartening.

That last paragraph does drive a point home. When GM chooses to invest in something, they show tremendous potential. The Volt survived the bankruptcy due to internal priority and more recently the C8 shows what they can do when they apply resources. Now this new Escalade (and really all of the GMT-1XX vehicles) is really coming to the market with no apologies or excuses.

On sort of a related note, when you watch the Savage Geese on the new Explorer, he makes a similar and opposite point that you can really tell where Ford invested and where Ford completely phoned it in with the new platform/vehicle. You cannot apply #1 priority to all aspects of the business. That's really the trick - convincing the market that you have, in fact, pulled a rabbit out of your hat. In GM's case, these vehicles are probably their profit center. I read an anecdote that the Arlington, TX plan generates some ~$20B revenue for the company. Famously they produced the last B-body in December of 1996 before re-tooling for GMT-4XX SUVs...can't argue with the decision in retrospect or, frankly, at the time.

The Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade are another example of when a company really puts everything they have into a new platform/product. They were already well on an upward trajectory across the entire 2010s but I think the product still exceeded expectations nonetheless.

There will be more than one powertrain, but the Escalade will launch with an updated version of the 6.2-liter V-8 as standard, which already generates 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, and whose active fuel-management cylinder-deactivation system is supplanted by the more efficient Dynamic Fuel Management version of the same tech. It also has variable valve timing and automatic engine stop/start. GM's other recently redesigned large SUVs, the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and 2021 GMC Yukon/Yukon XL, have the 5.3-liter V-8 as the base engine and the 6.2-liter available as an option.

New to all three SUVs is the 277-hp, 460-lb-ft 3.0-liter Duramax I-6 turbodiesel, which will be added later in the 2021 model year. It won't be a high-volume engine but provides a fuel economy boost and a character that will appeal to some customers. Early plans to give the Escalade the 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged Blackwing V-8 engine were shelved. Any future performance or V versions of the Escalade are expected to instead have a version of GM's 6.2-liter supercharged small-block V-8.

All engines are paired with GM's 10-speed automatic transmission with paddles for manual gear selection and the smarts to downshift automatically when going downhill. In addition, GM's new electrical architecture provides for faster calculations and responses, plus more robust capability, for everything from infotainment and connectivity to safety systems.

Still surprised about the diesel but maybe with the Blackwing not happening they had to do something else "interesting."

And here is more on their market-leading autonomous driving Super Cruise:

The 2021 Escalade will have Super Cruise, the hands-free, semi-autonomous driver-assist system that works on 200,000 miles of mapped highways. It views its surroundings with a new sensor set, with a front camera module, 360-degree cameras, and long- and short-range radar all reacting to lidar-enhanced map data and a camera on the driver to ensure readiness to take control of the vehicle suddenly if necessary.

Super Cruise won't be available at launch, but it will be offered soon after and has been enhanced to include lane change on demand. Flip on the turn signal to initiate, and the system will check the surroundings and change lanes when it's safe. Better sensors, map info, and software are designed to make the steering and speed control feel more natural.

For those unfamiliar with augmented reality, it overlays navigation graphics onto live street views, using arrows to animate directions as you drive in real time to ensure you don't miss a specific turn. When you approach your destination, a pin on the camera feed indicates the exact location.

The infotainment screen can be operated by touch or via a controller in the center console; we're told the team worked hard to get the controller's weight, shape, and feel just right. The attention to this detail pays off on something the driver constantly connects with. It feels robust and easy to use. When you use the touchscreen, the presentation of the icons is horizontal, but when you use knob, the presentation changes to a carousel to mimic the controller.

Rear passengers can enjoy 12.6-inch, individually controlled touchscreens on the backs of the front seats. These can share entertainment with other screens or play unique content, and USB outlets provide audio and video connections. Passengers can track the trip, so no more "are we there yet?" questions. The driver can control the rear screens and lock out content, as well. Conversely, passengers can find info such as the nearest rest stop and send the info to the driver to accept or decline.

All cool stuff.

Another first: an AKG surround-sound audio system exclusive to Cadillac in the automotive space. The standard Studio system has 19 speakers; the Studio Reference package upgrades to 36 speakers and 3-D audio. Speakers can be found in the doors, headliner, instrument panel, center console, head restraints, and even in the A-pillar with the airbags.

A cool feature is the ability to crank the tunes for the driver but turn down the volume for sleeping passengers. The system also automatically adjusts the volume and quality of sound to vehicle speed and in response to outside noise as you cruise along. And the speakers and microphones can also be used to enhance conversations between rows.

