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Video: Cadillac’s Almost Self-Driving System On Display
We all know about Google’s fleet of self-driving Prius’s, but there are few automakers actually close to creating a self-driving car. Well, that was until now. Cadillac has been steadily testing its self-driving car system and has remained somewhat tight lipped about it all. Just recently, Cadillac finally released some information, along with several videos. According to Cadillac, this system, dubbed “Super Cruise,” is not complete self-driving, but more of a situational self-driving car. It uses features that are already included in the existing XTS and ATS vehicles and tweaks them to allow Super Cruise to drive the vehicle without any driver intervention on the interstate. It uses features like rear automated braking, adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, lane departure warning, blind spot alert, and automatic collision preparation in combination with the vehicle’s GPS system and electric power steering to actually keep the car driving at safe speeds and in its lane. It is set by simply picking the lane and speed you want to drive in, then clicking the “Cruise” button. Once activated, this system senses other traffic all around it, as well as the lane the vehicle is traveling in, and makes mild adjustments as needed. It even will take the vehicle through turns on the highway without the driver touching the steering wheel. A sweet feature on Cadillac’s Super Cruise is that it uses the front collision detection system to measure the speed of the car in front of you. It then adjusts its speed to remain the prescribed two seconds behind that car. It will even bring the car to a complete stop and re-accelerate to the set speed, or the speed of traffic, all by itself, which makes it awesome for traffic jams. There’s only one issue, it is not fully autonomous, but some drivers may treat it like such. You cannot just kick back and read the paper, as your Caddy drives you to work. It’s still a good start anyways. GM expects to start rolling out versions of Super Cruise “In the coming years.” Hit the jump to read Cadillac’s press release Full story 2014 Cadillac ELR
With the recent leak from OnStar, we now have a good amount of certainty that the Cadillac ELR, a gas-electric hybrid that Cadillac teased back in 2011, is nearly a certainty to arrive for the 2014 model year. Its impeding release will mark the first time the luxury automaker will dive into the hybrid realm with a vehicle not named “Escalade.” However, this is not the first time in Caddy’s long history that it’s tread into the economy car world. The first one was the laughably Cavalier-like Cimarron. If you recall, Cadillac was so embarrassed by the Cimarron that the automaker refused to call it a Cadillac and instead dubbed it the “Cimarron by Cadillac” originally. GM later forced a name change to “Cadillac Cimarron.” Needless to say Caddy does not want to relive those days, so there is certainly some understanding in this release taking so long. With this newfound evidence of its release, it is about time we take a closer look at the 2014 Cadillac ELR and see how it stacks up against others luxury hybrids. Click past the jump to read the entire review to see if the ELR will end up on TIME’s “50 Worst Cars of All Time” list alongside the Cimarron. Full story 2010 Cadillac CTS-V "Patriot Missile" by D3 Cadillac
Anytime you have a car that can be rightfully named after the US military’s missile defense system, then you must be doing something incredible. This 2010 Cadillac CTS-V is called the Patriot Missile, and by all indication, it does justice to that awesome nickname. What was once a supercharged 2010 CTS-V was taken in by the folks over at D3 Cadillac for some serious custom work involving the installation of D3’s own Stage 4 Tuner Power Kit. To prep the matte-silver CTS-V Patriot Missile for the increased horsepower output, D3 Cadillac went and upgraded the car’s cooling system while also installing a new aluminum radiator with an improved core, and a bigger intercooler and intercooler pump. Add that to an enhanced supercharger, new spark plugs, new exhaust headers, and a reprogrammed ECU and you have a car that produces a ridiculous 700 horsepower and 700 lb/ft of torque. The final touches to this rocket-like CTS-V include a new suspension system that comes with D3 Cadillac-spec KW Variant 3 coilovers, adjustable endlinks, chassis bracing, D3 Cadillac sway bars, and a new set of Toyo Proxes R888 tires. UPDATE 05/01/2012: So what does D3 do when they have 1500 HP Caddy’s itching to get put on the open road? They hand the keys to INDY Car driver J.R. Hildebrand and Formula D driver Tyler McQuarrie, of course! These two racers took these 1,500 horsepower luxury cars down to the Long Beach street circuit and stretched out these Caddy’s legs a little. By stretching their legs we mean smoldering the tires to oblivion and getting it on video (above). The tire smoldering and supercharger whining is aplenty in these videos, so make sure you check it out! Video: Cadillac CTS-V vs Mercedes E63 AMG Estate
