Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, Cadillac, Luxury
Every single Cadillac XTS post ends up with comments deploring the sedan's FWD - even a post that speaks of nothing more than the iPad buyers will get with the car. For those folks especially, Car and Driver has loaded the hopper with news on the possible treats coming from the Wreath and Crest. Examining uses of the Omega platform, C/D says "a proper rear-drive sedan" will arrive in "a few" years and take the top spot in the lineup. Predictions are that it will have a rakish roofline and the 310-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6.
GM's Omega platform is said to have been engineered to accommodate this new RWD flagship, though the chances of it actually coming to fruition are about as likely as winning the Mega Millions. The only trifles, according to C/D, are that the program hasn't even been approved, and if it is, would Cadillac have an engine good enough to serve in such a car or would it need to develop one. But said flagshp does, we repeat, it does, have a platform. Still, since the Cadillac Sixteen concept is from a time when "Gaga" is what babies said, you should probably stick to the Mega Millions for now.More details emerge about new RWD Cadillac flagship originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Read more... | Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Technology, Cadillac, Luxury
If you read the owner's manual of your car you'd begin to realize how much of your own vehicle you didn't know about. If it's a car made within the past few years, then the owner's manual covering the dirty bits will be joined by an even thicker manual that covers just the infotainment system. Cadillac, however, has a better way for buyers to learn the CUE-powered mysteries of the $44,995 XTS: give owners an iPad with the car, loaded with tutorials on how to get the most out of the Cadillac User Experience system.
Yes, when the Hyundai Equus was introduced it came with an iPad installed with a multimedia version of its owner's manual. Based on Wired's discussion with Cadillac, however, this is much wider implementation, with each Cadillac dealer required to have two "certified technology experts" on duty, plus a CUE call center for owners, an online media team looks for CUE questions to answer, and a mobile CUE specialist who makes house calls. The point seems to be that this isn't about getting an iPad with your car, it's about understanding ever tech thing your car can do. And if you don't know how to access the full power of your XTS, it will only be because you don't want to.
Scroll down for General Motors' official release.2013 Cadillac XTS to come standard with iPad originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 May 2012 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
... [Read More] | Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Cadillac, GM
Cadillac's ATS is scheduled to hit dealer showrooms this summer, and General Motors has finally divulged pricing. Its smallest luxury sedan will start at $33,990 including destination(*), but that price will only snag you the entry-level model, powered by a 200-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with a six-speed automatic. Stepping up to the turbocharged, 270-hp 2.0-liter will push the price up to $35,795, and bring all-wheel-drive and manual transmission options into play. The top-of-the-line ATS carries a $42,090 price tag and is powered by a version of the 3.6-liter V6 from the Cadillac CTS, rated at 320-hp and mated to an automatic tranny, with all-wheel-drive available.
While these prices are hard to evaluate without a full breakdown of standard equipment - which Cadillac promises in due time - we can compare them to two benchmarks, the all-new 2012 BMW 3 Series and the slightly larger CTS. While Caddy does undercut the base 3 Series price of $35,795, that entry-level ATS is down some 40 horsepower. The mid-priced ATS, the one with the turbo 2.0-liter, however, trumps the 328i's 240-hp engine by almost that much. With equivalent starting sticker prices, it only makes the inevitable head-to-head battle all that more interesting.
The CTS, however, starts at $36,810, which makes the top-level ATS seem spendy at first glance. Granted, the CTS is nearing the end of its life cycle, but clearly those looking for a more luxury-oriented, V6-powered sedan are going to have to closely study the standard equipment sheet to determine what justifies the $5,000-plus price premium for the smaller car.
Scroll down for the full press release, and be sure to check out the new images in our gallery.Continue reading GM... [Read More] | Filed under: Technology, Cadillac, GM
Cadillac is trying to make a name for itself on the safety and technology front, recently introducing its new Safety Alert Seat and outfitting new models with a suite of safety equipment that arguably puts it among the leaders in the industry. We got a chance to sample some of this last month, but we were also allowed to "drive" a semi-autonomous SRX test mule equipped with what Cadillac is calling "Super Cruise."
Nominally an improvement on adaptive cruise control, Super Cruise is actually a more sophisticated system that uses a camera communicating with the car's GPS to "see" the road ahead. It goes one step further than currently available systems, however, automatically centering the vehicle in the lane using its electric power steering system. Unlike other active lane-departure systems that use a car's brakes to help prevent it from veering off the road, the system General Motors is developing allows for precisely setting the vehicle's position within the lane. The test mule we sampled had steering-wheel-mounted buttons that would allow you to "nudge" the car from side to side by a foot at a time without upsetting its course. Super Cruise also communicates with the vehicle's other active safety systems to help prevent and mitigate crashes.
Super Cruise is designed only for use on the highway, to "ease the driver's workload."
Super Cruise is designed only for use on the highway, to "ease the driver's workload," with drivers still required to steer in city traffic and for more complicated maneuvers like passing. GM officials acknowledged the difficulty in deploying a system like this, a technology that if used improperly may encourage inattentive driving. Supposedly the system will only be functional under the specific circumstances for which it is designed, much like today's in-car entertainment systems will not play video on the... [Read More] | Filed under: Sedan, China, Plants/Manufacturing, Cadillac, GM, Beijing Motor Show, Luxury
Cadillac's new XTS isn't just headed to China, it will be built there. The forthcoming full-size luxury cruiser had already been earmarked for production in General Motors' Oshawa, Ontario Assembly Plant, but the automaker has just announced in Beijing that it will also be built in China with its joint venture partner Shanghai General Motors.
