1989 Cadillac Coupe Deville With Roadster Roof on 2040-cars

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Cadillac Lyriq EV unveiled as brand's first electric vehicle

Your author has already seen it, back in March, and has had to wait until today to show you the new Cadillac Lyriq electric luxury crossover. We were excited about it then, we're still excited about it now, but we'll see if we can maintain that excitement for another two years. After some fanfare, a delay, a name explanation and a bit of teasing, Cadillac has finally taken the wraps off the Lyriq, and we like what we see. The bad news — weÂ’ll get it out of the way right now — is that the Cadillac Lyriq wonÂ’t go on sale until late 2022. Moving on, letÂ’s bask in the photos and video weÂ’ve long awaited, and dig into what we know about the first all-electric Cadillac. First, it will come in two drivetrain configurations: rear-wheel drive and performance all-wheel drive. ItÂ’ll use GMÂ’s new Ultium modular battery technology, giving it a driving range targeting north of 300 miles, plus a center of gravity about 3.9 inches lower than that of the similarly sized Cadillac XT5. It will be capable of "over" 150-kilowatt DC fast charging, with a Level 2 charging rate of up to 19 kW. Cadillac Lyriq View 8 Photos In terms of styling, the Lyriq is a substantial move forward both inside and out — and a lot of it has to do with lighting. On the outside, it gets vertical headlights, plus a bunch of little light-up elements in the grille, include a logo that is animated on startup. In fact, the face will light up as you approach, not unlike a dog seeing its best friend ready to play. We see some more nifty lighting signatures in back that carry on a similar theme with more vertical lights. Inside, the lighting situation gets even more interesting, with another light-up crest on the steering wheel, plus wood veneer over aluminum door panels, all backlit. As for its stance, the Lyriq has a long wheelbase, and rides on 22-inch wheels. At the back, we see a slick vented spoiler hanging over the raked rear glass. The side doors of the Lyriq automatically open with the touch of a button in door handle outlines that are flush with the body. Similarly, they close automatically, slowing down at the end to pull the doors fully shut. We wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't make it to production. Moving around the interior, the curved, 33-inch combination digital driver display and infotainment screen sprawls across the dash. It uses advanced LED technology, and is capable of displaying over a billion colors, according to Cadillac.

Cadillac V-Series Academy comes to Las Vegas [w/video]

General Motors has added another high-speed education course to the curriculum at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The desert track already hosts the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School with Chevrolet Corvettes, including the ZR1, and they've just added the Cadillac V-Series Academy.
Open now, the one- and two-day performance driving school teaches "the finer points of high performance driving" using the 556-horspower instructional aids known as the CTS-V sedan, coupe and wagon. This is different than than using the CTS-V at the Monticello Motor Club on the east coast - that's part of a sponsorship deal that Cadillac has with the track. The driving course at the Motorsports Ranch is its own program that was developed by Fellows, and we have no reason to think the Cadillac edition won't be just as thorough and enjoyable as the one with Corvettes.
Unlike the 'Vette edition, however, it doesn't appear that you get an invitation to the program if you buy a CTS-V model. Classes are capped at 12 participants and run $1,295 for a single day, $2,295 for two days. There are a video and a press release below with more info.

U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2018 rise slightly to 17.27 million [UPDATE]

DETROIT — Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, defying predictions and highlighting a strong economy. Automakers reported an increase of 0.3 percent over a year ago to 17.27 million vehicles. The increase came despite rising interest rates, a volatile stock market, and rising car and truck prices that pushed some buyers out of the new-vehicle market. Industry analysts and automakers said strong economic fundamentals pushed up sales and should keep them near historic highs in 2019. "Economic conditions in the U.S. are favorable and should continue to be supportive of vehicle sales at or around their current run rate," Ford Chief Economist Emily Kolinski Morris said after the company and other automakers announced their sales numbers Thursday. That auto sales remain near the 2016 record of 17.55 million is a testimonial to the strength of the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The job market, he said, has created new employment, and wage growth has accelerated. "That's fundamental to selling anything," he said. "If there are lots of jobs and people are getting bigger paychecks, they will buy more." The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, a 49-year low. The economy is thought to have grown close to 3 percent last year, its best performance in more than a decade. Consumers, the main driver of the economy, are spending freely. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate four times in 2018 but is only expected to raise it twice this year. Auto sales also were helped by low gasoline prices and rising home values, Zandi said. It all means that people are likely to keep buying new vehicles this year even as they grow more expensive. The Edmunds.com auto-pricing site estimates that the average new vehicle price hit a record $35,957 in December, about 2 percent higher than the previous year. It will be harder for automakers to keep the sales pace above 17 million because they have been enticing buyers for several years now with low-interest financing and other incentives, Zandi said. He predicts more deals in the coming year as job growth slows and credit tightens for higher-risk buyers. Edmunds, which provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press, predicts that sales will drop this year to 16.9 million.