Cadillac Cts-v Wagon, Lingenfel 700+hp, Showroom Condtion on 2040-cars

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Cool car technology is cool until it breaks

Ah, technology – the beautiful date that impresses all your friends but costs you a fortune to keep happy, up-to-date, and working. Automotive News puts some numbers to the economic toll we're paying to jockey this technological Trojan horse, an analysis it sums up with "Technology is great - until you have to replace it." Back in 2000, for instance, you could replace a Cadillac Escalade taillight lens for $56.08, or replace the entire unit for $220.49. Crack the rear lens on your 2015 Escalade and you have to buy a new unit for $795 - there's no such thing as just replacing a lens anymore. What about headlights? It was $210 for an Escalade headlight in 2000, it's $1,650 for the current unit (pictured). This is nothing we didn't know, these are just hard numbers to demonstrate it. Edmunds recently provided the same with its sledgehammer-bashing of the 2015 Ford F-150, Tesla Model S buyers have been shrieking about repair costs to their electric sedan's all-aluminum bodywork, and used-car sites are full of articles about which expensive-to-repair features to steer clear of if you want to avoid big repair bills. Those expensive bits increase the price of a car - Kelley Blue Book says the average price of a car is now more than $33,000 - and that raises rates for repairs and insurance. This comes in spite of some carmakers that have been collaborating with insurance companies and repair shops at the design stage in order to engineer parts that are easier and less expensive to replace. But the tech can have its cost-saving benefits: a 2011 study by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that Volvos fitted with that company's City Safety feature "filed 27 percent fewer property-damage liability claims" than luxury SUVs without it, and just last month the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety called adaptive headlights one of the top four crash-preventing technologies on cars today (after coming out against them in 2006). So yes, the technology costs a mint when it needs to be fixed - but being able to avoid an accident in the first place might make it worth it. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 AOL Cadillac Car Buying Used Car Buying Auto Repair Insurance Maintenance Safety Technology Luxury replacement parts

This dream home theater and office happens to be in a Cadillac Escalade [w/video]

Need to take a ride cross country in the lap of luxury while still getting some work done? Short of a tour bus, the Concept One Curve from Lexani Motorcars might be one of the most comfy options imaginable. Lexani is usually known for creating opulent armored vehicles, but for the Concept One Curve it focuses on converting a 2015 Cadillac Escalade into a place for work or play. The company strips out the standard passenger compartment to install a higher ceiling with LED lighting, two leather-upholstered power captain's chairs and jump seats. However, the real highlight is a 48-inch curved 4K television mounted against the driver's partition. Don't worry about missing your favorite shows because there's a TracVision Satellite, too. The driver gets a re-covered seat of their own up front. If business needs to get done, the vehicle also includes a Mac Mini computer, tables stowed in the seats and connections for video conferencing. Of course, if you're riding in something this lavish, security might be a concern too. In addition to the window shades, the Concept One Curve features cameras to know what's going on outside. A touchscreen management system lets occupants control the whole setup from the luxurious chairs. Lexani claims that if all of this somehow isn't enough for a buyer, it offers even more options to fit their needs. Scroll down to watch a video tour and read more about this rolling home theater. {C} Lexani Concept One Curve Lexani Motorcars, a boutique luxury conversion company receiving vast international praise, has produced the Concept One Curve - the world's first 2015 Escalade with a built-in 48" 4K Technology Curved Smart TV. Lexani Motorcars is constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility for luxury transportation in everyday vehicles. The Curve is a revisited version of their latest model, the Concept One, with a television upgrade and electronic rear curtains; it is unmatched in its ability to be a premier theater one minute and a five-star mobile office the next. The curved smart TV-which rests on a proprietary electronic partition-is indeed impressive, but it is just one of the numerous amenities this discreet masterpiece boasts.

Such Sweet Sorrow: Cadillac's CTS-V gets an Irish wake

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The honkin', stonkin' second-generation CTS-V, powered by Cadillac's brawny supercharged 6.2-liter V8 has been a very good thing. And now that the 500 final coupes – the only CTS-Vs designated 2015 models – have been built (just five remain unsold as of this writing), it is indeed a good thing that's come to an end. But Cadillac is not letting 2009–2015 CTS-V go gently into that good night, even as its replacement is poised to debut in just in just two months at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Instead, Cadillac invited us to Austin's Circuit of the Americas racetrack for what it called an "Irish wake" for the model that has proven to be one of the quickest and most charismatic models in General Motors' history. If you don't know what an Irish wake is, if you envision storytelling, songs, debauchery and more than a little liquor, you'll be in the ballpark. In this case, though, adrenaline substituted in for the booze, with squealing tires and shrieking V8s providing the singing. The debauchery took the form of an all-you-can-drive lapping of COTA in all three bodystyles – coupe, sedan and wagon – and the stories were told by the grins plastered on our faces all day. First and foremost, we'll miss the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Even after six years with no major changes, the CTS-V is surprisingly spry. Certainly, you never forget that it's a heavy thing, weighing in anywhere between 4217 pounds for the manual-equipped coupe to 4424 for an automatic wagon, but with 0-60 times of about four seconds and the ability to hit about 150 mph on COTA's back straight, the Vs remain an absolute hoot on the track. Sure, some of its details – the blocky front fascia shapes and the spoiler on the sedan and coupe models, for example – look a bit dated, but the overall design still looks sufficiently badass. The interior design has worn pretty well, too, and however Cadillac may feel about center stack buttons being so last decade, we favor them over the capacitive-touch madness of today's CUE system. We're not going to bother doing another full review of the car here, but suffice it to say, there is plenty we will miss. First and foremost, will be the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Rumor has it that Cadillac will offer the 6.2-liter LT4 V8 in the next generation (we predict about 600 hp), but we hear that the new car will skew more toward luxury than balls-out performance.