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Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Cadillac CTS Vsport laps the N"urburgring in 8:14.10 [w/video]

You don't have to be German to test your car at the Nürburging. You just have to be serious about beating the Germans on their own home turf. That's why Nissan tests its GT-R at the Nordschleife to challenge the Porsche 911, and why Cadillac - which is no less serious about putting up a fight to German performance sedans - has returned to the 'Ring once again with its latest.
This time it's the turn of the new CTS Vsport, the sportier version of Cadillac's new mid-range sedan that aims to bridge the gap until the arrival of the next CTS-V. So how'd it fare? At the end of what we're sure was an exhaustive test session, the new CTS Vsport clocked a time of 8:14.10.
To put that into context, General Motors points out that the time places the new sedan six seconds ahead of the first-gen CTS-V, whose 400-horsepower V8 engine was actually less potent than the Vsport's new 410hp 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. That's still a good fifteen seconds slower than the outgoing CTS-V that clocked a 7:59 in 2009 with its 556hp supercharged V8, but only a second behind the E60-generation BMW M5 with its high-revving 500hp V10.

Cadillac partners with Saks Fifth Avenue for limited-edition ELR

There's no softening the blow with this one - this is the limited edition 2014 Cadillac ELR Saks Fifth Avenue Edition, and it costs $89,500, including $995 for destination. The special model, limited to just 100 units, is part of a holiday season collaboration between Cadillac and luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. In addition to the ELR, there will also be a special "Frozen Escalade" window display at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store near Rockefeller Center in New York City, which will feature the 2015 Escalade with functioning LED running lamps that, as the automaker says, "appear embedded and breaking through a wall of ice."
But back to that ELR. This Saks edition plug-in hybrid coupe commands a surcharge of $14,500 over the $75,000 base model that over 85-percent of Autoblog readers polled already feel is overpriced. For that extra coin, you get an ELR wearing exclusive (to this car) White Diamond paint matched with either a jet black or light cashmere interior. Buyers will also receive an upgraded 240-volt charging station complete with professional installation, and the cars come with Cadillac's ELR Concierge service - representatives "trained in white-glove customer care" that serve as an additional point of contact beyond the dealership when it comes to topics like like battery care, charging, service scheduling and news updates.
Folks who order the Saks Fifth Avenue ELR are expected to receive their cars in March of next year. Price aside, we're sure it'll look great parked alongside the Neiman Marcus Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in owners' garages. Scroll down for Cadillac's official press blast.