1963 Cadillac Fleetwood Original Unrestored California Black Plate Survivor on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Combine a self-driving car with V2V, and here's what happens

Transportation engineers have started laying the groundwork for a traffic world in which cars communicate with other cars and infrastructure like bridges and traffic lights. How about an environment in which cars talk to pretty much everything and everyone? In a preview of its offerings at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, Delphi Automotive will deploy just such a concept. Engineers have designed a system that communicates with traffic signals, street signs, pedestrians, cyclists, even to fry pits and parking garages along a driver's route. To date, engineers and researchers across the auto industry have focused on the technical and safety-oriented foundation of future vehicle-to-vehicle communications, which could help cars share information about everything from traffic tie-ups to upcoming road hazards. Beyond those building blocks, many have projected that V2V could also include more consumer-focused features. Delphi's system, dubbed V2Everything, might be the first that combines those sorts of features in a tangible package. At CES in Las Vegas, scheduled to begin the first week of January, company officials say they'll demonstrate in real-world conditions how V2V technology can be used in an autonomous vehicle to provide a range of critical safety information and leisure and convenience options for riders. The first V2V technology installed on a production car is slated to appear on the 2017 Cadillac CTS. "We imagine a world with zero traffic accidents," said Jeff Owens, Delphi's chief technology officer. "To get there, we will need a convergence of active safety, sensor fusion, connectivity platforms and advanced software." Such software might allow a vehicle to start searching for and reserving parking spots at a programmed destination long before arriving. It could allow riders to place their McDonald's drive-through order from the road and have the food ready for pickup along the route. For the drive itself, the Delphi-equipped car can stay updated on the status of traffic lights around Las Vegas, and can anticipate yellow and red lights. Using smart-phone technology, the car can detect pedestrians and cyclists that may otherwise be hard to see. It can send messages to friends or family to notify them of a driver's location. Some of those features have been available on third-party apps or individually developed by automakers. But this system marries them together in a single system that is tailored for use in self-driving cars.

Cadillac boss says small SUV 'at least four years away'

Since Johan de Nysschen's takeover as brand president, there's a lot of buzz around Cadillac. Now, the brand's leader is now giving a little more clarity about when we might see some of the company's future vehicles, including its compact crossover. "Product development life cycles being what they are, I don't have a date in mind but I would estimate it is at least four years away," said de Nysschen about a small Cadillac CUV. The comments were made to Reuters during the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle is part of Cadillac's eight-model, $12 billion reinvention through 2020. Interestingly, de Nysschen told Autoblog at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that he estimated the compact luxury CUV to arrive by early 2018. The boss also indicated that Cadillac would get a sedan to slot below the ATS some time in 2017, and the previously spied SRX replacement, possibly called the XT5, would debut in 2016. In the meantime, the company's flagship CT6 is being unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April. The wait for a luxury compact CUV makes Cadillac one of the later entries into the segment. The space is already filling with vehicles like the BMW X1, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, Lexus NX and Lincoln MKC. Small crossovers in general seem to still be growing in sales. While building a better brand in the US, de Nysschen also wants to grow Cadillac in Europe in the future. He told Reuters that he wants diesel vehicles ready for 2019 to appeal to customers there. Some might even be offered in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Design/Style Cadillac Crossover Diesel Vehicles Luxury de nysschen

De Nysschen says Cadillac will be ready for a $250,000 model in 15 years

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen has some very, very lofty goals for the American luxury car manufacturer. That's according to a new report from Reuters, where the former Audi and Infiniti exec says that Cadillac is only 15 years away from selling a $250,000 car. "It is too early today for a $250,000 Cadillac," de Nysschen told Reuters at the LA Auto Show. "Fifteen years from now, it won't be." Now, provided de Nysschen doesn't envision a future of hyper-inflation, where an ATS rings up at $200K and a CTS at $225,000, the idea that Cadillac could sell a car worth a quarter-of-a-million dollars in just 15 short years is the very definition of ambitious. That's doubly true when you realize that, at present, Cadillac's most expensive vehicle is the Escalade ESV Platinum, which costs no more than $97,940, while de Nysschen said the upcoming CT6 sedan will be priced "in the 70s." What do you think? Could a Cadillac that costs well over twice as much as the brand's most expensive current vehicle be a reality in the distant future? Or is de Nysschen aiming too high too soon? Let us know what you think in Comments. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Jae C. Hong / AP Cadillac Luxury cadillac ct6