Seriously, they have thrown everything at this vehicle and not in a half-assed way, either. It doesn't have one, or two headline features; it has like a dozen legit conversation-making features and functions. I don't know if the Navigator even retains any advantages (maybe the seats? Some will say the Ecoboost but give me the 6.2L any day) but the Escalade is going to retain the sales lead for sure with this level of execution. Maybe even more importantly, properly use the Escalade to boost the Cadillac brand value. I would argue the Escalade didn't previously do that because it was sort of a brand unto itself. Before, the Escalade was luxurious by virtue of being large, brash and sure, comfortable, but also sought by people who wanted to show off (i.e. one of the major reasons to buy a luxury brand, but not the only one). Now, the Escalade is a legitimate luxury vehicle in the broadest sense, no longer only a narrow sense.

[bill25]

I'd be interested in the radio hype. The number of speakers is impressive, but a lot of the description is vague. Putting the sound to the driver is available on my base stripped down 09 Mazda3, and practically any car I can think of. The volume being controlled by the speed of the car is also on my car. I'd like to know more about how they are doing it and why it is new. The system assisting conversations sounds pretty helpful depending on execution and how easy it is to turn on and off.

[kevm14]

I'd be interested in the radio hype. The number of speakers is impressive, but a lot of the description is vague. Putting the sound to the driver is available on my base stripped down 09 Mazda3, and practically any car I can think of. The volume being controlled by the speed of the car is also on my car. I'd like to know more about how they are doing it and why it is new. The system assisting conversations sounds pretty helpful depending on execution and how easy it is to turn on and off.

Agree on the intercom thing. That does seem useful, especially for a large 3 row vehicle.

Here's what I get out of all the PR and words written about the audio system (other than the intercom stuff):
- One thing the number of speakers helps with is the directional audio cueing for the navigation. They are using DSP (and conventional balance/fade) to provide aural realism, as a form of augmented reality. So the cue for the next street to turn doesn't just come from the approximate location of where you may find that turn (as far as I know this has not been done before), but it also applies DSP to play with the phasing to make it sound like the DISTANCE is changing, as well. This is on top of the visual AR where they will overlay a digital indication for which lane to take at a fork over a live camera image of the upcoming fork/intersection. I think this is all cool stuff.

- For the music part of the audio system (some would say the main part), they are advertising an ability to allow for different simultaneous volumes for different passengers. Not sure how many (2, 4, etc.). But my read is this is far more sophisticated than simple balance/fade controls (which cars have had since the early 80s or possibly earlier). For example, the Bose in my Cadillacs all have different DSP modes (an area where Bose actually does innovate). You can do normal, driver, rear seat, etc. Those aren't balance/fade presets. They are actually applying DSP to the audio signal to change the phase of the speaker output so your ear interprets different stuff (both phase and EQ actually, at the individual speaker level). Normal mode is self-explanatory. But there is a driver mode which basically sounds like you are in the center of the speakers, even though they are NOT equidistant to your head in the driver's seat. The rear seat mode basically optimizes the sound stage to NOT be at the front of the car, but give the rear seat passengers good sound (at the phase and EQ level, not to be confused with simple rear fade). Again, this is not balance/fade stuff. My point is, that's what Bose was doing 15 years ago. This AKG stuff is going to be significantly more sophisticated but a take-off on the kind of stuff I just described. Having more speakers makes it way easier to play with directionality and optimize listening in multiple locations, as you probably know from PA or theater audio.

[bill25]

Sounds interesting. I guess I'd like to hear it. This does seem more upscale than the previous gens.

[kevm14]

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadilla ... 011868061B

In 2019, it was the Chevrolet Corvette that we were desperate to see, and the wait seemed interminable. This year it's the opposite end of the spectrum that has us transfixed in the big daddy of bling, the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, which has had us waiting, wondering, and worrying it might not live up to the hype.

And make no mistake about the hype. The Escalade is the flagship of the Cadillac brand, and Cadillac is the only luxury brand GM has left. It's also a full-size vehicle, and that's a profitable footprint for any brand. It's the sales leader in its segment, and Cadillac is also GM's tech showpiece. And the new 2021 Escalade has a high bar to clear, with the stylish Lincoln Navigator garnering critical acclaim.

The expectations are also high because GM execs have built them up. It started with former Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen, who kept promising the new Escalade would be worth the wait and blow us away. His successor, Steve Carlisle, was equally full of promises albeit in his more quiet demeanor.

These are two really major product launches for GM, that's for sure.

Early plans to give the Escalade the 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged Blackwing V-8 engine were shelved. Any future performance or V versions of the Escalade are expected to instead have a version of GM's 6.2-liter supercharged small-block V-8.

All engines are paired with GM's 10-speed automatic transmission with paddles for manual gear selection and the smarts to downshift automatically when going downhill. In addition, GM's new electrical architecture provides for faster calculations and responses, plus more robust capability, for everything from infotainment and connectivity to safety systems.

