2007 Cadillac Dts Luxury I on 2040-cars

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Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid is dead for 2019

Plug-in hybrids seem to have it hard at Cadillac. First there was the ELR flop, and now Cadillac is killing off the CT6 Plug-in Hybrid. The news of the hybrid's demise was first broken by GM Authority, and we received a statement from Cadillac confirming that it would be discontinued. With it disappearing for the 2019 model year, the CT6 Plug-in was only around for two model years, the same as the ELR. The Cadillac representative we contacted didn't say exactly why the CT6 Plug-in is being discontinued. All that was mentioned was that focus for the new model year would be on the refresh and the CT6-V. We would guess the hybrid is gone due to slow sales, but General Motors doesn't break out individual trims and powertrains in its quarterly delivery reports, so we can't say for sure. We're a bit disappointed that the CT6 hybrid is going away. We were pleased with its fuel economy and refinement when we had an opportunity to drive one, and its only real sacrifice was a smaller trunk. On the plus side, Cadillac's statement to us said that there are definitely additional electric vehicles coming to the brand, noting that some of the 20 promised electric vehicles from GM by 2023 will be Cadillacs. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid View 15 Photos Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac Hybrid Luxury Sedan cadillac ct6 cadillac ct6 hybrid

Teaching autonomous vehicles to drive like (some) humans

While I love driving, I can't wait for fully autonomous vehicles. I have no doubt they'll reduce car accidents, 94 percent of which are caused by human error, leading to more than 37,000 road deaths in the U.S. last year. And if it means I can fly home at night in winter and get safely shuttled to my house an hour-plus away — and not have to endure a typical white-knuckle drive in the dark with torrential rain and blinding spray from 18-wheelers on Interstate 84 — sign me up. Autonomous technology will also take some of the stress, tedium and fatigue out of long highway drives, as I recently discovered while testing Cadillac Super Cruise. AVs are also supposed to eventually help increase traffic flow and reduce gridlock. But according to a recent Automotive News article, as the first wave of AVs are being tested on public roads, they're having the opposite effect. Part of the problem is they drive too cautiously and are programmed to strictly follow the written rules of the road rather than going with the flow of traffic. "Humans violate the rules in a safe and principled way, and the reality is that autonomous vehicles in the future may have to do the same thing if they don't want to be the source of bottlenecks," Karl Iagnemma, CEO of self-driving technology developer NuTonomy, told Automotive News. "You put a car on the road which may be driving by the letter of the law, but compared to the surrounding road users, it's acting very conservatively." I get it that, like teen drivers, AVs need a ramp up period to learn the unwritten rules of the road and that a skeptical public has to be convinced of the technology's safety. But this is where I become less of a champion on AVs, since where I live in the Pacific Northwest we already have more than our share of overly cautious human drivers. Since moving here 12 years ago, I've found it's an interesting paradox that a region famous for its strong coffee, where you'd think most drivers would be jacked up on caffeine, is also the home to annoyingly measured motorists. As an auto-journo colleague living in Seattle so aptly put it: "People in the Pacific Northwest drive as if they have nowhere to go." If you drive like me and always have somewhere to go — and usually are in a hurry to get there — it's absolutely maddening.

2019 Cadillac XT5 Sport package isn't really that sporty

Between the just revealed XT6 three-row crossover and last year's XT4 compact, the stalwart midsize XT5 has been a bit neglected. But Cadillac is giving it a little love at the Chicago show with the introduction of the Sport package. Don't get too excited, though, because this package is just a trim group. Outside, the XT5 with the Sport package gets a black grille, LED lights all around, and the rear lights have clear lenses. These design cues line up with the existing Sport trims on the XT4 and XT6. The new lighting and trim are complemented by 20-inch dark gray wheels and side steps. Inside, buyers get a choice between an all-black or black and gray upholstered interior with diamond-cut aluminum trim and aluminum pedals. And that's all the package adds. The suspension isn't retuned. The 3.6-liter V6 still makes 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. But if the looks are enough for you, you'll be able to add the package to either the Luxury or Premium Luxury trim levels, which sit between the base XT5 and top-level Platinum. Related Video: