October’s issue includes our annual 20 Questions feature. You can find this–and more–there.
Well, for starters, let’s talk about how they make real wood trim, which these days is often “engineered wood”—meaning actual wood that’s been diced and molded and baked to the needs of the designer.
“Natural wood only comes in certain sizes because of the way the tree grows,” says Michelle Killen, color and trim manager for the Cadillac Escalade. “Engineered wood is where they take pieces of wood and glue them together on a giant block. So we just design it the way we want.”
To test-drive grains, Killen prints photos of potential woods and lays them over a clay mock-up. Which brings us to fake wood: That, too, is printed. In the industry lingo, fake wood is created using “films,” meaning it’s basically a wrap.
The Escalade’s interior [shown above] doesn’t use any of the imitation stuff, but Killen knows the tricks of the trade. “Films are printed in layers. Some have translucency to make them look more 3-D. The new Tahoe has beautiful films in it.” We’ve seen them. They’re convincing.
More 20 Questions
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