Cadillac Cts-v Recaro Seats Navigation Bose Rearview Camera on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Opel pulls out of Russia, GM to focus on Cadillac, 'iconic' Chevys

General Motors is going to realign its priorities in the struggling Russian marketplace, withdrawing its Opel brand and pulling out mainstream Chevrolet models. Instead, the General will take aim at Russia's well-established oligarchy, pushing Cadillac as well as "iconic" Chevrolet models, like the Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. "This change in our business model in Russia is part of our global strategy to ensure long-term sustainability in markets where we operate," GM president Dan Ammann said in a statement. "This decision avoids significant investment into a market that has very challenging long-term prospects." Russian customers interested in an Opel or mainstream Chevys like the Spark, Aveo (the US market Sonic), Cobalt (shown above), Cruze, Orlando and the like have until December to snap up a car before the brands are pulled. "We do not have the appropriate localization level for important vehicles built in Russia and the market environment does not justify a major investment to further localize." Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said. GM will continue to offer service to customers in Russia. "We can assure our customers that we will continue to provide warranty, parts and services for their Chevrolet and Opel vehicles," Neumann said. Beyond realigning its brands in Russia, GM also announced that it would also be idling the company's factory in the country's second-largest city, St. Petersburg. This is the second time the St. Petersburg factory has been in the news – GM announced that it'd be idled for roughly two months back in February. Scroll down for the official press release from GM. GM to Change Business Model in Russia 2015-03-18 Focus on Cadillac and iconic Chevrolet vehicles Wind down Opel brand and sale of mainstream Chevrolet cars Idle GM Auto manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg Part of GM's strategy to ensure long-term sustainability in global markets DETROIT – General Motors today announced plans to change its business model in Russia. GM will focus on the premium segment of the Russian market with Cadillac and U.S.-built iconic Chevrolet products such as the Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. The Chevrolet brand will minimize its presence in Russia and the Opel brand will leave the market by December 2015. "This change in our business model in Russia is part of our global strategy to ensure long-term sustainability in markets where we operate," said GM President Dan Ammann.

Cadillac CTS Vsport laps the N"urburgring in 8:14.10 [w/video]

You don't have to be German to test your car at the Nürburging. You just have to be serious about beating the Germans on their own home turf. That's why Nissan tests its GT-R at the Nordschleife to challenge the Porsche 911, and why Cadillac - which is no less serious about putting up a fight to German performance sedans - has returned to the 'Ring once again with its latest.
This time it's the turn of the new CTS Vsport, the sportier version of Cadillac's new mid-range sedan that aims to bridge the gap until the arrival of the next CTS-V. So how'd it fare? At the end of what we're sure was an exhaustive test session, the new CTS Vsport clocked a time of 8:14.10.
To put that into context, General Motors points out that the time places the new sedan six seconds ahead of the first-gen CTS-V, whose 400-horsepower V8 engine was actually less potent than the Vsport's new 410hp 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. That's still a good fifteen seconds slower than the outgoing CTS-V that clocked a 7:59 in 2009 with its 556hp supercharged V8, but only a second behind the E60-generation BMW M5 with its high-revving 500hp V10.

Ford C-Max Commercial Brings Cadillac 'Poolside' Ad Down To Earth

If we had tried to predict the first video response to the controversial Poolside video for the Cadillac ELR, we would not have thought it would center on compost. But, hey, it's always nice to be reminded that the real world is sometimes better than fiction. Instead of the chic swagger of 'Poolside,' 'Anything Is Possible' is all about getting dirty. The new short in question is called Upside: Anything Is Possible and it promotes two things: Detroit Dirt and the Ford C-Max Energi. As in the ELR ad, Ford's plug-in C-Max only makes an appearance at the tail end of the spot, but instead of the chic swagger of Poolside, Anything Is Possible is all about getting dirty. The ad stars Pashon Murray, co-founder of Detroit Dirt, which takes natural waste from around Detroit, composts it into soil and then spreads that around "forgotten parcels" of Detroit to create urban farms. Detroit Dirt gets its bio-waste from a lot of sources, including the Detroit Zoological Society (all that herbivore manure has to go somewhere), Ford and General Motors, but this particular ad was the idea of Ford's PR agency, Team Detroit. It was a frenetic shoot, filmed with an LA-based director right after a big winter storm blew through Detroit, and Murray couldn't be happier with the result. "This was Ford Motor Company pushing my story, letting me tell the story that I believe in," Murray tells AutoblogGreen. "I get to help push this car and I get to tell my story." She says that the Team Detroit and Ford had to agree on the message, "from my understanding, [YouTube] is where they wanted to start, not where they wanted to finish." The ad is already getting a positive response on Twitter, so we won't be surprised if it shows up in more places soon. "It's not saying Ford is better than GM. It's telling the story of a black woman who's working hard in Detroit." As Detroit Dirt has off-screen support from both GM and Ford, it's unsurprising to hear Murray say that the video "is not a rivalry thing." She notes that the ad agency Team Detroit came to her and offered to tell the Detroit Dirt story using the framework of the GM ad. "It's a parody on this commercial, but it's not saying Ford is better than GM," she said. "It's telling the story of a black woman who's working hard in Detroit." What is that story? It's about urban farming, recovery and recycling. Murray tells us that for the last seven or eight years, she's been dedicated to sustainability.