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Recharge Wrap-up: Cadillac CT6 Plug-In on sale in China, Oregon utilities spur EV adoption

The Cadillac CT6 Plug-In is now available in China. The luxury plug-in hybrid sedan uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine plus two electric motors, which give the car a 0-62 mph time of 5.4 seconds. Its liquid-cooled 18.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack gives the car an all-electric range of 50 miles, with a total range of 581 miles. Cadillac offers a 200V charger with the CT6 Plug-In, which provides a full charge in less than five hours. Owners can check charging status remotely using OnStar or the MyCadillac app. The CT6 Plug-In is offered in two variants, priced at about $80,400 and $94,800. Read more from GM. Two Oregon utilities are launching a program to increase EV adoption. Portland General Electric (PGE) will build six charging locations, each with up to four dual-standard fast chargers. PGE will also build and operate charging sites for electric buses, freeing up money for Portland's TriMet transit agency to spend on the actual buses. Pacific Power will also build public EV chargers, and lower some electricity rates for operators. Both companies will also work to inform the public about the benefits of electric mobility. Oregon utilities are required to stop using coal by 2030, and use 50 percent renewable energy by 2040, which will make EVs even cleaner. Read more at Green Car Reports. Continental says a shift to EVs will cost its company jobs. The automotive parts supplier's CEO, Elmar Degenhart, says that while the company will need to cut production jobs, those will be offset at least in part by the creation of new positions related to electric mobility. "There is enough time to design the process such that the blow is softened and major pain can be avoided," says Degenhart. Some 30,000 jobs at Continental are tied to combustion engines. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Featured Gallery 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid View 15 Photos News Source: GM, Green Car Reports, Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Cadillac Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Cadillac GM Green Culture Electric Luxury recharge wrapup

Cadillac could base its entry-level sedan on the Chevy Cruze [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Cadillac spokesperson Donny Nordlicht tells Autoblog , "The post speculating on a future Cadillac model derived from the Chevrolet Cruze is completely false." Premium automakers Mercedes-Benz and Audi have seen plenty of success with new small front-drive-based sedans. The CLA-Class had its best January ever this year, while Audi moved more of its new A3 in 2015 than its predecessor sold in 2005 through 2010 combined. The fact that Cadillac wants a piece of that pie is no surprise, then. There's a new rumor that GM's luxury brand could launch its own compact – possibly called CT2 – to battle the Germans. Cadillac, a brand that's pushed hard to rebuild its rear-drive reputation, could develop a new entry-level model based on the front-wheel-drive 2016 Chevrolet Cruze's D2XX platform. Go ahead and make your Cimarron jokes. Sources are telling GM Inside News that a Cadillac built on the Delta platform would ditch the Cruze's turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder for a 1.5-liter turbo in base models. General Motors' well received 2.0-liter turbo four would serve in higher-end models. According to GMIN, the Delta-based Cadillac would likely command a $6,000 to $9,000 premium over the Cruze, so figure $23,000 to $26,000 on the low end to $30,000 to $33,000 for something at the top of the range. As much as we dislike the kind of badge engineering that brought us the Cavalier-based Cadillac Cimarron in the '80s, the company has done an admirable job of distinguishing vehicles on shared platforms lately. A Delta-platform Cadillac would at least have a good basis – the new Cruze is surprisingly comfy. That said, we question GM's rationale if this rumor is indeed true. Put simply, Cadillac needs another sedan like I need another student loan payment. The company has four sedans, three of which overlap two segments, and none of which are selling very well. That's not because they're bad, but because customers want crossovers, of which Caddy has but one – the new XT5. Spending the time and money to add a fifth sedan to the mix when the company desperately needs to flesh out its CUV range would be a tremendous mistake. As much as we hate to say it, if Cadillac really wants to add a small, entry-level car to its range, it'd better be a crossover. Related Video:

Ghostbusters' new Ecto-1 is an oddly uninspiring '82 Caddy

The Ghostbusters, or at least the movie franchise, will emerge from Hollywood's cobwebs this summer, but instead of the iconic 1959 Cadillac known as Ecto-1 that delighted big screen audiences in 1984, the new model may leave some scratching their heads. That's because this latest Ghostbusters draws its vehicular inspiration from a decidedly less interesting period in American automobile production: the 1980s. Starring alongside Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones is a 1982 Cadillac DeVille hearse. The studio dressed up this tired Caddy to look the part, but something's amiss. Instead of the flamboyant fins and shiny chrome, the '82 is decidedly pedestrian and uninteresting. Even in 1982, it was kind of a dull choice for luxury car buyers. There's a reason Murilee Martin deemed the '70s and '80s the "malaise era." Built a couple of years before the original, Academy Award-winning Ghostbusters hit cinemas, the '82 DeVille represents one of Cadillac's lowest points bar the Cimarron. Under its hood might be Cadilac's new-for-1982 HT 4100 V8 engine, which featured what the brand referred to as "digital" fuel injection. With 135 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque, the DeVille didn't win stoplight races back then. Oddly, the V6 engine that came standard in the '82 Sedan DeVille produced the same horsepower but delivered an extra 15 torques, which made it both faster and more fuel efficient than the V8. These were bad times for General Motors, clearly, but the gas engines paled in comparison to Cadillac's first diesel. The company's LF9 5.7-liter diesel V8 was optional on the DeVille and we pity the unlucky buyers who checked that box. Generally credited as the engine that made "diesel" a haunted word in Detroit for 30 years, the 350-cubic-inch unit might actually be fitting for the Ghostbusters. On the bright side, the '82 is new enough that it may have carried a box or two of Hi-C's stellar, Ghostbusters-inspired Ecto Cooler. Maybe the mortician took his kid to Kroger one time, you never know. Fitting in In the original 1984 Ghostbusters, the '59 Caddy was a forlorn and forgotten piece of machinery waiting for a new lease on life. Character Dr. Ray Stantz picks it up and admits in the film that it needs "some suspension work and shocks ...