--- title: "GM in Talks With Secret Service to Build Chevy Suburban HD Successor as an Escalade" description: "[General Motors]() has a storied history of government contracts. Worldwide, really. But in the U.S., [Cadillac]() has been the go-to brand for presidential state cars since the 1980s. However, recent news suggests the U.S. Secret Service might do a rebadge,…" date: "2025-03-22" modified: "2025-03-22" authors: - name: "Beverly Braga" job_title: "Weekend Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/beverly-braga" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/gm-in-talks-with-secret-service-to-build-chevy-suburban-hd-successor-as-an-escalade" categories: - "GM News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Cadillac" - "Chevrolet" - "Escalade" - "Suburban" - "suv/crossover" --- # GM in Talks With Secret Service to Build Chevy Suburban HD Successor as an Escalade ![]() *\U.S. Secret Service\* [General Motors]() has a storied history of government contracts. Worldwide, really. But in the U.S., [Cadillac]() has been the go-to brand for presidential state cars since the 1980s. However, recent news suggests the U.S. Secret Service might do a rebadge, replacing its standard heavy-duty Suburbans with Cadillac variants. Through official social channels, the [Secret Service]() shared an image of what appears to be an armored [Escalade]() fashioned after the GM Defense's [Suburban Shield](), a [Chevrolet Suburban]() HD with a lot of "commercial-off-the-shelf components." This is notable because although the current presidential state car is "[The Beast]()," a specially built Cadillac riding on a heavy-duty truck chassis, support vehicles used by the agency for the protection of the president and foreign officials have been Suburbans. "As threats evolve, we continue to explore emerging technologies to ensure our armored vehicles provide the highest level of safety for our protectees," said the Secret Service. "This week, Secret Service Director Sean Curran met with GM executives to discuss advancements that could benefit the next generation of armored SUVs." According to [*Reuters*](), the meeting was held at the GM Global Design Center in Warren, Michigan. The news agency also said the automaker was awarded a $14.8-million contract from Homeland Security Department and Secret Service to produce a new version of "The Beast." *Reuters* noted that this new contract hadn't been previously reported. But as vehicle development times go, this won't happen overnight, or this year, or maybe even during this administration's term. "We are too far out to speak to any specific costs or dates," a Secret Service spokesperson told *Reuters*. "Our engineering, protective operations, and technical security teams work for years to develop the state-of-the-art framework that is used to produce these highly advanced vehicles." ![]() ![]() Unless you count the [fleet-only 3500HD blip](), a Suburban HD hasn't been available to the public for more than a decade when the 2500HD was discontinued after the 2014 model. And, well, that's still going to be the case. As for an Escalade HD, that model has never existed, period. True, Escalades have some heavy-duty capabilities, but none have worn official "HD" badging. However, with the contracts signed and the monies confirmed, we'll see one eventually, right? And maybe, just maybe, *that* vehicle will trickle down to a consumer version. Eh, prolly not. But you could always buy an [Escalade ESV]() and go aftermarket for the [military-grade protections](). ## Author Born and raised in Hawaii, Beverly has been a prolific and published creative writer since her teens. As a contributor to The Drive, Beverly covers the weekend shift, blogging about all things automotive, mobility, transportation, and topics in-between. Currently a digital nomad, Beverly's only constant is her car, a second-generation Mazdaspeed3. Even though she's never in one place for too long, her hot hatch always feels like home. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()