No Reserve 2000 Cadillac Sedan De Ville on 2040-cars

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Cadillac CT6 uses aluminum to save 200 pounds

In Cadillac's recently launched ad campaign, the luxury brand's tagline is "Dare Greatly," and the two words suggest a brand willing to take big swings, even if they don't always connect. From what the company is promising, the forthcoming CT6 seems like an embodiment of that new motto. With an eventual range of turbocharged engines, reportedly including a turbo V8, a possible plug-in hybrid and streaming rearview mirror, the sedan is certainly pitched as tech showcase. Of course, extensive use of aluminum is practically mandatory to play in the luxury field these days, and Caddy is proving its latest creation can do that too. Despite the weighty appearance of the sedan's squared-off exterior, 64 percent of the CT6 is aluminum, including the entire exterior. Caddy claims that using so much of the lightweight metal sheds 198 pounds off the scales compared to using conventional steel. There still is some steel in the CT6; although it's predominately the high-strength variety. The engineers use the heavier metal for portions around the cabin and B-pillar for added safety. Cadillac also claims using steel "close-out panels" on lower portions of the sedan make the cabin quieter without needing as much sound deadening. The buildup to the CT6's public unveiling has been a long time coming after Cadillac pinned the flagship (for now) sedan's debut at the New York Auto Show nearly a year ago. When the sheet finally comes off on March 31, we get the first good idea about just how great Caddy's latest act of daring really is. Cadillac CT6 Elevates the Science of Mass Efficiency 2015-03-13 Technology DETROIT – Cadillac will use an advanced mixed-material approach for the lightweight body structure of the upcoming CT6 range-topping sedan. The structure is aluminum intensive, but the new Cadillac also includes 13 different materials customized for each area of the car to simultaneously advance driving dynamics, fuel economy and cabin quietness. The CT6 will debut March 31 at the New York International Auto Show and go into production late this year at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. "This is the rocket science of automobile construction and manufacturing today," said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen.

Expect greater differentiation in GM's next-generation SUVs

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the same cabin as a $45,000 Tahoe. Hilts says SUV buyers want more refinement than their pickup purchasing counterparts - and those same buyers also want their SUVs to have more exterior differentiation between the company's Silverado and Sierra pickup lines. Shocking.
That all sounds good to us, but we've heard this song and dance before. GM made big waves about how different the new-for-2013 Silverado and Sierra would look from each other, but judging by what we've seen so far, GM's stylists are painting in shades rather than with the full spectrum. For more on the what to expect out of GM's new SUVs, click on the C/D link below.

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