MAY 11, 2022
Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 09:27AM 
From the "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss" File: Cadillac has revealed full details of its 2023 Escalade-V — which takes its place as the industry’s most powerful full-size SUV. “Customers and enthusiasts have asked for an Escalade-V, and we’re thrilled to bring this high-performance SUV to market in the year of Cadillac’s 120th anniversary,” said Global Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey. “We do not deploy the V-Series designation lightly. The arrival of the 2023 Escalade-V is the result of a rigorous development program that allows this highly anticipated model to meet the criteria and capability thresholds established by nearly two decades of inspired V-Series performance.” At the heart of the Escalade-V is a hand-built supercharged and intercooled 6.2-liter V-8 rated at 682HP (508 kilowatts) and 653 lb-ft of torque (885 Nm). The Escalade-V’s engine shares architectural similarities with the CT5-V Blackwing’s supercharged V-8, but features a larger, 2.65L R2650 TVS supercharger that helps overcome the higher inlet and exhaust restrictions on the full-size SUV application. It spins at up to 13,500 rpm to produce approximately 10 pounds of boost and has an electronically controlled bypass valve for optimal drivability. The supercharger’s unique four-lobe rotors are designed to broaden the engine’s power band, with great low-end torque production and strong high-rpm power. Standard performance elements include a 10-speed automatic transmission calibrated for Escalade-V, a full-time active all-wheel-drive system and exclusive suspension hardware and software calibrations. An Escalade-V ESV version is also available. Other details:
- Unique V-Series front and rear fascias
- Quad exhaust outlets
- Exclusive Six-Piston Brembo® front brakes
- Edge Red brake calipers
- Unique 22-inch aluminum wheels
- Standard Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 and Air Ride Adaptive Suspension, with uniquely tuned rear air springs and damper hardware, as well as V-Series specific software calibrations
- Selectable V-Mode with driver-customizable performance driving settings, lowered suspension and active exhaust valves that control the throaty V-8 growl
- V-Series badging on the driver and front passenger doors, liftgate and throughout the interior, including the steering wheel
- Platinum trim interior featuring Zebra Wood decor with semi-aniline leather on all three rows, and heated/ventilated and massaging front seats
- Escalade’s signature curved OLED with 38 inches of total diagonal display
- AKG Studio Reference 36-speaker audio system
- Available Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance technology, including trailering and automatic lane change capabilities (late availability).
ANOTHER ICE AGE ACE.
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. After experiencing the sublime Chevrolet Corvette and the spectacular Cadillac CT5 V-Series Blackwing in back-to-back weeks, I expected a bit of a letdown with the CT4 V-Series Blackwing. I needn't have worried. The CT4 V-Series Blackwing is 263 lbs. lighter, 2.6" narrower and 7.3" shorter than the CT5 V-Series Blackwing. But it feels notably smaller. The look of this machine is crisp, restrained and functional, with aero details visible front, back and along the sides. And the wheels are wonderfully detailed up close. The feel of the CT4 V-Series Blackwing is direct, aggressive and lively. The steering, brakes and suspension work in remarkable harmony and this machine begs to be driven hard. It takes less than a 100 yards down the road after you set off for the personality of this machine to come out. In tuning the CT4 V-Series Blackwing, it's clear that the True Believers at GM who were responsible for this car put the emphasis on fun-to-drive. Yes, I know, what a deliciously quaint concept, but it's getting harder and harder to find these days. As for the 472HP, 3.6-liter Twin-Turbo V6, the throttle response is wonderfully immediate and the thrust factor is very high. There are no disappointments in that department. Well, except for maybe one very big exception. As good as the terrific Twin-Turbo V6 is in the CT4 V-Series Blackwing, it simply can't compare in sound and fury to the ferocious, supercharged 6.2-liter V8 monster lurking under the hood of the CT5 V-Series Blackwing. But that is as it should be, I suppose. After all, the V6-powered Blackwing comes in at around $30,000 less than the V8 Blackwing, but it certainly delivers a visceral, worthwhile driving experience all of its own.
The last three weeks have been both revealing and rewarding. As I mentioned previously, I consider these three machines - Corvette Stingray, CT5 V-Series Blackwing and CT4 V-Series Blackwing - to be the finest cars GM has built to date. A Trifecta of Excellence, in fact. As I said last week, they are a testament to the True Believers - the men and women responsible for every single detail - GM’s “Best and Brightest” in every respect. Knowing that these men and women have moved on to the ultra-crucial BEV development projects percolating within GM gives me hope that what they're working on will result in more spectacular machines worth looking at, and more important, worth driving.
