2011 Cadillac Dts Luxury Collection on 2040-cars

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Cadillac, Daimler execs take swipes at Tesla

Despite the financial ties between Daimler and Tesla Motors, at least one Mercedes exec thinks the electric automaker doesn't have a bright future. And over at Cadillac, the message is that Tesla doesn't pose a threat but offers the luxury arm of General Motors more of classroom experience. The Mercedes story runs like this. Mercedes-Benz USA president and CEO, Steve Cannon, said at the New York Auto Show last week that Tesla has "no network" and only offers "little shops that don't have service capacity." He also said: "Folks are buying a Tesla now because they're kind of cool, but if you're a Tesla buyer, you have to have multiple cars. With Mercedes, you have a whole network. You've got no worries. ... Tesla is great, but you've got plenty of well-established brands that mean luxury, like Porsche or Mercedes-Benz, and how long do you think we're going to wait and let Tesla be out there alone [selling premium electric cars]?" "Treehuggers do not buy new luxury cars" – Uwe Ellinghaus For Cadillac's global chief marketing officer, Uwe Ellinghaus, Tesla's EV success represents little other than "a great opportunity and a learning exercise for all of us, and will help us traditional manufacturers to think twice about electric mobility." He added that, "I am not afraid of Tesla. ... There is no willingness to really sacrifice on the traditional qualities of a luxury car. These are not cars for treehuggers, as treehuggers do not buy new luxury cars." Ellinghaus made the comments during a panel discussion at the 2014 Automotive Forum. Perhaps the lesson of Tesla's offer of free Supercharging to Model S owners is what led to Cadillac to recently announce a deal with Chargepoint that gives ELR drivers access to that company's 16,500 charging stations. Read more details on that below. Cadillac and ChargePoint Bring EV Customer Luxury Driving Experience World's largest, most open electric vehicle charging network available to ELR drivers 2014-04-16 NEW YORK – Cadillac today announced a partnership with ChargePoint, the largest and most open electric vehicle-charging network in the world. The collaboration brings Cadillac ELR drivers immediate access to more than 16,500 charging locations on the ChargePoint network. The ELR electrified luxury coupe went on sale at the end of 2013. It embodies Cadillac's Art & Science design philosophy, combining provocative design with progressive technology.

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:

Beast mode on the open road: New presidential limo close to delivery

Signs of the Beast have been seen on the open roads around Milford, Mich., home of GM's Proving Grounds. The Beast, in this case, being the nickname for the next-generation presidential limousine. We've seen this car previously in spy shots while parked or driven, going back to January 2016. This is our spy photographers' latest look at the vehicle, and the first on public roads. Which may be a sign that it is almost ready for delivery. It replaces the current Beast, which has been in use since 2009. And "car" isn't exactly the right word for this rig, as it's actually a unique vehicle with Cadillac styling cues custom-built atop a medium-duty truck frame. There may possibly be more than one Beast 2.0 delivered, because two limos are sent anywhere the president goes, to provide a backup or decoy. The grille has touches of the Cadillac Escala concept car, which is heavily influencing Cadillac's evolving future look. But it's what's inside that intrigues everyone. Here's what we know, or at least has long been rumored, about the current Beast and the new Beast 2.0. 1. It has its own airplane. It and its twin follow the president around the globe aboard a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane. 2. It's heavily armored, with 5-inch-thick glass, 8-inch-thick doors that weigh as much as a commercial aircraft door, and its components include titanium, ceramics, and a bombproof plate that covers the underside. As such, the old Beast was estimated to weigh between 14,000 and 20,000 pounds. You can therefore imagine how it got its name. 3. It's equipped like the Batmobile or the Green Hornet's Chrysler Imperial Crown, with run-flat tires and night-vision gear. It can fire gas canisters out the front bumper. 4. It has a diesel engine because of its weight and size (see the gallery below for a sense of scale). And of course, diesel is less flammable in a firefight. The old Beast supposedly gets 8 mpg. 5. Its Secret Service codename is Stagecoach. 6. There's a shotgun by the driver and God-knows-what in the trunk. 7. It supposedly has a stock of blood in the president's type, along with a defibrillator and other emergency gear. 8. And it's pretty nice inside, by all accounts. Since this is not Trump's own personal vehicle and may well serve his successor, let's assume the gold leaf has been kept to a minimum and it's done up in tasteful leather and wood. But then again, who really knows, outside of the Secret Service and a handful of GM engineers.