2007 Cadillac Escalade Base Sport Utility 4-door 6.2l on 2040-cars

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Cadillac Elmiraj Concept slinks in Leno's Garage

Jay Leno's Garage has moved to Pebble Beach for the week. This time around, the affable comedian is taking a look at the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept that debuted during the Monterey car week, and is talking to General Motors vice president of global design, Ed Welburn.
There's plenty of reminiscing about what concept cars were like when these two were kids, before a fairly deep dive into the striking Elmiraj Concept itself. Welburn shares a few anecdotes about the design process behind the two-door concept, including how his designers changed his mind on the grille design.
After bringing up the Cimarron, Leno makes a solid point that the Elmiraj would be a solid production car that could even spawn a four-door variant. We couldn't agree more. Take a look below for the full video from Jay Leno's Garage.

Opel director Sedran to succeed Docherty as Chevy Europe boss

When longtime General Motors executive Susan Docherty announced she would be stepping down from her post as the head of Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe, there was some idle chatter that plans for the creation of a new global overseer position for the Bowtie brand was behind the move. And while US sales chief Alan Batey has indeed assumed control of Chevy worldwide since her departure announcement, Docherty's vacancy is being filled after all, with Opel chief strategist Thomas Sedran taking up the reins.
That's according to Automotive News, who reports that Sedran will be tasked with pulling Chevy out of a sales funk, much of it pegged on Europe's stagnant auto industry, which has sunk to a 20-year low. AN notes that Chevy's EU sales plunged 32 percent to 57,584 units through the first five months of 2013, but the everyday value brand is faring worlds better than Cadillac, which has sold just 167 units in Europe over the same time period.
Sedran, 48, has been in the auto industry for over 20 years. Most recently, at Opel he had been working on long-term plans for the marque, and was appointed to the brand's management board in April of last year. Prior to joining GM, Sedran was employed as a management consultant for AlixPartners, where he worked closely with Opel for six years. Sedran will assume his new duties beginning July 1.

Cadillac planning its own engines, halo cars

Cadillac is in the midst of some big changes. It's got a new chief executive. It's taking some distance from parent company General Motors and moving to a new headquarters in New York. And it's instituting a new naming scheme that will allow not only for a more clear progression in its lineup, but also for more models. But that's not the end of the story. Not by a long shot.
Speaking with Automobile magazine, Cadillac's new president Johan de Nysschen revealed his intention to develop several new models and powertrains. For starters, he does not want Cadillac to continue borrowing engines from the GM parts bin, but intends to develop a new range of engines specifically for the luxury automaker. The program will likely start with smaller-capacity engines but eventually lead to new V8s as well, taking the place of the long-serving Northstar engine that finally ended its lifespan a few years ago after some two decades of production. Along with other technologies, de Nysschen envisions possibly sharing these powertrains with other GM divisions, but developing them first and foremost for Cadillac.
The bigger question, however, is where those engines would go, and de Nysschen had some thoughts to share on that front as well. For starters, the former Infiniti and Audi exec sees room for an even bigger sedan above the upcoming new CT6 that will cap the current range. Maybe even two of them. But that's not all. Johan wants to see Cadillac get (back) into the sports car game with a new halo model or two - something it hasn't really done since the Corvette-based XLR roadster. A pair of new crossovers are also said to be in the works, flanking the SRX on both sides with smaller and larger models.