2013 Cadillac Escalade Esv Platinum Sunroof Nav Dvd 7k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cadillac president de Nysschen says electrification coming 'across the spectrum'

We like to pick on new Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen for his insistence, many years ago, when he was president of Audi of America, that plug-in vehicles are for idiots. Listening to him give the keynote address at the Washington Auto Show today, you wouldn't know he ever said anything negative about an electric vehicle. Instead, he sounds something like a EV-angelist. De Nysschen said that Cadillac will be able to benefit from GM's considerable expertise in plug-in technology, which he said would be "applied across the spectrum of our portfolio." GM's electric committment will help in "making electrification commonplace." With the plug-in ELR already on the road, de Nysschen said that the company's next step in advancing powertrains will be the introduction of stop/start technology – which de Nysschen called an "important system to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions" – into a Cadillac for the first time later this year. Without giving any specific details, de Nysschen said that Cadillac will introduce eight new models (not necessarily plug-ins) by the end of this decade, including five that "will take Cadillac into market segments where the brand is not even present today." These new vehicles will likely be much lighter than today's vehicles, de Nysschen said, because "weight reduction today is critical to automotive design, it helps to improve fuel efficiency and contributes to desireable vehicle dynamics." The key is to reduce weight without compromising safety or comfort and to use the right material – steel, aluminum, carbon fiber – in the right place at the right time. It was a not-so-subtle jab at Ford and its new aluminum F-150. "In the pursuit of weight reduction, some manufacturers have also opted for abandoning steel and have gone for an all-aluminum approach," he said. "At Cadillac, we believe that different materials each present particular advantages in specific applications. There is no single material that represents the optimum balance of the conflicting objectives of every single application." Related video:

Cadillac CT6 hits dealers in March for $54,490

When the Cadillac CT6 hits dealerships in March of 2016, it will carry a starting price of $54,490 (including a $995 destination charge). That strikes us as a reasonable asking price. For some context, the CTS, which sits a rung down the size and pricing ladder at Cadillac, starts at $46,555. A BMW 5 Series sedan begins its pricing journey at a bit over $50,000 while the larger 7 Series commands a bare minimum of $82,000. So, while the Cadillac's range-topping CT6 isn't exactly a 5 Series or 7 Series competitor, its pricing strategy seems to reflect an interesting position in the luxury-car playing field. For that $55,000-ish asking price, the CT6 comes equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that pushes 272 horsepower to the rear wheels. When equipped with a 335-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 engine and all-wheel drive, the CT6 nudges up just slightly to $56,490. Again, that's a reasonable $2,000 surcharge for more power and four driven wheels. Continuing up the CT6 structure brings us to the 400-horsepower, twin-turbo, 3.0-liter V6 for $65,390 that also comes with all-wheel drive. All models come with an eight-speed automatic transmission. At the very top of the pricing scale sits the CT6 Platinum, which carries a MSRP of $84,460. As noted earlier, that puts the tip of Cadillac's CT6 spear just into the starting territory of BMW's biggest luxury sedan. A plug-in hybrid model is promised that will offer 335 horsepower and 432 pound-feet of torque with double the fuel efficiency of a comparable non-hybrid CT6, but Cadillac hasn't yet announced pricing for that model. We're eager to find out exactly where the CT6 lands on the scale of high-end luxury cars in America. One thing is for certain, though: Cadillac is clearly trying pique the interest of German cross-shoppers with its top-level offering. Check out the press release below for more details from the automaker about its so-called Cadillac Touring 6 Sedan. Related Video: 2016 Cadillac CT6 Range-Topping Sedan Slated for March Launch NEW RANGE INCLUDES CT6 STARTING AT $53,495; CT6 PLATINUM PRICED FROM $83,465 2015-11-02 Cadillac extends the top of its range with the 2016 Cadillac Touring 6 sedan, which begins production in Detroit in January, with initial shipments to dealers in March. Through the integration of new technologies, the first-ever Cadillac CT6 creates a new formula for the range-topping sedan and substantially expands the Cadillac portfolio.

GM's Mark Reuss explains why a performance Cadillac ELR-V won't happen

Hey, I've got enough things to worry about. That's one interpretation of General Motors executive vice president Mark Reuss' response to a question posed by Driving the Nation about the recently-introduced Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid. Reuss said GM will "definitely expand the tuning envelope" for the ELR. The question was whether GM would consider adding magnetic ride control to the quite-powerful-for-a-plug-in Caddy, creating an "ELR-V" model in the process. Reuss' non-answer: "Good question, can't really answer that," but then elaborated that magnetic ride control uses up "a lot" of power otherwise spoken for in terms of providing the longest electric-only range possible. Interestingly, he did add that GM will "definitely expand the tuning envelope" for the ELR, as you can see in the video below. With the model retailing for north of $75,000, fewer than 60 percent of US Cadillac dealers were carrying the ELR as of last month and just 99 ELRs were sold during the first two months of the year. In an effort to sell more vehicles, GM said in January that it would offer the ELR for a 39-month lease for $699 a month for qualified lessees and with a $5,999 down-payment required. Autoblog's First Drive impressions of the ELR can be found here.