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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Reservations for Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing models to open in February

Cadillac will unveil its high-performance CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing sedans on Feb. 1 and will accept reservations for the cars the same day. Only 250 examples of each car will be built for 2022, and immediately after the reveal, customers can secure one of these Caddies with a $1,000 deposit, which is refundable. Deliveries are set to begin in mid-summer. As a special enticement, those first 250 cars will get a numbered plaque on the steering wheel, which indicates the model, transmission, and build sequence. Note that the plaque comes only on cars equipped with the high-performance steering wheel, which based on the teaser image below appears to have carbon fiber accents. It's standard on the CT5-V Blackwing and included on mid-level and higher versions of the CT4-V Blackwing. We already know that the CT5-V Blackwing will be available with carbon fiber seatbacks. More exciting news is that Cadillac will buck the prevailing trend and offer a six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment in both cars. A 10-speed automatic also will be available. It's not yet known what engine will power the sedans, although it's not expected to be the eponymous 550-hp Blackwing V8 that had an abbreviated run in the just-discontinued CT6-V. Cadillac has also announced that Blackwing buyers can avail themselves of a 2-day high-performance driving school experience at Cadillac's V-Series Academy at the Spring Mountain Motor Resort in Pahrump, Nevada. They're on their own as far as getting there, however. The unveiling of the two new Blackwings on Feb. 1 will take place at the brand's main website as well as its Twitter page. Related Video:    

Cadillac CT4 and CT4-V pricing revealed, starts just under $34,000

The Cadillac CT4-V had its big reveal in Detroit several months ago, and last month we finally saw the regular CT4. Today, Cadillac has pricing available for every CT4 trim level including the V. The entry-level CT4 Luxury with rear-wheel drive will start at $33,990, including the destination charge. Adding all-wheel drive requires another $2,600, bringing the total to $36,590. Cadillac also throws in heated front seats and a heated steering wheel when you opt for the all-wheel drive model. The CT4-V comes in at $45,490 before options — on the V, the up-charge for all-wheel drive is only $1,100. Cadillac CT4-V View 12 Photos Cadillac offers two trims in between the base Luxury and more powerful V-Series: Premium Luxury and Sport. The Premium Luxury is priced from $38,490, and the Sport is a tad bit more expensive at $39,590. All-wheel drive is even more expensive ($3,200) in the Premium Luxury, as it adds cooled front seats on top of the heated seats and steering wheel. The cooled seats arenÂ’t included with the Sport all-wheel drive package, so itÂ’s the same $2,600 charge as in the Luxury model. Every CT4 but the V comes standard with CadillacÂ’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. An 8-speed transmission handles the shifting. Go for the much more expensive CT4-V, and you get the 2.7-liter turbo four that makes 325 horsepower and a whopping 380 pound-feet of torque. This engine is exclusively mated to a 10-speed automatic. For a full rundown and background on the CT4 and CT4-V, check out our previous coverage of the cars. YouÂ’ll be able to order a 2020 CT4 later this year.