1987 Cadillac Allante on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cadillac to fight Audi A3, Mercedes CLA with small rear-drive sedan?

Compact luxury sedans are fast becoming the trend among upscale automakers. Mercedes has the new CLA (and its many platform-mates), BMW has the 1 Series and 2 Series, Audi has the A3 and, though Lexus apparently isn't interested in anything smaller than its CT 200h, Infiniti is getting in on the action with a compact model of its own. It would only follow logically, then, that Cadillac should launch a competitor, and according to the latest reports, that's just what it has in store.
Speaking with Car and Driver, Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus confirmed that such a project is in the works. But unlike its rivals, Cadillac aims to go with a rear-wheel-drive layout. This despite research that apparently indicates that a surprising 80 percent of owners think that their BMW 1 Series is front-drive. It's the driving dynamics and styling proportions that motivate Ellinghaus and his colleagues to stick with rear-drive, however.
The new model would in all likelihood be based on the same GM Alpha architecture that underpins the ATS and CTS - a platform that has helped Cadillac keep the weight down on both models and which is expected to underpin the next-generation Chevy Camaro, as well. The sub-ATS could be positioned as a four-door 2+2, however, as the ATS grows a little larger in its next iteration in order to make room for its new baby brother.

2016 Hennessey CTS-V is properly ridiculous with 1,000 horsepower

We truly live in a halcyon era of automotive performance with models like the latest Shelby GT350 Mustang and 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat. And now Hennessey Performance Engineering is bringing something with absolutely obscene power to the world with its tuned 2016 Cadillac CTS-V that packs a ludicrous 1,000 horsepower. The latest CTS-V isn't even on sale yet but should be a powerhouse straight from the factory. Under its carbon fiber hood is a 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 with 640 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque that makes the sedan capable of a 200-mile-per-hour top speed. Hennessey's take ditches the blower in favor of two turbos to feed air to the engine. To cope with the extra power, the mill gets upgrades like forged aluminum pistons and forged steel parts for the rods and crankshaft, and transmission upgrades are also necessary to make it all work. Buyers can even spec things like carbon-ceramic brakes and a widebody kit to allow for bigger tires. The crazy numbers are leading to some big performance claims from company founder John Hennessey. "I believe that our 2016 Twin Turbo CTS-V will have a top speed approaching 240 mph," he said in the Caddy's announcement. Hennessey is building just 24 of these 1,000-horsepower sedans for the 2016 model year. However, for those that want to keep the supercharger under the hood, the company is also offering upgrades with 750 hp and 800 hp for the CTS-V too. All of them sound absolutely ridiculous in an utterly fantastic way. 2016 HPE1000 Twin Turbo Cadillac CTS-V Texas Tuner Plans to Build World's Fastest 4-Door Sedan Sealy, Texas-When the next generation Cadillac CTS-V hits the streets later this year, it will have 640+ hp and a top speed of nearly 200 mph. To the team at Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE), this is a good starting point. The company plans to pick-up where they left off with the last gen CTS-V by producing the world's fastest 4-door sedan: The Hennessey HPE1000 Twin Turbo CTS-V. "A couple of years ago, the State of Texas gave us the opportunity to test one of our specially tuned CTS-Vs – our VR1200 Twin Turbo coupe. It ran 221 mph (356 km/h) on State Highway 130, near the Circuit of the Americas", said company founder, John Hennessey. "It was still pulling on when we ran out of road. I believe that our 2016 Twin Turbo CTS-V will have a top speed approaching 240 mph (386 km/h)". Hennessey plans to offer a limited run of only 24 units for the 2016 model year.

Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.