2022 Cadillac CT4 V-Series Blackwing. $58,995 Base Price; Price as tested: $76,560. Rift Metallic, $625; Jet Black interior with Jet Black accents; Rear-wheel drive; Cadillac exclusive 3.6-liter Direct-Injected, Variable Valve Timing, Twin-Turbo V6 with 472HP, 445 lb-ft of torque; 10-speed automatic gearbox, $2,275; Quad exhaust with dark tips; Brembo high-performance front and rear disc brakes with staggered 6-piston front calipers and 4-piston rear calipers; Blue brake calipers, $595; High-performance copper-free brake linings; Electronic limited-slip rear differential; Performance Traction Management; Custom Launch Control; High-performance adaptive suspension with Magnetic Ride Control; Rear differential cooler; 18" alloy wheels with polished/dark android finish; High-performance mesh front grilles; Ground Effects Aero with Aero rear decklid spoiler; All of the latest Cadillac electronic interior gizmos (too much to list); Driver Assist Package with Adaptive Cruise Control, enhanced automatic emergency braking and emergency rear braking, $900; Technology Package with air ionizer and head-up display, $725; Climate Package with ventilated driver and front passenger seats with power lumbar massage, $600; Heated (automatic) high-performance steering wheel; Jet Black interior with leather seating surfaces, Jet Black accents, Sueded microfiber trim package, $4,900; Carbon Fiber 1 Package, $4,100; Performance Data and Video Recorder, $1,600; Destination Charge, $995.
The AE Song of the Week:
I'll drive a million miles
To be with you tonight
So if you're feeling low
Turn up your radio
The words we use are strong
They make reality
But now the music's on
Oh baby dance with me yeah
Rip it up
Move down
Rip it up
Move it down to the ground
Rip it up
Cool down
Rip it up
And get the feeling not the word
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun
Deep in the world tonight
Our hearts beat safe and sound
I'll hold you so close
Just let yourself go down
Rip it up
Move down
Rip it up
Move it down to the ground
Rip it up
Cool down
Rip it up
Get out what's inside of you
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun
On the edge of oblivion
All the world is Babylon
And all the love and ev'ryone
A ship of fools sailing on
(Everybody)
Everybody have fun tonight
(Everybody)
Everybody have fun tonight
Across the nation
Around the world
Everybody have fun tonight
A celebration so spread the word
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Everybody have fun tonight
Everybody have fun
Everybody
Everyone
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" by Wang Chung, from the album "Mosaic" (1986)*. Written by Jack Hues, Nick Feldman and Peter T. Wolf. Publisher: Spirit Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Original Music Video here.
*This song was conceived as a ballad by Wang Chung's Jack Hues and Nick Feldman, which is how it appears on the original demo. It was produced by Peter Wolf (not the lead singer of The J. Geils Band - this Peter Wolf is a composer from Vienna), who also got a writing credit on the song. On the Just My Show podcast with Eric Greenberg, Hues explained: "Most of the time we write separately, but 'Everybody Have Fun Tonight' is actually quite a collaborative song. When we came up with the original line, I then went away and wrote with a 'Hey Jude' style ballad around it, trying to be ironic. And then when we got in the studio with Peter Wolf, he was like, 'This is an amazing dance hit, you rock the tempo, you've got to really deliver what the title suggests.' The original demo we recorded in Nick's flat in London around Christmas time I think one Monday, because it had all these sort of like sleigh bells and stuff on it. And I just wanted it to have that kind of weird Disney-esque sort of atmosphere. But things obviously change as people hear the songs and see certain potentials in it. And after To Live and Die in LA we did have a choice facing us, which is, Okay you can do more movies, you can be sort of arty if you want, but you won't necessarily get support for that. Or you can go and have a hit record, which is what the label always wants from you. And we pretty consciously chose to have a proper hit record and sort of establish ourselves."In his appearance on Just My Show, Hues added: "Growing up at the end of the '60s and into the '70s, I was at that very impressionable age and thought that music could really change the world - it actually did really change the world at the end of the '60s. I probably had that as a subtext in everything I was writing. It may not be worthy of all of that early '60s and '70s stuff, the music I still love, but it was our little contribution." This song is also known for its spasmodic video, which is full of extremely quick cuts between similar images. If the song is about musical purity, the video is the opposite, creating a dissonance that left some viewers literally sick. Regarding the video, Hues explained: "It was delivering a song that's essentially very upbeat and intentionally amusing. We weren't super serious about 'this is an amazing song that's gonna change your life.' It is just sort of like, get out there, have a great time, don't worry too much. I remember when we did the video with Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, they thought I should be singing straight to camera in a very intense way and very serious way with this pretty lighthearted song. And I think that really works in that video. The video that everybody was in love with around that time was Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer,' anything with a bit of stop-frame in it was cool. It was actually banned in the UK, because some BBC guys said that that particular frame rate could cause epileptic seizures in people." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)