Desertbreh wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:52 pm
Detroit wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:47 pm
These launched horribly. There was internal fighting over colors (Cadillac gets its own shade of red on brakes, if you didn't know that), and the internal fighting delayed launch quite a bit. The best time to sell an accessory is when the vehicle launches, and these missed the K2 launch by a few YEARS because of internal political
IIRC, when they did eventually launch, take rates were abysmal because nobody knew how to sell a $4k installed brake package for a truck. Which was weird since not only can they handle towing, they're actually better for towing and unofficially increase towing capacity a bit as they fade less (particularly helpful on steep grades). BUT towing certification is a legal thing and isn't something the company wants to recertify after vehicle production, so the brakes don't do anything on paper. Even stopping distance is tough to communicate because it depends a lot on tires.
These probably aren't a money loser, though...GM sells a BBK for the T1 trucks and IIRC the caliper and rotor is almost unchanged from the K2 version. These are also probably more popular as upgrade/replacement parts on older trucks, so they'll have a long lifecycle, like Eric picking them up for his truck. With half a million a year over multiple vehicle generations, you can make a business case out of just about anything.
Yeah the T1 you can order with a waxable red but pointless rear slider that is identical....it is like $595 or some such. "Cadillac Red?"
Cadillac performance red is darker than Chevrolet or GMC red. You can't make this shit up...
The accy team wanted a version of these waxables for the Escalade. They bolt on (obviously) and those buyers blow money like crazy, so it seemed like a logic fit. In an effort to keep development costs in check, the plan was to take the Chevrolet red calipers and simply put the Cadillac brand on them in place of Chevrolet.
For a part to be approved for sale, there's a number of layers of sign off required...engineering, brand, design, etc. When the Cadillac design breh saw the calipers on an Escalade, he lost it. It wasn't Cadillac red.
Cadillac was going through yet another rebirth that resulted in the CT4/5 and they were serious about performance. They wanted every element to be unique to the brand, including the paint color on the calipers. The plan was color coordination across the brand for all models. Red on the calipers would be identical to red in the badge, or red inside, or whatever. It just so happened that the caliper approval timeline coincided with this brand development timeline, and when the 'Sclade rolled in with Chevrolet red calipers, the design dude lost it. He rose up a stank so strong that it almost went to the president of NA for the entire corp, and resulted in all the red calipers being delayed to make sure there was enough distinction between the brands or some shit. Since they were still in the midst of approval of the brand colors, it all got dragged out forever.
They waited a while thinking it would all come together, then ended up killing the Cadillac versions just to get the Chevy ones in market since there were other Chevy products with the same red on the calipers.
The story doesn't end there...
The Cadillac team dreamed up an Escalade V, and in early talks with the engineering team, the calipers were deemed essential (as they should be for such a thing). Since this was a production model, the calipers were to be installed at the plant, where they were to be painted the correct shade of red. You'll notice that the T1 Escalade has a BBK accessory...we simply bumped forecast volume for the part from the plant, and put those calipers in a box with the other BBK parts to be a brand complaint accessory. Better late than never?
If you put them side by side, most people can't see a difference (I can't). Under certain lighting you can tell, and if you're a highly trained anal design breh you can apparently tell, but that's it.
over the price point almost killed them a few times. Then execs drove trucks with those brakes and were
by the performance. The price is high, but they're truly an OEM-engineered BBK.
10k markups are paid by consumers, as are 2k for "paint protection" 4k seems like a bargain.
why you're changing the fluid right before having a shop do that 
?
