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2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe First Drive

Save for a few years of its century-plus existence, Cadillac has offered its unique brand of American elegance in two-door, fixed-roof bodystyles. Most of these cars were big, floaty barges, of course, though its most recent offering was the wedge-shaped CTS Coupe. But whereas the CTS Coupe was a statement car – angular and severe, with somewhat limited appeal except to design snobs and provocateurs – the ATS Coupe represents a return to form for Cadillac, with a proper three-box (engine-cabin-trunk) body and a slightly lower price point that should broaden its appeal among a larger swath of the market. Generally speaking, the 2015 ATS Coupe is a two-door version of the sporty ATS Sedan, though, surprisingly, the only common exterior components are the hood, headlamps, and sundry trim pieces on the front fascia (which features a slightly larger grille, a wider lower air intake, and the redesigned, laurel-less Cadillac crest). Even the mirrors are different. The body stretches 0.8 inches in length and 1.4 inches in width, the roof is 1.1 inches lower and the rear windscreen slopes at a flatter, sleeker angle. Interestingly, the windowsills are actually quite a bit lower, further slimming the car. Thanks to its 0.8-inch wider front and rear wheel tracks as well as more tumblehome in the C-pillar area, the coupe sits lower and looks more planted than the ATS sedan, particularly from the rear three-quarter view. Filling the wheel wells is a family of slick 18x8-inch wheels, with 18x9-inchers coming on the rear axle of performance models. Even if all those changes haven't resulted in a wholly new look the way the CTS Coupe departs from its sedan progeny, the ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. And for that, Cadillac deserves mighty praise. The ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. It is a proper coupe, of course, and as such is saddled with the expected limitations that accompany modern two-door packaging, notably rear seat access and limited rear headroom. Since the floorpan is common to both bodystyles, rear legroom is the same as the sedan's, though headroom shrinks a considerable 1.8 inches, making it hard for even average-sized adults to sit back there without their heads touching the window glass.

Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

2019 Autoblog Technology of the Year finalists revealed

Every fall, we line up a range of new models with the latest and most compelling automotive technology from the past year. We test everything from semi-autonomous systems like Tesla's Autopilot to trick suspension setups like the Multimatic spool-valve shocks on the Chevy Colorado ZR2. We spend months paring down the list to a small group of contenders. After testing, dinner and healthy debate, we tally up the votes and name our winner. For Autoblog's 2019 Technology of the Year Award, our three finalists are the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise, the Infiniti QX50 with Variable Compression Turbo and the Mercedes-AMG E 53 with EQ Boost. Super Cruise is an advanced SAE Level 2 semi-autonomous system, though Cadillac (unlike some of its rivals) is reluctant to push that point. Cadillac would like you to think of this as an advanced driver assistance feature rather than a semi-autonomous system. Super Cruise allows completely hands-free highway driving. Thanks to a driver-facing camera, the system forces the driver to keep his or her eyes on the road even if hands are off the wheel. Although the CT6 is being discontinued, look for Super Cruise to make its way to other Cadillacs soon. VC Turbo is a little more complicated. Basically, Infiniti's 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four can vary the compression ratio on the fly. In general, turbocharged engines are more efficient than naturally-aspirated engines when on boost, but can perform worse at low revs. VC Turbo allows for a best-of-both-worlds situation, increasing the compression at low revs and backing it off once the turbo spools up. The best part is that it does so seamlessly, with only a dash readout letting you know what's going on under the hood. Our third finalist is the EQ Boost 48-volt system in the Mercedes-AMG E 53. Like VC Turbo, EQ Boost does a lot just beneath the surface. Mercedes has developed a new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and paired it with a small electric motor. While the car can't run on electricity alone, the motor helps improve both efficiency and performance, smoothing shifts and filling in low-end torque before the turbos spool up. Think torque fill, similar to a McLaren P1. Who can complain about better fuel economy and more torque? Look for the 48-volt system to make its way into most of the Mercedes-Benz lineup. The winner will be revealed next week on Autoblog, and we'll present the award Jan. 15 at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: