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2019 Cadillac XT4 First Drive Review | Fashionably late

SEATTLE, Wash. — The 2019 Cadillac XT4 compact crossover debuted in New York, Cadillac's recently-adopted home, several months ago. Since then, a lot's changed. Cadillac honcho Johan de Nysschen got the boot, the economy's continued to improve, and we've changed coasts to experience the XT4. The setting is Seattle and its environs, a place that embodies the moment – a town flush with tech money and outdoor lifestyle experiences. Oh, and traffic. Lots of that. What hasn't changed is that this is a vehicle that Cadillac desperately needs. Between and below the Escalade and XT5 are vast gulfs of white space that could swallow entire crossover-focused brands. The dealers, we imagine, howled. And de Nysschen was replaced, it turns out, by a career GM exec with a penchant for building bridges with dealers. Must be a coincidence. The XT4 should please everybody involved in that power struggle. It's cute, for one, which will make for happier dealer-customer interactions. It brings appreciable but unintimidating technological advances to a brand looking to flex some segment leadership muscles. And it doesn't strictly feel like a rebadged version of a lower-tier product, a bad habit that Cadillac keeps failing to kick. We'll discuss its competition within its segment, and how they compare to the XT4, in another piece to follow. If you're wondering where the XT4 comes from, the easiest way to think about it is as a cut-down version of the basic underpinnings of the XT5, wrapped in nicely-proportioned sheetmetal. To be blunt, there's more unadorned plastic on the lower fascia and rockers than we'd like at this price point, but the rest is handsome. Large, elegant lamps sit at both ends, set off with trendy creasing and little accent vents – Sport models have clear taillight elements, while others have red-tinted lenses. The XT5, itself a newer vehicle, looks outclassed and dated instantly when put up next to its sleeker, more modern little sibling. The interior, however, is more alike than different. The major shapes are similar, as are the placement of the switchgear. The 8.0-inch infotainment screen is, as in the XT5, embedded in a slabby wedge of dash. It's still a touchscreen, but a little dial now provides an alternate way to navigate. A Qi charging panel and easily accessible, but not too prominent, USB, charging, and aux inputs reside just above. The seats in our tester, a Premium Luxury trim, are covered in a soft, warm caramel-colored leather.

2016 Cadillac ATS-V First Drive [w/video]

If you get hot and bothered for hot-rodded sedans and coupes, you probably know that Germans have long dominated that cutthroat scene. For years, the Audi RS/BMW M/Mercedes-AMG triumvirate has ruled the microcosm of grunty, mid-level luxury cars. But a funny thing happened when Cadillac's first V car hit the market in 2004. Since the CTS-V crashed the high horsepower party, German tuning houses started thinking less about the "Daddy's Caddy" stereotypes and more about the next imminent threat – in this case, the inevitable high-horsepower spinoff of the smaller, nimbler Cadillac ATS. The standard ATS' defense against the German triad hasn't been triumphant so far (GM's Michigan plant was idled for three weeks in 2014 due to excess inventory), but the souped-up 2016 Cadillac ATS-V presents a fresh bid to put the Teutonic competition on alert. The ATS-V's flared bodywork and quad exhaust pipes offer bits of visual shock and awe, but significant hardware upgrades back up the go-fast looks. Front and center is a twin-turbocharged, 3.6-liter V6 with reworked internals including a charge-air cooler, titanium connecting rods, and titanium-aluminide turbines. The new engine produces 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque, up a staggering 262 hp and 173 lb-ft compared to a base, four-cylinder ATS. Those output figures eclipse the BMW M3/M4 (425 hp, 406 lb-ft) and Audi RS5 (450 hp, 317 lb-ft), but lag slightly behind the V8-powered Mercedes-AMG C63 (476 hp, 479 lb-ft), and more so the C63 S (503 hp, 516 lb-ft). The chassis benefits from several structural braces, most notably a shear panel intended to boost front-end stiffness. Extra poundage from the add-ons are minimized through lighter-weight materials – in the case of the shear panel, stamped aluminum. Cadillac says though it intended to make the ATS the quickest car in its segment (stated 0-60 mph times between 3.8 and 3.9 second virtually match the BMW M4 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S' 3.9 figure), the development team says they also focused on subjective qualities like turn-in quickness and steering response. As such, toe links have been replaced with ball joints, mounts have been retuned, and reworked magnetic damping offer greater responsiveness. Six suspension bushings have been stiffened and ten have been completely redesigned, and the Performance Traction Management system that tames beasts like the Corvette Z06 and Camaro ZL1 also helps lay down power in the ATS-V.

GM sees 'strong year' in 2018, then gold in Chevy Silverado for 2019

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it expects earnings in 2018 to be largely flat compared with 2017, but that profits should pick up pace in 2019 as its revamped line of high-margin pickup trucks hits the U.S. market. The 2018 earnings outlook was above market expectations, sending GM shares up more than 3 percent in premarket trading. "GM had a very good 2017 as we continued to transform our company to be more focused, resilient and profitable," GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said in a statement. "We are positioned for another strong year in 2018 and an even better one in 2019." GM and its Detroit rivals, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, are bringing on new trucks at a time when overall U.S. new vehicle sales have been falling, but truck sales continue to grow as consumers abandon passenger cars in favor of pickups, SUVs and crossovers. GM on Saturday fired a new round in the battle for profits from one of the U.S. auto industry's most lucrative segments when it showed a new generation of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck at the Detroit auto show. The new Silverado, a highlight of the event, is the successor to GM's best-selling vehicle in North America. Sales of the current Silverado rose nearly 2 percent to 585,000 vehicles in 2017. In the coming months, the company will also reveal a revamped GMC Sierra pickup truck. U.S. new vehicle sales fell 2 percent in 2017 after hitting a record high in 2016, and are expected to drop further in 2018 as interest rates rise and more late-model used cars return to dealer lots to compete with new ones. GM said on Tuesday that while it retools a factory in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to make the new pickup trucks, it will shift some production to an Oshawa, Ontario, plant in order to avoid missing sales in a hot market for the vehicles. The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it will record a $7 billion non-cash charge for its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings related to deferred tax assets. GM said it expects capital expenditure in 2018 of around $8.5 billion, about $1 billion of which will go toward funding self-driving car technology. Last week, the company said it is seeking U.S. government approval for a fully autonomous car — one without a steering wheel, brake pedal or accelerator pedal — to enter the automaker's first commercial ride-sharing fleet in 2019. GM said it expects 2017 earnings per share at the high end of its previously forecast range of $6 to $6.50.