Cadillac Escalade

The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV manufactured by General Motors and marketed by Cadillac as its first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to an influx of new luxury SUVs during the late 1990s, including the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Range Rover, Lexus LX, and Lincoln Navigator. The Escalade project went into production only ten months after it was approved. The Escalade is built at Arlington Assembly in Arlington, Texas. The term "escalade" refers to a siege warfare tactic of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders or siege towers. More generally, it is a French word which is the noun-equivalent form of the French verb escalader, which means "to climb or scale". The Escalade is currently sold in North America and select international markets (Europe and Asia) where Cadillac has official sales channels. The Escalade ESV (Escalade Stretch Vehicle) is sold in North America, Russia, and the Middle East, but is only available by special order in some international markets. The right-hand-drive Escalade and Escalade ESV are available through third-party conversion specialists without official agreement with Cadillac in Australian, Oceanic, and Japanese markets. On August 8, 2023, GM presented the Escalade IQ, an all-electric version of the Escalade, and the third model in Cadillac's EV line, after the Celestiq and Lyriq. It went on sale in late 2024 for the 2025 model year, with a starting price of $130,000. The Escalade has gone through five generations and one facelift, with the most recent (the fifth generation) introduced in 2021, noted for its technology and self-driving capability. The fifth-generation Escalade is nearly two meters high, and was criticized by The Verge for its excessive size and hazard to pedestrians.