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2019 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Drivers' Notes Review | Not your granddad's Coupe de Ville

The 2019 ATS-V is Cadillac's smallest car, slotting below both the CTS and CT6 sedans. It's also the automaker's only two-door model, helping compete against the Audi RS5, BMW M4 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe. Based on the GM Alpha platform, the ATS shares more than a little with the Chevrolet Camaro. Unlike the Camaro, the high-performance V variant uses a twin turbo V6. Like the Chevy, power is sent to the rear wheels through either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. Our Wave Metallic blue test car has about $10,000 worth of options, the most expensive of which are the $2,300 Recaro sport seats. The Luxury Package — alloy pedals, HID headlights, navigation and a Bose stereo system — tacks on another $2,100. There are some visual upgrades, too, including $1,295 for a dealer-installed carbon-fiber engine cover. All in, this ATS-V rang up for $78,775. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: Cadillac has problems, but the ATS-V coupe isn't one of them. It's everything former Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen hoped the brand could achieve in the sporting realm. The car has a tight yet tolerable suspension. The steering is direct but not overly weighted. The engine burbles and growls with noticeable attitude. It's all underscored by the six-speed manual transmission, which has a heavy clutch and requires precise throws. It's a serious sports coupe for enthusiasts. Cadillac's style is brash, edgy and sharp. It's all of those things literally and figuratively. Note the cuts and creases. The ATS is borderline severe – but I like it. I think it's smart for Cadillac to really go for it in the design department. Cadillac is again tweaking its lineup and the ATS sedan and ultimately the coupe will be replaced. Still, there's a place for a car like the ATS-V coupe in the Caddy stable. There should be, anyway. The devil is in the engine, but the details of the @Cadillac ATS-V Coupe aren't bad either. @therealautoblog pic.twitter.com/7fQOrBkxeE — Greg Migliore (@GregMigliore) October 29, 2018 Associate Editor Reese Counts: I forgot how great this thing is to drive. I won't repeat all of Greg's comments, but suffice it to say that it's everything you want in a luxury sports coupe — direct steering, a chassis that balances performance and comfort and a potent engine. Combine sharp styling and competitive pricing, and you have one of the most compelling non-German luxury cars on the market.

GM doubles miles open to its Super Cruise technology

DETROIT — General Motors said on Wednesday owners of certain vehicles equipped with its Super Cruise assisted driving system will now be able to use it on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads, doubling the current operating area as Tesla and other automakers race to deploy hands-free cruising technology. GM's Super Cruise system, like Tesla's Autopilot system, is a driver assistance system, and does not enable true autonomous driving. Spurred by Tesla's aggressive deployment of Autopilot, and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's promises of a more advanced "Full Self Driving" system, GM, Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz are racing to deploy competing partial automation technology in major markets. At the same time, safety regulators are showing concern that drivers do not understand that Autopilot and similar systems are not designed to take over driving in every circumstance. The GM system's sensors and software allow a motorist to cruise with hands off the wheel on highways that have been mapped in detail. But the driver is expected to stay alert and ready to take over the car. GM uses technology to monitor the driver, and Super Cruise will sound alarms or slow the car to a stop if it detects that a driver is not responding. Starting later this year, GM plans to enable vehicles equipped with Super Cruise and the company's latest vehicle electronic system to operate hands-free on major, undivided highways in the United States and Canada, as well as additional miles of divided, interstate highways. Currently, Super Cruise operates only on interstate, divided highways. The expansion, enabled by wider digital mapping, will allow owners of properly equipped GM vehicles to cruise hands-free on stretches of Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway in the U.S. West or the Trans-Canada highway in Western Canada, GM said. Many of the new roads GM has mapped are in rural, heartland states where GM pickup trucks are popular. GM plans to offer Super Cruise as an option on its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra large pickups later this year. GM has said previously it intends to offer Super Cruise as an option on 22 models by the end of 2023. Depending on the model, Super Cruise costs $2,200 to $2,500 to add as an option. (Reporting by Joe White in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Related video: Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Super Cruise

New Takata problem results in recall of 414 GM vehicles

An airbag-inflator rupture discovered by Takata during testing has resulted in a new recall affecting 414 vehicles from General Motors, including 395 of them in the US. This latest campaign covers 2015 model-year examples of the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, and GMC Terrain. There are no reported breaks in any of these vehicles on the road, and the company estimates only one percent of them actually have the faulty parts. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF), one side-airbag inflator failed a cold test at -40 Fahrenheit "releasing high pressure gas and propelling the separated components apart." The supplier told GM about the failure the next day. In these vehicles, the safety device might not only burst but the bag could inflate incorrectly, as well. GM and Takata say that a cause is not yet known, but they are "conducting an investigation." GM will begin notifying affected owners via overnight mail on Oct. 19. Dealers will replace the side airbag modules on all of the affected vehicles with new components outside of the suspect lot. All of the removed parts will also be collected for further study. Takata's faulty front airbag inflators have resulted in a serious scandal for the supplier. Initial figures indicated 34 million US vehicles are need of repair, though more recent figures have knocked that down to 23.4 million bad parts in 19.2 million automobiles. GM was already among the dozen automakers with models to fix, and some of its pickups were affected, along with the Saab 9-2X and Pontiac Vibe. GM Statement: General Motors is recalling 395 cars and crossovers in the U.S. because one of the front seat side air bags inflators may be defective. In the event of a deployment, the air bag's inflator may rupture and the air bag may not properly inflate. The rupture could cause metal fragments to strike the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. GM is unaware of any incidents involving vehicles with these components, which were part of a lot in which one inflator failed acceptance testing at the supplier. Dealers will replace the side air bag module or modules in affected vehicles. Including Canada, Mexico and exports, the total population of the recall is 414, GM estimates 1 percent of the recalled vehicles may have the defect.