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Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

Cadillac gives ATS, CTS new V6 for 2016

Replacing the existing 3.6-liter V6 in the Cadillac ATS and CTS is... another 3.6-liter V6. But this one promises higher output, while consuming less fuel, and making less noise. Like the V8s in the CTS-V and Escalade, it's got cylinder-deactivation technology to cut it down to a four-pot under lighter loads, as well as automatic stop/start, and comes mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The new engine produces 335 horsepower and 284 pound-feet of torque. That's a modest improvement over the 321 hp and 275 lb-ft mustered by the unit it replaces. But it also delivers an approximate improvement of nine percent in fuel economy and eight percent in carbon emissions. That's what we'd call a win-win, even if it's a modest one. Of course, those ATS or CTS buyers attracted to higher efficiency will still likely go for the 2.5-liter inline-four or the 2.0-liter turbo four. And those more inclined towards performance will be tempted by the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 in the ATS-V or CTS Vsport – or the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 in the CTS-V, for that matter. But those customers looking for the best of both worlds will surely be pleased by the improvements the new atmospheric V6 and 8-speed gearbox bring to the table. Related Video: New Technologies Boost Efficiency for 2016 CYLINDER DEACTIVATION AND START/STOP SYSTEMS BEGIN PRODUCTION ON ATS AND CTS PRODUCT LINES 2015-10-09 Renowned for luxury and design, Cadillac has recently added dynamic driving performance to its list of attributes. Now as 2016 model year production begins, Cadillac adds new fuel-saving technologies. Active Fuel Management and Automatic Stop/Start technologies, and widespread use of a new 8-speed transmission, are combining to raise fuel economy ratings and reduce emissions in Cadillac's portfolio. Cadillac's all-new six cylinder engine contains Active Fuel Management, or cylinder deactivation, technology enabling it to seamlessly switch from six-cylinder to four-cylinder operation under certain light-load conditions, while maintaining excellent performance. The new 3.6-liter engine is part of the 2016 ATS and CTS product lines. Additionally, the Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV's V8 will shift to four-cylinder operation in many daily driving conditions, as will Cadillac's all-new high performance CTS-V sedan.

2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport [w/video]

Bridging The Gap With Power And Poise
As you read these words, West Coast Editor Michael Harley is preparing to drive the brand-new 2014 Cadillac CTS along the gorgeous, sun-drenched roads of Southern California. And while I'll wait for Harley's full report before I put words in his mouth, I'm willing to bet he enjoys the hell out of Cadillac's new CTS. In fact, I'm sure of it.
I say this with confidence because, about a month ago, I spent the better part of a day flogging the new CTS Vsport around the 2.9-mile Milford Road Course - a challenging circuit laid out in the infield of an oval test track at GM's proving grounds in southeast Michigan. The MRC was built about a decade ago after Bob Lutz was lured out of retirement to work closely with GM's product development team, and thus, this circuit is known informally as the "Lutz Ring." The main objective of the MRC was to have an in-house facility for engineers to fine-tune vehicle dynamics, without having to constantly schlep cars over to Germany's infamous Nürburgring. (Of course, they still do.)