Love it or hate it, the Escalade, especially the 2002 model, as well as the 2003 CTS was responsible for finally bringing younger buyers to Cadillac showrooms, something Cadillac had been trying to do for years but never really succeeded. The Escalade was featured prominently in many hip hop videos in the 2000's.
I think the rap scene gave GM priceless free advertising. I remember it also becoming one of the top stolen cars. The local dealerships would have thieves steal all of the 20" rims off the cars in the lot.
@@MrTheHillfolk Came here to post something similar. GM realized that they could make money by rebadging a Tahoe. I don't blame them, I blame the suckers that paid too much for zero reason. And continue to do the same.
I’ve got a 2004 right now as my daily. I only drive maybe 5-10 miles a day. I work from home and only run errands and to get the kids from school. I bought it 5 years ago with only 67k miles on it from the estate of the original owner. Practically brand new, inside and out. I’ve only got 80k miles on it now. I love this thing. It truly reminds me of the old fashioned Cadillacs long gone. Can’t beat it for a highway trip.
I've owned more GMs in my near 40-years of vehicle ownership than any other brand, and my grandfather worked for Buick for 42-years, but the terms "late to the game and rush to production" seems to have been the Modus Operandi that I associate most with GM.
Tony Soprano seemed to like his Escalade. I replaced the 6.2L engine in a newer ESV - it had pretty impressive performance for such a heavy vehicle. Nice to drive.
Great video Adam. Near and dear to my heart. My Escalade is my every day work horse for my business. I've owned 4, one example from each generation from the "rebadged Denali" 99 through my current '15. So far, my 05 is still my favorite and the one I miss. There was just something tactile and unique about that generation that was special. They had a feeling of quality and craftsmanship that went missing starting with the 07- gen. Even the 2023, which I've driven, doesn't feel as well thought out as that 2005 did. I don't have any specific questions for Dennis, but I just want to hear his story of what it was like when he was given the project and how he translated the art and science theme to the GMT800 platform. It was a job well done 👍
My dad has own at least one of each generation of Escalade. I am quite familiar with them. At 81 he took delivery of his latest Escalade and sure loves his Super Cruise. I will say the second gen sure felt like more of Caddy than the first. I do wonder what it would have looked like if the designers could have had Cadillac unique side panels from the windshield back. I always thought the hood looked very Art & Science hard edged Cadillac that did not quit mesh with the rest of the car. It was not a bad looking SUV but the potential for more was just sitting there. For what it is worth my favorite was the third generation Escalade. I thought the fourth was a bit too much, and the current gen while very comfortable is more a driving computer than SUV. I think the success of the Escalade is basically a Cadillac Fleetwood with big engines, bold styling, and plush interior packaged as a truck.
The 02 Escilade is the rebirth of the classic cadillac definition of luxury from the 70s and prior. Big commanding presence with fine luxury details. Big bling.
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 no the style the attention to detail is above and beyond the competition. You can tell when comparing them to the toyota sequia competition that went over a decade without an update and fca that was afraid to touch the full size suv market till just recently. I still get tempted for a Tahoe but the Mr. Spock in me keeps me rolling in my Odyssey 🤣
A friend of mine had one of those early Escalades. I rode in the backseat once and I was surprised how little legroom I had. And I'm not even close to what anyone would describe as being tall! For such a large vehicle it sure didn't seem to have much room inside.
That's always the problem with these oversize SUV, even the Land Cruiser and Range Rover: huge on the outside, not that roomy on the inside, especially in the rear. Terrible design that (almost) no one seems to mind.
I remember these when they were new and I thought they were cool in my early/mid teens! You saw-and heard their name in lyrics-all the time in songs and music videos. I remember riding in one in 2010 and 14.
The reason the Denali and Escalade were the same was because the concept had been offered to Cadillac first and Cadillac passed on the idea, this was before the Navigator was introduced. Once the Navigator came out Cadillac now wanted a luxury SUV but the Denali had already been introduced and Cadillac had to make due with a mildly changed Denali.
The interior freshening for the 2003 model year was not because the vehicle had been rushed to market, it was because that's when the interior refresh for the entire GMT800 platform occurred. While 2003 was only the second model year for the second gen Escalade, it was already the fifth model year for the 800-series pickups which had debuted for 1999 with that previous interior, so it was time for the refresh by 2003.
The 99 Escalade was a rebadged joke. "Oh well at least they didnt rebadge the cavalier this time 🤣" BUT The 02 Escalade, along with the cts saved the brand. NO question
The US car market is a strange animal. Before the first energy "crisis", Cadillac was THE aspirational American luxury car brand. GM bungled so many product planning decisions and engineering programs in the decades that followed... we lose count. Cadillac owes its survival and all of its profits for the past 20 years to the success of Escalade. All while its most recent attempt to re-enter the premium luxury sedan segment... the CT6... fell flat in the home market, in spite if some excellent engineering and attention to detail. Truth is, the most successful product of GM's flagship brand is at its core, a badge engineered Chevrolet truck. That's just sad.
