General Motors sparked a series of new electric vehicles at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show, the main one being the next Cadillac Celestiq. The automaker described the Celestiq as “a super-luxurious, all-electric car …”. And while we don’t yet have a release date or any relevant specs worth noting, GM has revealed some interesting features that are sure to whet your appetite.
GM first showed Celestiq to a handful of reporters at its “EV Day” event in early 2020, but has yet to publicly release an image. The ultra-luxurious sedan was created to serve as a companion to the Cadillac Lyriq, which launched last August. Both vehicles will be built on GM’s Ultium electric vehicle platform, which will power a wide range of vehicle types and sizes, including the GMC Hummer EV and the new BrightDrop delivery vehicles.
The Celestiq will feature four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and a complete glass roof. There’s nothing really unique about a panoramic glass roof, but Cadillac is taking it to the next level, making your roof modularly adjustable. The automaker describes it as “intelligent glass with a four-quadrant suspended particle device”, which allows each occupant of the vehicle to define its own level of transparency. The shade of the glass will match the ambient lighting in the interior cabin, said Crystal Windham, director of interior design at Cadillac, during the CES presentation.
If that doesn’t intrigue you, maybe a huge pillar-to-pillar touchscreen will grab you. The Cadillac Lyriq drew a lot of attention (both positive and negative) for its curved 33-inch LED infotainment screen. And now Cadillac looks ready for a pole vault over the canvas with an even bigger one at Celestiq.
There is a kind of arms race on the infotainment screen going on right now in the auto industry, with old car makers and startups trying to outdo each other in size and functionality. Mercedes-Benz launched its challenge last week with the unveiling of its giant 56-inch Hyperscreen, arriving on the EQS electric sedan later this year. Cadillac did not reveal the size of the Celestiq’s screen, but it promises to cover the entire dashboard of the vehicle.
Image quality promises to be the next level. Cadillac previously described the Lyriq display as having “the highest pixel density available in the automotive industry today and can display more than a billion colors, 64 times more than any other vehicle in the automotive industry”. Prepare your eyes to be flooded by pixels.
Obviously, it remains to be seen how all these screens distract the driver. Without a robust driver monitoring system to ensure that drivers remain focused on the road, these ultra-large screens can be a major liability and security risk. A recent AAA study found that many digital infotainment systems appearing in newer cars can be distracting enough to increase the risk of accidents, especially for older drivers.
To be clear, the Cadillac Celestiq is likely to include the Super Cruise, GM’s advanced “hands-free” driver assistance system that includes a driver monitoring feature. Hopefully it will succeed in keeping drivers’ eyes on the road and not on the screen.