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Johan de Nysschen tells his side of the story

Automobile snagged time with ex-Cadillac, Infiniti, and Volkswagen of America boss Johan de Nysschen. General Motors decided to part ways with de Nysschen on April 18, 2018, after the German spent four years in charge of America's luxury brand. The longtime auto exec is a polarizing figure for enthusiasts, who seem to take a mostly negative view of his work at Infiniti and Cadillac. However, there's no denying de Nysschen is frank, and in the Automobile interview he puts an insider's perspective on a big bag of issues we can only speculate on. One of the biggest bombshells in the interview was that it wasn't de Nysschen's idea to move Cadillac to New York: "When I was recruited, I was informed that the company would relocate to New York," he said. Previous GM CEO Dan Ackerson had made the decision before hiring de Nysschen, then Ackerson let his new hire make the announcement. The big change came only two years after de Nysschen had taken over Infiniti after insisting Nissan's luxury brand move to Hong Kong. De Nysschen explained Cadillac's NYC move with the same rationale as Infiniti's Hong Kong move, so everyone assumed the new guy was doing his usual. He explains in the interview that after the move, "Folks who rooted for Detroit felt betrayed. Cadillac had an enemy." And that became a problem. He has nothing bad to say about GM or Cadillac, believing on the contrary that "GM is in a good position going forward." But he brought clarity to some of Cadillac's struggles. Among the issues was GM's "very vigorous" post-bankruptcy test for green-lighting a project. Another was the lack of specialization for the luxury arm. "Engines were generically developed with the Chevy brand in mind," he said, "and, then, 'Okay, well, yeah, it's good enough for Cadillac.'" That carried over into haphazard technology rollouts. "GM didn't have a specific technology roadmap aligned to particular brands," he said. "The process was, as they were developing new technologies, they would look at what product's launch date would be aligned with the maturation date and market readiness of a technology and go with it, whether Buick, Chevy, or what have you." De Nysschen worked to end such generalized approaches, which is how we get Cadillac taking the GM lead on technology and electrification.

Cadillac Celestiq flagship EV shows off its tint-shifting smart roof

GM has high hopes for its upcoming Cadillac Celestiq sedan, slated for release in 2023. The flagship EV is being built to help the brand recapture its reign as “the Standard of the World.” As such, itÂ’s expected to arrive packed to the gills with cutting edge, futuristic technology including an all-glass roof that can adjust its opacity anywhere between crystal clear and completely opaque with the mere flick of a switch. These roofs, dubbed SPD-Smartglass, have been designed and manufactured by Research Frontiers of Woodbury, New York, and are based on Suspended Particle Device technology that was originally created as a replacement for the manual sliding window shades aboard commercial aircraft, Research Frontiers CEO Joe Harary told Engadget. Some of the earliest examples of SPD window treatments can be seen on the 2011 Mercedes Benz SLK roadster and in the 2012 Mercedes S Class coupe, which were used to increase headspace while eliminating the physical window shade screens, as well as various McLaren models over the past decade. As the YouTube video below explains, Research Frontiers SPD tech relies on polyiodide nanoparticles to generate its tint effect. Magic Sky Control Using SPD-SmartGlass Technology “SPD technology is smart glass that allows you to change the tint of the glass,” Harary explained. “There's this film that we invented that has little nanoparticles in it, which you can control with a small electrical voltage. So, basically this film... that allows you to dial in whatever tint level you'd like.”  “The crystals are about three to five tenths of a micron in length and they act as induced dipoles so when you apply an electric field to conductive coatings in the film,” Harary continued, “ the particles will line up, and allow light to pass through. Then, when you remove the voltage, their natural tendency is to be in the dark state due to Brownian movement and that causes the glass to tint.”  As the tint partially blocks incoming photons, it also reduces the amount of glare experienced by the driver and the heat trapped within the vehicle — over 99.5 percent of light and 95 percent of heat, per a January press release from the company. The claim is, this allows vehicle occupants to stay comfortable for longer without having to turn on the A/C, as well as keep the interior up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit cooler overall, Harary said.

Watch Brad Pitt's Chinese Cadillac XTS commercial

Once upon a time, in a land not so far from this one, Brad Pitt was the very face anti-consumerism. You see, when he slipped into the role of the elitist-loathing, food-abusing, violence-embracing Tyler Durden from Fight Club, his visage was inextricably married to images of leveling credit card corporations with nothing more than a little human fat and some determination. Of course, that was before Pitt settled into old age with a passel of children at his feet. Now, it seems, he'll shill for something as long as it doesn't damage his reputation in America.
Need proof? Look no further than this Chinese ad for the Cadillac XTS. In it, Pitt contentedly wafts the big front-wheel drive barge around San Francisco against a mildly euphoric soundtrack. You can check out the scene for yourself below, just make sure you have your last meal squarely situated in your stomach before pressing play. We have to wonder if Pitt wakes up in the middle of the night with Chuck Palahniuk's oddly omniscient words echoing in his ears: "Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you."