2019 Cadillac Cts 3.6 Luxury Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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Cadillac rushing update for laggy CUE infotainment system

BMW's innovative iDrive was introduced in 2001, and a dozen years later, automakers are still learning hard lessons about what consumers want in their infotainment systems. In response to owner feedback - and a few media drubbings - about the delayed and occasionally fickle responses of its CUE (short for Cadillac User Experience) system, Cadillac has told Wired that it's going to issue an update this year.
Coming for the XTS and ATS, the new software will mean quicker haptic feedback to driver inputs on the touchscreen and the buttons, and snappier responses on screen. Down the road, Cadillac's VP of marketing says that a different mix of screen controls and hard buttons is "something you'll be seeing in the future" - the system is presently a mix of touchscreen-based controls and capacitive-touch switchgear - there are no knobs or physical pushbuttons to speak of, and the omission of both has proven to be a divisive issue among consumers and industry pundits.
Cadillac hasn't provided a date for when the CUE update will be issued, but it has indicated that the service will be performed by dealers, not sent wirelessly.

Cadillac and Buick boost GM's return to growth in China

BEIJING — General Motors on Monday said continued market recovery from the COVID-19 crisis helped its China vehicle sales grow 12% on year in July-September, marking the Detroit automaker's first Chinese quarterly sales growth in two years. The second-biggest foreign automaker in China by units — after Germany's Volkswagen AG — said on Monday it had delivered 771,400 vehicles in China in the third quarter. That followed a 5% fall in the second quarter, when parts of China were still emerging from virus-busting lockdown measures. GM has a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, producing no-frills minivans and which has started manufacturing higher-end cars. Sales rose 26% for cars under its mass-market Buick brand in the third quarter versus the same period a year earlier, while those of premium brand Cadillac jumped 28%, GM said in a statement. Sales of its mass-market Chevrolet marque fell 20%. Sales of no-frills brand Wuling grew 26%, whereas those of mass-market Baojun vehicles tumbled 19%. "GM's compact models returned to four-cylinder engines and that helped sales growth," said LMC Automotive senior analyst Alan Kang, referring to an attempt to market cleaner but noisier three-cylinder versions. "Cadillac also has a more complete lineup this year." China's biggest automakers' association expects overall car sales to grow by double digits in July-September versus a year earlier. Makers such as Toyota, Honda and Geely saw sales jump in the just-finished quarter. GM has seen its China sales suffer in a crowded market and slowing economy. To revive its fortunes, it plans to have electric vehicles (EVs) make up over 40% of new models in the next five years in China, where the government promotes greener cars. The automaker's Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV, a micro two-door EV with a starting price of 28,800 yuan ($4,200), was China's biggest-selling EV in August. GM's sales fell 15% in 2019 from a year earlier to 3.09 million vehicles. The automaker delivered 3.65 million vehicles in 2018 and 4.04 million in 2017. Related Video:

Weekly Recap: GM scales back as Russian auto market teeters

General Motors' extensive plans to scale back its Russian operations are the latest sign the automotive market in the former superpower is collapsing – and there are few signs of recovery. GM said Wednesday it will stop selling mainstream Chevrolets and shutter the entire Opel brand in Russia. The moves leave GM with a luxury-focused presence consisting of Cadillac and Chevrolet's Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. The cutbacks will be completed by the end of the year. The automaker will also idle its factory in St. Petersburg and end a contract-assembly agreement with Russian manufacturer GAZ. "We had to take decisive action in Russia to protect our business," Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement. "We confirm our outlook to return the European business to profitability in 2016 and stick to our long-term goals." GM is the latest automaker to scale back in Russia as the economic conditions, volatile currency and uncertainty over the conflict in the Ukraine all have sandbagged new car sales. Last month, vehicle sales collapsed 38 percent in Russia to 128,298 units, according to the Association of European Business, which records sales. Joerg Schreiber, chairman of the AEB automobile manufacturers committee, didn't even feign optimism in a statement announcing the figures. "The market is entering a very difficult phase now, and February is only the beginning," he said. "Industry sentiment is the next few months will be extremely difficult and the market bottom has yet to be found." The dovetails with industry experts, who predict the Russian auto sector will remain in the doldrums. IHS said earlier this year it expects Russia's sales to slip to just 1.8 million units in 2015, which is a 40-percent drop from 2012. Other News & Notes Chief leads Jeep's Easter Safari stable Jeep is bringing seven attention-getting concepts to Moab for its annual Easter Safari off-roading celebration in Utah, but the Chief is perhaps the standout of the group. It salutes the 1970s Cherokee with a throwback appearance and surfer styling cues. The Chief has a custom modified razor grille made famous by the Wagoneer, and it rolls on 17-inch slotted mag wheels. The surf theme comes in with ocean blue paint, floral cloth and leather seats and a tiki-style shifter handle. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, the Chief has removable sides, a 3.6-liter V6 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.