Future Cadillac design to come from advanced concepts

DETROIT— As Cadillac launches a portfolio of all-electric vehicles in less than a decade, the luxury brand wants to give its customers a novel transportation experience beyond the powertrain.

"They're expecting something radically different," said Joe Baker, creative interior design manager for General Motors' advanced design team. "We really need to try to have a bit of a sea change in how to approach them and the sort of products that we provide for them."

Inspiration for Cadillac's future products will come from the luxury brand's most advanced concepts: a flying car; a shared electric, autonomous van; and a bespoke two-passenger autonomous EV.

The concept vehicles, which make up the Cadillac Halo Concept Portfolio, represent the brand's vision for 2030, when its entire lineup in North America is slated to be electric. Cadillac doesn't have plans to bring these concept vehicles to the market, but the next generation of Cadillac design likely will draw from the features in all three concepts, especially the InnerSpace two-passenger car.

"We're continuing to build on the big idea of effortless travel through extraordinary means and inspiring our designers to be bold," Mike Simcoe, GM vice president of global design, said at CES, where GM debuted the InnerSpace.

It "was developed for our demanding world, where intimacy and relaxation have become precious and rare commodities. InnerSpace puts human wellness and connection at the center of a driverless environment, allowing two passengers to focus on their journey," he said.

The InnerSpace slopes to create smooth curves bordered by a panoramic roofline. Inside, passengers view a live camera feed of the road ahead. They can also choose entertainment or wellness and recovery features for the screen. The vehicle eventually uses biometrics to sense occupants' mood and determine the appropriate mode, audio choice, lighting sensation and even the scent inside the cabin.

"Instead of concentrating on the body style, we wanted to create spaces," said Baker. "Being that it's Level 5, you're freed from having to drive. How are you going to repurpose your time in the vehicle?"

Pulling interior and exterior design elements from concepts has benefited Cadillac. The Escala sedan concept drew wide acclaim when it debuted in 2016, and it significantly influenced the redesigned, highly anticipated 2021 Escalade SUV. Next-generation Cadillacs likely will borrow more than aesthetics from the concept vehicles. The user experience inside the vehicles will help shape Cadillac's product plans.

When passengers enter the concept vehicles, the cars can read their blood pressure and heart rate and determine their mood. Over time, the vehicles would develop a database of the passengers' preferences — such as whether the occupant prefers silence or loud music while stressed.

"It was important for leadership that this thing be perceived as just above and beyond where Cadillac was," Baker said. "We call this the Halo because it's sort of positioned essentially above the existing Cadillac."

The InnerSpace debut followed reveals of the other Halo concepts at CES in 2021: the PersonalSpace, a single-passenger aero vehicle, and the SocialSpace, a six-passenger electric autonomous van similar to the Cruise Origin.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in January that a personal autonomous vehicle would be on sale by mid-decade. These concepts are unlikely to be on the road by then, if ever, but they illustrate GM's ambitions.

"InnerSpace and the rest of the Cadillac's Halo portfolio help us to articulate our vision for an autonomous future," Barra said at CES. "While they are concepts, our path to autonomy is comprehensive and very real."