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Cadillac says it made CUE infotainment a lot better

We've never been huge fans of CUE, the Cadillac User Experience infotainment interface. It's been around a few years now, and the best thing we can say for it is that it now supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, making it easy enough to replace most of the interface with a familiar smartphone-based system. Now Cadillac has made some big upgrades to the system that should address at least some of our concerns. First and foremost, the system is claimed to be more intuitive, with a more logical interface design. Cadillac has added a Summary View that gives an overview of the climate, media, navigation, and phone all at the same time. The system will also be able to receive over-the-air updates, allowing Cadillac to make improvements more often and push them out to owners' cars, mush like Tesla and other automakers already do. The 4G LTE connection will also be used to connect the car with the cloud, where drivers can store and modify their own personalized set of settings. This My Driver Preferences profile will include things like contacts, navigation preferences, and recent destinations, and will also follow them from one car equipped with the system to another. That should come in handy for anyone subscribing to the $1,500-a-month Book by Cadillac vehicle subscription service, which allows participants to swap between cars when they choose. The cloud connection will also carry over to a new available navigation function, which Cadillac claims has a more intuitive, smartphone-like interface. It uses its data connection to provide current destination info and is supposed to learn a driver's habits, such as their preferred routes and frequent destinations, which the system will then attempt to offer up predictively – so the car should be able to know that you're heading home at 5:00. Additional apps for the system will be available through Cadillac's new Collection app store. And it's still compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. One sore spot that appears to have been improved is the digital gauge package, although Cadillac hasn't offered details on that extension of the system. The current iteration's ability to over-customize the interface (our personal favorite is the option to display a total of four speedometers between the head-up display and the gauge screen; see video below) and unintuitive controls make it difficult to use and learn, while the simulated gauges don't look particularly realistic.

No, Eminem is not giving away the Cadillac Ciel concept, Facebookers

Damn it, Facebook people, stop being so gullible. When you see something on social media that requires you to share or like a status or page in exchange for a chance at winning something, it's almost always a hoax. This goes for iPads, or Bill Gates giving away cash or, yes, an Eminem fan page giving away a Cadillac Ciel. Now, normally we'd simply ignore this utter hogwash, but it's getting some traction on Facebook and, annoyingly, is beginning to clog our newsfeed. Ignoring the fact that the Ciel is a pure concept car that likely can't even be registered for regular use, there are more than a few things that should give this nonsense away as a hoax. First, Eminem has only ever gotten in bed with one automaker – Chrysler. It seems unlikely that he'd defect simply to give away a car on Facebook. Secondly, the page that is putting on the giveaway isn't even a verified page – Eminem's real Facebook fan page has 97 million likes, this one has 622,000. Third, a quick look at the caption for the Ciel's photo, shown above, reveals the sort of grammatical mess that no serious contest would allow. Take a look (sic implied throughout): "Only 24 Days Until Christmas, Can you Imagine yourself driving this Car? I'm about to make that happen, Its Official, I Will be giving away this 2014 Cadillac Ciel to one random lucky fan, all you gotta do is follow these three easy steps, Step 1) Share this photo, Step 2) Like my page, Slim Shady Step 3) Like this photo, Winner Will be picked On December 5th 4 Days Away, Good luck to Everyone!!" We reached out to Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell just for fun. Apparently, this photo and schtick pops up every few months with virtually the same text, only to vanish at the end of the "giveaway." You're as shocked as we are, right? So, once again folks, just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's true. If your friends, family and acquaintances are blowing up your Facebook feed and social network channels with this nonsense, be sure to set 'em straight with a link to this story – we're sure the real Slim Shady will appreciate it.

Cadillac Escala Concept shows off a softer side of American luxury

When Cadillac announced that it would be appearing at Monterey Car Week with a stunning, new concept, the news sent a rush of blood to the head. Would it be a CT6 Coupe? A new V-series model? A follow-up to the show-stopping Elmiraj? Tonight, at the beginning of a weekend of festivities to tantalize automotive enthusiasts and aficionados, Cadillac instead showed off a glimpse of reality: the Escala four-door coupe concept. It wasn't behind a flat-white background, but at a futuristic yet modern home nestled in the hills that Cadillac president Johan De Nysschen introduced the Escala as a "point of inflection" for the brand. Keen observers will note that "Escala" is nearly "Escalade," but any similarity between the two vehicles ends there. De Nysschen noted that the four-door is meant to "relentlessly drive this brand back to its place at the pinnacle of premium." "Nothing less will do," de Nysschen said. The Escala is neither as bold as some recent Cadillacs to take the stage, nor as brash. From a distance, it has a wide, muscular stance wrapped in a tailored suit. Up close, it almost resembles a four-door Camaro — perhaps a nod to the work of former Holden design chief and incoming General Motors director of design, Michael Simcoe. De Nysschen described the Escala project as an "opportunity for designers to flex their creative muscle." The Escala seems to have a footprint mirroring that of a Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, but it feels wider and smaller at the same time. Is the shape derivative? Perhaps, but the Escala's design is less a reflection of a future, incognito Cadillac, and more of a chance for the brand to show off the details that might soon become icons. The Escala's shape may not be earth-shatteringly different, but the truth is in its details. The mirrors are as thin as designer spectacles. The C-pillar offers an opportunity to show off Cadillac's latest take on the Hoffmeister kink. A glass roof adds visual airiness. And a simple "GM DESIGN" badge sits below the side doors, in deference to the stylists who labored to make the Escala different. The most defining element of the concept is the way it utilizes light. There isn't anything blinding about its lighting, but that means you can focus on the shape and appreciate the ambience. The depth of the LED tail lights adds visual length to the Escala and shows where Cadillac's designers placed the most importance. It's contrast and beauty at once.