An interior view of the Celestiq.
It's been 41 years since General Motors used the words "Standard of the World" to describe and promote the Cadillac brand.
Now they're back with the ultra-luxury Celestiq high-performance electric luxury sedan. The production-intent Celestiq, rumored to carry a price tag of between $300,000 and $350,000, gets its world debut on Friday. Production is slated to begin in late 2023.
Since Cadillac's sales peaked in the 1980s, the brand has had numerous reboots, none really gaining much traction. Some Cadillacs have been great, the V Series performance cars and the current Escalade, to name two, But many more have stiffed — the Catera, Allante, XLR, ELR, CT6, XTS and on and on.
Because of Cadillac's many false starts over the decades, the resurrection of "Standard of the World" is bound to bring with it a lot of scrutiny, skepticism, doubt and outright denial from weary automotive analysts and journalists, and from consumers who have heard some version of it too many times before.
Arguably, today's standard of the world in luxury cars is Rolls-Royce. These handmade cars are the automotive equivalent of fine art. The vast majority are commissioned by owners and built to order, sporting unique trims, colors and personalized details that pretty much ensure that no two cars are identical.
A door hinge on the Celestiq show car proclaims the EV will be the standard of the world.
Not only that, but Rolls-Royces glide silently and effortlessly through the world, cosseting passengers from the noises and odors and turbulence of traveling by car. You don't find parts from other vehicles — at least parts the customer could see and touch — and you never feel plastic or any other inexpensive material on interior surfaces.
It's not realistic for any car to set the benchmarks in every category. But to be the "Standard of the World," Cadillac has to be better than Rolls-Royce in nearly every major metric you can apply to a luxury automobile.
If Rolls-Royce doors close with the reassuring feel and sound of those of a bank vault, the Celestiq's doors must be like the ones in a Federal Reserve branch. If Rolls-Royce interiors are the gold standard, the Celestiq has to be titanium.
Also, other electric vehicles have set a very high standard. If the Lucid Air has an EPA rating of 520 miles on a single charge, the Celestiq has to go at least 522. And it needs to charge faster.
GM has been putting the "Standard of the World" pieces in place for years, and it seems they're all set to converge in the Celestiq. Consider:
Manufacturing: GM has spent billions on additive manufacturing (3D printing) equipment and says more than 100 parts of the Celestiq will be 3D-printed. That opens up a level of customization never before seen on a Cadillac. Indeed, each car will be hand-built and "custom-commissioned," according to this teaser.
But 3D printing offers something else: It gives designers and engineers the chance to create parts that can't be made by casting, stamping or injection molding. So, expect to see some absolutely breathtaking interior components in such things as the shifter, buttons, knobs and trim. I'd also expect to see some lighting features never before seen in an automobile.
GM has also perfected mixed-metal manufacturing that uses the strongest, lightest metals in the appropriate places on the body in white. And GM also can weld steel to aluminum, which saves weight and adds strength.
A former Cadillac ad proudly proclaimed its mission: Standard of the world.
Technology: Cadillac has led the industry in two key areas: super clear and colorful OLED screens, now in the Escalade, and Super Cruise, one of the most advanced self-driving systems available. By the time the Celestiq arrives late next year, it will have Ultra Cruise, the successor to Super Cruise. GM says Ultra Cruise eventually can be used in 95 percent of all driving scenarios and on all paved roads in the U.S. and Canada. You can read about it here.
Ultium platform: We've already seen a glimpse of what Ultium can do in the GMC Hummer EV, a 9,000-pound beast of a vehicle that can reach 60 mph in three seconds and can travel about 330 miles on a charge. It's highly unlikely the Celestiq will weigh anywhere near 9,000 pounds, so performance and driving range could be otherworldly. The Lucid Air and Tesla Model S Plaid will be the benchmarks for the Celestiq. The fastest Air reaches 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds. The Model S Plaid's top speed is limited to 175 mph, but it has reached 200 mph on racetracks.
"Standard of the World" carries with it a lot of baggage, but it also a lot of promise and potential. The Celestiq is the rebirth of the Cadillac brand. We'll know shortly if "Standard of the World" is a statement of internal pride, posturing and positioning or if it has real meaning. Considering what is at stake, don't be surprised if the Celestiq truly does deserve to wear those hallowed words.
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