1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible on 2040-cars

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BMW reclaims US luxury sales crown from Mercedes

The numbers, they are in: BMW has reclaimed the luxury-sales crown from Mercedes by a margin of 9,347 cars. Mercedes donned the king's headgear in 2013 after a strong final quarter of 2013 when the new CLA and S-Class poured out of dealerships. This year, led by the 3 Series/4 Series and X5, BMW sold 339,738 units – a 9.8-percent increase year-on-year. Mercedes, led by the C-Class and M-Class, saw its sales go up by 5.7 percent to 330,391 units. We'll have to wait a bit to see if there's another registrations-vs-sales challenge as in 2012, when BMW was anointed US luxury ruler. Behind them, a dark horse named Lexus nudged closer to the leading Teutons, selling 311,389 cars. The Japanese luxury automaker also had the biggest gain among the top three, its sales rising by 13.7 percent compared to 2013. Audi had the biggest sales of anyone among the top five, though, with a 15.2-percent gain to 182,011, which moved it a spot ahead of Cadillac; the Wreath-and-Crest brand dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750. Acura (167,843), Infiniti (117,300), and Lincoln (94,474) took the final positions. Speaking of Lincoln, sales at the once-mighty luxury marque stand as the mightiest jump of any on this list, up 15.6 percent. That's the power of Matthew McConaughey... and better cars and a new crossover, sure. So now that we're back to Round One of 2015, in case no one else has said it yet: "Ok, fight!"

Why Cadillac needs a real truck in its lineup

Premium brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Cadillac sell vehicles that cover the spectrum from car to crossover to SUV. But trucks? They remain the last frontier when it comes to luxury brands. These days Chevy, GMC, Ford, and Ram sell cheap, bare-bones work trucks alongside loaded models that top $75,000. There is a reverse elitism that comes with this sales tactic. A brand gets to reflect a rugged working class lifestyle with the emblem up front, while what's behind it costs as much as a small house in middle America. But Americans who spend big money on cars and SUVs have always gradually tailed towards luxury nameplates over time. Everyone knows what an Escalade is, and thanks in large part to that image the Escalade is now the best-selling fullsize luxury SUV in the USA. Cadillac's flagship model, along with its midsize luxury crossover, the SRX, routinely outsell the competition from Audi, Mercedes, and BMW, not to mention Ford's Lincoln brand and most of the Japanese rivals. With trucks already dominating overall sales and headed into the pricing stratosphere, I believe it's time for Cadillac to consider a fullsize truck. And no, not a lipstick version that merely takes a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and throws in a few leather seats and some slight interior touches. That experiment already failed both for Cadillac (the Escalade EXT) and for Ford's Lincoln brand (Blackwood, Mark LT). Cadillac is an American brand that currently focuses a ridiculous amount of energy and resources trying to compete with European car offerings. The brand needs to create the Cadillac of trucks. Head honcho Johan de Nysschen has been blunt in his desire to "restore Cadillac to the pinnacle of global premium brands, not in sales but in aspirational brand character." This sounds well and wonderful. But the present problem in achieving this goal is that, on a global basis, Cadillac is a failed brand. Look at Europe, where Cadillac has sold so poorly in recent years that former Soviet manufacturer Lada managed more new registrations in 2014 by a factor of more than four to one. Cadillac is an American brand that currently focuses a ridiculous amount of energy and resources trying to compete with European car offerings. After more than 20 years of Cadillac models selling themselves as import killers, the only one with sustained success has been the CTS, and even that has been a marketplace loser for the last several years. The CTS-V?

2016 Cadillac CT6 First Drive [w/video]

Cadillac moved to New York, renamed its cars and crossovers, and made cutting-edge technology one of its pillars. It's fighting hard to attract new customers and kill its outdated reputation as an old-man car brand in the United States. Change happens slowly, and then sometimes, all at once. Enter the 2016 Cadillac CT6. This is Cadillac's range-topping sedan. It's almost as long as the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series, yet in some configurations, it's lighter than their smaller siblings, the E-Class and 5 Series. The CT6 is a rolling showcase of General Motors' latest and best technologies, with potential breakthrough features like Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving waiting in the wings. It comes in a wide variety of flavors. The CT6 starts as low as $54,490 with a four-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive, which is the car that Cadillac hopes will be cross-shopped with the mid-tier Germans. The top-end CT6 Platinum with all-wheel drive and the 404-horsepower V6 begins at $84,460, and it could make S-Class and 7 Series buyers rethink American luxury. Put simply, the CT6 means everything to Cadillac, but it will mean different things to its customers. It can be the executive chauffeur with all the backseat accouterments. Or it can be the massive yet somehow kinda sporty and nimble rear-wheel-drive sedan that weighs only 3,657 pounds. We tried both versions and came away impressed with both the strategy and the execution. It's a little strange to think that Cadillac doesn't offer a V8 in its biggest sedan. Taking the wheel on a sunny, cool day in rural San Diego County, we wonder if a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine has what it takes to really move this giant. Our concerns quickly dissipate – this engine is also under the hood of the Chevy Camaro, and its 265 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque are more than up for the task. The big sedan handles curvy mountain roads adeptly. There's not a lot of roll for a car this size, even when we're aggressively whipping through tight turns. This poise comes from the CT6's rigid, lightweight aluminum and steel structure called Omega. We switch through the driving modes but settle on sport for the dash to the lunch spot. The steering is surprisingly tight and the brakes have strong response with little pedal travel. After a quick bite in an old mining town called Julian, we take off in the spotlight CT6, the Platinum trim, powered by the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6. It's an enjoyable car to stretch out on the highway.