1989 Cadillac Coupe Deville With Roadster Roof on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Jay Leno welcomes a 2016 Cadillac CTS-V into the garage

After checking out a multitude of classic cars and customs over the past few weeks, Jay Leno switches things up with a modern performance machine in the latest video from the garage – a 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. Leno is curious about Caddy's attempt to challenge the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S, and he takes a long, technical look at the sedan with chief engineer David Leone. Not content to just peek under the hood, Leno puts the CTS-V up on the rack to see what it packs underneath the svelte body. Once he gets the lowdown on the Caddy's engineering, it's time for a drive. Leno also flexes his interviewing skills while behind the wheel and gets even more info about the CTS-V's capabilities from Leone. He seems fairly impressed, but Leno's most entertaining question about the 640-horsepower sedan is whether it can do a burnout. He provides a definitive answer to that at the end of the clip. Related Video:

GM may have teased a whole group of electric vehicles

During GM's big CES press conference, the automaker highlighted a number of its upcoming electric car-related projects from delivery vans to the upcoming flagship Cadillac Celestiq. In the middle of it all, a collection of mystery cars sat in the background behind speakers. They were in the dark, lit only with their running lights, and while it's possible they're just generic filler cars or concepts, we think they could be future products. Our best shot of the cars together is shown above, and we can pretty easily identify three of the vehicles. In the center is obviously the GMC Hummer EV. On either side of it are Cadillacs. To the left seems to be the Lyriq crossover, and to the right is the Celestiq sedan. Two of these cars have production dates, and the third has been confirmed for eventual production, just without timing. This is why we think the rest of the cars are upcoming models. The next most easily identified car is on the near right behind the Cadillac Celestiq. It very clearly has a Chevy bowtie illuminated in the running lights. And looking closely, it appears to be a pickup truck. It's difficult to make out anything more than that. The nose does look a bit more rounded and swept back than the brick-like designs of the Silverado truck line. That also squares with what seemed to be the upcoming truck that appeared in the background of yet another GM presentation. GM previously said this electric Chevy truck will be a full-size model with up to 400 miles of range. That leaves us with three more mysterious models. Over to the left behind the Cadillac Lyriq are what appear to be a pair of crossovers. The one on the far left looks low, curvy, and possibly with a fastback roof. The one on the right is taller, boxier, and probably more of a full-size people hauler. It's hard to say much more beyond that. They could be new electric Buicks, which would fit in nicely with that brand's crossover portfolio, and would likely be highly successful in China, where Buicks, crossovers and electric cars are all rather hot commodities. As for the mystery car on the far right, it's quite a puzzle. We can at least rule out Buick and Cadillac, and GMC since it's definitely a car, and a rather small one compared with the other cars on display. That leaves Chevy, and possibly the autonomous division Cruise. We're leaning toward it being a Chevy, since the first Cruise vehicle is going to be a boxy pod of sorts.