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Cool car technology is cool until it breaks

Ah, technology – the beautiful date that impresses all your friends but costs you a fortune to keep happy, up-to-date, and working. Automotive News puts some numbers to the economic toll we're paying to jockey this technological Trojan horse, an analysis it sums up with "Technology is great - until you have to replace it." Back in 2000, for instance, you could replace a Cadillac Escalade taillight lens for $56.08, or replace the entire unit for $220.49. Crack the rear lens on your 2015 Escalade and you have to buy a new unit for $795 - there's no such thing as just replacing a lens anymore. What about headlights? It was $210 for an Escalade headlight in 2000, it's $1,650 for the current unit (pictured). This is nothing we didn't know, these are just hard numbers to demonstrate it. Edmunds recently provided the same with its sledgehammer-bashing of the 2015 Ford F-150, Tesla Model S buyers have been shrieking about repair costs to their electric sedan's all-aluminum bodywork, and used-car sites are full of articles about which expensive-to-repair features to steer clear of if you want to avoid big repair bills. Those expensive bits increase the price of a car - Kelley Blue Book says the average price of a car is now more than $33,000 - and that raises rates for repairs and insurance. This comes in spite of some carmakers that have been collaborating with insurance companies and repair shops at the design stage in order to engineer parts that are easier and less expensive to replace. But the tech can have its cost-saving benefits: a 2011 study by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that Volvos fitted with that company's City Safety feature "filed 27 percent fewer property-damage liability claims" than luxury SUVs without it, and just last month the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety called adaptive headlights one of the top four crash-preventing technologies on cars today (after coming out against them in 2006). So yes, the technology costs a mint when it needs to be fixed - but being able to avoid an accident in the first place might make it worth it. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 AOL Cadillac Car Buying Used Car Buying Auto Repair Insurance Maintenance Safety Technology Luxury replacement parts

Cadillac's de Nysschen takes aim at Porsche 911, Cayenne

Johan de Nysschen has big plans for Cadillac. He's moved the brand from Detroit to New York, revamped its model nomenclature, and planning a raft of new models for the near future – including a $250,000 luxury sedan to take on the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. But the veteran executive of luxury automakers has some more performance-oriented machinery in mind, too. Speaking with Car and Driver at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week, de Nysschen suggested Cadillac could be ready to launch a flagship sports car sometime in the next decade. The halo model would take aim at the Porsche 911 and do for Cadillac what Audi did with the R8, Mercedes is doing with the AMG GT and Acura once did (and is aiming to do again) with the NSX. Just what form it would take remains a big unknown, but de Nysschen indicated that the brand would need to be built up further before the sports car would be launched, lest it emerge too detached from Cadillac's image. The last time Cadillac delved into that territory was with the Corvette-based XLR, of which it sold only 15,000 or so examples – far below initial targets. The 911 rival isn't the only performance model de Nysschen has in mind, however. He plans to further expand the V series into a more substantial sub-brand to include a crossover to take on the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, BMW X5 M and all those many AMG-tuned Mercedes utilities. The idea of an entry-level model to slot in below the ATS was mooted as well. A range of diesel engines are slated to help Cadillac break into overseas markets in similar fashion to how Maserati has expanded its market reach with oil-burning versions of the Ghibli and Quattroporte. And we wouldn't be surprised to see Cadillac get in on a new flagship SUV being launched by Opel in Europe, either.

Timely hole-in-one wins high schooler a Cadillac or $50,000

If it happens at all, many golfers knock in hole-in-ones in the quiet of a mediocre local course while three friends sit in their carts drinking Coors Lights. After dreaming of the moment for years, lucky golfers barely have time to process the tremendous achievement before it's followed up with a double bogey on the next hole. That wasn't the case for high schooler Jack Kyger, who drilled an ace during a golf outing, and in turn, won a Cadillac or $50,000. Kyger, a junior at Harper Creek High School in Battle Creek, Mich., says he wasn't even considering a hole-in-one when he stepped up to the tee on the fourth hole at the Battle Creek Country Club. A secondary prize, a TV, would be awarded to the golfer who came closest to the pin, so Kyger was simply trying to get it close to the cup. In front of his dad and Harper Creek Superintendent Rob Ridgeway, he stuck the shot just past the hole, and with some backspin, it rolled into the pin. It's the first time somebody has hit the bullseye at the Gene Lewis Hughes, Sr. Memorial Golf Outing, which has raised more than $150,000 for the Bronson Battle Creek Cancer Care Center throughout the years. By hitting a hole-in-one, Kyger won a $50,000 decision: take home a Cadillac or a big bag of $50,000 in cash. As a student preparing to go to college, it's not an easy choice. "I haven't made up my mind," Kyger said in a USA Today article. "But the way I think about it, no 17-year-old needs a brand new Cadillac to drive around in. I have a truck that gets me places. So, if I take the cash, I would probably put most of it away for college, but keep a little back to have a bit of fun, you know." Smart kid. We did notice a peculiarity about the prize. In the attached photo, the Cadillac at the event appears to be a Cadillac ATS-V. Those familiar with Cadillac's performance vehicles know that an ATS-V starts at significantly more than $50,000 - $68,790 to be exact. So we're not sure why they're calling it a $50,000 Cadillac, unless it's a lightly used vehicle or the Cadillac in question is in fact a different car entirely. No matter the price, it sounds like Kyger is going to take the cash. If he sticks to practicing his golf game, maybe he can earn some more money for college, too. News Source: USA Today Auto News Cadillac Performance