Oh, I'm looking forward to this one. The GMT800 Escalade is easily my favorite truck ever, and one of the most iconic in the world. Here are my questions for the designer: 1. Why did GM wait until 2003 to offer the ESV variant? 2. Is/was there any significance to the order in which Cadillac models were converted to Art & Science (Escalade first, then CTS, STS, and finally DTS)? 3. Since the GMT800 Escalade was the only one of its platform-mates that could be had with H.I.D. headlights, is that something selected more by the design team or by engineering?
Hello, I worked at a caddy dealer. These things were an electrical nightmare! Warranty paid crap to fix this engineering nightmare. I just wish I could meet these guys. There were a lot of electrical problems that I had to just figure out myself and fix it. No help from the factory! Imagine that. I got it covered.
In 2008-2009 I had a 2000 Yukon Denali. I remember when the 02-06 was coming at you at night… they were the original high powered headlight. Today everything blinds you but back then ONLY a Cadillac Escalade could.
I look forward to that episode coming, I would kind of like to know if they put any of the "Art & Science" design into the Escalade or did they design it separately AND also what are somethings he really would've like to of done but couldn't because he was limited to the Tahoe body??
Now the full size gm suv's respectively control %45 of the market share ! not too mention the Silverado and sierra's are the new #1 in full size truck sales
A good friend of mine had the very first year Cadillac Escalade. It was just a Tahoe with a couple of fancy bits on it. It still had drum brakes for crying out loud. It was a cynical attempt to haul in money and not giving people very much. Later versions were better
The four concerns I have for all of these SUV clones (SUV "badge engineering"): (1: To this day, GM, and other US manufacturers, never saw fit to invest in more research & development to render all of their lines of SUVs with improved quality and reliability. (2: What differentiates, say, a Chevy Suburban (or Tahoe) from a Cadillac Escalade? Did GM try to experiment with different engines and/or transmissions? (3: How do all of these different SUV models differentiate in terms of real-world capabilities? Obviously, their primary purpose is to haul people and to be flashy, but what kind of work can they do? How good are they off-road, or in the snow and ice? How much of a load can they haul? How are they at trailer towing? (4: A full-size or mid-size SUV is, at its heart, a station wagon with the underpinnings of a modified pickup truck. If GM and these other manufacturers are generating so much traffic in terms of SUV sales ($80,000 SUV?), how is all of these revenue going to build better SUV's and pickup trucks, etc.? If there aren't adequate answers to these concerns, then all these manufacturers are doing is selling altered pickup trucks for an excessively skimmed profit. My family bought a used 1978 International Scout Ralleye 4x4 in the 1980s. It had a 345-cubic-inch V8 fed by a carburetor into a three-speed automatic. It had a smooth vinyl floor. No carpeting, no leather interior, no backup cam or CarPlay, no retractable running boards. Other than superior horsepower rendered through fuel injection, how are any of these newer SUVs really any better?
I love the show, but these luxo-barges are all boring to me. Just hanging Cadillac badging on a Suburban or Tahoe only makes it cost more; it's no better to me than the Chevrolet it is. Have fun, enjoy what you enjoy. I prefer rubber floor mats to carpeting :)
While I cannot speak to the early examples of the Escalade, I have driven company-owned Escalades and Navigators from 2010-2015. I like the looks of the Escalade, but the Navigator had a much superior ride.
The car of choice of drug dealers and NBA players and especially their wives! Literally badge engineering. Don’t get me wrong, the Suburban was a great practical car back then, just never liked the badge “engineering” that the Escalade represented. Ironically it practically single handedly saved Cadillac.
Your content is, as always Adam, fine. Listening to the GM engineers extolling the virtues of the Escalade is very boring. They just took a basic Chevrolet SUV and loaded it with Cadillac “stuff”. Not much engineering there, any backyard car enthusiast could do similar.
One thing that is obvious about engineers and designers is they never think about the mechanics that have to service and repair the vehicle. The claim "engineers are logical and practical" is a fib. These people should be required to perform maintenance and repair on everything they design.
Of course it's apples and oranges, I don't really se Doug De Muro as serious automotive journalism, it's pure entertainment. But he does have an irritating but undeniable impact in he industry with his "this" and "quirks and features" because the expression is quoted all over the industry. But Adam Wade is up and coming with extremely well researched topics and key industry in person interviews, he's going places and I don't think we have seen nothing yet. I'm still waiting for the industry to keep up the pace, and most likely some Big Money will buy the concept and move the content to a bigger channel, if Wade is ever up for it. He seems like he have the integrity to choose integrity over money, but if someone gave him an offer where he would still be in complete control only with more money, resources, and reach? The last 6-12 months have seen an astounding development for this channel.
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 I agree. Especially about the part of integrity over money. I've seen a lot of great you tubers end up being controlled by sponsors and other overlords in the end. I don't think Adam will be one of those casualities. Even if he does go that route eventually, I think it would have to be on his terms. I wish him all the best. Very deserving of it.
I don't know about the worst ever, but it ranks way up there. The worst in the past 20 years - yes. The list of what goes wrong with them is quite long.
And yet the Lincoln Intech DOHC 32V 4.6 liter engine is one of the best and most reliable engines Ford made! I have one in my 97 Mark Vlll 348,000 still purrs And has full power
There's really nothing they've ever done to the Escalade to convince me that it's more than a prettied up Tahoe or Suburban. To each his own, but I have never been all that impressed with the Escalade.
The interior is awesome but the exterior of the headlights is atrocious. Very bulky looking. Like it doesn't feel luxurious until a few years later, NOW it looks ok. Great on paper but terrible in production...
Interesting timing on this video. I just bought a '99 Escalade last month. IMO the first gen GMT400 Escalade was a better product than the second Gen GMT800. While more powerful on paper, the newer engines were far more problematic than the old 5.7/350. The 2002+ bodies were much more prone to rocker rust. The general body shape had far less grace and was kind of bulbous and lumpy. The Cadillac front end was far more distinctive from the other divisions but IMO had a goofy look with oversized headlamps and grill. The 2002 and later interior was upgraded and had some more modern high tech features but overall time has shown the GMT400 to be a much more reliable platform which has aged better. Hence the market prices now... 2002-2012 Escalades are a dime a dozen and can be bought for less than 1999-00 models. Of course up here in the Northeast they are all rotted out.
As Bill from Curious Cars noted, it saved GM ... but killed cars. No style ... just a really large shopping cart. '79 Deville is 100,000 × better looking.
I heartily dislike these things, even while ackonwleding their significance. They took Cadillac to a whole new market - great for the bottom line, but not so great for those who (perhaps rather pointlessly at the time) believed in "Cadillac" - the one they grew up with. But, you don't sell cars to 60 year olds I guess. And you can wear the medallion as jewelry! In many cases these were purchases of wretched excess, designed to soothe - of inflate - egos suffering from some variation of inferiority complex rather than towing ability or capacity. An excellent business case, but yuck. I am reminded of Speed Racer's 'The Mammoth Car' - whoopie.
Ghetto pimpmobile at its worst. And not that luxurious compared to Lexus or Acura. G-class Merc (even modern one) will outclass this car in every aspect.
WIth 84000 subscribers maybe SOMEONE has a line on a 2006 Escalade with crazy low mileage. I have the next generation, and it's junk. Find me an 06! Thank you Adam , for another informative review.
An excellent overview of the early Escalades, Adam. When first introduced, to me this had the stink of the Cimarron all over it. But, as luck would have it this time around, the public seemed not to care. And GM had the good sense to allow it to quickly become much more unique.
Recently had both a 2004 DeVille and a 2006 Escalade ESV Platinum on my lot and the contrasts between two schools of thought couldn't be more vast - on one hand, a sophisticated, well-engineered nearly bespoke chassis with a world-class powertrain and the other a 'gussied-up' truck-with-a-cap and a truck engine with a Bvulgari clock glued in. Yet, I'll tell you, the ESV drove and rode impressively - smooth, commanding, didn't feel like unhinged and unsteady like a contemporary Navigator and - shockingly - far, far less problematic than the Lincoln, too. I believe '06 was the best year for the Escalade before the issue-laden DoD V8s. My retail unit had 156k on the clock and believe it will last another 150k plus.
My daily driver is a 2012 Navigator and I believe it has it over the the third gen Escalade in interior quiet and isolation. Styling and features though are at a level barely discernable from one another.
For a company reluctant to enter the SUV market, seems GM changed their minds since about all Cadillac sells now are SUVs. GM and others have fooled us into thinking putting lipstick on a pig (truck) is considered "luxury" now.
The Escalade (and other full size SUVs and even pickups), are what finally killed the large comfy American sedan. Who would've thought they'd still be selling cars that weigh 6000 lbs with big V8 engines? These things are sized like old American sedans we all love on this channel, but offer that tall imposing driving position. The early Escalades are excellent, and while material quality has steadily improved and styling has also gotten better, I don't think I'd ever want to own a modern Escalade out of warranty...
The Tahoe and Yukon were redesigned onto the GMT800 platform two model years sooner for the 2000 model year, not one model year sooner for 2001 as you said here. 2000 was the split model year, in which all Yukons were new (800), Escalades were old (400), and Tahoes were built on both platforms. Interestingly, Cadillac skipped the 2001 model year entirely, jumping straight from 2000 to 2002 with the Escalade. I'm surprised you didn't mention that.
You mentioned the Escalade ESV which debuted for the 2003 model year as Cadillac's version of a Suburban, but you skipped the Escalade EXT (Avalanche version) which began production as a 2002 model eight months after the regular second gen Escalade. (The 2002 model year was extra long for Escalade, well over 12 months, as production had begun clear back in January 2001.) I always thought it was strange or inappropriate that the Suburban version was called ESV while the Avalanche version was called EXT. Yes, they're both on the same wheelbase and overall length, but since an EXTended Tahoe is much more directly a Suburban than an Avalanche, it would be more fitting for those Escalade model suffixes to be reversed. I am guessing they ended up that way because Cadillac didn't plan ahead for their Suburban version's name and had already used the more logical "EXT" when the time came to name it, so for continuity sake they just had to make up something different, and they picked "ESV". Personally, I think the EXT name should have been transferred to the Suburban version, and the Avalanche version renamed, either Avalade or Escalanche. 😀
@@jetsons101 It is based on the Avalanche which is a great truck. The bed is small but the back of the cab folds down basically turning it into an 8ft bed as long as your items aren't taller than the cab. They call it the "midgate". If you do haul large items all the time, a regular truck is better for that I suppose.
I currently drive a 2004 Escalade ESV. Pearl white with a tan interior. I feel safe and extremely comfortable, while driving it. The interior cargo/passenger space is very nice to have. I love my vehicle. Thank you for doing this video! 👍✨♥️
Adam this video is near and dear to my heart. I own an 03 with only 56,000 miles on it and have to say it is truly one of the best GM vehicles I've ever owned. Have been asked many times if I'd like to sell. Please let everyone involved with it's design and engineering that it was a job well done!!!
This is why I watch your excellent videos. One day there was no Escalade, then there was one. How did that happen? What’s the backstory? You’re the only channel with those stories. Fascinating.
Aside from the styling, which still looks sharp today, was the styling revised after wind tunnel testing to get a lower cD or was it this way from the start? The Escalade drove really nice and quiet at speed, considering its shape and size. You drive a Suburban or Expedition back to back it's quite night and day. At least this is what I recall when I worked at a dealership a few decades ago.
Great job on explaining about the early versions of the Cadillac Escalade. My question for Dennis Burke is what he's favorite design feature on the Escalade?
Love it or hate it, the Escalade, especially the 2002 model, as well as the 2003 CTS was responsible for finally bringing younger buyers to Cadillac showrooms, something Cadillac had been trying to do for years but never really succeeded. The Escalade was featured prominently in many hip hop videos in the 2000's.
I think the rap scene gave GM priceless free advertising. I remember it also becoming one of the top stolen cars. The local dealerships would have thieves steal all of the 20" rims off the cars in the lot.
Lolol gussied up suburban that people think has class 🤣🤣
not to mention all the awful, talentless raps about muh ES KO LADE
@@loginavoidence12 I guess it has a better ring to it than " muh gussied up 'burban" 🤣🤣
No, no it doesn't. It's just noise 🤣🤣🤣
@@MrTheHillfolk Came here to post something similar. GM realized that they could make money by rebadging a Tahoe.
I don't blame them, I blame the suckers that paid too much for zero reason. And continue to do the same.
I’ve got a 2004 right now as my daily. I only drive maybe 5-10 miles a day. I work from home and only run errands and to get the kids from school. I bought it 5 years ago with only 67k miles on it from the estate of the original owner. Practically brand new, inside and out. I’ve only got 80k miles on it now. I love this thing. It truly reminds me of the old fashioned Cadillacs long gone. Can’t beat it for a highway trip.
I've owned more GMs in my near 40-years of vehicle ownership than any other brand, and my grandfather worked for Buick for 42-years, but the terms "late to the game and rush to production" seems to have been the Modus Operandi that I associate most with GM.
_WE NEED MORE VIDS "FROM THE" 80's 90's & Aught's FROM THIS GENIUS!_
Adam you ARE the man sir 🙏🏽
Tony Soprano seemed to like his Escalade.
I replaced the 6.2L engine in a newer ESV - it had pretty impressive performance for such a heavy vehicle. Nice to drive.
At 5:07 it sounded like he said the Soprano interior trim LOL.
@@stepheng3667 That's funny - it does sound like that.
Great video Adam. Near and dear to my heart. My Escalade is my every day work horse for my business. I've owned 4, one example from each generation from the "rebadged Denali" 99 through my current '15. So far, my 05 is still my favorite and the one I miss. There was just something tactile and unique about that generation that was special. They had a feeling of quality and craftsmanship that went missing starting with the 07- gen. Even the 2023, which I've driven, doesn't feel as well thought out as that 2005 did. I don't have any specific questions for Dennis, but I just want to hear his story of what it was like when he was given the project and how he translated the art and science theme to the GMT800 platform. It was a job well done 👍
My dad has own at least one of each generation of Escalade. I am quite familiar with them. At 81 he took delivery of his latest Escalade and sure loves his Super Cruise. I will say the second gen sure felt like more of Caddy than the first. I do wonder what it would have looked like if the designers could have had Cadillac unique side panels from the windshield back. I always thought the hood looked very Art & Science hard edged Cadillac that did not quit mesh with the rest of the car. It was not a bad looking SUV but the potential for more was just sitting there. For what it is worth my favorite was the third generation Escalade. I thought the fourth was a bit too much, and the current gen while very comfortable is more a driving computer than SUV.
I think the success of the Escalade is basically a Cadillac Fleetwood with big engines, bold styling, and plush interior packaged as a truck.
The 02 Escilade is the rebirth of the classic cadillac definition of luxury from the 70s and prior. Big commanding presence with fine luxury details. Big bling.
Agree - that was return of desirable Cadillac. I think current gen doesn’t have such attitude
Yes, that's what I thought looking back.
Couldn’t have said it better. It’s been filling the void that the land yachts left behind.
and sharing body panels with Chevrolet again.
Ive been saying since the 90s, if GM put the effort they put into the full size SUVs into all their cars theyd be #1 again.
There's really no effort either, it is still essentially a truck in frocks. The entire overhead is pure profit.
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 no the style the attention to detail is above and beyond the competition. You can tell when comparing them to the toyota sequia competition that went over a decade without an update and fca that was afraid to touch the full size suv market till just recently. I still get tempted for a Tahoe but the Mr. Spock in me keeps me rolling in my Odyssey 🤣
@San Antonio Usual Suspect Exterminator yep im the consumer and whats in my head is what matters!
This will be exciting to watch. You have really been doing a good job Adam.
Would love a similar video of the Navigator to compliment this!
That’d be nice seeing how far ahead, technologically, the Nav was compared to the Escalade.
A friend of mine had one of those early Escalades. I rode in the backseat once and I was surprised how little legroom I had. And I'm not even close to what anyone would describe as being tall! For such a large vehicle it sure didn't seem to have much room inside.
That's always the problem with these oversize SUV, even the Land Cruiser and Range Rover: huge on the outside, not that roomy on the inside, especially in the rear. Terrible design that (almost) no one seems to mind.
You're really cranking these out today.
I remember these when they were new and I thought they were cool in my early/mid teens! You saw-and heard their name in lyrics-all the time in songs and music videos. I remember riding in one in 2010 and 14.
Video request: the rise of the Lincoln Navigator, btw the Tahoe/Yukon were redesigned for 2000 not 2001.
The OG early 2000s king of bling
The Escalade was THE hottest ride to have when I was in high school. The music industry did a lot of free advertising for GM back then.
I think there as a lot of product placement involved as well...
I can’t think of any good questions atm. But this is my favorite car from my childhood and can’t wait to hear all the good stuff from Dennis!
These new vids are so good
men! i can listen to you talk about cars for hours
Best vehicle I have ever owned and still own 2004 ESV.
I never expected to hear techno in a Cadillac product video!
Good video, no mention of the EXT or Avalanche version of the Escalade. Those were pretty cool and very unique as well.
The reason the Denali and Escalade were the same was because the concept had been offered to Cadillac first and Cadillac passed on the idea, this was before the Navigator was introduced. Once the Navigator came out Cadillac now wanted a luxury SUV but the Denali had already been introduced and Cadillac had to make due with a mildly changed Denali.
Is always good to learn something about our toys ,dreams , vehicles and you know how to make this knowledge in a video covers A to Z thank you!!
The interior freshening for the 2003 model year was not because the vehicle had been rushed to market, it was because that's when the interior refresh for the entire GMT800 platform occurred. While 2003 was only the second model year for the second gen Escalade, it was already the fifth model year for the 800-series pickups which had debuted for 1999 with that previous interior, so it was time for the refresh by 2003.
The 99 Escalade was a rebadged joke. "Oh well at least they didnt rebadge the cavalier this time 🤣" BUT The 02 Escalade, along with the cts saved the brand. NO question
I totally agree rebadging a Tahoe or a surburban
The US car market is a strange animal. Before the first energy "crisis", Cadillac was THE aspirational American luxury car brand. GM bungled so many product planning decisions and engineering programs in the decades that followed... we lose count. Cadillac owes its survival and all of its profits for the past 20 years to the success of Escalade. All while its most recent attempt to re-enter the premium luxury sedan segment... the CT6... fell flat in the home market, in spite if some excellent engineering and attention to detail. Truth is, the most successful product of GM's flagship brand is at its core, a badge engineered Chevrolet truck. That's just sad.
Yes, it was just a Tahoe with all the options. Still had drum brakes
Oh, I'm looking forward to this one. The GMT800 Escalade is easily my favorite truck ever, and one of the most iconic in the world. Here are my questions for the designer:
1. Why did GM wait until 2003 to offer the ESV variant?
2. Is/was there any significance to the order in which Cadillac models were converted to Art & Science (Escalade first, then CTS, STS, and finally DTS)?
3. Since the GMT800 Escalade was the only one of its platform-mates that could be had with H.I.D. headlights, is that something selected more by the design team or by engineering?
Hello, I worked at a caddy dealer. These things were an electrical nightmare! Warranty paid crap to fix this engineering nightmare. I just wish I could meet these guys. There were a lot of electrical problems that I had to just figure out myself and fix it. No help from the factory! Imagine that. I got it covered.
When it comes to "modern cars" you simply CANT beat the full size GM SUV's, they do it all and they do it well, Period.
In 2008-2009 I had a 2000 Yukon Denali. I remember when the 02-06 was coming at you at night… they were the original high powered headlight. Today everything blinds you but back then ONLY a Cadillac Escalade could.
I still have my 2002 EXT, and at 130,000 miles still runs well!’
We have a Chevy Tahoe driving around here with Escalade badging. It’s pretty funny.
I wanna see your opinions about the 00-05 last generation Cadillac Deville
This time, turning a Chevrolet into a Cadillac worked out much better than the... I can't say it. I'll just say the other one from the early 80's.
Can’t wait to watch this segment. I want to know why there was not more LED lighting in the 2002-2006 model years.
The Escalade is a legend in it’s own right. It’s not the best overall SUV by any means, but it’s definitely a pop culture icon.
I look forward to that episode coming, I would kind of like to know if they put any of the "Art & Science" design into the Escalade or did they design it separately AND also what are somethings he really would've like to of done but couldn't because he was limited to the Tahoe body??
I love my 2003 Escalade EXT and we’re the same age😂
Were these promo videos shown to dealership employees? At auto shows? What were they made for?
Now the full size gm suv's respectively control %45 of the market share ! not too mention the Silverado and sierra's are the new #1 in full size truck sales
Me gusta el carro
The GM videos seem to focus more on the gripes between engineers and designers rather than the product itself.
They didn’t mention the bean counters, either…
i like 2002-2006 escalade and gmc denali.
The original Escalade was too thinly disguised GMC. They did improve as time went by!!
I still prefer the Navigator!!! 👍🙂👍
A good friend of mine had the very first year Cadillac Escalade. It was just a Tahoe with a couple of fancy bits on it. It still had drum brakes for crying out loud. It was a cynical attempt to haul in money and not giving people very much. Later versions were better
I enjoyed how they kept making the engineers comment on the designers. Did they lose a bet?
I thought the differentiator between the first model year was the leather seating surfaces were different between the GMC/Chevrolet models.
Always wanted my parents to get one of these, still do. Sadly in Europe these are a real nightmare to drive! I'll do the buying instead
The four concerns I have for all of these SUV clones (SUV "badge engineering"): (1: To this day, GM, and other US manufacturers, never saw fit to invest in more research & development to render all of their lines of SUVs with improved quality and reliability. (2: What differentiates, say, a Chevy Suburban (or Tahoe) from a Cadillac Escalade? Did GM try to experiment with different engines and/or transmissions? (3: How do all of these different SUV models differentiate in terms of real-world capabilities? Obviously, their primary purpose is to haul people and to be flashy, but what kind of work can they do? How good are they off-road, or in the snow and ice? How much of a load can they haul? How are they at trailer towing? (4: A full-size or mid-size SUV is, at its heart, a station wagon with the underpinnings of a modified pickup truck. If GM and these other manufacturers are generating so much traffic in terms of SUV sales ($80,000 SUV?), how is all of these revenue going to build better SUV's and pickup trucks, etc.? If there aren't adequate answers to these concerns, then all these manufacturers are doing is selling altered pickup trucks for an excessively skimmed profit.
My family bought a used 1978 International Scout Ralleye 4x4 in the 1980s. It had a 345-cubic-inch V8 fed by a carburetor into a three-speed automatic. It had a smooth vinyl floor. No carpeting, no leather interior, no backup cam or CarPlay, no retractable running boards. Other than superior horsepower rendered through fuel injection, how are any of these newer SUVs really any better?
Can you edit in "Woke up this morning" from the Sopranos when you get to the 2003 + models?
I love the show, but these luxo-barges are all boring to me. Just hanging Cadillac badging on a Suburban or Tahoe only makes it cost more; it's no better to me than the Chevrolet it is. Have fun, enjoy what you enjoy. I prefer rubber floor mats to carpeting :)
I just want to know what would Bill Mitchell say about Escalade, he'd probably get stroke lol
More GM Badge engineering. The 2002s did look good
I'm curious if the Lexus RX series motivated Cadillac's SUV program evolution
While I cannot speak to the early examples of the Escalade, I have driven company-owned Escalades and Navigators from 2010-2015. I like the looks of the Escalade, but the Navigator had a much superior ride.
The car of choice of drug dealers and NBA players and especially their wives!
Literally badge engineering.
Don’t get me wrong, the Suburban was a great practical car back then, just never liked the badge “engineering” that the Escalade represented. Ironically it practically single handedly saved Cadillac.
Your content is, as always Adam, fine. Listening to the GM engineers extolling the virtues of the Escalade is very boring. They just took a basic Chevrolet SUV and loaded it with Cadillac “stuff”. Not much engineering there, any backyard car enthusiast could do similar.
One thing that is obvious about engineers and designers is they never think about the mechanics that have to service and repair the vehicle. The claim "engineers are logical and practical" is a fib. These people should be required to perform maintenance and repair on everything they design.
Seems like they went backwards with the 2003 interior freshening. The 2002 interior seems nicer to me.
Chevrolet by Cadillac, oh how the mighty have fallen.
Adam > Doug Demuro.
They're both great people, being themselves, sharing the uniqueness of the automobile with the rest of us.
Bob Lutz > Jay Leno.
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 Absolutely!
Of course it's apples and oranges, I don't really se Doug De Muro as serious automotive journalism, it's pure entertainment. But he does have an irritating but undeniable impact in he industry with his "this" and "quirks and features" because the expression is quoted all over the industry.
But Adam Wade is up and coming with extremely well researched topics and key industry in person interviews, he's going places and I don't think we have seen nothing yet.
I'm still waiting for the industry to keep up the pace, and most likely some Big Money will buy the concept and move the content to a bigger channel, if Wade is ever up for it. He seems like he have the integrity to choose integrity over money, but if someone gave him an offer where he would still be in complete control only with more money, resources, and reach? The last 6-12 months have seen an astounding development for this channel.
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 I agree. Especially about the part of integrity over money.
I've seen a lot of great you tubers end up being controlled by sponsors and other overlords in the end. I don't think Adam will be one of those casualities. Even if he does go that route eventually, I think it would have to be on his terms. I wish him all the best. Very deserving of it.
The ford 5.4L 3 valve v8 is the worst engine ever.
-Car Wizard
I don't know about the worst ever, but it ranks way up there. The worst in the past 20 years - yes. The list of what goes wrong with them is quite long.
I owned one few years ago absolute trash 🤮
And yet the Lincoln Intech DOHC 32V 4.6 liter engine is one of the best and most reliable engines Ford made! I have one in my 97 Mark Vlll 348,000 still purrs And has full power
There's really nothing they've ever done to the Escalade to convince me that it's more than a prettied up Tahoe or Suburban. To each his own, but I have never been all that impressed with the Escalade.
Many years ago I wanted to buy numerous LINCOLN NAVIGATOR emblems and have a green reptile-scaled SUV with the name ALLIGATOR 🐊!
All you need would be one extra “L” and you could do it lolololol love to see peoples reactions lol
The interior is awesome but the exterior of the headlights is atrocious. Very bulky looking. Like it doesn't feel luxurious until a few years later, NOW it looks ok. Great on paper but terrible in production...
👍👍
Interesting timing on this video. I just bought a '99 Escalade last month. IMO the first gen GMT400 Escalade was a better product than the second Gen GMT800. While more powerful on paper, the newer engines were far more problematic than the old 5.7/350. The 2002+ bodies were much more prone to rocker rust. The general body shape had far less grace and was kind of bulbous and lumpy. The Cadillac front end was far more distinctive from the other divisions but IMO had a goofy look with oversized headlamps and grill. The 2002 and later interior was upgraded and had some more modern high tech features but overall time has shown the GMT400 to be a much more reliable platform which has aged better. Hence the market prices now... 2002-2012 Escalades are a dime a dozen and can be bought for less than 1999-00 models. Of course up here in the Northeast they are all rotted out.
I hate Escalade because of him they discontinued Fleetwood(((
The Escalade killed GMC.
As Bill from Curious Cars noted, it saved GM ... but killed cars. No style ... just a really large shopping cart. '79 Deville is 100,000 × better looking.
I bought a 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille 425 V8 with 54,000 miles in December! It is in mint condition.
@@jeffshadow2407 a truly beautiful luxury car ... the definition of what a Cadillac truly is. Well done sir.
The consumer killed cars, if people didn't want these.... they wouldn't be buying them.
I heartily dislike these things, even while ackonwleding their significance. They took Cadillac to a whole new market - great for the bottom line, but not so great for those who (perhaps rather pointlessly at the time) believed in "Cadillac" - the one they grew up with. But, you don't sell cars to 60 year olds I guess. And you can wear the medallion as jewelry! In many cases these were purchases of wretched excess, designed to soothe - of inflate - egos suffering from some variation of inferiority complex rather than towing ability or capacity. An excellent business case, but yuck. I am reminded of Speed Racer's 'The Mammoth Car' - whoopie.
Ghetto pimpmobile at its worst. And not that luxurious compared to Lexus or Acura. G-class Merc (even modern one) will outclass this car in every aspect.
WIth 84000 subscribers maybe SOMEONE has a line on a 2006 Escalade with crazy low mileage. I have the next generation, and it's junk. Find me an 06! Thank you Adam , for another informative review.
An excellent overview of the early Escalades, Adam. When first introduced, to me this had the stink of the Cimarron all over it. But, as luck would have it this time around, the public seemed not to care. And GM had the good sense to allow it to quickly become much more unique.
Recently had both a 2004 DeVille and a 2006 Escalade ESV Platinum on my lot and the contrasts between two schools of thought couldn't be more vast - on one hand, a sophisticated, well-engineered nearly bespoke chassis with a world-class powertrain and the other a 'gussied-up' truck-with-a-cap and a truck engine with a Bvulgari clock glued in. Yet, I'll tell you, the ESV drove and rode impressively - smooth, commanding, didn't feel like unhinged and unsteady like a contemporary Navigator and - shockingly - far, far less problematic than the Lincoln, too. I believe '06 was the best year for the Escalade before the issue-laden DoD V8s. My retail unit had 156k on the clock and believe it will last another 150k plus.
@working_country ___ Navis float too much. Plus, the suspensions are garbage. That's why you don't see many second-gen Navigators around anymore.
My daily driver is a 2012 Navigator and I believe it has it over the the third gen Escalade in interior quiet and isolation. Styling and features though are at a level barely discernable from one another.
Sorry but Cadillac is a premium luxury car company they build prestige CARs not warmed over Chevrolet SUVs my opinion
One correction they “BUILT” premium cars past tense sadly
For a company reluctant to enter the SUV market, seems GM changed their minds since about all Cadillac sells now are SUVs. GM and others have fooled us into thinking putting lipstick on a pig (truck) is considered "luxury" now.
Just got home from Home Depot, guess what was waiting just for me on the laptop? A new Rare Classic Cars video.
Awwww man.... I come here to hide from SUVs.
hahaha!!
Same old story, there would be no Camero if not for the Mustang. So no Escalade if no Navigator. Keeps the gears turning.....
There would be no Mustang if it wasn't for the Corvair.....
@@rafaelfiallo4123 that is a far stretch , but ok ...
Great video. Do you think that Escalade 2nd Gen will become classic? I believe yes
The Escalade (and other full size SUVs and even pickups), are what finally killed the large comfy American sedan. Who would've thought they'd still be selling cars that weigh 6000 lbs with big V8 engines? These things are sized like old American sedans we all love on this channel, but offer that tall imposing driving position.
The early Escalades are excellent, and while material quality has steadily improved and styling has also gotten better, I don't think I'd ever want to own a modern Escalade out of warranty...
The Tahoe and Yukon were redesigned onto the GMT800 platform two model years sooner for the 2000 model year, not one model year sooner for 2001 as you said here. 2000 was the split model year, in which all Yukons were new (800), Escalades were old (400), and Tahoes were built on both platforms.
Interestingly, Cadillac skipped the 2001 model year entirely, jumping straight from 2000 to 2002 with the Escalade. I'm surprised you didn't mention that.
You mentioned the Escalade ESV which debuted for the 2003 model year as Cadillac's version of a Suburban, but you skipped the Escalade EXT (Avalanche version) which began production as a 2002 model eight months after the regular second gen Escalade. (The 2002 model year was extra long for Escalade, well over 12 months, as production had begun clear back in January 2001.)
I always thought it was strange or inappropriate that the Suburban version was called ESV while the Avalanche version was called EXT. Yes, they're both on the same wheelbase and overall length, but since an EXTended Tahoe is much more directly a Suburban than an Avalanche, it would be more fitting for those Escalade model suffixes to be reversed. I am guessing they ended up that way because Cadillac didn't plan ahead for their Suburban version's name and had already used the more logical "EXT" when the time came to name it, so for continuity sake they just had to make up something different, and they picked "ESV".
Personally, I think the EXT name should have been transferred to the Suburban version, and the Avalanche version renamed, either Avalade or Escalanche. 😀
I’ll take any of Steve McGarrett’s Mercurys over this piece of crap any day of the week. IT’S A CHEVROLET.
The Escalade has changed so much since its inception in 1999. The 2024 Escalades are enormous!!!
I really need a pickup truck but the second gen Escalade looked great.....
Then get a Escalade EXT
@@drivemx5800 Looks nice but the bed is a bit short. Sure looks like a Chevy Avalanche.
@@jetsons101 It is based on the Avalanche which is a great truck. The bed is small but the back of the cab folds down basically turning it into an 8ft bed as long as your items aren't taller than the cab. They call it the "midgate". If you do haul large items all the time, a regular truck is better for that I suppose.
Ugh those seats in the 1999/2000s first gens were like lazy boy chairs!!! SO comfy and WIDE for our fat bums lol
i like 2000 morphin from square to round that front unique looks like swimming goggle shape
With this OnStar system, I can check my stocks! 🤣
I think it got a fancy analog clock
A landmark vehicle for Cadillac. Profit wise..I am pretty sure the Cadillac brand has ridden on the Escalade's back for years now
I currently drive a 2004 Escalade ESV. Pearl white with a tan interior. I feel safe and extremely comfortable, while driving it. The interior cargo/passenger space is very nice to have. I love my vehicle. Thank you for doing this video! 👍✨♥️
Adam this video is near and dear to my heart. I own an 03 with only 56,000 miles on it and have to say it is truly one of the best GM vehicles I've ever owned. Have been asked many times if I'd like to sell. Please let everyone involved with it's design and engineering that it was a job well done!!!
This is why I watch your excellent videos. One day there was no Escalade, then there was one. How did that happen? What’s the backstory? You’re the only channel with those stories. Fascinating.
'Walking to my Escalade, telling them nigga's I'm not afraid to let the nine.. sing out.. it can ring out'.
Aside from the styling, which still looks sharp today, was the styling revised after wind tunnel testing to get a lower cD or was it this way from the start? The Escalade drove really nice and quiet at speed, considering its shape and size. You drive a Suburban or Expedition back to back it's quite night and day. At least this is what I recall when I worked at a dealership a few decades ago.
Great job on explaining about the early versions of the Cadillac Escalade. My question for Dennis Burke is what he's favorite design feature on the Escalade?
They mention the GMC Yukon Denali but what about the Oldsmobile Bravado ?? Wasn’t this the first "Premium" suv by GM ?
The Bravada wasn’t super premium. It was near luxury vs true luxury.
Antique TAGS just did a video about the fraudulent Oldsmobile Bravada last night