Finally, the interior it always deserved.

We would classify the exterior as an evolutionary change in design, which is really all that was needed. The big project was improving the interior, and we're pleased to see massive changes to the cabin that are downright revolutionary.

We've bled far too much ink criticizing GM's materials and design choices. The Escalade restores our faith with eight available woods, intricate cut-and-sew stitching and piping, ambient lighting, soft-closing doors, an air cleaner, an available refrigerator/freezer, and the introduction of the industry's first curved OLED screen. The interior was highly influenced by that of the Escala sedan concept shown at Pebble Beach in 2016.

There are 38 diagonal inches of display space for the driver and a pixel density that probably exceeds the quality of your TV at home. OLED screens don't need a backlight—organic light-emitting diode technology means each pixel is individually lit when needed. The result is higher contrast, more vibrant colors, and blacker blacks. The thin and flexible construction of the screen allows it to curve around the driver and makes it possible to lower the instrument panel overall for better visibility.

Although it is described as one giant screen, it presents as three separate ones. A 7.2-inch driver-focused touchscreen sits to the left of the steering wheel. Behind the steering wheel is a 14.2-inch display that can be customized with four cluster layouts, including gauges, infrared night-vision images, and navigation information with augmented reality. The 16.9-inch infotainment screen in the center console is trimmed in leather and displays items like navigation info, audio details, HVAC settings, and controls for rear passengers.

More on infotainment:

For those unfamiliar with augmented reality, it overlays navigation graphics onto live street views, using arrows to animate directions as you drive in real time to ensure you don't miss a specific turn. When you approach your destination, a pin on the camera feed indicates the exact location.

The infotainment screen can be operated by touch or via a controller in the center console; we're told the team worked hard to get the controller's weight, shape, and feel just right. The attention to this detail pays off on something the driver constantly connects with. It feels robust and easy to use. When you use the touchscreen, the presentation of the icons is horizontal, but when you use knob, the presentation changes to a carousel to mimic the controller.

Rear passengers can enjoy 12.6-inch, individually controlled touchscreens on the backs of the front seats. These can share entertainment with other screens or play unique content, and USB outlets provide audio and video connections. Passengers can track the trip, so no more "are we there yet?" questions. The driver can control the rear screens and lock out content, as well. Conversely, passengers can find info such as the nearest rest stop and send the info to the driver to accept or decline.

More on the audio system:

Another first: an AKG surround-sound audio system exclusive to Cadillac in the automotive space. The standard Studio system has 19 speakers; the Studio Reference package upgrades to 36 speakers and 3-D audio. Speakers can be found in the doors, headliner, instrument panel, center console, head restraints, and even in the A-pillar with the airbags.

A cool feature is the ability to crank the tunes for the driver but turn down the volume for sleeping passengers. The system also automatically adjusts the volume and quality of sound to vehicle speed and in response to outside noise as you cruise along. And the speakers and microphones can also be used to enhance conversations between rows.

Improved communication will come in handy given how much more spacious the new Escalade is. The second row has a choice of a bench seat or sliding captain's chairs which move and fold easily with a lever for better access to the third row. That third row now has 34.9 inches of legroom—it grew a full 10.4 inches—and occupants there no longer sit with their knees in their chests. And behind the third row, cargo space has increased by 68 percent.

Doesn't explain anything new...my CTS-V Bose does volume compensation based on background noise levels, too.

Thank You, Independent Rear Suspension
Much of this additional basking and storage space is courtesy of the switch to a four-link independent rear suspension, which gives the Escalade a lower, flatter floor as well as a smoother ride and the promise of better steering and handling.

There are several suspension choices. The base suspension uses coil springs with passive dampers. The next step up is to coil springs with the fourth generation of magnetorheological Magnetic Ride Control, now with new sensors collecting more precise data to adjust for every inch of the road at 60 mph. The top level is an air-sprung adaptive suspension with the magnetorheological MRC dampers. The adjustable ride height can be raised 2 inches in 4Low or by 1 inch in Off-Road mode in other drive settings. It can be lowered 2 inches to get in and out of the vehicle more easily, and it will automatically dip three-quarters of an inch for better aerodynamics while on the move.

A limited-slip differential provides better traction control, sending torque to the wheel with the most grip. All-wheel drive is available on all versions of the 2021 Escalade. For towing, the new Escalade has nine camera views to hitch and trailer like a pro, as well as a test function for trailer lights, a trailer theft alert, and air-pressure monitor. There are virtually no carryover parts from the current Escalade.

Cadillac President Steve Carlisle says, "This is the one we always wanted to do." It's certainly clear Cadillac pulled out all the stops.