It’s a stereotype. And it’s offensive!
Here are two facts that will make you feel old: Iconic mob drama The Sopranos and iconic bigshot SUV the Cadillac Escalade are both 25 years old. These aren’t unrelated pieces of information, though—GM’s large and luxurious SUV is both emblematic of the era in which the show took place and a major vehicle used in it. Now, fans of the show and GM’s near-classic GMT800 are celebrating by parking their SUVs in front of the home where Tony waded with ducks and snapping a pic.
The Escalade, and GM SUVs in general, play an important role in The Sopranos. Protagonist and head honcho Tony Soprano begins the series with a maroon GMT400 Suburban, but as he rises in prestige treats himself to a pair of GMT800 Escalade ESVs: first, a black truck that meets an untimely end; then, a white one to replace it.
A Facebook post on private group ‘04 Rich shows a black ‘06 Suburban LTZ with the caption “If ya know, ya know.” Replies flowed in immediately, including a photo of a white second-gen Escalade in the same spot and a modern GMC Sierra backed partway up the driveway Tony strutted down in his bathrobe to retrieve the newspaper. (One can only imagine his reaction to finding some goober’s truck in his driveway.)
Now, this seems harmless enough, but we have to warn against loitering at a well-known filming location, and especially against trespassing on private property, as the person who backed up the driveway did. There’s no law I know of prohibiting one from visiting a public street and snapping a picture, but I’m also not sure people who live on cul-de-sacs want mobs of people—pun intended—blocking up their street.
If you do decide to visit Tony’s neighborhood in your GMT800 or other aughts luxobarge, please be respectful of the folks who live there. And send us a photo, please.
