May 7, 2003

CADILLAC CTS AND ESCALADE EXT MAKE FILM HISTORY IN THE MATRIX RELOADED

In General Motors' largest product placement effort ever, two of Cadillac's boldest products, the CTS sedan and Escalade EXT sport utility truck, will star in a spectacular car chase in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' The Matrix Reloaded, one of the year's most anticipated films.

The film, which hits theaters May 15, is the second installment of a trilogy that began with The Matrix, the 1999 release that revolutionized the science-fiction/action film genre with groundbreaking special effects and innovative storytelling, spawning an edgy, high-tech following and earning four Academy Awards. The Matrix also was the first DVD to sell a million units and has since become the top-selling DVD of all time.

The Cadillac CTS and Escalade EXT appear in The Matrix Reloaded in one of the most elaborate freeway chase sequences ever filmed. After spending months searching for the perfect highway location, filmmakers were unable to find an existing freeway that met the necessary production requirements, so they built their own mile-and-a-half-long freeway – complete with a 19-foot high wall and two overpasses – on a runway at the Alameda Naval Base.

"Cadillac has a long, rich history of interaction with American pop culture in film, television and music, and this role in The Matrix Reloaded, for us, is another tangible symbol of Cadillac's product renaissance," said Mark LaNeve, Cadillac general manager. "Even though Cadillac has appeared in more than 100 films over the past 100 years, this marks the first time Cadillac has strategically invested and leveraged its products in a major film."

"We selected Cadillac to play a major role in The Matrix Reloaded because we knew the CTS and EXT could handle our rigorous production demands, as well as fit seamlessly into the innovative, hyper-stylized world of the Matrix," said Joel Silver, producer of The Matrix trilogy.

Cadillac also saw their vehicles as a perfect fit for this much anticipated film and invested a significant amount of time and vehicles to the project. Cadillac turned over more than 24 vehicles to Silver Pictures to use in The Matrix Reloaded freeway chase. The spectacular sequence runs approximately 15 minutes but offers little insight into how Cadillac created two-dozen vehicles that didn't yet exist. The story melds talent, hard work and impeccable timing.

The story behind the story

It began in late 2000, when GM learned Warner Bros. Pictures was seeking vehicles for The Matrix Reloaded. Familiar with the provocative, edgy, high-tech nature of the film, members of GM's corporate marketing team instantly thought of Cadillac. The opportunity to play a role in the film fit well into Cadillac's larger strategic promotional plans, which aimed at getting Cadillac's bold new products to appear in unexpected places.

"One of Cadillac's biggest challenges is to gain more consideration among young, affluent audiences," said Kim Kosak, Cadillac advertising and promotions director. "The Matrix Reloaded provides an unexpected stage for Cadillac and great visibility with customers who are difficult to reach with conventional media and might not have considered a Cadillac in the past. It also gives moviegoers a chance to see the vehicles in action in a dramatic way."

So, after much discussion about timing, logistics, product availability and fit, Cadillac was fully on board to have its vehicles cast in the film even though the boldly styled CTS and Escalade EXT were at least a year from reality.

Movie representatives flew to Detroit, Mich. to look at vehicles, sketches and photos. It soon became clear the CTS was a frontrunner. During a visit to a Detroit-area vehicle prep facility, filmmakers inspected the second generation Cadillac Escalade that was a few months away from production, but they were unconvinced it was the right fit for the chase.

Then, from across the room, they spotted one of two prototype Escalade EXT sport utility trucks. Its proportions and unconventional appearance had the look they needed.

Building something from nothing

From a logistical perspective, building the CTS was a fairly reasonable proposition. The car was about to enter the testing phase, which required numerous prototype vehicles for various engineering evaluations. After speaking with the CTS engineers about the Matrix project, CTS Vehicle Line Executive Jim Taylor commissioned Bernie LaCroix, assistant chief engineer, to round up the team.

"We were one year from production, the absolute peak period of engineering work," said LaCroix. "Quite frankly, it took some persuading to convince the team this was worth doing because they were focused on executing a flawless product launch. But soon, they warmed up to the idea and then really started getting into it. We worked together to figure out a way to do both without compromising either."

The CTS team pulled five vehicles from the prototype run and built them to exact specifications. They also secured half a dozen vehicles from older prototype models that, as part of the normal development process, were scheduled to be crushed. Some were whole vehicles, other mere shells, missing windows, and interior parts such as seats or instruments panel, doors and trim.