Station wagons are boring! We generally agree with this statement, but when we’re talking about a $64,340 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon and a $94,075 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate, boring shouldn’t be anywhere near the front of our minds. In fact, we’d take one of these killer grocery-toting family vehicles over our current SUV any day of the week! The Cadillac CTS-V Wagon is powered by a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 engine that delivers a total of 556 hp and 551 lb.-ft. of torque. As a comparison, the E63 AMG Estate features a 6.2 Liter AMG V8 that delivers 525 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque. Motor Trend took the two sports wagons and put them through an impressive test drive that includes a short trip to a drag strip. Which was the best of two? Find out by watching this 9 minute video. We can assure you that it will be worth it! Impressive storage in the 2013 Cadillac XTS
When Cadillac designers and engineers learned that full-size luxury sedan customers desire and expect more room for active lifestyle gear, they gave themselves an ambitious goal: Maximize the space in the upcoming 2013 Cadillac XTS to comfortably accommodate four adults and four golf bags. “Our owners want to comfortably take four adults out for a round of golf and dinner afterwards,” said XTS Chief Engineer Sheri Hickok. “The challenge was to give customers what they expect in terms of interior spaciousness, comfort and luxury, but to do so without compromising exterior looks and handling dynamics.” The final result of their efforts was almost 40 inches of rear legroom in the Caddy and a massive trunk measuring 18 cubic feet. In terms of space, this puts the Cadillac ahead of the Audi A8L, the BMW 7-series, and the Mercedes-Benz S-class. The country club credibility of the XTS is on display at the Cadillac Championship at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, where four full Callaway golf bags and four adults fit into the Cadillac easily and with room to spare. Security is something Cadillac takes seriously, so the contents of the trunk remain out of sight and behind a locked lid. And with more than a dozen storage compartments, the passenger cabin was also designed to keep valuables hidden. A space under the front center armrest can conceal a smartphone, and there is even a hidden compartment behind the advanced new Cadillac User Interface, known as CUE, that is accessed by a hidden button and motorized door. Check out the video above that Cadillac has released, and see why the 2013 Cadillac XTS should be your vehicle of choice for future golf trips. Innovative signature lighting on the 2013 Cadillac XTS
Lighting really is important on all vehicles, but, on luxury vehicles, it can make or break the look of the entire car. In the case of the upcoming all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan, the dramatic lighting truly reflects the inspiration that went into this car. The XTS’s more than 20 separate light sources “greet” the driver in a choreographed sequence that is timed to the fraction of a second when cued by various triggers, such as the key fob, the doors, and the ignition switch. The new XTS includes signature Cadillac vertical LEDs in the headlights and taillights, LEDs embedded in the door handles, and ambient lighting in and around the car’s perimeter. Not only does this lighting extend the car’s design, but it also brightens the perimeter of the car providing added security in dark parking lots and making the car easier to locate. Inside the XTS, cooler blue lights accent the car’s instruments while warmer lights highlight the passenger areas. Cadillac designers have taken advantage of advances in LED technology, using lighting that conveys drama and space alongside functional benefits. Inside the XTS, cooler blue lights accent the car’s instruments while warmer lights highlight the passenger areas. “The new LED offerings now provide a new palette of color to bring more dramatic lighting effects that have never been available before,” said Christos Roustemis, Cadillac interior designer. "We sketched each phase of the process to carefully choreograph how every important area inside and outside of the vehicle would come up and fade back down, similar to a production crew lighting a theater stage.” Check out the video and let us know what you think about Cadillac’s awesome new signature lighting in the comments below. Super Bowl Ad: Skeptics of the Cadillac ATS can go to [Green] Hell!
Cadillac’s reinvention as a brand that has set its sights on its German rivals hasn’t gone unnoticed in these pages. But if there are still those that doubt Caddy’s new direction and the aggressive manner in which they’re pursuing it, well, the American automaker has a nice little message for you that it’s showing through their new Super Bowl ad. One of Caddy’s new models is the all-new ATS sedan, a car that it painstakingly built from the ground up to be the kind of model that can bring the fight to its German counterparts, particularly that of the BMW 3-Series. Cadillac is not one to shy away from a boast too, and they do that every time chance they get with the ATS and the fact that the car’s dynamics and development were honed and fine-tuned in one of the world’s most demanding testing grounds, the Nurburgring, or as it’s affectionately called, the "Green Hell." In the commercial, Cadillac puts one and one together, highlighting the ATS sedan and the fact that it’s got some Green Hell initiation to be proud of. And if there’s anyone that will tell you Caddy can’t beat the BMWs of the world? Well, they have a short reply for that: "Go to [Green] Hell." 2014 Cadillac ATS-V
Cadillac seems to be just about done filling in all of the blanks in their popular CTS model, so it was high time for them to provide some definitive details on their next project: the ATS. Prepared to slide in right below the CTS and all of its variants, the ATS should be debuting in sedan form in 2012. That’s all fine and dandy, but we are much more interested in the variant following that unveiling with the ATS-V in 2014. First rumored in 2008, the ATS is ready to go and will be built on GM’s new Alpha platform with a rear wheel drive system. Its design will be inspired by Cadillac’s Art and Science design language which "incorporates sharp, sheer forms and crisp edges — a form vocabulary that expresses bold, high-technology design and invokes the technology used to design it." The ATS-V was first thought to carry a 470 HP V8 engine as found in the CTS-V, but worried that the car would then take sales away from its bigger brother, Cadillac opted for a twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 that will produce around 380 HP. The engine will be mated to a six speed manual or automatic transmission and the combination will get the ATS-V coupe to 60 mph in under five seconds with a top speed of above 170 mph. This engine choice fits in nicely with the ATS-V’s biggest rival, the BMW M3, but Cadillac may need to up the ante in terms of power for the competition to be a bit stiffer. The future M3 will produce around 450 HP and should get to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds, but top speed will be electronically limited to 155 mph. The full line of ATS models should cover a sedan in 2012, the ATS-V and Coupe in 2014, and an ATS-V Convertible in 2015. Stay tuned for more details! Cadillac may build roadster from ATS platform
Cadillac, much like Volvo and Buick, is in dire need of revamping its lineup to appeal to a younger generation. They’ve already come a long way with their CTS-V models speeding through the hearts of auto enthusiasts (even in wagon form), but if the grapevine is to be believed, the American luxury brand is thinking about offering a new roadster built off of the recently unveiled ATS’ platform. The new ATS Roadster was previously thought to be offered in an ATS-V variant in 2015, but new rumors are stating that this new model will be a two-seater roadster ready to take on models like the Mercedes-Benz SLK. This new roadster will be built on the same rear-wheel-drive platform as the ATS and will most likely share the same engine lineup: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 200 HP, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 270 HP, and a 3.6-liter V6 with 318 HP. These options will allow the roadster ATS to be a bit more powerful than the SLK350 that delivers a total of 302 HP. More details about the new ATS-based Roadster will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! 2012 Detroit Auto Show Preview
With the calendar turning over a new page to 2012, the very first major auto show is set to open its doors in Detroit when the North American International Auto Show welcomes automakers - both local and foreign - to the Motor City. This year, American brands are coming to Detroit in full force where they will be joined by a number of international automakers in presenting a steady diet of concept cars, production debuts, and just about everything else in between. Among the notable debuts set to take place include the brand-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL, as well as the 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8. German automaker Porsche has also penciled in the 911 Cabriolet for the festivities, while Lexus will be on-hand to display the intriguing and mysterious LF-LC 2+2 sports coupe concept. As for the local contingent, Ford is leading the way with the premiere of the Fusion global mid-size sedan while Dodge is set to introduce their Alfa Romeo Giulietta-based compact sedan, the Dart. There’s plenty of action headed to Detroit when the 2012 NAIAS opens its doors on January 14th. Head over after the jump to check out a preview of all the cars scheduled to be part of all the festivities. Full story | featured reviews:
Cadillac cars reviews2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
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