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Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

Cadillac finds a few more horsepower for ATS-V

We've rarely found cause to complain about a car getting more power, and guess what? That's not going to change here. After initially announcing that the new ATS-V would come to market with a Corvette-matching 455 horsepower, Cadillac has come back with an SAE-certified 464 horsepower. That, as Automobile points out, puts the high-performance ATS in spitting distance of the base Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and its 469 hp. Anyone else feeling bad for owners of the 425-hp BMW M3? While the ATS-V is getting a bit more grunt, somehow, we doubt Cadillac will adjust its previously published performance figures. Expect 60 miles per hour to arrive in 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 185 mph. As of this writing, a lucky Autoblog staffer is lapping the ATS-V around Circuit of the Americas in Austin as part of the sedan's big launch. So while we can't fill you in on its real-world performance just yet, expect a big update soon. Related Video:

Cadillac ELR regen on demand brakes win 2014 Green Car Technology award

Just like the Oscars, Green Car Journal decided a few years ago to up the number of nominees for its annual award. For the annual "Green Car of the Year" award, given out at the Los Angeles Auto Show each year, there are five finalists. For the "Green Car Technology" award, there are a fantastic ten. At the 2014 Washington Auto Show today, the Cadillac ELR and its regen on demand brakes managed to beat out the nine other finalists to claim the second annual "Green Car Technology" award. What is the purpose of the "Green Car Technology" award? Green Car Journal says it wants to reward "technologies that enable significantly improved environmental performance in vehicles today," which is why only fuel-saving technologies that were "in use on American highways during the award year" can be considered. The Caddy's brakes beat out the Acura Sport Hybrid SH-AWD powertrain, the Audi 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine, the BMW carbon-fiber passenger shell from the i3, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine used by Ford, the plug-in hybrid powertrain in the Honda Accord, Hyundai's hydrogen fuel cell technology, the regenerative brakes in the Mazda i-ELOOP, the plug-in hybrid powertrain used in some Porsche models and, finally, the Ram 3.0-Liter EcoDiesel engine. Last year, Green Car Journal gave Mazda's Skyactiv technology the inaugural Green Car Technology award. Cadillac ELR Regen On Demand Wins 2014 Green Car Technology Award Green Car Journal Lauds Cadillac's Electric Car Tech at Washington Auto Show WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadillac's innovative Regen on Demand technology has taken top honors as the winner of Green Car Journal's 2014 Green Car Technology Award™. The prestigious award was presented at a Green Car Journal press conference during the Washington Auto Show's second Policy Day. "Cadillac has cleverly evolved a common electric-drive efficiency system into an intriguing feature that adds a new dimension to the driving experience," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and CarsOfChange.com. "Ever-increasing efficiency is crucial to our driving future, yet efficiency itself is not an attraction for a great many car buyers.