Was it to save money or just another thing that is cheaply produced, but has very little quality in it. Back in the old days (early 2000’s) the Escalade was the bomb, it was in a class of its own. Now it doesn’t differ anything from the Yukon or Tahoe other than the interior or name plate.
Seriously…I don’t know what I’m gettin here if I buy any of these cars one day.
It’s called badge engineering, and the idea is to save money. It’s a lot cheaper to refit a vehicle that’s already being produced with an updated interior and exterior rather than build a new model from scratch.
You can blame Chrysler for this, as it really took of with their K-Platform cars, trucks, and vans in the 1980s. You may not know it, but in the 1980s, the Chrysler Le Baron, Dodge Aries, Dodge Caravan, Dodge Rampage, Plymouth Reliant, Plymouth Scamp, and Plymouth Voyager are all based on the same platform. As a result, it was cheaper to make the vehicles as only one factory would be needed to produce the platform initially. Also, mechanical components from one vehicle will fit the others, thus making them easier to work on and stock parts for. Lastly, it means that should something be updated on one vehicle, it will be automatically updated on the others for much less cost and complexity.
The downside is two things. One is the designs will inevitably look similar. The other is, if the platform ends up being a dud, then all the cars on that platform will as well.
One other thing to keep in mind: the early 2000’s Cadillac Escalade, just like the new one, is based on the Chevrolet Tahoe, with which it shares everything mechanical. Other than the LCD navigation screen in the dashboard, anything on a 2000-2005 Escalade can also be ordered on the 2000-2005 Tahoe and Yukon as an option, as well as the Hummer H2 Wagon, which is also on that platform. It wasn’t really in a class of it’s own; it just looked different because GM had more money and more time to develop a different body and interior. In fact, one could say you could get more with the Chevrolet, which offered 2-Wheel Drive, 4-Wheel Drive, and All-Wheel Drive, as well as a manual transmission, whereas the Escalade was All-Wheel Drive and automatic only.
If you want a more present example of badge engineering done right, look at the Ford Flex and Lincoln Mark T. They’re the same vehicles, just different styling inside and out, but you’d never guess it just by looking.
It’s not limited to in-house design either. The Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Corolla Matrix share a platform, as do the Chevrolet Equinox and Suzuki XL-7.
I hope this has answered your question. If you have any more, please feel free to ask.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:00 am
its called rebadge engineering.it is creating a new model without creating a new model.saves them alot of mulah.everyone does it.
dodge stratus-chrysler sebring
pontiac vibe- toyota matrix
chevy astro van-gmc safari
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February 8th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Saves money and most consumers still belive there is a difference.
Back in the day GMC was created to give Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Buick dealers something to sell. Since none of them built trucks and it was too costly to add the entire Chevy line just to be able to sell a pickup truck to a Buick customer GM decided to create the GMC consumer line of trucks. It would have been way to costly to build all new trucks from the ground up so they just put a new grill on a Chevy added a few interior changes and called it a GMC.
Same thing with the Escalade, When the SUV craze hit big Cadillac wanted in on the action so they dressed up a Suburban and called it a Cadillac. When they realized how many Escalades they were selling and much profit they could make by dressing up the cheap to build Suburban in fancy leather and chrome wheels Chevy wanted in on the big profits too. So they created the Denali for GMC and added to the option list for the Suburban.
It’s all about easy profits.
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February 8th, 2010 at 8:36 am
It saves money, starting in 1968 almost all Gm products shared the same body lines with something else, Chevy’s Nova had a clone with every badge from Pontiac to Cadillac with only grill and taillight changes.
Ford/Mercury and Chrysler.Dodge/Plymouth did the same things.
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February 8th, 2010 at 8:57 am
It’s called badge engineering, and the idea is to save money. It’s a lot cheaper to refit a vehicle that’s already being produced with an updated interior and exterior rather than build a new model from scratch.