The team emptied their engineering garage to secure spare CTS parts, pulling components out of the trash and recycling bins to be recovered and reconfigured. They spent the next 10 weeks or so reconfiguring the CTS to meet the filmmakers' specs. The hero vehicles needed to be in perfect condition for filming, but the others didn't need to be as pristine because only small portions would be filmed and the exteriors would be crashed almost immediately after filming began.

"Had this opportunity come three months later, our prototypes would have been tied up in testing and the group of older vehicles would have been scrapped," said LaCroix. "So the timing was perfect."

Building the Escalade EXT was more complicated than CTS. The EXT wouldn't go into production until late 2001, and it hadn't entered the prototype-build stage as CTS had, making it much more difficult to obtain vehicles and parts.

Enter David Schiavone. Schiavone, an engineer, had recently joined the Cadillac marketing group as a product manager after spending 11 years at GM's Milford Proving Ground. He and Escalade marketing director Susan Docherty plunged into the project.

"When we explored the idea of participating in The Matrix Reloaded, we immediately recognized the symmetry between Cadillac and the film," said Docherty. "The first film became a brand unto itself and recreated the genre, attracting a young, intelligent, technically inclined audience. These characteristics complement Cadillac's direction: breaking through the clutter, being an innovator, doing things differently and in a very unexpected way."

From his experience, Schiavone knew there were a few Escalade and Chevy Avalanche prototype vehicles that had finished validation, durability and development testing and would soon be crushed and recycled. At this time, the Escalade and Avalanche were themselves still a couple months from production.

By design, the Escalade and Escalade EXT share many interior and exterior pieces and the Avalanche and Escalade EXT share the same frame and many chassis parts. Schiavone knew engineers could morph the Escalade and Avalanche, along with a few fabricated parts, to create enough Escalade EXTs for the movie. Quickly, he worked to take possession of the vehicles and save them from being crushed.

Next came an elaborate cut-and-paste and parts-fabrication job. The Cadillac team bid out the build process to various independent suppliers. Bill Deem, a former GM dealership mechanic turned vehicle-prep business owner/camera rigger/stunt driver, had the perfect credentials for the job.

Deem leased an old warehouse in suburban Detroit and set about the task. At its peak, he had a team of 10 working on the vehicles. But for much of the time, he toiled alone, often logging 18-hour days, meticulously removing rear-end parts from Escalades and replacing them with rear-end parts removed from the Avalanches. Deem left the front of the Escalades virtually untouched.

Cadillac commissioned various suppliers to custom-fabricate sheet metal components specific to the Escalade EXT. Schiavone worked with the engineering team to pull ahead prototype parts previously designed for the Escalade EXT but not yet built.

Soon, mountains of parts and scrap littered the warehouse, along with a number of vehicle skeletons. In several weeks time, Deem and his team recreated two hero vehicles, eight bullet-hole cars (which filmmakers would "shoot up" with faux bullets) and two full interior bucks, or mockups, to be used for interior camera shots.

On January 22, 2001, Cadillac shipped 14 CTS prototypes, 4 CTS interior properties, 10 EXT prototypes and 2 EXT interior properties to Los Angeles, where they later underwent about eight weeks of filming on a custom-built 1.5-mile, three-lane freeway loop created specifically for the film.

GM also provided filmmakers with approximately 50 additional cars and trucks to be used as background vehicles during the shoot. In addition, Cadillac gave filmmakers technical information about the CTS and Escalade EXT, including engineering specifications, math data and dimensional information about sheet-metal components so stunt coordinators could choreograph the technical elements of the shoot.

"We're excited about the film's debut and our role in this project," says Docherty. "We seized a unique promotional opportunity, built vehicles under challenging circumstances and met Warner Bros.' time goals. We can't wait to see the CTS and EXT on the big screen."

For more behind-the-scenes information about Cadillac's role in The Matrix Reloaded, visit www.cadillac.com/matrix.

The Matrix Reloaded reunites producer Joel Silver and writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski with stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving. In this second chapter of the Matrix trilogy, freedom fighters Neo, Morpheus and Trinity continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation. In their quest to save the human race from extinction, they gain greater insight into the construct of the Matrix and Neo's pivotal role in the fate of mankind.

Cadillac is a division of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest vehicle manufacturer. GM employs 349,000 people globally in its core automotive business and subsidiaries. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. More information on Cadillac and its products can be found on media.gm.com/cadillac.

Cadillac in the Matrix Reloaded photo available on media.gm.com