A Star Is Born: Cadillac Celestiq Takes On Detroit
The first time I saw it, I almost forgot to breathe
Detroit's rain hit the glass roof of the Convention Center, and the Celestiq stood quietly in the spotlight, like a ghost from the future. I admit I stared at it for at least five minutes-not in a "oh new car" perfunctory way, but I really forgot to blink. Its lines are so damn strange: the knife-like edges of traditional Cadillac are still there, but they suddenly turn round at the back of the car, like a designer who has replaced a piece of white paper halfway through painting. The black crystal grille on the front face? It shines at night, and each light source is independently controlled-I lay on the ground and counted, and there are probably hundreds of micro LEDs. What's even more outrageous is the car paint: the one on the scene is called the "Moonlight Pearl". Gold, purple and blue are flying back and forth from different angles, just like cosmic dust dancing. The security guard came over and asked if I wanted to come in and sit down. Only then did I realize that my finger had been pressed against the hood and had an oily fingerprint. Sorry, man, it's so charming.
Sitting in the cockpit, I suspected I had entered a private jet
The moment I pulled the car door open, I gave a "wow" sound-I really couldn't help it. The interior is all hand-sewn leather, and the stitches are so thin that I have to put them on my glasses to look at them before I can find the stitches. But the most explosive thing is the 55-inch penetration screen! It extends from the left A-pillar to the right A-pillar and is divided into three independent areas. I asked the engineer if he could drag the navigation to the passenger side. He smiled and said,"You can control the passenger side's screen from the back row." Wait, back row? I turned around and looked-God, those two independent seats were thicker than my sofa, and each had 18-way electric adjustment and massage. But frankly, I also found the bad point: although the screen was well hidden when it was turned off, it reflected heavily when the sun leaned in. I narrowed my eyes and adjusted the brightness for a long time before I could see clearly. Moreover, there is no feedback from those touching buttons, so blind exercises while driving will definitely be distracting. But when I leaned back in the back row, turned on the seat ventilation, and listened to Miles Davis playing on the AKG stereo, Detroit outside the window became pleasing to the eye.
How about driving it? To be honest, a little divided
Pressing the start button (actually a synthetic crystal panel) made the carriage as quiet as if it had entered a soundproof room. The sound from the chassis when the manhole cover was pressed over on the road was muffled, as if you heard the vibration of another world through three layers of rubber. Celestiq uses the General Motors Oron platform. The front and rear dual motors add up to more than 600 horsepower. This figure sounds strong, but when you actually step on the accelerator, it does not give you the feeling of "kicking you"-instead, it's like a huge whale accelerating steadily in the deep sea. Accelerate from 0 to 96km/h for about 3.8 seconds? No, it doesn't feel that fast. Maybe it was because the car was too heavy (more than 2.7 tons), or maybe it was because Cadillac deliberately adjusted the power output like velvet sliding through the skin. The variable air suspension is really awesome. When you pass the speed bump, the seat only sends you a "Oh, there was a bump" reminder, not a collision. But here's the problem: turning and turning in Laocheng District for such a big car is a nightmare. Although rear wheel steering reduces the turning radius, you still have to turn two directions in advance. Moreover, the official cruising speed said that it was 483 kilometers. In fact, I estimate that I can reach 400 kilometers in winter. Thank God. But this car is not for people who travel long distances every day-it is used to announce that "Cadillac is still alive."
So, is it worth the price?
When I asked about the price, the Cadillac people only said "starting at around $340,000." $340,000?! This is not much cheaper than the Rolls-Royce Gusteau, and it is hand-built in GM's own factory, making hundreds of them a year. A car media brother next to me laughed directly: "Spending so much money on a Cadillac? It's better to buy Benz." But I thought about it carefully-Celestiq has no intention of competing with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the BMW 7-Series. It is targeting people who already own Cullinan, Bentley Spearhead, and even Bugatti. These people buy Celestiq not because of its value for money, but because "I'm tired of the boring perfection of the Germans." You use your mobile App to customize the grain direction of each wood grain, and even the color of the stitching can be adjusted by the craftsman on site. This extreme personalization does not exist in mass production vehicles. So is it worth it? Not worth it for 99% of people; but for the 1% who want to make people ask "What car is this?" at a dinner party, it is simply worth it.
One last bit of chatter
On the way back to the hotel, I drove my old car, a 2018 Tesla Model 3. Suddenly I felt that it was so noisy and cheap. Celestiq is like a punch in Detroit's chest-a city that once supported millions of people by building cars has finally arrived at a machine that truly makes you feel,"Ah, the future can actually be exquisite rather than just screens." Although it has various minor problems: the screen is reflective, the rear head space is unfriendly to people above 1.8 meters, and the touch logic is occasionally crazy... when I stood in the rain and looked back at it again, the glowing grille lit up like a star, I forgiven all its imperfections. Not every car deserves the word "birth", but this Celestiq is really a new star in the Detroit night sky-even if it is ridiculously expensive and may not sell many, it makes people believe that Cadillac still dares to dream.