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Cadillac is returning to endurance racing with a new prototype in 2017

In two months, Cadillac will return to top-tier endurance racing with its all-new Daytona Prototype International racecar after 14 years away. The car, which adheres to IMSA's new DPi regulations, looks as long, low, and Cadillac-like as anyone could have hoped. It's set to debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and will compete head to head with the likes of Mazda and Nissan in what is shaping up to be one of the most diverse and exciting forms of American motor racing in years. The new car will be run by Wayne Taylor Racing, the team that previously fielded the Corvette Daytona Prototype. Wayne Taylor himself has won the 24 Hours of Daytona twice, in 1996 and 2005. He now manages the team and leaves the driving duties to his two sons, Ricky and Jordan. They'll be joined in the cockpit by Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor's teammate in 2002 at Cadillac's last unsuccessful attempt at endurance racing. To understand Cadillac's new car, officially called the DPi-V.R., you need to understand IMSA's DPi category. Basically, manufacturers are allowed to base their car on one of four chassis that follow the FIA LMP2 regulations. The chassis come from either Dallara, Onroak Automotive, ORECA or Riley/Multimatic. Cadillac will base their car on the Dallara platform. The DPi regulation differ from the LMP2 in two major ways: non-standardized engines and the ability to change certain parts of the bodywork. The DPi regulations are intended to give the variety of the top-tier LMP1 cars at a fraction of the cost. When it came to choosing an engine, Cadillac wanted to power the new car with something kinda sorta production based. The new car will use a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter pushrod V8 that shares some base architecture with the engine in the current CTS-V. While the power output hasn't been announced, expect about 600 horsepower. While that's down compared to the CTS-V, there is far less mass to move around as the Dallara chassis is a svelte 2,050 lbs. Since all the teams will be running different engine configurations, expect restrictors of some sort to help balance the power disparity. The parts of the body work that can be modified - The nose, sidepods, rear wheel arches and rear valance - have all been designed to mimic Cadillac roadcar design elements. Even the wheels look like they were pulled straight from the CTS-V. The front splitter, the floor, and the diffuser are common elements shared with other DPi cars.

Cadillac exec realizes ELR pricing was stupid high

At least one Cadillac exec has finally started to come to terms with something we knew all along: the initial $75,000 price for the ELR plug-in hybrid was way too high. The bad decision in part led to the model selling just over 1,000 units last year. Company marketing boss Uwe Ellinghaus recently gave an interview to Bloomberg where he discussed what went wrong. "The MSRP was, indeed, a mouthful," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. "We overestimated that customers would realize our competitors were naked at that price." People balked at the ELR's price from the very start, and dealers were receiving $5,000 at one point just for getting customers to test drive the PHEV. Later, some incentives for buyers were as high as $14,000. Cadillac planners saw a conundrum when it came to the ELR's price. Too low of a figure was thought to bring the model close to the Chevrolet Volt, and $75,000 was also believed to signal Caddy's PHEV as something special. "We just wanted to make this a statement for the brand of how progressive we are," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. Cadillac is now working to rehabilitate the ELR's reputation with a host of updates for 2016. Buyers get a 25-percent boost in powertrain output, additional standard features, and the whole package comes with a $9,000 drop in price. The tweaks should help the luxurious PHEV make a better second impression. Related Video:

GM admits goal of 500,000 EVs by 2017 won't be met

After a little over four years of Chevy Volt sales, General Motors has a better handle on how many people it expects will buy cars with plugs. And it's less than the company thought back in 2012, when then-senior vice president of global product development, Mary Barra, said that GM expected to sell 500,000 "vehicles with electrification" by 2017. In a sustainability report released this week, GM says that half-million vehicle target will not be met but that it still, "believes the future is electric." In the report, GM says that, "For our commitment to electrification, our forecasted outlook currently projects us, along with the broader automotive industry, falling short of expectations for 2017. ... We continue to aspire to our stated goal." GM's electric lineup includes the Volt, the recently popular Spark EV, the slow-selling Cadillac ELR and upcoming Malibu Hybrid, CT6 plug-in hybrid and eAssist technology in the Buick LaCrosse and Regal. GM says it has 180,834 electrified vehicles on the road in the US today. In 2013, it had 153,034; 95,578 in 2012, and 39,843 in 2011. The company's next big plug-in vehicle will be the second-gen Chevy Volt, which is coming to market later this year, followed by the 200-mile Bolt EV coming, we think, in 2017. GM Employees on Mission to Transform Transportation Sustainability report outlines vehicle and manufacturing progress; sets new targets 2015-05-07 DETROIT – General Motors' just-released sustainability report chronicles efforts by the company's 216,000 employees to live out GM's newly defined purpose and values by earning customer loyalty, applying meaningful technology advances and improving the communities where it does business. These actions – led by CEO Mary Barra – further drive sustainability into the company's culture through building safer and smarter vehicles with less environmental impact. "GM will take a leading role in the auto industry's transformation as it undergoes an unprecedented period of change," said Bob Ferguson, senior vice president, GM Global Public Policy. "From GM's labs to its assembly lines, our people are driving the world to a better place through improved mobility." The company believes the future is electric, with billions of investment to support an all-in-house approach to the development and manufacturing of electrified vehicles. It now counts 180,834 on the road in the U.S – up from 153,034 in 2013.