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Comments
In addition, the Rack & Pinion steering keeps the vehicle from seeking ruts like the previous generation steering system did.
The fact this was even mentioned is odd, since 3 other reviews, from Car & Driver, Motor Trend and even Edmunds regards the handling of the new generation GM's as superior to anything else GM has produced (SUV wise). All these reviews included the 22 wheel option.
The only explanation that I can make (not having read the article), is that the reviewer's past experience was with car's only.
As far as the DVD screens, I can't say with authority, although I've heard there is an additional screen.
I was dissapointed with the DVD option on my '07 because of the fact that when you load the DVD in the 6-CD changer, and play a movie for those in back, you cannot have a Music CD playing for yourself. You are stuck using AM/FM/XM or listening to the movie audio.
My '05 Denali had the DVD player in the roof too, but you also loaded the DVD into the roof unit. Maybe a bit clumsy trying to deal with it from the front seats, but still provided the most entertainment flexibility for both front and rear passengers.
I think that Edmunds's article is off base. Either they drove a lemon, or the writer is biased because no other review is consistent with it.
Good luck. By the way my cousin has the gold mist and it is a beautiful color!
tidester, host
Anyone have any ideas where to get 1 factory 22" Escalade 07 FACTORY wheel/tire? It appears according to my local dealer this is a special order item that takes 2 days to get updated on availablity that could be months?
It's hard to believe this and any insight on how to obtain it faster would be great!
I was also told that the tire is a problem as well...
Thanks
This wheel option is in short supply at the factory because the percentage of vehicles being ordered with 22" wheels is several times more than GM anticipated. Good luck!
Dave
http://stores.ebay.com/Bill-Dodge-BMW-GMC-Pontiac-Buick_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ- 2d999QQftidZ2QQtZkm
Greg
The total weight of the boat/trailer is 4200 lbs. Tongue weight is about 350 lbs (depends on fuel in boat).
We went to a lake that's about 55 miles from home (Mother's Day outing). It required driving 20 miles on I-80 (over Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada), and 30 miles on Hwy 20 to Nevada City. These roads are up and down, and Highway 20 has several 30 mph hairpins. There are several steep uphill and downhill grades, which RV's typically go 30mph floored (up).
As indicated in my previous post, the reason I wanted the new GM was mostly because of the transmission. The previous GM 4 spds left much to be desired, since any uphills required 2nd gear, 4-5k rpm engine speeds to keep up with traffic.
I'm am really happy about how the Caddy handles the hills. I usually would manually hold gears in the old GM's, but in the Caddy, I just put it in TOW mode, and it does some amazing things (IMO).
Going UP, the tranny would find a gear that did not require more than 3500 rpms (staying around 60mph). This meant that I could still STOMP on it, and get the next lower gear to pass (up hill).
Going DOWN, the tranny would dn-shift anytime you slowed down. The gear it will shift to depends on how much brake you are applying. On one stretch of brake smoking downhill, I would normally manually downshift into 2nd gear (old GM) just to maintain about 60. However, even with the trailer equiped with 4 whl discs, it would still require some brake pressue to maintain speed. The Caddy dn-shifted into a gear that kept the engine around 4k rpm, and I did not have to apply brakes.
It was a little un-nerving to have it do this at first, but once I understood the relationship between braking pressure, and the auto dn-shifts, it was welcome. No more using the shift selector to control speeds up or down. The OLD GM's would do too much gear seeking in just tow-mode, and this was annoying. Also, the Caddy's shifts are not as harsh like the tow-mode in the old 4 spd.
Dave
<img src="http://home.pacbell.net/borwick/img_2301.jpg"
GREAT report. This is just what I was hoping to hear. I guess Detroit can still do a couple things right after all. ;=)
Yer gonna have to git a new boat to go with that very cool truck man! :=))
Steve, Host
Thanks,
Chintan Talati
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
I was really jazzed on an '07 Escalade for the wife and I was going to get an EXT in a couple months. We've waited an extra year to replace our outdated rides for the new engine, tranny and style on the "07.
Then we heard about the Mercedes GL 450. First I went to see it and was pretty impressed. I feared the wife would disdain its somewhat narrower and shorter (height) aspects. She hauls a lot of $%!# ! We live on a large ranch far from town and haul big loads of everything. Her family all drive Mercedes however and she knows they are good automobiles. She loved it. I loved it. I actually had more room in the front passenger seat than in my wifes expedition. (I'm 6'2" and 240 pounds) It was very quick. Quicker than the 'slade. It rode better and much quieter. The fittings and appointments are just about 100% superior to the american truck. The brakes were a whole nuther world to me. Holy Larry, Moe & Curly ! I didn't know 5500 pounds could stop that fast! With all the options we want compared to the same or near same on the Cadillac .... it's cheaper. The Mercedes will certainly have better resale value than the Cadillac. It has several options you can't get on the Escalade. Did I mention the thing is whisper quiet?
The only thing we felt would be better on the Cadillac was cargo capacity. Nope. The poorly storing second row rear seats in the Escalade eat up any extra space and you don't get a flat floor no matter what you do or what kind of seats you get. Then there are the ridiculous third row seats you have to drag in and out if you use said third row. Mercedes disappear into the floor in 4 seconds. They're nicer seats too.
I am now so ruined by my discovery of just what a Mercedes really IS .... I can't even get excited about the EXT. I've driven trucks all my life ... 40 years since I turned 16 and in my retirement I fancied myself tooling around in my very own caddy 'trucklette'. My dogs were all excited about getting to run from the truck bed to the back of my seat so they could snuffle my ears at will and then run outside and 'fly' down the road. How do I explain to them it may now never happen? Well .... at least the rear windows on the GL 450 go down all the way. hmmmmmmm his and hers GL 450s ? Why the ____ not?
