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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 ELR getting massive discounts, some up to $14,000

Well, that didn't go as planned. General Motors had marketed the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in as a premium version of the Chevrolet Volt with some Caddy refinements. Now, it looks like that premium, at least from a price standpoint, is shrinking. Shoppers in a number of states are reporting that GM and its dealers are discounting the ELR in order to move more off dealer lots. The issue is that few people are biting at the official price tag of about $76,000, so GM has started offering as much as $8,000 worth of dealer and customer incentives, Transport Evolved reports. More recently, dealers in states such as Florida, Texas and Maryland are offering discounts in the $12,000-to-$14,000 range, and that's before any federal and state plug-in incentives kick in. It's not difficult to guess why. Through the first half of the year, GM sold fewer than 400 ELRs. Last month, Caddy moved just 97 units, or about as many as Tesla sells of its Model S in a day. Perpahs recent spy shots that reveal a test ELR that appears to up the sportiness quotient, with touches such as larger wheels and brakes, will also help sales. Check out Autoblog's "First Drive" impressions of the ELR here.

Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.