The Cadillac LYRIQ: Malcolm Gladwell meets an Electric Icon - Part Two 10:09

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Okay, what we got is we got one of these massive wheelies, the kind that is like 3X the size of the one you put in overhead. Definitely can't, you can't carry this on. You can't carry that on. We got two standard size wheelies. We got a car seat, car seat bottom. We got a stroller. We got two backpacks. A whole bunch of audio recording equipment. A bunch of audio equipment. This is just warming up. Now we're not putting down the rear seats. Nope.

I'm in New York's Hudson Valley with my producers, Jacob and Joey, who are helping me load the trunk of an SUV with all the luggage, car seats, and kid gear I can find. We're calling this the helicopter parent test. In the standard helicopter 21st century universe, this is what an over-involved set of parents would take on a weekend vacation. Maybe a day trip. Although, you know, realistically, you could last for several weeks with the amount of stuff we've got here.

Not long before this day upstate, we got a call at Pushkin HQ, an offer to preview the brand new all-electric SUV that comes on the market next year. The lead model in GM's pivot to electrification. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, and you're listening to the second of two very special episodes for Revisionist History listeners. Join me and a few friends as we embark on an all-electric road trip.

The helicopter parent test was the start of our day in the Cadillac Lyric. We've been favored by one of those epically beautiful fall days. Leaves turning, sun glinting, a cool hushed breeze sliding over the mountains. We're putting the Lyric through its paces and it overwhelmingly passed the first test. This SUV is cavernous enough to comfortably hold kids, parents,

maybe even grandparents, plus all the gear necessary for an obsessive 21st century parent like me to keep their kid happy for at least a day. Even Cadillac's chief marketing officer, Melissa Grady, can relate to driving a jam-packed vehicle.

Which is where the rear camera mirror really comes in handy. I'm a balloon person, so if I'm going to a party, I'll have a lot of balloons in the back of my car. Or if you are transporting, I've done a lot of remodeling lately, so when you're transporting a lot of goods in the back of your vehicle or tile, that camera just really works to help see what's behind you. And you mentioned the map as well. That map is just, it's great not only

Not only does it have all the full navigation functionality, but it's very easy to plot out your route and put the charging stations in. Next up, a delicate bit of driving involving my daughter at a high stakes moment in every toddler's day. Nap time. Speedy! We strapped her into a car seat to find out if the lyric was quiet enough to put her to sleep.

Okay, okay. Clearly this is a hugely demanding test. Speedy, it's okay. It's okay. I think we should drive. She's gonna be fine. I think she just wants, she's just getting a little used to... Speedy, it's a new experience. You're in a car. Tears is not the appropriate response to being in a luxury automobile.

So, "Hush little baby, don't get car sick, daddy's gonna buy you a Cadillac Lyric." One, two, three. ♪ Hush little baby, don't get car sick, daddy's gonna buy you a Cadillac Lyric. ♪ Speedy, do you have anything to say? I think she's falling asleep. I sense the quietude that portends a deep and dreamless sleep. Speedy, back to her crib.

and set out once more. Over to my friend Dan's place. He owns the storage and maintenance garage where every serious gearhead in the area keeps their pride and joy. The car too nice and too precious to keep at home. Such as Dan's immaculate vintage Cadillac.

This is a 1963 Coupe de Ville. This has 41,000 original miles. Yeah. Original interior. It's suited with a 390 cubic inch engine, which they all had in 63. This is Basildian green paint. And, of course, the correct one-inch white wall, or else you get in big trouble with the Cadillac community if you don't have the right white wall. Yeah. Time for what we call the heritage test.

Can the lyric win over a die-hard Caddy enthusiast who thinks the last 50 years have all been downhill for the automobile business? We lined up Dan's old school Caddy in a parking lot next to our lyric. Modernist meet postmodernist. It's funny how much this kind of linear dash of the lyric still kind of quotes the classic Cadillac dash. Yeah, jewelry-like in a way. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's really surprisingly similar.

Our idea was to run a classic experiment, control versus treatment condition. Two cars run in succession over exactly the same route. We started in Dan's classic Coupe de Ville. I've got the Caddy bug right now, as they say. And what is it you love about it? It's like putting on a, like a tailored suit. The smoothness of this car for 1963 or any of the Cadillacs of that era are just...

you know, above the rest, I believe. Yeah. It really takes you back in time driving this car. This thing, like, it feels like we're gliding down the road in some giant ocean liner. Exactly. And this is, you know, this is how people traveled back then, you know. They got four or five people in the car with the big trunk and the suitcases in the back and, you know, taking a two-hour trip to say, you know, from the city to the Adirondacks and that was...

That was the big trip of the summer. Then we get back and we turn to Dan and say, all right, now we drive the same route, only this time in the Lyric. He's a bit skeptical at first. Dan needs gasoline around to feel happy. So always bizarre to get into a car and not hear an engine, but there is a nice sing, if you will, to this car. But you see what I'm saying? Like how conceptually...

It's the modern version of the exact experience we just had with the Coup de Vente. It has that feel of putting that tailored suit on. It's got that, you know, it's just Cadillacs always have this extra excellence feel when you're driving. It just has this floating feel. Unhurried. We're all going to be fine. Right. It's all good. I think I'm going to make it. It doesn't matter. I'm in the car. It's great.

With Dan gushing over the look of our lyric, I'm reminded of something Melissa Grady mentioned in our chat earlier.

And design is so much better at articulating this than I am. But there are definitely cues taken from the past. Really, you know, a lot of the interior detailing, the bespoke nature, using all the best materials. So I think when we look at returning Cadillac to, honestly, like the standard of the world, you'll see that as you look at the older Cadillacs.

What's next? What Cadillac can we, what EV can we expect from Cadillac? So I can't give you details, but I can tell you next year is going to be very exciting for Cadillac and exciting on more than one front. So come on, you can't even give us a, come on, Melissa, just a hint. Come on, just a hint. Well, that's enough fun for the day. Time to head home to the family. And in case you're wondering, my daughter back home, fast asleep.

Hush little baby, don't get car sick. Daddy's gonna buy you a Cadillac Lyric. 2023 Lyric orders are full. Go to Cadillac.com and complete a pre-order from model year 24 to be among the first to order a model year 24 when available.

Safety or driver assistant features are no substitute for the driver's responsibility to operate the vehicle in a safe manner. Read the vehicle's owner's manual for important feature limitations and information. Map coverage available in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

This episode was produced by Jacob Smith and Joey Fishground. Our editor is Julia Barton. Engineering by Nina Lawrence and mastering by Sarah Bruguier. Special thanks to Melissa Grady at Cadillac and Carly Megliore. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

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