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GM extending warranties on Cadillac CTS-V and Chevy Camaro ZL1 for supercharger issue

Okay General Motors, we've sat by and watched you recall the compact cars, crossovers and pickup trucks, and aside from reporting on it, we've been fairly quiet. This, though, this will not do. We can almost tolerate the recalls on the bread-and-butter cars, but leave the performance vehicles alone.
According to a report from The Car Connection, GM has discovered a problem with the superchargers of the 6.2-liter V8s found in the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the Cadillac CTS-V. Apparently, the issue rests around the internal bearing shaft grease, which can become contaminated (we aren't sure with what). If left unchecked, it'll first lead to a rattle at idle, which goes away under slight throttle. The real warning stage is when a high-pitched squeal develops, signaling that the bearing shaft has failed. Naturally, severe engine damage is the next step (although it's possible that the engine will also just refuse to turnover, although neither case is desirable).
According to TCC, GM will replace the superchargers on vehicles that have exhibited symptoms of bearing shaft failure free of charge. It will also, allegedly, be extending the warranty on all supercharged ZL1s and CTS-Vs to 10 years or 120,000 miles (whichever comes first), from the date of purchase. Officially, only 2009 to 2013 CTS-Vs and 2012 to 2013 ZL1s are suffering from this issue.

Confident new Cadillac marketing boss ready to take on Tesla, BMW

When there's a former BMW executive heading Cadillac's efforts to boost sales of its only plug-in, it's a pretty safe guess that the marketing emphasis won't be on environmental friendliness and tree-hugging tendencies. The General Motors luxury brand has appointed ex-Bimmer executive Uwe Ellinghaus to be its marketing chief late last year, and the German-born Ellinghaus is now saying that he's targeting potential customers of Tesla Motors, in addition to BMW, for potential growth in sales of the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in. Appointed to Cadillac's head of marketing last November, Ellinghaus recently told Advertising Age that GM needs to highlight the Cadillac's looks and performance. He complimented Tesla for putting more emphasis on those attributes in the Model S than on its lack of emissions or lack of refueling costs (but Tesla hasn't shied away from highlighting the EV's savings). Ellinghaus says that trying to gear advertising "for people who are tree-huggers and green-wash an entire brand" won't be successful. You don't say. So far, the ELR hasn't made much of a dent in US car sales. Through May, Cadillac, which spent about $280 million on all of its US marketing last year, sold 293 units, whereas Tesla had been approaching the 11,000-unit figure for the Model S. With that in mind, Cadillac may be working on a sportier version of the ELR, as spy shots of a test vehicle from May revealed larger brakes and wheels. You can read our First Drive impressions of the ELR here.

Cadillac boss says small SUV 'at least four years away'

Since Johan de Nysschen's takeover as brand president, there's a lot of buzz around Cadillac. Now, the brand's leader is now giving a little more clarity about when we might see some of the company's future vehicles, including its compact crossover. "Product development life cycles being what they are, I don't have a date in mind but I would estimate it is at least four years away," said de Nysschen about a small Cadillac CUV. The comments were made to Reuters during the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle is part of Cadillac's eight-model, $12 billion reinvention through 2020. Interestingly, de Nysschen told Autoblog at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that he estimated the compact luxury CUV to arrive by early 2018. The boss also indicated that Cadillac would get a sedan to slot below the ATS some time in 2017, and the previously spied SRX replacement, possibly called the XT5, would debut in 2016. In the meantime, the company's flagship CT6 is being unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April. The wait for a luxury compact CUV makes Cadillac one of the later entries into the segment. The space is already filling with vehicles like the BMW X1, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, Lexus NX and Lincoln MKC. Small crossovers in general seem to still be growing in sales. While building a better brand in the US, de Nysschen also wants to grow Cadillac in Europe in the future. He told Reuters that he wants diesel vehicles ready for 2019 to appeal to customers there. Some might even be offered in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Design/Style Cadillac Crossover Diesel Vehicles Luxury de nysschen