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Cadillac to augment dealers with 700 'boutique' stores

Johan de Nysschen is on a mission to revitalize Cadillac. Since taking over as chief executive of the American luxury brand, the former Audi and Infiniti exec has set about moving the brand's headquarters to New York, switched advertising firms, launched a completely new naming scheme for its model line, and has a whole raft of new products planned. And now he's working on changing how its dealer network operates. Speaking at both the Washington Auto Show and the NADA dealers' convention in San Francisco this week, de Nysschen has outlined a new plan for its US dealers. The network presently consists of over 900 stores – some 200 of which are stand-alone Cadillac dealers, with the remaining 700 attached to other GM brand showrooms. Contrary to earlier fears, de Nysschen notes that the dealer network is larger and covers more territory than those of import brands, and has no intention of cutting that number down. But he is asking those 700 mixed-brand dealers to create a new showroom experience for Cadillac customers. In this latest announcement, Cadillac refers to a new model of "boutique" showrooms that will encompass new technologies, higher-trained staff and luxury amenities to give those attached Cadillac showrooms a more unique feel. The plan includes installing "virtual showroom" systems that will allow potential customers to configure a new car using interactive displays and "potentially even holograms." The plan also calls for "new standards for compensation... with more precise alignment of local sales and potential for each dealer" in order to make sure that the requisite investment in the infrastructure and staff training are worthwhile for the dealers. Just what form these new systems will take, we don't know at this point. Nor are we sure why Cadillac isn't including its 200 stand-alone "flagship" dealers in the initiative. But we're sure we'll be finding out more about de Nysschen's plans on the dealer front in due course. Cadillac Discusses U.S. Dealer Network Development 2015-01-22 WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of Cadillac's overall mission to expand and elevate within the premium automotive sector, the brand today outlined its strategy to upgrade its U.S. dealer network. Speaking at both the Washington, D.C. Auto Show today, and this weekend's annual National Auto Dealers Association convention in San Francisco, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen will outline how the brand will target enhancements in the customer experience.

GM announces six new recalls, covering 3.5 million vehicles

General Motors has just initiated another crushingly large recall, this time affecting some 3.36 million vehicles built between 2000 and 2014 and sold in the US, Canada and Mexico. Once again, the issue surrounds the cars' ignition switches, which can be kicked out of the run position if they're carrying extra weight or if they experience a "jarring" event. In this particular case, though, GM will modify the keys, rather than the ignition itself.
A four-by-six-millimeter hole will be drilled into the key, which will more safely accommodate the weight of the key ring. As is usually the case, the work will be done free of charge. The recalled vehicles include the 2000 to 2005 Cadillac Deville, 2004 to 2005 Buick Regal LS and GS, 2004 to 2011 Cadillac DTS, 2005 to 2009 Buick Lacrosse, 2006 to 2008 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 2006 to 2011 Buick Lucerne and 2006 to 2014 Chevrolet Impala. Only the Impala is still in production, and even then, it's only sold to fleet companies.
According to an official statement from GM, there have been eight crashes and six injuries due to this latest issue. As if this isn't a dire enough blow for GM, the company has announced five smaller recalls, covering 165,000 vehicles.

Best car infotainment systems: From UConnect to MBUX, these are our favorites

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried all car infotainment systems what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. For the most part, the various infotainment systems available all share a similar purpose. They aim to help the driver get where they're going with navigation, play their favorite tunes via all sorts of media playback options and allow folks to stay connected with others via phone connectivity. Of course, most go way beyond the basics these days and offer features like streaming services, in-car performance data and much more. Unique features are aplenty when you start diving through menus, but how they go about their most important tasks vary widely. Some of our editors prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based and chock full of boundary-pushing features. Others may prefer a back-to-basics non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best infotainment overall: UConnect 5, various Stellantis products Ram 1500 Uconnect Infotainment System Review If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu.