1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz on 2040-cars

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Cadillac imagines the future of luxury transportation with a drone and a pod

Besides more screens and electric cars, GM and Cadillac made sure to pay tribute to the other darlings of the tech industry: autonomous cars and drones. Both concepts take familiar ideas but add a touch of Cadillac flavor. And don't expect either of them to show up in reality anytime soon. The most fanciful of the two is the Cadillac VTOL concept, which stands for vertical takeoff and landing. It's a fully autonomous drone meant for shuttling people, likely wealthy executives, from rooftop to rooftop in busy cities. It's a single-occupant aircraft with a 90-kWh battery pack and is fully autonomous. It has four sets of two rotors that propel the drone to a top speed of 56 mph. The exterior is unique in having the front and rear sets of rotors at different heights, whereas most seem to have the cabin hanging from the rotors. You can spot some Cadillac cues in the beveled, angled edges. The other concept is the Personal Autonomous Vehicle or PAV. It's a fairly generic-looking autonomous pod with a pastiche of Cadillac design cues such as slim lights and angular trimmings. Cadillac says it's meant to be a social space, hence the wraparound bench seats in the cabin. Cadillac doesn't seem to have forgotten personal comfort, though, as you can spot a single-person recliner. Comfort is key, and Cadillac says the PAV would have biometric sensors to read the passengers and adjust the climate control, humidity, lighting and scents to make the the environment as pleasant as possible. Passengers will have control of vehicle functions via voice and gestures. At the end of theses vehicles' reveals, Cadillac teased more far-flung concepts coming soon. One of them will be a two-seat vehicle and mentioned that it would be for "you and someone very special" for more "intimate" trips. Related Video:

Fast sedans and loose Tweets | Autoblog Podcast #555

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. Reese has been traveling a lot, and the two discuss his recent first drives of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door and the 2019 Audi Q3. The pair also talk about the 2018 BMW X2 that's been in the office this week. Also on the agenda is the SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk, Ola Kaellenius replacing Dieter Zetsche at Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac's move back to Detroit and the upcoming reveal of the 2019 BMW 3 Series at the Paris Motor Show.Autoblog Podcast #555 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door 2019 Audi Q3 2018 BMW X2 Elon Musk lawsuit New Mercedes-Benz CEO Cadillac is heading back to Detroit The new 3 Series debuts next week Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes

GM CEO Barra says 'we are selling every truck we can build'

DETROIT — General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said on Monday the automaker is "selling every truck we can build" and expanding North American truck-building capacity, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit record highs. Barra made her comments during the automaker's annual shareholder meeting. GM is pursuing a two-track strategy: Investing heavily in electric vehicles for North America, China and other markets, and funding those investments by trying to maximize profits from its North American combustion pickup truck and large SUV lineups. Barra said GM is planning higher-priced versions of its Silverado large pickup and its large SUV models. GM and its Detroit rivals Ford Motor Co and Stellantis NV rely heavily on sales of large pickup trucks and SUVs for global profits. High U.S. gasoline prices in the past have undermined consumer demand for relatively inefficient models. Nominal pump prices hit an average of above $5 a gallon for the first time ever last week, the federal government said Friday. GM is ramping up production of EVs. Barra said the Cadillac Lyriq electric sport utility is sold out through 2023. In response to shareholder questions, Barra said the "clear priority" for using cash generated by its operations is to "accelerate our EV plans." She did not rule out share buybacks or other approaches to returning cash to shareholders. GM still expects to increase production this year by 25-30%, despite continuing pressure on semiconductor supplies globally. Barra said GM is working to redesign vehicles to reduce the number of processors required by 95%. Barra serves as GM's board chair and CEO. GM shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to separate those roles.