You can blame Chrysler for this, as it really took of with their K-Platform cars, trucks, and vans in the 1980s. You may not know it, but in the 1980s, the Chrysler Le Baron, Dodge Aries, Dodge Caravan, Dodge Rampage, Plymouth Reliant, Plymouth Scamp, and Plymouth Voyager are all based on the same platform. As a result, it was cheaper to make the vehicles as only one factory would be needed to produce the platform initially. Also, mechanical components from one vehicle will fit the others, thus making them easier to work on and stock parts for. Lastly, it means that should something be updated on one vehicle, it will be automatically updated on the others for much less cost and complexity.
The downside is two things. One is the designs will inevitably look similar. The other is, if the platform ends up being a dud, then all the cars on that platform will as well.
One other thing to keep in mind: the early 2000’s Cadillac Escalade, just like the new one, is based on the Chevrolet Tahoe, with which it shares everything mechanical. Other than the LCD navigation screen in the dashboard, anything on a 2000-2005 Escalade can also be ordered on the 2000-2005 Tahoe and Yukon as an option, as well as the Hummer H2 Wagon, which is also on that platform. It wasn’t really in a class of it’s own; it just looked different because GM had more money and more time to develop a different body and interior. In fact, one could say you could get more with the Chevrolet, which offered 2-Wheel Drive, 4-Wheel Drive, and All-Wheel Drive, as well as a manual transmission, whereas the Escalade was All-Wheel Drive and automatic only.
If you want a more present example of badge engineering done right, look at the Ford Flex and Lincoln Mark T. They’re the same vehicles, just different styling inside and out, but you’d never guess it just by looking.
It’s not limited to in-house design either. The Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Corolla Matrix share a platform, as do the Chevrolet Equinox and Suzuki XL-7.
I hope this has answered your question. If you have any more, please feel free to ask.
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 9:31 am
GMC and Chevy trucks have looked alike since the early 30’s. Before that, GMC was known as a heavy duty, commercial vehicle while Chevy made light and medium duty trucks. Then in the 30’s, GMC moved into the medium duty line when GM discovered the strong loyalty GMC commercial owners had to the brand. By moving GMC into the same weight as Chevy, they could capture even more of the light to medium duty market.
Of course, being owned by the same company and made on the same assembly line as Chevy, GM took advantage of the cost cutting by introducing badge engineering. This continues on even today. GM will never get rid of GMC. The brand only sells about 25% of Chevy’s output. But the owners are too loyal. They would never consider a Chevy truck if GMC ended. Instead, GM would lose them to Dodge or Ford.
With GMC, GM also has a truck that Buick dealers can sell, making that franchise more valuable. And the additional sales will add to the Buick dealers’ bottom line.
Chevy and GMC trucks will always look similar. It’s in their blood. It’s part of their heritage. And to create an all new truck from the ground up today, that will only sell about 25% of Chevy’s sales, is financial suicide.
The Escalade was nothing more than a rebadged Yukon Denali in’ 99 and ‘00. GM had to come out with something quick to combat the incredible sales of the Lincoln Navigator, which caught them totally off guard. But since the first new Escalade in ‘02, Cadillac has been a completely distinctive SUV that, externally, shares nothing with the Tahoe and Yukon, except for the tailgate. And there are no common interior parts either. Cadillac has its own seat design and leather, own instrument panel and gauges, upscale carpeting and sound deadening, etc.
Sure, the Denali comes close to the Escalade, but visually, there really is no comparison in design and quality of materials. The same goes for the EXT and the Yukon XL. And the EXT and the Avalanche. If you were blindfolded and placed in an Avalanche, then in an EXT, you would immediately know which one you were sitting in.
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Me. new car sales manager for over 30 years
February 8th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Easy way to get people to pay more money for a Chevy.
At least people are learning this and now just swapping Cadillac grilles onto their regular cab Chevy trucks. How cheap is that???
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