White Plains, New York – GM isn’t mincing words these days. At the unveiling of the 2010 SRX, Steve Shannon, Cadillac marketing director in the United States, declared outright that “the first-generation SRX was a tweener.”
In the flamboyant world of professional wrestling, a tweener is a neutral wrestler, neither loved nor hated. A colourless, bland, uninspiring character like the old SRX, whose status was hard to pin down. “Buyers couldn’t figure out if it was an SUV or a wagon,” admits Shannon.
Faced with a quandary, humans often choose a different path. This no doubt explains in part why the SRX has been more or less successful until now. Its sales never took off like those of the Lexus RX, undisputed champion of the luxury crossover segment.
Terminology is very important for designers like Max Wolff. Manager of GM’s Exterior Design Studio, he made sure that the newcomer was in no way a tweener. After all, he hopes to seduce the trendsetting crowd. You know, those hip consumers that dictate fashion trends, the same ones that started the buzz responsible for the success of the Mercedes-Benz GLK and Volvo XC60.
Eye-catching style
To accomplish this, Max and his team dreamed up a distinctive profile for the new SRX. They succeeded beautifully, if the number of heads we turned during our short jaunt through the Catskill Mountains in southern New York State is any indication. As it happens, certain styling cues that the new SRX shares with the Escalade (angular lines, massive, abundantly chromed grille, wide wheels, etc.) originated in the Evoq prototype unveiled in 1999.
The designers even dared to give the SRX a little retro feel, with prominent rear wings stretching back like the Cadillacs of the 1950s and 60s. Some will see it as tongue-in-cheek statement, others as a nod to history.
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| The profile of this 2010 Cadillac SRX is all about turning heads. |
In the flamboyant world of professional wrestling, a tweener is a neutral wrestler, neither loved nor hated. A colourless, bland, uninspiring character like the old SRX, whose status was hard to pin down. “Buyers couldn’t figure out if it was an SUV or a wagon,” admits Shannon.
Faced with a quandary, humans often choose a different path. This no doubt explains in part why the SRX has been more or less successful until now. Its sales never took off like those of the Lexus RX, undisputed champion of the luxury crossover segment.
Terminology is very important for designers like Max Wolff. Manager of GM’s Exterior Design Studio, he made sure that the newcomer was in no way a tweener. After all, he hopes to seduce the trendsetting crowd. You know, those hip consumers that dictate fashion trends, the same ones that started the buzz responsible for the success of the Mercedes-Benz GLK and Volvo XC60.
Eye-catching style
To accomplish this, Max and his team dreamed up a distinctive profile for the new SRX. They succeeded beautifully, if the number of heads we turned during our short jaunt through the Catskill Mountains in southern New York State is any indication. As it happens, certain styling cues that the new SRX shares with the Escalade (angular lines, massive, abundantly chromed grille, wide wheels, etc.) originated in the Evoq prototype unveiled in 1999.
The designers even dared to give the SRX a little retro feel, with prominent rear wings stretching back like the Cadillacs of the 1950s and 60s. Some will see it as tongue-in-cheek statement, others as a nod to history.
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| Inside, the futuristic dash board somewhat impairs ergonomics. |