1999 Cadillac Seville Sls Pearl W/ Blue Leather Interior 20 Inch Chrome Rims on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Cadillac CTS-V arrives with 640 hp, 200-mph top speed

Ask the company's executive team, and they'll tell you "this is the maximum Cadillac V-Series." It's the 2016 CTS-V sedan, and it packs the very best of what's possible at Cadillac. And the company says it doesn't think "anyone thought it was possible that we could push [the CTS-V] this far." The big news is what's underhood: General Motors' supercharged, 6.2-liter LT4 V8, tuned to 640 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque. That's 10 hp and 20 lb-ft less than the monstrous Corvette Z06, and the result is the most powerful car Cadillac has ever produced. With rear-wheel drive, launch control and the eight-speed automatic transmission (sorry, folks – no more manual transmission here), Cadillac says the 2016 CTS-V will sprint to 60 miles per hour in just 3.7 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 200 miles per hour. Naturally, Cadillac's engineers say they have tuned the CTS-V to ensure it can put all that power to the ground with the most precision and poise possible. That starts with the excellent Magnetic Ride Control active damping system (with a claimed 40-percent increase in responsiveness)and a 25-percent increase in structural stiffness that should improve overall handling and steering. What's more, a high-performance Brembo brake package comes standard, as do 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in seriously sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires that will reportedly offer 1g in lateral acceleration. Cadillac also says that all changes to the bodywork are functional. That includes a carbon-fiber hood, front splitter, rear spoiler and diffuser that are super light and aid with aerodynamics and weight reduction – all of which will be available as an optional package for folks who like the exposed carbon look. Inside, it's more of what we're used to on lesser CTS models, but there's newly optional carbon fiber trim, microfiber suede upholstery trim, and some seriously awesome Recaro seats. Additionally, as we exclusively reported earlier, Cadillac will offer GM's Performance Data Recorder in the CTS-V. It records high-definition video with data overlays that's sharable via social media. Beyond that, Cadillac will offer the usual smattering of tech goodies, including Siri Eyes Free, OnStar with 4G LTE, CUE infotainment with navigation and Bose audio. The CTS-V will launch later next year, following the debut of the smaller ATS-V. In the meantime, the sedan will officially bow at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks.

How the demise of Lincoln's Town Car has kick-started a limo revolution

The deaths of the Ford Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Town Car have meant overhauls of three high-profile American fleets: police, taxi and livery car. Just as police fleets are more open to considering other options and a Nissan van is the new face of the NYC taxi, livery car companies are looking at replacements for the Town Car beyond The Blue Oval. Ford, via Lincoln, has made an MKT Town Car (pictured), but an article in the Detroit News claims "it has failed to win over most of the big limousine companies." The upstarts trying to move in include livery and limo editions of the Cadillac XTS, and livery specifications of the Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300.
Each of those challengers, however, faces challenges. The Town Car was a workhorse, American, rear-wheel-drive sedan with plenty of rear legroom. Cadillac has been in the livery space before but with decontented models that were about selling the brand, not its luxury. It is taking the opposite approach with the XTS, pointing out that its livery edition is "contented in the upper half of the XTS range." Still, the CEO of Michigan's largest livery company says "it's quite a bit smaller than what we're used to," and he also prefers rear-wheel drive.
The Chrysler 300 is rear-wheel drive, and American, which matters to some companies, but Chrysler hasn't yet revealed the livery package for it. The livery Avalon marks Toyota's first time getting into that business in the US, a natural step after having done so well with taxi clients and with the Town Car out of the way. Still, the livery client is a different to taxi buyers, so the Avalon could face other soft-touch hurdles.

Autoblog Podcast #389

Episode #389 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Mark Pereira from Autoblog Canada talk about Johan deNysschen's move to Cadillac, rumors of more BMW nomenclature changes, a second generation for the Subaru BRZ, and cars from 2004 that we miss. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #389: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Johan de Nysschen moves to Cadillac BMW model designations changing even more Subaru BRZ getting second generation Cars We Miss In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2015 Volkswagen GTI 2015 Chevrolet Silverato 2500 Diesel Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Mark Pereira Runtime: 01:59:10 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Johan deNysschen - 36:12 BMW Nomenclature - 53:58 BRZ - 56:27 Cars We Miss - 01:05:07 Q&A - 01:30:09 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen