Every once in a while, when the demand is there in a growing city, a new franchise will be granted for a professional sports team. People love sports and there are fortunes to be made giving them what they want. So too with cars.
Cadillac management resisted having an SUV right up to the point that they realized if they didn’t get a “team”, they were going to lose out to every other luxury brand. The Escalade was an expansion in both their showroom model choices and, of course, in the maximum size of their vehicles. It’s been a rolling monument to vehicular excess for over 20 years now. It embodies everything both good and bad about the SUV phenomenon. The big, loaded SUV has taken over the high ground of the auto industry, as it’s an aspirational vehicle for many car buyers, and automakers aspire to sell as many as they can since they bring some of the highest profit margins. Could the big SUV become an endangered species? These days it certainly seems possible, at least in the form we’ve come to love (or loathe) it. That may be good, or bad, or a little of both, but there is something to be said for giving people what they want and they have certainly wanted big boys like the Escalade.
I’ve had the Escalade in the back of my mind for a while, with an eye out for a nice first generation example, which was only made for two years. I don’t have registration stats, but Texas is surely the Land Of The Escalades. My locale is practically crawling with Escalades new and old, but would you believe that in well over a year of looking, I’ve spotted exactly two first generation models and only this one parked (and I drive a lot, all over town)? Have you seen any lately where you live?
This is the second article in a series on flagship SUVs from early in their rise to dominance. In part 1 of Give Them What They Want on the Lincoln Navigator, I covered how Ford’s SUVs led to that trendsetter. Here, we’ll look more specifically at luxury SUVs that led up to both the Navigator and the Escalade.
1981 Jeep Wagoneer Limited
The 1978 Jeep Wagoneer Limited (later Grand Wagoneer) was the first truck to be marketed explicitly as a luxury vehicle. It had most of the power and comfort features found on luxury cars of its day, plus it had the rugged Jeep mountain goat skills, at least as much as it could while using street tires and a softer suspension. This was a major foreshadowing of the character of many future SUVs.
1992 Range Rover
The next big step for luxury SUVs in the U.S. was the Range Rover. The English Rover was actually quite old when it hit the U.S. market officially in 1987, but it notably had a full coil spring suspension and a host of luxury features. And a big status-inflating price tag.
GM came along with the Oldsmobile Bravada for 1991. Not as upscale (or as aged) as the Range Rover, riding on the seven-year-old S10 Blazer platform in its new 4-door form, it was nevertheless a pretty novel concept. It had standard full time all-wheel-drive, street tires and had no off-roading packages available. It was squarely aimed at upscale buyers who wanted more height and traction, but didn’t have any interest in serious 4x4ing. Those are the buyers who would make up a massive chunk of the car market of the future, just not quite yet. Production was in the low 10k’s/year for its first generation through 94.
That dam would break in the mid to late 90’s. Lexus came out with the LX450 in 1996, a luxed-up version of the Toyota Land Cruiser, which itself had moved upmarket in the early 90’s. The LX managed to cosset its occupants very nicely while maintaining the Land Cruiser’s serious off-roading chops.
In quick succession, the luxury SUV market welcomed the 1997 Infiniti QX4 (based on the Nissan Pathfinder), the 1998 Lexus RX300 (not based on a truck, it was one of the first front-wheel-drive-based crossovers in the U.S.), the 1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320 and the 1998 Lincoln Navigator.
The Navigator was built on a fresh platform and had very modern mechanicals, which were tuned for comfort over off-road prowess. The majority of its buyers had no interest or intention of leaving paved roads. The Navigator was a big hit, and most significantly to Cadillac, pushed Lincoln’s total sales above Cadillac’s for only the second time ever (I forgot about 1988 in the Navigator article and surprisingly nobody caught it!).
Prior to the Expedition/Navigator, Ford had been caught flat-footed as big SUV sales started rocketing up in the mid-90’s and they had nothing besides the archaic Bronco. GM had the Suburban they had been able to modify into the popular but aging 4-door Tahoe/Yukon. In much the same way, when Lincoln’s Navigator took the luxury SUV market by storm in 1998, GM was caught flat-footed with only their 10 year old truck platform to base a luxury SUV on.
Making lemonade, GMC did have the Yukon Denali that they introduced during the 1998 model year as they sought to differentiate themselves from Chevrolet with a luxury version of their SUV that wasn’t available in the Tahoe. It sold for almost the exact same sticker price as the Navigator and had similar equipment levels.
With all this happening in the market, Cadillac’s cupboards were bare and the guests were showing up expecting dinner.
In dire situations that test one’s mettle and reveal the character of men, some intrepid souls are willing to step into the breech. Cadillac saw the huge sales, impressive price premiums and amazing profit margins that Lincoln and GMC were getting and bravely declared, “Me too!”
Some might say that the 1999 Escalade was the very definition of badge engineering and that it was indistinguishable from the Denali. They are selling Cadillac short, as the visual differences go well beyond the badges. As you can see in the photos above, Cadillac used a completely different grille insert with a bright surround that was thicker on the top than the Denali’s. Not only that, but GMC placed their bright Denali door script on the cladding, while Cadillac had their bright door script above the cladding on the sheet metal. The differences are huge!
If you couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic. Yes, the Escalade was a stopgap measure if ever there was one. With Lincoln whipping them in sales and dealers screaming, Cadillac had no time to meaningfully distinguish its entry into the category from GMC’s. One can imagine that one Friday afternoon Cadillac’s manager asked GMC’s manager if he could borrow his Denali for the weekend. He replied, “No problem, just get it washed and don’t mess with my radio presets”, only to see Denalis show up in Cadillac showrooms two weeks later with a wreath and crest. “What the…?!”
OK, maybe it took a little more than two weeks to develop. Where there are differences, they show up in the interior. Cadillac did use different upholstery patterns in creamier leather, put a partial wood rim on the steering wheel, placed additional wood trim (real, like on the Lincoln) on the door panels and instrument panel surround, and gave it higher grade carpet. Both the GMC and Caddy came with an early version of OnStar.
The $45,855 Cadillac stickered for $3,000 more than the Denali. In addition to the feature differences, it had an extra year of warranty, Cadillac’s 24hr roadside assistance program and the inestimable prestige of being the Standard Of The World. Good value? Perhaps, if a luxury brand SUV is your desire. The Denali was already approximately $5,000 more than a regular loaded Yukon.
Since my curbside photo of a well-used interior in less-than-ideal lighting doesn’t show detail too well, here is a shot from Car and Driver’s road test. It actually does look pretty darned inviting. You couldn’t ask for a nicer spot in which to take an extended road trip, as long as you can keep your mind off the gas mileage.
internet image
Mechanically, the Escalade was pretty standard GM truck fare. The engine was a 255hp/330lb-ft 5.7L Vortec V8 identical to those in the Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban. Cadillac used the same upgrades as the Denali with its standard automatic full-time four wheel drive system, highway-comfort-tuned suspension with Bilstein shocks and Firestone Firehawk touring tires.
Comparing it to the Navigator, it didn’t have rear air springs or adjustable front air shocks or rear disc brakes. It also didn’t have fancy second row buckets and didn’t offer a third row, so it was only rated as a 5 passenger. Where it perfectly matched Lincoln was in a gluttonous desire for fuel, with the same 12 city/16 highway EPA rating.
My curbside (make that ditchside) find exchanged its original wheels for a set off a later generation Chevy Silverado and had its grille painted white. It’s clearly had many miles of concrete pass under it, but overall isn’t too bad considering most all of its brothers seem to have vanished from the road. When new, the Escalade came across as rather cynical marketing. With 20 years of hindsight and several newer generations to compare it to, the original version is perhaps worth a second opinion. I can actually see it as kind of subdued and tasteful, almost modest, at least compared to the more garish later models.
Whatever criticisms could be levied at Cadillac’s copycat approach, the Escalade did its job. It gave plenty of folks what they wanted: the Cadillac of SUVs. Happy dealers partied like it was 1999 by selling 34k, while holding Lincoln’s Navigator to only 39k sales (down from aprox 45k in 98), getting themselves a good chunk of those sweet premium SUV profits. Y2K sales were similar. Perhaps more importantly for Cadillac’s pride, the natural order was restored when they once again beat Lincoln in total sales.
While Cadillac rushed the original Escalade onto dealer lots, it was working on a long term plan. That will be the subject of part 3 in the series.
photographed in Houston, TX February 21, 2020
The GM Heritage Center has the very first production Escalade, in white, just like our subject truck would have looked sitting on the dealer lot once upon a time.
Then there’s this. A few days ago, after this article had already been completed and scheduled, I sighted this in traffic. I had about 5-10 seconds after I spotted it to grab my phone and pull up the camera, managing two shots, one surprisingly not half bad for not even having the window rolled down. This is the elusive curbside creampuff I would have liked to have found parked. It was coming out of the River Oaks neighborhood, which is the toniest one in town, filled with Old Money estates and many new mansions built after tearing down the old mansions. This Escalade looks to me like it’s being driven by its original owner and has spent all of the last 21-22 years parked in a River Oaks garage, except for the occasional local journey excursion trip.
And then the CC Effect kicks in! On the day the article ran I find this, a 99 or 00 in much better condition than my feature Escalade. Leaved me wondering: Are they really that rare now or was I just unlucky for 1 1/2 years?
It seems Cadillac narrowly missed another Cimmaron-like debacle, as the circumstances and execution were similar. Fortunately the clientele were not the same and the truck buyers were easier to please than finicky import-buyers.
Ford’s truck platform by this time was better in almost every way than the GMT400, but a lack of other competition really saved Cadillac here. Still, not sure why someone would choose this over the Navigator.
The air shocks, perhaps? Known to be troublesome and expensive to fix (at least w (at least at the dealer) in prior Lincolns.
I still drove a ’99 Expedition with the air shocks until last year and they never had a problem.
Anyhow, the problems cropped up years later, so new vehicle purchases wouldn’t have been affected. What would drive someone to buy the first-gen Escalade over the Navigator besides the name? The Lincoln felt far more refined, handled better, had a little more power, came with three rows, nicer dash, nicer exterior. The Cadillac may have had more comfortable seats though.
The first-gen Escalade was an embarrassment, but GM got incredibly lucky that it caught on.
I can credit the Cimmaron with a completely different front end than the Cavalier or J2000. I cannot say the same for the first Escalade. How hard could it have been to put a unique front end on it if they used plastic of fiberglass?
Heck, even the Versailles I mentioned in the Navigator write-up had a front end that was far different than the Grenada.
The four headlight Cavaliers are almost indistinguishable from the Cimmaron, but you’re right, the Cimmaron actually was a better effort.
From the moment I saw the first picture of an Escalade, I immediately associated the front end styling with that of the Studebaker Lark driven by the mother of my childhood best friend. I have never been able to break that association.
I agree that this one is the cleanest, but since when is Cadillac known for doing “clean”? The later ‘Lades were much more Cadillacky to my mind. Which is either good or bad, depending on whether Cadillac is your thing.
I had more trouble getting on board with the whole luxury SUV thing. I remembered Wagoneers from when they were rugged (if rusty) Jeeps with lots of metal inside and knew that Range Rovers were powered by the same little aluminum V8 that had caused my mother to pull the 61 Olds F-85 over so that the red “temp” light could go out so many times. I will admit that the original Lexus version of the Land Cruiser started to get me onboard with the concept.
I am enjoying this series.
Interesting Studebaker parallel, I never thought of that. I think the Stude looks better!
+1.
When Buehrig eliminated the runningboards in ’36, he didn’t dream that runningboards would be back on luxury cars 60 years later. Fashions come and go.
My memory of the time is GM making a public statement to the effect of, “Luxury SUVs are GMC’s responsibIlity, not Cadillac’s” when the Navigator came out, only to turn that around as soon as the Cadillac dealers started screaming. And the bemused reactions from the auto magazines when the Escalade was introduced. British Leland lives!
Well, dad always did say that GM listened (and responded) to their dealers. Even in the 80’s when the dealers were happy to sell out the farm for short term gain.
I am enjoying this series, too. Although I prefer a car to an SUV (we own/owned them – wife’s vehicles), it’s interesting to understand their “roots”.
I worked with a guy who drove a Seville, perhaps the only Cadillac in the parking lot of the Silicon Valley mega-campus where we worked, amidst a sea of BMW’s, Accords, Prius etc. After he had kids, he supplemented it with a used Escalade of this generation, when it was already quite old. I remember being shocked to see the brake drums peeking out from the rear alloy wheels. He was a big guy and liked the room and luxury, but before I retired he had replaced the Seville with a Kia Soul, of all things. He liked driving it and found its tall profile more than spacious enough.
The sad part was I thought the Denali was a pretty nice effort for a GMC at the time, cleaning up and enhancing the plain Tahoe, but then the Escalade comes around and its minimal effort only cheapend them both. Now I have a hard time looking past the seams of all the patented GM cladding glued all over the body, white was definitely not a flattering color, trendy as it is in the luxury field today.
Somehow I never realized just how uncommon those early Escalades have become; I’ll have to keep my eyes out for them more. For some reason, I prefer these to the Navigators. Slightly.
I was living in North Carolina when Escalades were introduced, and they seemed relatively popular in the NC equivalents of River Oaks – and when I picture colors, I either picture black, or that sand color.
And it’s interesting that in the evolution of luxury SUVs that the un-lamented Olds Bravada can be seen in a similar light as we look at AMC Eagles… that it was just far enough ahead of its time to be a complete flop. But the same idea was picked up within a few years and became remarkably successful.
And it is amazing to think that if the Escalade was basically like an expansion team, it eventually just started its own league and left the existing legacy teams behind.
Yeah that’s true, like if there was a new expansion baseball team and 3 years later it is basically the New York Yankees!
I think I agree, the Navigator was objectively a much better vehicle but somehow I like the look of the early Escalade/Denali better. Guess it’s my strange GM love. And I like the GMT400 trucks.
CC effect, on the day the artcle ran I came across another one (see bottom of article)!
Wow – that’s amazing timing! So yes, I’m wondering now too if they’re genuinely that rare. I wonder when I’ll see one next…
I’ve owned this 2000 Escalade for 11years now and I’ve always wanted one before ever since I was taking for a ride in a brand new one back in 99/00 that was a friends dads ride and I was hooked! Yes they are the rarest of the Escalade breeds just shy of 50K weee made! So yeah finding a really nice one is very hard in deed! I live in the burbs of Detroit and it’s a thing for me to see another one out on the roads or parked! Yes they don’t have their own original styling but it’s not a Denali it’s the best of the gmt400 line. Those are newer 20” wheels I still have thee original wheels which still shine up like newer wheels! If anyone wants more pics of these or my Escalade I’m on ultimate gmt400 forum and 1st gen Escalade on Pinterest.
Another pic I would’ve impressed than one on my original post.
Here’s another pic of mine with the original wheels on er still and I chromed the tow hooks which really helps to better contrast all the body color “champagne”. Yes Cadillac rushed out this 1st gen Escalade but how many people love gmt400’s and how well they have aged as far as design and actual usability. The seats in these are way more comfortable than the 2nd gen and with every newer gen the seats become harder and harder as you sit in these seats and you sit on those. Lincoln wasn’t really much different off the Expedition yes more outer design was done but it also was a “PLANED” vehicle the inside was just like the Escalade a slightly upgraded from the lesser suv! I would enjoy the extra 50hp the Navi has over the esco! Would probably helped out on gas mileage on the highway to gain a few more miles per. But I do really like that they are and kinda always been a rarer sight to see the Escalade but now 21-22 years later they’re even more hard to find let alone a well taken care of one I don’t know how the Navi plays in the snow but the Escalade is a TANK never been stuck and I’ve driven though 14-18” inches of snow on my old street plus a foot or more on the highway to go to work and was nothing more than just another day! A old co-worker bought a brand new f-150 a2018 and we were leaving job site and he drove into the foot or snow in 2wd the kicked it into 4×4 an barely got out of the snow back onto the 2track path I later end of that day left I drove Escalade into that deep snow different spot in 2wd and powered though it so I’m not sold on capabilities of “fords” in general but “to each there own”.