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Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.

Cadillac CT6 uses aluminum to save 200 pounds

In Cadillac's recently launched ad campaign, the luxury brand's tagline is "Dare Greatly," and the two words suggest a brand willing to take big swings, even if they don't always connect. From what the company is promising, the forthcoming CT6 seems like an embodiment of that new motto. With an eventual range of turbocharged engines, reportedly including a turbo V8, a possible plug-in hybrid and streaming rearview mirror, the sedan is certainly pitched as tech showcase. Of course, extensive use of aluminum is practically mandatory to play in the luxury field these days, and Caddy is proving its latest creation can do that too. Despite the weighty appearance of the sedan's squared-off exterior, 64 percent of the CT6 is aluminum, including the entire exterior. Caddy claims that using so much of the lightweight metal sheds 198 pounds off the scales compared to using conventional steel. There still is some steel in the CT6; although it's predominately the high-strength variety. The engineers use the heavier metal for portions around the cabin and B-pillar for added safety. Cadillac also claims using steel "close-out panels" on lower portions of the sedan make the cabin quieter without needing as much sound deadening. The buildup to the CT6's public unveiling has been a long time coming after Cadillac pinned the flagship (for now) sedan's debut at the New York Auto Show nearly a year ago. When the sheet finally comes off on March 31, we get the first good idea about just how great Caddy's latest act of daring really is. Cadillac CT6 Elevates the Science of Mass Efficiency 2015-03-13 Technology DETROIT – Cadillac will use an advanced mixed-material approach for the lightweight body structure of the upcoming CT6 range-topping sedan. The structure is aluminum intensive, but the new Cadillac also includes 13 different materials customized for each area of the car to simultaneously advance driving dynamics, fuel economy and cabin quietness. The CT6 will debut March 31 at the New York International Auto Show and go into production late this year at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. "This is the rocket science of automobile construction and manufacturing today," said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen.

GM CEO Akerson calls out Tesla, says Cadillac will compete on EVs

Cadillac will be taking on Tesla Motors, the underdog EV manufacturer that's seen heaps of critical acclaim and stock market buzz with its most recent sedan, the Model S. "If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac," Dan Akerson, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, told media in Washington, according to The Detroit News.
Akerson continued, telling The News, "We'll sell more Volts and lose less money on the Volts than they'll lose on the Model S." He also took time to point out that Tesla getting vehicles out to customers isn't a guarantee of success or permanence, using Fisker as an example, saying "Does anybody even remember Fisker? I mean, there were a number of them; they are all gone."
This strong talk from Akerson comes after Doug Parks, another GM exec, let slip that the Detroit-based manufacturer has an EV in the works that will cover 200 miles per charge and only cost about $30,000, a massive upgrade over similarly priced EVs that struggle to top 100 miles per charge. Until that vehicle arrives, though, GM is preparing the Cadillac ELR, a small coupe that, like the Volt with which it shares technology, uses a gas engine as a mobile generator to recharge the batteries. Akerson took aim at Tesla again, saying, "But I do think when the ELR comes out late this year, early next - it's certainly the same postal code as Tesla, but now we're going to move up. It's not going to be a mass-produced car."