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Why Cadillac thinks it needs to succeed in Europe to sell cars elsewhere

Ward's Auto has taken an interesting look at the renewed focus General Motors is showing towards Cadillac in Europe. Susan Docherty, president and managing director of Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe (pictured), says in order for the luxury brand to thrive in China, it first needs to succeed in the old country. The reason? Chinese buyers look to Europe for cues as to what's deemed worthy of the term "luxury." There are hurdles to the plan, however. In addition to the fact that the EU is flooded with high-end nameplates, GM doesn't necessarily have the distribution network in place to put buyers behind the wheel.
Combine that with persistent economic woes and Cadillac's checkered past marred by a lack of diesel engine options and a bankrupt distributor, and the road ahead for the brand looks like less of an uphill climb and more like a straight-up cliff face. But Docherty is optimistic and says she has a plan for the brand. We recommend heading over to Ward's for a closer look at the full read.

GM shows off 'digital vehicle platform' enabling more in-car tech and OTA updates

It appears to have dropped the sobriquet "Global B," but General Motors' new electrical architecture has bowed in drawings and video. This is the "digital vehicle platform" GM president Mark Reuss spoke to Reuters about in 2015, saying it would move a great deal of a vehicle's computer work to the cloud and enable over-the-air updates. Reuss took the microphone for the debut, too, saying, "Our new digital vehicle platform and its eventual successors will underpin all our future innovations across a wide range of technological advancements, including EVs and expanded automated driving." The system will go into production later this year, appearing in dealerships first either on the 2020 Cadillac CT5 or the mid-engined 2020 Chevrolet Corvette. Yes, these are the same electronics cited for delaying the launch of the C8 Corvette over excessive draw, security and getting the more-than-100 computer modules to communicate seamlessly. When Car and Driver asked about that, GM replied with "No comment." Volkswagen's having the same issues with the Mk8 Golf right now, though, so GM isn't alone, and this will be the new normal among OEMs for a while. What's certifiable is that the new architecture is robust enough to handle 4.5 terabytes of data per hour, which is five times what GM's current wiring can handle. And thanks to Ethernet connections of 100 Mbps, 1 Gbs and 10 Gbs, communication within and without the vehicle happens much faster. The advances mean better screen resolutions, better battery management for hybrids and electric vehicles, the capability for over-the-air updates and "functionality upgrades throughout the lifespan of the vehicle." Cadillac's Super Cruise has already been lined up as a leading candidate for constant improvements in the driving assistance suite, a key part of GM's "vision for a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion." And whenever GM decides to take the plunge, it will mean a 48-volt electrical system. More than 300 specialists worked on the digital platform, and security was a huge part of the task. We've already heard that GM consulted with Boeing and military contractors on how to prevent hacking. The carmaker has an internal Product Cybersecurity group that reached out to the research community, and created a "bug bounty" program to crowdsource uncovering any flaws.

Conquest and controversy conclude the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona [spoilers]

If you don't wish to know who won the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, you should avert your eyes right now. We'll even give you a double-space to skedaddle...
For those of you still with us, the first race in the United SportsCar Championship (USCC) is done, but the discussions about it certainly won't end for a while. Daytona Prototypes claimed the first four overall places, the top spot taken by the No. 5 Action Express Coyote-Chevrolet Corvette DP driven by Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sebastien Bourdain and Burt Friselle. The 16th and final caution of the race bunched the field up for an eight-minute sprint to the flag, so the first place getter finished just 1.4 seconds ahead of the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Dallara-Chevrolet Corvette DP driven by Max Angelelli. Third place went to Brian Friselle in the No. 9 Action Express Chevrolet Corvette DP, 20 seconds down. Chevrolet power hasn't taken the overall win since 2003, eleven years later it scores a one-two-three-four. The No. 6 Muscle Milk/Pickett Racing ORECA-Nissan 03 scored fifth place, the top LMP2 finisher.
The Prototype Challenge class win went to the No. 54 CORE Autosport team of Colin Braun, Jon Bennett, Mark Wilkins and James Gue.