Cadillac introduced a concept car Thursday night that it hopes will set a style that will help take its cars to the pinnacle of luxury.
The car is the Escala, a large luxury concept that Cadillac officials say would help boost the brand’s design cache in a way that could help it compete head-to-head against the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
“Cadillac has to take its rightful place at the pinnacle of premium,” said Johan de Nysschen, the head of Cadillac at the debut the Escala here during Monterey Car Week.
He says the new design is better proportions, has horizontal headlight slits to balance against its upward-oriented front-lighting elements, wheels that are pushed to the corners of the car, and a lower hip line. Inside, the car has fancy curved video displays for its instrumental panels using the latest technology.
The new concept smooths out some of the sharp-edged curves in current Cadillacs, currently one of the brand’s most distinctive design elements.
“It was time for the design to move on,” says de Nysschen. “We need to think where the brand is going.”