My main decision was based totally on an emotional point; the "cool factor". The GL looks too much like a large Toyota RAV 4. Certainly the wrong way to approach vehicle selection, but there you have it.
I believe that German engineering is superior to most american counterparts (I have a BMW X3 too), but the better designs haven't translated into reliability. The JD Power comparison put Mercedes below Cadillac this year, which is quite a surprise. Last year, they were tied. (JD Power survey released earlier this month).
Seems to me that people willing to pay $60k plus for a SUV, are not concerned about fuel economy, or the environment for that matter. Like putting a band-aid on a severed leg.
The Escalade already weights in near 3 tons. Another 700 plus pounds of electric motor and batteries will put this truck into another classification.
If you need good mileage in an SUV, buy a 3 row RAV4 or similar.
I bought this monster for towing the boat and family camping trips (and to look "cool" while doing it). Otherwise, it sits in the garage.
Dave
Thanks. You always have good info and share it freely. On the 'German engeneering' thing: I'm sure that used to be true and of course it was coupled with the money factor. MB was always significantly more expensive than a Caddy or Lincoln. Now that they are trying to go head to head $ wise I suspect Daimler-Chrysler with there American plants are squeezing out a few thou per unit ( or squeezing into ) that they can put into every aspect of production. We appear anyway to be getting substantially more vehicle for the same dollar. There could also be some superior 'value engeneering' going on here that American Manufacturers cannot match. Don't really know.
Now that my 'aquisition hormones' have dialed back a bit I would guess that the wife will get the GL and I'll still get the EXT cause I want an open bed. If my assesment of my previous post holds true over the first year of ownership I might dump the Caddy. Or if your warnings turn out to be prescient on the Benz I'll be a happy camper and she'll have to dump the Benz.
It seems to be a crap shoot whatever you do. There's a new recall every week. Or more. Even the Japanese cannot maintain their quality and engeneering any more it seems.
I'm a little wary of this technology. The negative comments regarding drivability and performance that has come from the Tahoe forum's kind of confirms my caution.
There's going to be enough first year bugs coming from my impulse purchase, that I'm glad DOD isn't another thing to deal with.
Dave
any thoughts? ideas?
Thanks
JP from Ct
Idle is fine, and putting the vehicle through stop/go/cornering acceleration all fine. I've put 1000 miles of towing on it as well, with hard up/down climbs to the lake(s) and back.
Hopefully, your issue will be resolved without much grief, and isn't some flaw we will all face down the line.
Dave
The GL450 is just too much of a wagon to be considerred alongside the escallade. The brakes issue i totally understand, Cadillac's are fine, but they could add it in for marketing.
However on Marketing the escallade has the image the GL will probably never have. While i have seen both i do not find the interrior of the MB to be better than the Escallade. The rear seats issue sucks, I agree. It is going to hurn GM in the long term, and they will either have to invest in an independand rear end to make the seats fold flat, or axe the whole platform due to fuel consumption.
The new set of crossovers comming out will not help sales of GMT900's. I hope GM makes the rear independant, its one of the few things these trucks really lack.
From the comparison, the GL was found to be the overall winner, but I personally could never get over its econo styling.
I was behind an '07 at a traffic light and noticed that the trademark Cadillac high-center stoplight that runs the width of the top of the rear end was only 30% functional. Only the middle 30% of the light actually had functioning LEDs in it. The rest of the light didn't light up. Was this particular Escalade defective or is this how it is designed? :confuse:
I could understand if there is a legal restriction to the "brightness" or some other DOT consideration, but in that case, they shouldn't have made it appear like a defect.
Dave
If I had one of those I would want to modify it so that the otherwise non-functional left and right sides of it could be put to use as extra "high" turn signals! :shades:
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Cadillac Escalade
tidester, host
-mike
-mike
1. HID headlights (Esc). The Yukon looks like a step backward with its front end. Although I know the previous generatation was NOT HID, I had replaced the 9005 lights with HID/Ballast kit. The "lens" style lights in the '01-'06 generation look more modern than the return to the old-style reflective lights on the '07 Denali.
2. LED tail-lights and marker lights. Maybe minor in function, buy very chic in terms of current trends.
3. A few more horses. I tow a boat all summer long, along with camping gear.
4. Cooled seats (along with heated). Very nice during summer heat, especially with leather, and global warming.
5. Longer warranty (at the time anyway). It has full-coverage for 4/50k. (The new 5/100k is not the same coverage, as it mostly covers the "hard goods").
6. A little more style. The '07 Denali is hard to distinguish from the cheapo GMC Envoy.
*** Is the worth the 10k? The lock was that I received quite a deal back in Feb '07... $100 under dealer invoice.
Dave
How dumb were the engineers on this one! They probably never drove the car in the middle of summer. And, yes in the southwest it gets to 100 quite frequently especially in the desert.
Is it possible they were installed incorrectly?
tidester, host
tidester, host
Congrats on the new Escalade. Just wanted to say I think you made the right choice color wise. I have the same exact one purchased in March 06 when first released and have about 10000 miles on it. It's been flawless in every way and all the tech gadgets work the way they are supposed to. As far as climate control, I already suffered through a long heat wave with temps above 100 and the AC performed flawlessly. You can start the car remotely and by the time you get in it it will have already cooled down considerably. Once you get in and blast the AC and ventilated seats you will be pretty cold. I never even noticed to AC vents although I know what you mean. Anyway, I look forward to your feedback as to how it actually performs in your area. Good luck.
that means all of the hummer's.
H1 is discontinued as far as I know.
-mike
When I think Hummer, I'm thinking rough, tough, go-anywhere, unfortunately it's more associated with Rodeo Drive than real offroading these days.
-mike