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2015 Cadillac Escalade gets 8-speed auto, range-topping Platinum Collection trim

The redesigned 2015 Cadillac Escalade is still quite fresh on the market, but the luxury brand has a host of mid-model-year updates for its massive luxury SUV that should make it an even better driver. The range-topping Platinum Collection (pictured above) is also all set to ensconce drivers in leather when it hits the road in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The entire Escalade range now gets an eight-speed automatic to replace the previous six-speed, and four-wheel drive models also get a two-speed transfer case to go along with it. New standard features include a Surround View camera system, 4G LTE connectivity, and the electric tailgate also now closes hands-free, in addition to opening that way.
To make riding in the Escalade an even more luxurious experience, Cadillac is adding a Platinum trim. Exterior changes add even more shine to the behemoth SUV with a grille wearing the redesigned brand crest, additional chrome trim, 22-inch wheels and Platinum badges. However, the interior is where things really get plush. The first and second row of seats are wrapped in Nappa, semi-aniline leather in a choice of either beige or gray. The dashboard, upper door panels and center console also get hand-stitched and wrapped leather, plus a suede microfiber headliner. Both front seats are heated and cooled with 18-way power adjustments, and the driver even gets a massaging function. Rear passengers are hardly left out, either, with 7-inch LCD screens in the headrests and a 9-inch screen in the center.

2021 Cadillac Escalade Onyx package adds monochrome logos

The 2016 Cadillac Escala concept showed off a number of features never seen on a Cadillac, one of them being a redesigned, entirely silver, untextured logo. Cadillac had been putting all-silver versions of its crest on the fenders of some of its vehicles, but those bore patterned silver inserts where the yellow, black, red, and blue would have appeared on the standard mark. The Escala logo, on top of being squatter and wider, displayed silver blanks where the colors went. Cadillac Society has found out a similar treatment is on the way for the 2021 Escalade as part of a new Onyx package. This time, instead of being brightwork, a Cadillac spokesperson told CS the logos are "more grey versus [the] silver/chrome [on the fenders]." And for the first time on a Cadillac on the showroom floor, these monochrome badges will appear on the grille and tailgate. Buyers can add a Sport Edition package to the current Escalade, dressing almost all the brightwork grille in gloss black and bolting on a set of 22-inch Midnight Silver wheels. The Cadillac logos, however, stay in color, and the Escalade lettering stays in chrome. That changes with the Onyx package, those gray monochrome crests joined by Escalade lettering in gloss black, plus 22-inch, 12-spoke wheels in high gloss black, and a similar blackout of all the other brightwork as found on the Sport Edition package. The Sport Edition is only available on three of the eight possible colors; a limited color selection could hold true for the Onyx package as well. Branding could get even more interesting when the crest's animated illumination shows up on the Lyriq electric crossover.  The 2021 Escalade will move to the new forked trim strategy, Premium Luxury on one side, Sport on the other, the Onyx package only available on the Sport side. For shoppers who want to go the other way, we're sure the new Escalade will offer something equivalent to the current Radiant Package that makes any Escalade even more impossible to miss on a sunny day. Related Video:    

Super Cruise’s failsafes

Even though Super Cruise is not a fully autonomous system, it incorporates redundancies like those used in aircraft to ensure failsafe operation. Before taking off on a 700-mile, 11-hour test drive of the system — and putting my life in its hands without my hands on the wheel — I sat down with Daryl Wilson, lead development engineer for Super Cruise, to get a deep dive into the system and its critical safety backups. Autoblog: First, what makes Super Cruise different from similar systems? Wilson: The key differentiator for Super Cruise is hand-free driving. It's an industry first in that respect. Our competitors require the driver at minimum to place their hands on the wheel with some frequency to ensure that the car knows that the driver is there. We don't. Two key technologies allow us to do this. One is our Driver Attention System, which is our methodology for making sure the driver is engaged with the vehicle and engaged with the road. This is a driver assist system, not a fully autonomous system. So it requires driver engagement. We use an infrared camera that constantly monitors the driver's face to determine the direction they're looking. We're looking for the driver to be what we call on-road — not on the center stack, not to left or right or down. That's all done by the tracking of the face. We also track that the eyes are open. It's infrared because at night you need to illuminate the face and you can't be shining a light into the driver's face. Then we have our lidar mapping that provides a foundation for control and redundancy to ensure safe performance. Autoblog: How does the mapping act as a redundant feature? Wilson: This system is only for use on divided, controlled access highways. What I mean by a divided highway is something more than a painted line between you and oncoming traffic. Whether that's a grassy area in between the lanes or a concrete barrier, anything that separates you from oncoming traffic. That's the divided highway part. The controlled access part is entrance ramps and exit ramps. Not with roads that cross at grade, with traffic crossing at the same level. To do that we geofenced these roads to ensure that operation is only allowed in these conditions. We don't just recommend you use it there; we ensure that you only use it there.