2002 Cadillac Deville Base Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Here's how Cadillac made its Magnetic Ride Control suspension quicker and smarter

Bugatti makes the world's fastest car, but Cadillac claims it has developed the world's fastest suspension. Its fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control technology receives hardware and software tweaks to deliver a more comfortable ride and sharper handling. It's offered on some variants of the CT4, CT5 and the Escalade. Introduced in 2002 on the Seville STS, this self-adjusting suspension is not as complicated as it might sound. It relies primarily on electromagnets that emit a magnetic field, and a magnetorheological fluid whose viscosity changes depending on the strength of the magnetic force. Sensors scan the road up to 1,000 times per second and send the information they gather to the electromagnets, which then alter their magnetic field as needed to modify the fluid's viscosity. The fluid is in the shocks, so making it thicker returns a firmer ride, and vice versa. In simpler terms, Magnetic Ride Control leverages chemistry and physics to make the ride sporty, comfortable, or somewhere in between -- all in the blink of an eye. By reacting to the changing magnetic field, the fluid-filled shocks filter out road imperfections and maximize tire contact with the road to deliver more precise handling. Cadillac began developing the fourth-generation system by improving the hardware. The in-wheel accelerometers are more accurate than before, the inertial measurement unit is more precise, and the damper fluid formula was changed for quicker response times and a smoother ride. Engineers then turned their attention to the system's software. They notably gave the sensors the ability to process a wider selection of input and output signals, which translates to a wider spread between comfort and sport. And, they made the response time up to 45-percent quicker. All told, the fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control technology performs better under heavy braking and hard cornering, it delivers more consistent performance, and it reads the road more accurately. Cadillac proudly notes these are the most comprehensive updates it has made to the system in nearly two decades. Magnetic Ride Control comes standard on the 2021 CT4-V and the 2021 CT5-V, and it's bundled into the CT5's V Performance package, which also includes a mechanical limited-slip differential. It's also standard on the Sport and Platinum variants of the 2021 Escalade, and it's part of the Premium Luxury trim's Performance package.

Book by Cadillac subscription service returns next year

Cadillac rolled out its subscription service Book by Cadillac at the beginning of 2017. On December 1, 2018, the automaker put the service on hiatus after having made a few revisions and learned a lot of lessons. Just a month later, brand president Steve Carlisle told GM Authority at this year's Detroit Auto Show that Book was definitely returning. A week after that, GM chief financial officer Deborah Wahl said Book 2.0 could be ready as soon as Q2 this year. It's taken a touch longer than expected to sort out the kinks, but Automotive News reports Wahl told an audience at the J.D. Power/NADA AutoConference L.A. that the real return happens in the first quarter of 2020.  When Book went on hiatus last year, the service charged $1,800 per month for insurance, maintenance, unlimited miles, the ability to swap into any Cadillac at will, and concierge-like vehicle delivery to your location with amenities like bottled water, umbrellas, and detailing. Good things came of it for the brand, such as the 70% of subscribers who'd never owned a Cadillac. Yet the drawbacks were too much. At one point, the carmaker said Book's halt was due to technical issues like "snags with the back-end technology used to support the service" that hampered customer service and increased costs. Cadillac managed the Book's fleet, as opposed to the dealers, and consumer choice — or a lack of it — played a role in the hiatus. In Carlisle's comments to GMA, he said that subscribers didn't swap out vehicles nearly as much as expected. Even though everything up to the full-fat V-Series models was in the catalogue, Carlisle said of the customers, "They wanted an XT5." The devotion to that one product changed the economics. "Are [subscribers] going to stay in that service if thatÂ’s what they realize they want?" he asked. "It is inherent in that model that we maintain more than one car per customer. And you got to think through the economic implications of that. Particularly if utilization is a lot lower than we thought because people are switching less than we thought." Wahl didn't offer any specifics on how Book 2.0 will differ from Book 1.0, only saying that there will be more "convenience, flexibility and value for potential subscribers." There will be less focus on swapping cars, and Cadillac will "base it off the dealer network." Since the brand's 900 U.S. dealers have the inventory, anyway, that should help both parties.

Cadillac CT6 styling will be evolutionary, not like Elmiraj

Well, this is at least a little disappointing. It turns out Cadillac's long-awaited flagship, the CT6, won't be ushering in a wholesale change in the company's design. That's coming from GM Design guru Ed Welburn, meaning it should be taken as gospel (unless of course he's just trying to hoodwink us). "It'll be different and it will certainly stand out in the portfolio," Welburn told Automotive News. "But you won't see a real shift in direction." Instead, Art and Science will be shown in yet another new form, and will "continue to evolve," according to Welburn, although what that means is unclear. What we can say for certain, though, is that Art and Science on the CT6 will not evolve into the stunning Elmiraj Concept. "I think Elmiraj was more of an influence on some other things we're working on for Cadillac," Welburn said, we're guessing with a smirk and an air of mystery. Considering we have yet to see the CT6, it's hard to tell whether this will be good news or bad, although based on the critical reception to the Elmiraj, we're a little bit disappointed by Welburn's statements. Still, only time will tell whether the styling of the CT6 will really work out.