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Cadillac goes white-out on social media as prelude to Oscars announcement [w/video]

Cadillac appears to be in a very odd place at the moment. On one hand, Johan De Nysschen is pushing the company towards a much more luxurious image that includes converting 700 dealers into boutiques, and a blitz of new products is also supposed to be on the way in the coming years. However, at the moment sales aren't necessarily keeping pace with production, and there are reportedly heavy incentives available on some models. Now, we're seeing the earliest hint at the next strike in the brand's strategy as its social media presence goes white across the web. Go check out Cadillac's official pages on the major social media hubs, and all you can find is blank space. There's just a period on Twitter, a blank box on Facebook, another one on Instagram and the company logo is even gone from Pinterest. Perhaps most bizarre is YouTube, where Caddy is showing five minutes of absolutely nothing (embedded below) with no sound at all. The video description is only a period. All of this nothingness is supposed to be a lead-up to Cadillac unveiling a completely new advertising campaign during the Oscars on February 22. This method of blanking everything out beforehand could suggest a minimal, to-the-point message in the future. While it wouldn't be shocking for a few teasers to come out in the meantime, Caddy is keeping quite a secret before the big reveal.

Cadillac ELR getting massive discounts, some up to $14,000

Well, that didn't go as planned. General Motors had marketed the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in as a premium version of the Chevrolet Volt with some Caddy refinements. Now, it looks like that premium, at least from a price standpoint, is shrinking. Shoppers in a number of states are reporting that GM and its dealers are discounting the ELR in order to move more off dealer lots. The issue is that few people are biting at the official price tag of about $76,000, so GM has started offering as much as $8,000 worth of dealer and customer incentives, Transport Evolved reports. More recently, dealers in states such as Florida, Texas and Maryland are offering discounts in the $12,000-to-$14,000 range, and that's before any federal and state plug-in incentives kick in. It's not difficult to guess why. Through the first half of the year, GM sold fewer than 400 ELRs. Last month, Caddy moved just 97 units, or about as many as Tesla sells of its Model S in a day. Perpahs recent spy shots that reveal a test ELR that appears to up the sportiness quotient, with touches such as larger wheels and brakes, will also help sales. Check out Autoblog's "First Drive" impressions of the ELR here.

2015 Cadillac Escalade is exactly what you expect [w/video]

Leading up to the debut of the 2015 Cadillac Escalade, we were told that the new luxo-SUV would be "much less ostentatious" and that we could expect greater differentiation from its Chevy Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon siblings. And while those things may be true to some extent, after digesting the full raft of Escalade information and photography, we can say that this new 2015 model is exactly what we were expecting all along.
No, there isn't a single part of the new Escalade package makes us go "wow" or "ooh," but it still looks like a solid, nicely updated offering that will surely attract the same sort of baller status when it hits the road. For starters, the new front end has been completely redesigned, where cleaner, tauter lines work with the full-LED headlamps and running lamps to create a face that, while familiar, falls right in line with the rest of Cadillac's lineup. Around the sides, the shape is exactly the same as the rest of the SUV's platform mates, with better-fitting body panels and a handsome, upright design. Of course, 20-inch wheels are standard, and hifalutin' 22-inch rollers are available (in chrome, we assume). Things get really interesting around back, where full-LED taillamps extend from the bumper all the way up to the top of the tailgate, and - like the Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon - the rear window wiper has been integrated into the top of the hatch for a cleaner look. It all looks pretty modern and good, but doesn't really tone down the otherwise flashiness of the Escalade package.
Like its predecessor, the new Escalade will be available in standard- and extended-wheelbase formats (bring on the EXT!). Only one engine is available: GM's 6.2-liter EcoTec3 V8, good for 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Both two- and four-wheel drive configurations will be offered, and the new Escalade should be a bit better to drive than the previous model, with a new coil-over front suspension and five-link rear setup, a wider track, variable-assist electric power steering and Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control system with Tour and Sport modes.