Cadillac is still a relatively small player in China's premium segment, with just 68 dealers and 30,000 sales last year. However, it's growing quickly, with March sales up more than 35 percent year-over-year to 2,745 units. Better still, General Motors says Cadillac's average buying age is very young - just 35 - and it expects to have 120 dealers online by the end of this year to meet growing demand.
The idea of local XTS production strikes us as a smart one, as China is enjoying a swell in demand for luxury cars, and it has always maintained a strong demand for vehicles with large rear seats. Cadillac already has a solid track record building in the communist nation, as it first began assembling the China-only SLS Executive Sedan - essentially an extended wheelbase STS - back in 2006.Continue reading Cadillac expanding XTS production to China
Cadillac expanding XTS production to China originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our ... [Read More] | Filed under: Coupe, Wagon, Cadillac, GM, Design/Style, Luxury
Cadillac's CTS Coupe and Sport Wagon are two of the most distinctive designs to come out of a mass-market brand in some time, and we're big devotees to both here at Autoblog. Predictably, the two models attract a much smaller slice of the North American market than the four-door sedan, but Cadillac says it remains committed to offering both a two-door and a load-lugger in its lineup. However, that doesn't mean such future models will wear CTS badging.
According to Car and Driver, Cadillac is undecided, but one or both bodystyles could migrate to the smaller ATS platform. While neither of the two CTS variants has been any great shakes sales-wise (Cadillac does say the wagon has outsold its BMW 3 Series equivalent), the models are seen as important tools to woo shoppers - conquest sales in particular.
We might add that since General Motors remains committed to the idea of making Cadillac a global brand, a smaller coupe and wagon model could give the marque entry into larger volume segments in Europe. For its part, C/D expects Cadillac to position a coupe between the ATS and next CTS, mimicking pricing and hierarchy strategies at Audi and soon, BMW. The publication also predicts that a wagon will stay in the CTS family, as it "better meets the needs of older, richer luxo-wagon buyers," noting that ATS wagon intenders could likely be wooed into the SRX anyhow.
What do you think? Leave your... [Read More] | Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Cadillac, Luxury
There's an old newspaper adage that dictates: "Dog bites man" is not news. "Man bites dog," now that's news. In other words, the subversion of the usual order of things is what sells papers. And you might say the same about Cadillac. A Caddy getting bigger, by that logic, is hardly news, but a Caddy getting smaller sure is.
That's what makes the new ATS such a big step for the top-end of the General Motors brand portfolio. Occupying the place once taken by the Catera (which led to the CTS), that model now has to kick up a size to make room for its new baby brother. And so it appears to be doing.
These spy shots show what our intrepid auto paparazzi say is the next-gen CTS, applying the same Art & Science design language to a slightly larger form that's expected to switch from the Zeta platform to a stretched version of The General's new rear-drive Alpha architecture.
In between the camouflage we can make out a new grille, projector headlamps with LED daytime runners, with radar sensors aplenty and dual exhaust tips around the back. Sources expect a 2.0-liter turbo four to come in with 270 horsepower as the base engine in the new CTS, with the 3.6-liter V6 also expected to be on offer as well as a turbo six sometime after production kicks off at Lansing Grand River Assembly in September 2013.Cadillac spotted testing bigger next-gen CTS originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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... [Read More] | Filed under: New York Auto Show, Crossover, Cadillac, Luxury
If there's any place a Cadillac SUV can feel at home, surely it's Manhattan. Only fitting, then, that the updated 2013 Cadillac SRX has debuted at the New York Auto Show.
The revised luxury crossover has been treated to a mild facelift, but as with so many things, it's what's inside that counts with the new SRX. The cabin has been updated with a series of cosmetic and functional changes (new steering wheel, new shifter, etc.), but the bigger news is its fresh electronics. Cadillac has imbued the angular high-rider with its new CUE infotainment and connectivity system, complete with an eight-inch capacitive touchscreen. Other additions include the Safety Alert Seat system and active safety features like automatic front- and rear braking, adaptive cruise control, and so on.
In short, it looks to be a better SRX than the one it succeeds, and you can check it out in our gallery of live shots above and the stock shots from the manufacturer below.Continue reading 2013 Cadillac SRX looks the same, hides its high-tech secrets
2013 Cadillac SRX looks the same, hides its high-tech secrets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Read more... | Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Cadillac, Luxury
Cadillac has announced base pricing for the 2013 XTS, its all-new, full-size luxury sedan. The car goes on sale this spring with a starting MSRP of $44,995 (*including destination charges).
The front-drive XTS will be available in four specifications: Base, Luxury, Premium and Platinum. All-wheel-drive will be available with any of the three trim packages. Cadillac will be deploying CUE, its new capacitive touch infotainment system, as standard equipment and every XTS will be equipped with Magnetic Ride Control.
Not mentioned today was the specific availability of Cadillac's new safety suite or any further pricing information about the specific packages. Cadillac did say it will be releasing a CUE Apple iPad app next month that will replicate the XTS' center screen. Click past the jump to read the full press release, then comment on whether you think Caddy's pricing is a fair shake in Comments. Continue reading 2013 Cadillac XTS priced from $44,995*
2013 Cadillac XTS priced from $44,995* originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cadillac News: 2013 Cadillac XTS to come standard with iPad 
