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Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

2014 Cadillac XTS gets 410-hp twin-turbo V6

General Motors told us so back in March, but it is now official: The twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 announced for the 2014 Cadillac CTS will also join the options list for the 2014 Cadillac XTS. The LF3 engine puts out 410 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque in the XTS, however, which is 10 hp and 61 lb-ft down from its application in the CTS. It will be identifiable from the outside by a specific grille treatment and a badge on the decklid. The 3.6-liter V6 with 304 hp and 264 lb-ft holds steady as the standard engine, and both will be yoked to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
Also new for the front-wheel drive model for 2014 are updates that include electric power steering and optional Automatic Parking Assist that can maneuver the sedan into parallel parking spots. The three trims above standard - Luxury, Premium and Platinum - get Intellibeam headlights that automatically switch between high- and low-beam,
The four current trim levels remain but the list of optional extras for the higher specs grows with a rear-seat entertainment system equipped with DVD screens in the front seatbacks, memory settings for the front passenger seat and an armrest in the back seat fitted with radio and sunshade controls. The press release below has more info on all of the changes.

Reuss says Cadillac CT6-based Buick could happen

Could the upcoming Cadillac CT6 and its Omega platform spawn a Buick variant? According to General Motors' product chief Mark Reuss, it could potentially be in the cards, but "not yet." "We're working on that," Reuss told Automotive News at the 2015 New York Auto Show. While there hasn't been a large, rear-drive Buick on dealerships since the Roadmaster in 1996, the company gave a big hint that it could head in that direction with the Avenir Concept, shown earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show. As Automotive News explains, a rear-drive Omega-platform Buick could be a real hit in China, where consumers buy 13 Buicks for every one Cadillac. That move would be a big help to GM's bottom line, too, as it'd significantly increase the Omega platform's economy of scale. If a large Buick based on the CT6 were to head to China, though, it likely wouldn't be a simple case of badge engineering (thank God). Reuss hinted to Automotive News that while the mixed-material construction of the CT6 platform "is very flexible," doing an "identical version of that platform or not is a different conversation." What are your thoughts? Should Buick adopt the Omega platform for an Avenir-based sedan? Should that vehicle be sold here in the US, or should it be a China-only offering? Have your say in Comments. Related Video: