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2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Preview

At night, motorists can always distinguish a Cadillac on the road – from behind – because of the brand's signature vertical taillights. From the front, a Caddy's headlamps look pretty

Escalade Product Manager David Schiavone discusses how the new LED headlamps provide the SUV's front end with Cadillac's signature vertical light design. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

much like any other vehicle.

That's going to change for the owners of the new 2008 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Edition. The owners of these vehicles will be distinguishable at night coming or going. Thanks to the German automotive supplier Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Cadillac's vertical light signature is now possible for the headlights. Meanwhile, the luxury sport-utility vehicle is getting a number of other significant upgrades for the 2008 Platinum edition.

A prototype of the new Cadillac Escalade Platinum was displayed at a recent joint General Motors-Hella press briefing at the Detroit MGM Grand casino. Escalade Product Manager David Schiavone of General Motors gave a walk-around of the SUV, talking about how the standard equipment everything platinum editions were a luxury-technology sub-brand that Cadillac had created, but it was the headlights that were the star of the show.

“One

The Escalade Platinum's all-LED headlamps shown here using their low beams. (Photo:GM)

of the main reasons we are here is to talk about the fully-functional LED (light emitting diode) headlamps,” Schiavone noted, walking around to the front of the vehicle and gesturing to the spot where on traditional headlights, only one bulb is present.

In the case of the Escalade Platinum, the one bulb was replaced with a module of multiple LEDs. For normal low beam usage, five LEDs, using five different lenses to disperse light in front of the vehicle, were arranged in a vertical column. Adjacent to the column of five lenses were two circular lenses for the high beams, plus a vertical white light bar and a yellow turn signal light bar. Again, all the lighting was from LEDs, not traditional bulbs.

LEDs were invented in the 1920s, but didn't begin to enter the marketplace on devices in earnest until the 1960s. For the past 15 years, LEDs have been used in vehicles for a light source. Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., for example, began producing a LED headlamp for the Audi A8 W12 in 2003.

“The Cadillac Escalade Platinum will be the first

...and the high beam shot. (Photo: GM)

high-volume vehicle in the world to be equipped with full LED headlamps,” added Steve Widdett, Hella executive vice president, Automotive Sales. “This marks a significant milestone in advanced automotive lighting.”

Other vehicles have used LED headlamps, but Cadillac and Hella executives stress that the Escalade is the first to use “fully functional” LEDs for low beam, high beam, daytime running lamp, parking, and turn signal functions.

Enhanced Visibility

“The LED headlamp will further enhance the visibility and further enhance how driver perceiving the road in front of him,” added Martin Fischer, president of Hella Electronics Corp., which is part of Hella's North American operations and is based in Plymouth, Mich.

The

Martin Fischer, President of Hella Electronics Corp., stands next to a display that shows how the new LED headlamps will work. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

Cadillac LED headlamps are not the bluish-tinged, high intensity discharge (HID) headlights that have appeared on some higher-end models in North America and have raised complaints of causing too much glare to oncoming traffic.

Besides allowing Cadillac to achieve a vertical styling cue for the Escalade, the LED headlamp provides white light, similar to sunlight, Fischer said. Traditional halogen bulbs, on the other hand, provide a warm, yellow color, but 89 percent energy is transmitted as infrared light and rain and fog severely degrade their usefulness.

The Escalade Platinum's LED headlamps also can operate in a depowered fashion to be used as daytime running lamps, plus the module uses parking lamps and vertical light bars that are powered by lower intensity LEDs.

Fischer acknowledged that only a limited number of customers who desire to have high technology would pay the premium costs to purchase LED headlamps, but getting the Cadillac Escalade Platinum business “is a big step” but “limited step” in showcasing how well it works.

A Walk Around the Escalade

Cadillac is developing its Platinum editions into a sub-brand that emphasizes luxury from a performance and technology perspective, Schiavone said. This is different from Cadillac's V-Series that accentuates performance technology and powertrains.

In fact, the 2004-2006 model Escalade was the first Platinum edition vehicle, Schiavone noted.

Schiavone notes that the new high-tech headlights were the star of a recent product tech briefing in Detroit. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

“It exceeded all of our expectations. It had a 30 to 40 percent take rate on that vehicle.”

The production of the Escalade Platinum will begin in March 2008 and about 10,000 will be produced for the year. GM has not released pricing, but its representatives at the media briefing noted that a current, fully equipped Escalade (not an ESV) is about $70,000 and that the Platinum would be priced “a little bit more because it has more.”

The Escalade Platinum has a front fascia and grille similar to that of the Cadillac CTS sport sedan, while its other prominent external features include 22-inch wheels and exterior badges. Even the LED headlamps feature a small Cadillac crest.

It is

The Escalade Platinum now gets Magnetic Ride Control. (Photo: GM)

also the industry's first full-size SUV to be equipped with Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control. This technology replaces traditional mechanical-valve shocks with electronically-controlled shocks filled with a synthetic fluid that has iron particles. Using a magnetic charge, the iron particles align to provide nearly instantaneous dampening resistance.

How does that improve the ride for the motorist?

Traditional large, truck-based SUVs tend to bounce after hitting a bump in the road. With Magnetic Ride Control, there's “no secondary or third oscillation,” Schiavone explained. “If you are on an entrance or an exit ramp, you are level. It is a wonderful system. We will be bringing that (technology) into all the other Escalades in '09.”

Power and Performance

The

Plenty of power behind that bold Cadillac grille. (Photo: GM)

Escalade Platinum is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 that delivers approximately 403 horsepower (301 kW) and 417 lb-ft of torque (565 Nm). This all-aluminum engine is equipped with variable valve timing (VVT) to improve low-rpm torque and high-rpm horsepower.

GM notes that the Escalade Platinum will be the industry's first application of VVT on a mass-produced overhead-valve V8 engine.

Besides the engine, the other half of the SUV's powertrain is the Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic transmission. This is one of the industry's most advanced automatics, with two overdrive gears, that will help improve performance and fuel economy (gas mileage figures are not available yet).

An Exquisite Interior

Inside,

Cadillac makes its best attempt at attaining "Standard of the World" credentials. (Photo: GM)

the 2008 Escalade Platinum exudes high-end luxury, including cut-and-sew aniline leather and real wood trim, much like fine furniture. The instrument panel (IP) is leather-wrapped from door to door. An aluminum and wood tray, with a rubberized bottom, sits in the center of the IP where it can be used to hold a Blackberry or other personal data assistant.

“There's a new instrument cluster and graphics,” Schiavone added, as he continued highlighting the vehicle's attributes. “The wood and aluminum layout have been transposed (from the previous model).

“We have wood from door to door and two woods. We have a dark burled walnut mixed with an olive ash burl. And, if you look at how the woods come together, they are wood inlays, just like fine furniture. Most of (the wood) is on the passenger side.”

The

Two types of hardwood, leather dash and French stitching is a cut above anything Cadillac has done before. (Photo: GM)

Cadillac wreath and crest insignias are embroidered into the leather-covered seats that are hand-sewn with French seams. The second-row seats are powered, folding and tumbling out of the way to allow easier access to the third-row seat.

“The seats are 100 percent aniline leather in the first and second row that's so soft,” Schiavone said. “It feels better than the leather that most people have on their furniture at home... and everything is standard (equipment).”

Over the Top Features

Other features include heated and cooled seats, a heated steering wheel, powered retractable sunroof and running boards, an 8-inch navigation screen, rearview camera, and a Bose 5.1 Digital Surround system.

“Some of the features, such as the (front) heated and cooled cup holders, we took to the next generation,” Schiavone said. He explained that not only can the cup holders' bottom provide heat or cooling to a beverage container, but so do the sides.

The rear seat entertainment consists of four screens – two overhead screens and two built into the headrests of the front seats. Each front-row headrest screen has its own driver and input controls. The headrest units can be operated independently or in tandem. This system enables passengers in different seats to watch or listen to different entertainment choices, while leaving ultimate control with the driver. Escalade Platinum models are equipped with DVD, CD, MP3, and XM Satellite radio capabilities.

“It's designed to be over the top,” Schiavone said. “You could be watching three different movies or playing four different games.”

Additional standard interior features include Platinum-specific door sills and a power liftgate that opens and closes with the touch of a button.

“The whole Platinum strategy is that everything is standard, so that reduces complexity,” Schiavone said. “The only thing (a customer) needs to pick is the exterior color.”

Star of the Show

The

Escalade Platinum has a front fascia and grille similar to that of the Cadillac CTS. The LED headlamps also feature a small Cadillac crest. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

LED headlamps were, of course, the shining star of the press briefing. Previously used only on concept vehicles or exotic sports cars, LED headlamps mark another step in Cadillac's application of advanced lighting technology and design.

The LEDs are mounted on a printed circuit board, buried deep within the module and behind all of the lenses and other jeweled exterior features. There are five LED bulbs for normal low-beam conditions and two additional LED bulbs for the high-beam function. All seven LEDs, in fact, are used for the high-beam function.

LEDs use much less power and last more than 20 times longer than traditional halogen bulbs. Electrical power usage inside an internal combustion engine powered car is generally not a top concern of motorists because energy is supplied by the vehicle's alternator, which in turn is driven by a fan belt. However, there has been talk in auto engineering circles for more than a decade about how the increased use of electronics may begin to overtax the vehicle's electrical architecture.

Nighttime Experiences

Displayed

(Photo: AutoCom Associates)

in a dimly lit conference room in the MGM Grand casino, there were no opportunities to see how the vehicle would behave at night, but Schiavone and the Hella lighting experts related their experiences.

“I have personally driven (the Escalade Platinum edition prototype),” Schiavone said. “My experience, the thing that pops up more than anything, the light is so white and so much like daylight is that the signs just pop. They almost glow, like the speed limit signs. You can see them before you come up to them.

“The other thing, because it is white light and more like daylight, there is less eye strain. I think people who are doing more night driving are going to find that they are not going to have nearly the same amount of eyestrain. So, those two things are what I've experienced in my limited 30 to 60 minute drives.”

From a distance, the lights from an oncoming Escalade Platinum look normal – one source of light, Schiavone noted. Then, as the SUV gets closer, the light source becomes vertical.

“There was never a glare issue (even when the high beam lights were on),” he said.

The

At night, motorists will know that the oncoming vehicle is the Escalade Platinum thanks to the SUV's new LED headlamps. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

designer of the Escalade Platinum's LED headlamps, Siggi Henz of Hella, explained that there isn't as much glare as a high-intensity discharge light or traditional halogen high beams because the light is distributed across five lenses (or seven lenses when the high-beams are used).

“The luminous flux, or energy density, is relatively low, that's why the eye doesn't perceive as that much volume or glaring,” Henz said. “We performed tests with Cadillac on the Escalades with this lamp and the halogen. The funny thing is that the halogen lamp, which has the lowest amount of luminous flux, is actually the one that glares the most. That's because the energy density is so high.”

When a person is standing up to 20 or 30 feet away from the SUV in a dimly lit room, the LED headlights do not seem to have the same glare as a halogen bulb – either in low-beam or high-beam mode.

If someone crouches down, near the ground – not a typical position for a driver behind the SUV or in front unless the vehicle is cresting a hill, the five LED lenses do appear very bright, but the glare was no worse than that of an ordinary headlamp.

Lamp Longevity, Replacement Costs

The one annoying thing about normal halogen or even HID headlamp bulbs is that one day they will burn out and need to be replaced. Traditional headlamp bulbs last from 500 to 800 hours to even 1,000 hours for the “long life” versions.

Hella designed its LED headlamps to last 20,000 hours or more. The typical driving life of a vehicle is 10,000 to 15,000 hours, Henz added.

The benefit of never having to change the light bulb does come with a high cost, however. Neither GM nor Hella revealed how much the LED headlamps would cost as part of the overall vehicle's sticker price.

GM officials noted that the technology “is not insignificant in terms of cost.” In case the LED headlamps needed to be replaced due to a collision or other damage, one of the automaker's spokesmen said that it “might have to subsidize some of the replacement part costs, at least initially.”

The Cadillac Escalade Platinum's LED headlamps are manufactured as one module at Hella's factory in Lippstadt, Germany. Under current monetary exchange rates, the euro equals about 1.45 American dollars, there is a price premium built into the manufacturing costs on top of the fact the technology is more expensive than a traditional halogen bulb.

Each headlamp module also has a small cooling fan that is designed to run continuously and noiseless when the lights are on. A side benefit of the fan is that it should help prevent the interior of the lights from fogging up.

The Last Item

Fog

CAP writer Joseph Cabadas taking notes. (Photo: AutoCom Associates)

lamps below the bumpers are the only ones on the Escalade Platinum that remain as halogens. All of the SUV's other lights, including the tail lamps and the center high-mounted stop lights (CHMSLs) use LEDs.

“These (fog lights) are the only ones we still need to get to,” Schiavone replied when asked, and then pointed at the LED headlamps. “We didn't want to redesign the hood and front fascia, so Hella had to figure out what to put in here. This is literally the same shell that we use for our HIDs (high intensity discharge headlights)... for us, it's plug and play.”

LED headlamps might be offered as optional equipment on future model Escalades, but for now it is only available as standard content on the Platinum edition.

For possible future products, Fischer noted that Hella is testing glare-free high beam headlamps and something called a “marker light.” Special LEDs could be used to light objects to the sides of the vehicle when they are detected by future external vehicle sensors. The objects, whether animals, people, or construction barrels, would be illuminated by the marker lights until the vehicle passes them.

Hella expects LED headlamp usage to grow in North America, but halogen and HID headlights will retain their market share for many years.

The Escalade Platinum, also available in the extended-length ESV version, will round out the full line of Cadillac Platinum models that will include the XLR Roadster, DTS luxury sedan and STS performance sedan.

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