The SUV are also high on the American wish list. Nowhere is the offer so large, every manufacturer has several such angular monsters in its program. What the luxury SUV of the future will look like is shown by the largely unknown brand Lincoln, responsible for luxury models at Ford, with an exciting study of the giant Navigator. Arch-rival General Motors counters with “thinking models” of large limousines and elegant coupes. All are not far from series production.
Like the Lincoln Navigator, a huge SUV with a guard dimension of 5,67 meters. The definitive new edition of the famous giant will premiere in New York this spring. In Los Angeles, the study was still to be admired, which shone above all with two striking details. The huge swinging door across the entire width of the passenger compartment opens up a view of the almost glamorous interior with the three rows of seats. To make it easier to get into the leather-covered interior of the two-meter-high thick ship, a three-step staircase under the side skirts is extended and retracted electrically. Without a railing, however.
To say it in advance: Both gags will not be found in the production model, fell victim to red pencil or government regulations. What remains is the design with the massive stem and the handsome chrome grill, which anticipates the new Lincoln face. The silhouette of the outer skin is somewhat based on the British Range Rover, which is also highly regarded in the USA. Comfort is the trump card on each of the six individual seats. Large displays at the front, screens for the rear quartet hover almost at eye level and tempt you to surf or play games. The materials are exquisite, but not bulky.
Disarmament under the bonnet, arched upwards: Instead of a thick V8, the Navigator of tomorrow has to make do with a 3,5-liter Ecoboost, which is also used in various Ford models. The giant will not venture to Germany. Where should he come in the narrow old towns around the corners or find a parking space.
This is different in the beautiful study of a large sedan with the Cadillac logo, even if it also clearly surpasses the Europeans in its class at 5,35 meters, but parking is certainly left to a chauffeur. The Escala surprises with an almost puristic dress that only has visible edges on the bonnet. The otherwise smooth side view is characterized by a bead tapering to the rear above the sill, which should probably provide optical dynamics. The interior largely dispenses with switches and levers, most of the functions are summarized on two LED screens that spread out in front of and to the right of the three-spoke steering wheel. Under the hood is a newly designed 4,2-liter eight-cylinder with a twin turbo, the performance data of which is not yet the noble brand from General Motors. The Escala is located in the model hierarchy above the already known CT6, with which he shares the platform, however.
Speaking of CT6, whose export to Germany is already underway: It now appears as a so-called plug-in hybrid, the battery of which is charged at the socket. In the familiar body, a 2-liter turbo gasoline works with two electric motors. Together they produce 246 kW / 335 hp and a pulling power of 586 Newton meters. The purely electrical range is around 48 kilometers before the battery has to be connected to the mains again. Sales of the “green” Cadillac begin in the USA in the spring, the price converted around EUR 77.000. Germany export not yet decided.
On the other hand, the fate of a beautiful coupé by the GM brand Buick, which was already unveiled in Detroit in January and can now be admired in a slightly modified form in Los Angeles, is still completely unclear. Even though design prices are overwhelming, series production of the Avista is still not decided. It is now clear, however, that the five-meter-long two-door will not swim across the Atlantic as a new Opel sports coupé. Despite the uncertainty about the future of the Avista, however, it marks the trend of future coupes that prefer elegance to sporting flair. The 2 + 2 seater with its 294 kW / 400 hp V6 biturbo always has what it takes to be an athlete. Maybe we'll see him again as a roadster study in January in Detroit. (Peter Maahn / SP-X)
