First Generation
| Production | 1999–2000 |
|---|---|
| Assembly | Arlington, Texas, United States |
| Body style | 5-door SUV |
| Layout | Front engine, four-wheel drive |
| Platform | GMT435 |
| Engine | 5.7 L Vortec V8 |
| Transmission | 4-speed automatic |
| Wheelbase | 117.5 in (2,985 mm) |
| Length | 201.2 in (5,110 mm) |
| Width | 77.0 in (1,956 mm) |
| Height | 74.3 in (1,887 mm) |
| Related | Chevrolet Suburban |
The introduction of the Lincoln Navigator in the 1998 model year necessitated that General Motors be able to compete in the burgeoning American market for full-size luxury-type trucks. This generation was only a five-seat SUV. The first Escalade was a largely unsuccessful endeavor from the start. Fearing the growing hegemony of the Lincoln Navigator, the Escalade was rushed through the design process to reach dealers quickly. Essentially little more than a badge-engineered GMC Yukon Denali, the SUV's aesthetics were similar to the Denali and the final vehicle was smaller than the Navigator. The Escalade's under were borrowed from the Denali line, with the GMC logos on the center caps replaced with Cadillac's crest. The Escalade also used the same 5.7 L Vortec 5700 V8 at 255 hp (190 kW), which was underpowered compared to the Navigator's 300 hp (220 kW) and 365 lb·ft (495 N·m) 5.4 Liter InTech V-8. All first-generation Escalades featured Autotrac selectable 4x4. The interior featured all leather seats with the Escalade logo sprinkled all over the car. It also had a Bose surround system–a first for SUVs. The Escalade also used a slightly different gauge cluster from the standard Tahoes/Yukons. The Escalade gauges featured white needles instead of the standard orange and the speedometer reads to 120 mph.
According to information from the Highway Loss Data Institute, the Cadillac Escalade is the most stolen vehicle in the U.S.
Read more about this topic: Cadillac Escalade
Famous quotes containing the word generation:
“One of the things that is most striking about the young generation is that they never talk about their own futures, there are no futures for this generation, not any of them and so naturally they never think of them. It is very striking, they do not live in the present they just live, as well as they can, and they do not plan. It is extraordinary that whole populations have no projects for a future, none at all.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“... there are some who, believing that all is for the best in the best of possible worlds, and that to-morrow is necessarily better than to-day, may think that if culture is a good thing we shall infallibly be found to have more of it that we had a generation since; and that if we can be shown not to have more of it, it can be shown not to be worth seeking.”
—Katharine Fullerton Gerould (1879–1944)