1958 Cadillac Deville on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cadillac ELR getting massive discounts, some up to $14,000

Well, that didn't go as planned. General Motors had marketed the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in as a premium version of the Chevrolet Volt with some Caddy refinements. Now, it looks like that premium, at least from a price standpoint, is shrinking. Shoppers in a number of states are reporting that GM and its dealers are discounting the ELR in order to move more off dealer lots. The issue is that few people are biting at the official price tag of about $76,000, so GM has started offering as much as $8,000 worth of dealer and customer incentives, Transport Evolved reports. More recently, dealers in states such as Florida, Texas and Maryland are offering discounts in the $12,000-to-$14,000 range, and that's before any federal and state plug-in incentives kick in. It's not difficult to guess why. Through the first half of the year, GM sold fewer than 400 ELRs. Last month, Caddy moved just 97 units, or about as many as Tesla sells of its Model S in a day. Perpahs recent spy shots that reveal a test ELR that appears to up the sportiness quotient, with touches such as larger wheels and brakes, will also help sales. Check out Autoblog's "First Drive" impressions of the ELR here.

2013 Cadillac XTS [w/video]

The Cadillac Of Stopgaps
As confusing as most alphanumeric car names have gotten in recent years, at least one constant has been that the letter "X" is generally indicative of a crossover. Then why did General Motors use this letter on its new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan? Well, for that, we'll have to look to the world of mathematics where "X" stands for an unknown variable or a placeholder. Now we're talking. The XTS is just an interim product sitting at the top of Cadillac's four-door food chain until the brand gets a true flagship in place. That sounds like a lot of resources to spend on what will likely be a one-and-done model, but the automaker needed to get something - anything - to replace the DTS.
So here you have the 2013 XTS. A big luxury sedan that was created to bridge the gap between Cadillac's recent past and its pending future. Going into our week with this XTS knowing that it was a stopgap measure proved to be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, we know (or hope) that this car will act as a baseline for future high-end Cadillac models, but at the same time, we couldn't help but be mindful of past stopgap models, albeit in more entry-level segments, like the Cimarron and Catera.

2016 Cadillac ELR gets more power, $9,000 price drop

Cadillac has announced a series of updates to the ELR for 2016 that promises to make the plug-in hybrid luxury coupe a more desirable proposition. Perhaps chief among them is a price drop of $9,005 compared to the slow-selling 2014 model. The news follows an announcement yesterday that the Chevy Spark would get a $1,500 price drop. Cadillac is quoting a net price for the updated ELR at $58,495, which is obviously substantially less than the $75k it was asking for the previous version. But it's important to note that the new price is listed after US federal tax credits. The 2014 model came in at $67,500 after the full $7,500 tax credit, so math tells us that Cadillac has slashed the price on the 2016 ELR rather dramatically by about nine grand with a new MSRP of $65,995. One big upgrade on the performance front is a 25-percent boost in output from the hybrid powertrain that marries a pair of electric motors to a 1.4-liter inline-four gasoline-burning generator. The increase is said to be enough to drop 1.5 seconds off the 0-60 time, now quoted at 6.4 seconds. It'll travel for up to 39 miles on electric mode alone, but with the generator spooled up will go up to 330 miles before needing to stop. The engine management software has also been updated and the regenerative braking system reconfigured as well, but GM's luxury division didn't stop at the powertrain, fitting the 2016 ELR with a raft of other enhancements. Visually there's a new grille with the marque's latest emblem embedded. The suspension has been stiffened, the steering recalibrated and the brakes optimized for better feel. Cadillac is also throwing in the previously optional Driver Assistance package of active safety systems as standard, with adaptive cruise control available as an option. And the infotainment system comes with OnStar, 4G LTE connectivity and on-board Wi-Fi. There's even a Performance Package available with 20-inch performance tires offering 10-percent better lateral grip, four-piston Brembo brake calipers up front to help reducing stopping distances by 12 percent, recalibrated dampers and steering and a thicker-rimmed steering wheel. Because of the higher rolling resistance tires, however, the Performance Package kills four miles off of the electric driving range.