Luxury Package Black With Black Leather Nav 22" Chrome Wheels Remote Start on 2040-cars

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Dodge Dart falls short of Consumer Reports Recommended, Caddy XTS and Lincoln MKS, too

The Dodge Dart, Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKS all failed to earn a "Recommended" rating from Consumer Reports. When it came to the compact Dart, the organization's testers thought the vehicle offered a quiet cabin, solid-feeling chassis and nimble suspension, but the new model ultimately fell short of the coveted rating due to powertrain issues. The institute's reviewers found the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to be underpowered and noted "drivability issues" when the available turbocharged 1.4-liter four was paired with the optional dual-clutch transmission (some of our editors disliked it paired with the six-speed manual). CR also dinged the latter powerplant for sounding "raspy." For what it's worth, we think the forced-induction engine offers an excellent and playful exhaust note, but that's just us.
As for the XTS, CR lauded the car for its luxurious cabin, but the vehicle's experience was dulled by its finicky CUE infotainment interface. Overall, the big Cadillac scored much higher than its cross-town rival from Lincoln. While testers found the American luxury sedan to offer a quiet ride and quality fit and finish, they felt the MKS delivered a "cramped driving position, ungainly handling, uncomposed ride, and limited visibility." Ouch. At the end of the day, both cars fell short of rivals from Japan, Germany and Korea. Check out the full press release below with more details, along with CR's musings on the Chevrolet Spark and Lexus ES.

Cadillac reveals more 2015 Escalade details, launches colorizer

Cadillac has opened up a mini-site to entice you into its all-new 2015 Escalade, and begun talking about more of its features and trim levels. While all versions of the new daddy Caddy will be powered by a 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque routed through a six-speed automatic, there will be three trim packages you can wrap around that powertrain and seven exterior colors available to make it pop.
Features common to all trims include leather throughout, heated and cooled front seats, a 12-inch reconfigurable dash cluster, a quieter interior thanks to Bose active noise cancellation and the brand's love/hate CUE infotainment system. The base trim comes with adaptive remote start, hands-free tailgate, rear-view camera, park assist, Magnetic Ride Control and sits on 20-inch wheels. Moving up to the Luxury spec increases your stature with 22-inch wheels and adds a reconfigurable, color head-up display, a sunroof, power fold-and-tumble second row seating, Intellibeam headlights and a Driver Awareness Package with active crash-avoidance technology like Safety Alert Seat, lane departure warning and forward collision alert.
The top Premium trim gets a Driver Assist Package that includes Automatic Collision Preparation, automatic braking and adaptive cruise control, rear-seat entertainment, along with exterior touches like illuminated door handles.

Autoblog Podcast #408

Episode #408 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about the possibility of France banning diesel, Cadillac putting Porsche in its sights, and the lineup of high-performance Fords potentially coming to the Detroit Auto Show. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #408: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: France to ban diesel? Cadillac to go Porsche hunting Ford NAIAS lineup In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe 2015 Audi S3 Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:04:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 France Diesel Ban - 27:13 Cadillac vs. Porsche - 34:32 Ford Performance at NAIAS - 42:23 Q&A - 49:46 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Detroit Auto Show Audi Cadillac Ford Jeep