1962 Fleetwood Classic Sedan Automatic Trans V8 Rwd Power Seats Windows Cruise on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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?

Cadillac issues stop sale on ATS to recall 82k units

Cadillac is issuing a recall on 82,620 examples of the 2013-2016 ATS worldwide to fix a compliance issue with the sunroof controls. Until a service bulletin goes out to take care of things, there's also a stop sale on the luxury compact in the United States, The Detroit News reports. Of the affected models, 63,665 are in the US, according to a statement sent to Autoblog, and 7,922 of them are in Canada. The problem is actually the same issue as a recall on nearly 59,000 examples of the 2013-2015 ATS in the US in February. In them, the controls for the tilt and slide of the roof aren't recessed enough to meet government standards for the force necessary to operate the buttons. The Feds believe that someone could accidentally activate the auto-close and potentially be at risk. At the time, Cadillac dealers installed a new trim plate to add the needed clearance. In the latest update, the company is adding the 2016 model year, and according to The Detroit News, 70 percent of the cars from the original campaign also need another new trim plate. Unsurprisingly for such a minor defect, there are no known crashes, injuries, fatalities, or customer complaints related to this issue, according to the announcement by General Motors. Cadillac ATS Statement: General Motors is recalling 63,665 Cadillac ATS sedans in the United States from the 2013-2016 model years because the power-operated roof panel systems on these vehicles will auto-close when the non-recessed portion of the "Slide" or "Tilt" switches are pressed and the roof panel is open. Because these switches are not fully recessed, they can be actuated with less force than required to comply with applicable federal standards. GM knows of no crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this issue and has received no customer complaints. The total population of the recall including Canada, Mexico and exports is 82,620. Transport Canada Recall # 2015322 Recall Date 2015/07/21 Notification Type Compliance Mfr System Electrical Manufacturer Recall Number 15568 Units Affected The number of vehicles or components affected by the recall. 7,922 Category Car Recall Details Certain vehicles equipped with power-operated sunroof system may fail to conform to Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 118 - Power-Operated Window, Partition and Roof Panel Systems.

GM issues four new recalls, 2.4 million cars affected

General Motors has announced another set of recalls, covering some 2.42 million cars in the United States. For those keeping track, The General has now recalled over 15 million cars worldwide this year due to various issues.
Here's the breakdown for this most recent set of recalls:
1,339,355 - Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia models from the 2009 to 2014 model years; Saturn Outlook models from the 2009 to 2010 model years