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Cadillac considering more radical ATS-V

Cadillac is stepping up its performance game with the launch of the new ATS-V and CTS-V, but it's not about to rest on the laurels it removed from its own badge. While it's tipped to launch additional V models in the future, the latest word is Caddy could also come out with an even more extreme version of the ATS-V in the near future. According to Car and Driver, the prospect is on the table: "We might have something down the road that is a little bit more aggressive," chief engineer Dave Leone said, while another source pegged its potential arrival for 2017. It's too early to say what would constitute the more extreme model. The magazine points toward the Mercedes-AMG Black Series as an example. Jaguar took a similarly extreme approach with the XKR-S GT, as BMW has with the M3 GTS. As it is, the ATS-V is offered in both coupe and sedan variants with a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 464 horsepower channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. Cadillac reportedly considered employing a dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive, but went the old-school route to avoid excess weight and (no doubt) cost.

GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

GM recalls 2022 Cadillac XT5, XT6 and GMC Acadia for suspension issue

General Motors is recalling a relatively small number of 2022 Cadillac and GMC crossovers to address the potential for missing or loose rear suspension hardware that is being blamed on a lapse in quality control at the company's Spring Hill facility. The campaign covers 223 examples of the Cadillac XT5, 159 examples of the Cadillac XT6 and 354 examples of the GMC Acadia. "General Motors has decided that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2022 model year Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia vehicles," GM said in its defect report. "A fastener in the left-rear suspension toe link in some of these vehicles may not have been fully tightened during suspension assembly. After an assembly process was moved to a new area, error proofing equipment was not initially set up properly, which allowed a window where the operator might miss tightening certain fasteners without the failure being flagged." The issue was discovered by a quality engineer at the Spring Hill facility in March of this year, at which point GM conducted an audit to determine which and how many vehicles may have left the factory with improperly torqued or missing fasteners, narrowing down the recall population to the above 736 vehicles. No incidents associated with the defect have been reported in customer vehicles.  Related video: Recalls Buick Cadillac GM Ownership Safety