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2014 Cadillac ELR leases for $699 a month

Most Autoblog readers thought the $75,000 price tag on the 2014 Cadillac ELR was too high. If you can't swing the MSRP all in one go, how does a lease price of $699 a month sound? That's the amount that Cadillac is offering on the official ELR website, with some caveats, of course. First off, it appears that this lease price is for just for "current owners and lessees of all 1999 or newer GM vehicles." They will also have to pony up $4,999 at signing (all others will need $5,999). Second, the $699-a-month price is for a 39-month lease. Then, of course, "tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment [are] extra" and "each dealer sets own price." Also, it appears that this lease deal is only good until the end of January. Cadillac started shipping the ELR plug-in hybrid coupe to dealers last month. There are two things to note in the fine print. The most surprising is that the payments are based on "a 2014 Cadillac ELR with an MSRP of $76,000." That's $1,000 more than the official MSRP announced in October. Then we get to the real kicker: The lease limits you to a mere 32,500 miles, which is just 833.3 miles a month. Well, 'limit' isn't the exact word, since you can certainly drive more. All you have to do is pay 25 cents per mile for each mile over 32,500. Drive the national average of 13,476 miles in a year? That comes to 43,797 miles over 39 months, which is 11,297 extra miles and an extra $2,824.25.

A few signs that Cadillac's revival is taking hold

Only a flatworm would not have predicted the Cadillac ATS would help increase sales for America's erstwhile luxury brand of record; however, even the best automotive oracles didn't realize by how much: The ATS fueled a 49-percent increase of the brand's year-on-year sales in March, the sixth straight month of growth for Cadillac. The momentum helped push General Motors to post a 6.4-increase in sales in March versus 2012, leading its domestic competitors.
Dealership salesmen are among the first to register the shift occurring at Cadillac. A Texas dealer related an incident in which he helped a mother affix a baby seat in a car for a test drive, explaining that as opposed to the older buyers that are still a Cadillac mainstay he's getting "a pretty diverse group that's coming through the door now" who are "younger and better educated." Aided by incentives on the ATS, Cadillac's sales are up 38 percent so far this year, overtaking Acura as the fourth best selling luxury brand, and GM stock is benefiting with incremental gains because of it. Based on early response, the new 2014 Cadillac CTS should keep things going in the same direction.
The trend at the Wreath and Crest is part of a larger sales trend happening among domestics - with other models like the Dodge Dart and Ford Fusion doing well - and overall US car sales. Head over to Bloomberg for the big picture and role the ATS plays in it.

Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.