New Model Cars

General Motor's (GM) $72,000 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid may be the worst-timed, least-relevant new model introduction in decades. The new Escalade is not without virtues, featuring advanced technology similar to Toyota's (TM) Prius which improves fuel economy 50% over gas versions, to 21 miles per gallon. Still, brash, ostentatious, and, well, gaudy, the Escalade makes the very opposite statement GM is trying to peddle as it begs Congress for a bailout worth billions.