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Weekly Recap: Lincoln Continental serves up the style, Cadillac CT6 delivers the substance in New York

Lincoln and Cadillac grabbed the spotlight this week at the New York Auto Show in a dramatic fashion that evoked the brands' glory days. America's two luxury carmakers went toe-to-toe with their glittering reveals and plans for ambitious expansion. Both were selling their technology, style and the promise of a better future. Cadillac vs. Lincoln. At the Javits Center, 2015 seemed a lot like 1956. Neither company was interested in drawing comparisons with the other, which is fair, and accurate. They're in vastly different places in terms of sales and the pace of their turnarounds, but they hope to reach the same eventual destination at the pinnacle of the luxury-car world. Lincoln used the element of surprise to great effect with the Continental concept. A production version is still at least a year away, and the company was vague on details. Officially, we don't even know if it is front- or rear-wheel drive, though speculation abounds. Who cares? The seats can be adjusted 30 ways! The Continental also showed off a bold chrome grille that will be the new face of Lincoln. The blue bomber also rolled on blinged-out 21-inch polished aluminum wheels, used a 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine and had huge LED head lights with "laser-assisted" high beams. All of this resulted in almost blinding attention. The concept drew rave reviews, stirred controversy with Bentley designers who argued Lincoln ripped them off, and most importantly, pointed a way forward for the newly determined brand that hopes to compete with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac and Lexus. View 32 Photos Meanwhile, Cadillac showed the CT6, a finished product that will top its range and is loaded with the best and latest technologies General Motors has at its disposal. With production starting late this year, Cadillac had more specifics at the ready. Engines? Cadillac has a couple V6s and a turbo four for sure. It's working on a hybrid, and has considered a V-Series variant. It's based on a new rear-wheel-drive, aluminum-intensive chassis called Omega, features an advanced collision-mitigation system with automatic braking and has a cabin that's laden with "leathers, exotic woods and carbon fiber." It will be assembled at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck factory and goes on sale next year. At this point, Cadillac is more than willing to talk about every except for the price. The devil was not in the details for Cadillac, as evidenced by the CT6. But it wasn't for Lincoln either.

Volvo to test 100 self-driving cars on Swedish roads [w/video]

Autonomous vehicles are increasingly being tested on public roads around the globe, including Nissan in Japan and Google here in the US, and now Volvo is preparing to test its own self-driving cars on the streets of Sweden. In conjunction with the state government, Volvo's Drive Me project kicks off next year, starting with the development of customer research and infrastructure technology before setting 100 self-driving cars loose on the streets of Gothenburg in 2017.
These 100 cars will be in the hands of customers, and the tests will help Volvo and the Swedish government track varying aspects of self-driving cars including economic benefits, consumer confidence, traffic flow and passenger safety. The technology being developed by Volvo uses not only on-board radar and sensors but also map data gathered from the cloud, and it controls all driving systems including the brakes, throttle and steering. Drivers can engage and disengage the car's autonomous drive mode by pushing a button on the steering wheel, and the technology will also allow for a self-parking feature.
While the cars shown in this demo are S60 models, the test vehicles will be based on Volvo's upcoming Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which underpins future models like the next-gen Volvo XC90. Scroll down for a video and press release marking the announcement.

Volvo working to allow groceries delivered to your car, even when you aren't there

Volvo cites research showing that 60 percent of online shoppers had problems with their deliveries in 2013, and that missed first deliveries cost the industry roughly one billion euros ($1.37B US) in re-delivery costs, as impetus for its "Roam Delivery Service" that delivers packages to your car. The service uses Volvo On Call and Sensus Connect car-connectivity and telematics apps already installed in vehicles, and a digital key with a timed window of operation.
The car owner is notified if delivery to or pickup from the car would be the best option, which they then have the option to approve or decline. If approved, the position of the vehicle is sent to the delivery driver, as well as a digital key that can open the car. Once the delivery has been made, the owner is notified and the digital key is erased, leaving only a time stamp to record when the car was opened and then locked.
The technology will be shown to the public at the Mobile World Congress later this month. There's a video and a press release below with more on the details.