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Ford Mustang Bullitt, Cadillac ATS-V and profitable car companies | Autoblog Podcast #559

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale and Contributing Editor James Riswick. They talk about being behind the wheel of the 2018 Cadillac ATS-V, 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt and 2018 Nissan Kicks. They also discuss the week's news such as Tesla and Ford both having profitable quarters, better than people were expecting. Not only that, but they talk about how the Camaro may be changing in the near future, plus the potential of Jaguar electric cars. The podcast then finishes with a Spend My Money segment in which we Autoblog editors help a reader choose a car to buy.Autoblog Podcast #559 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt 2018 Cadillac ATS-V 2018 Nissan Kicks Tesla makes a profit Ford makes a profit Chevy has changes in store for the Camaro Electric Jaguars Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Podcasts Cadillac Chevrolet Ford Jaguar Tesla Coupe Performance cadillac ats-v ford mustang bullitt

GM will likely build PHEV batteries in China soon

It's a big week for batteries. Friday, Tesla will hold a big event at its Gigafactory in Reno, NV. But even in Michigan, there are things happening on the electrified automotive front. This was proven when GM invited journalists to its Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant today, highlighting the six different battery packs it makes for nine vehicles around the world (plus a tenth, coming to Asia, that has not yet been announced). During our tour, we learned a few interesting tidbits that we thought readers would like to hear: The Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid launches in China this fall before coming to the US next year. GM builds the battery packs in Michigan and ships them to China for final assembly in the PHEV. For now, this is all fine for GM to qualify for China's incentives for building green cars in the country. But, as Bill Wallace, GM's director of global battery systems, told AutoblogGreen, this could change thanks to the country's 'Made in China 2025' plan. The situation is "evolving," he said, and it's a safe assumption that GM will need to build packs in China some day. For the CT6 PHEVs that will be sold in the US, the batteries will make a round trip, since GM will only build the plug-in version in China. As for the range of the CT6 PHEV, that hasn't been announced, but since China offers incentives for vehicles that get at least 50 kilometers (31 miles), that's a likely target (the US range (UPDATE: GM did announce an expected range for the CT6 PHEV in the US at the LA Auto Show last fall, saying it would "travel approximately 30 miles on a full electric charge"). The battery pack in the CT6 is also a clunky box-type thing, totally unlike the near-elegant T-shape used in the Volt. This despite the fact that the guts of the two packs are similar. Both have 192 li-ion cells and weigh almost the same, but GM tuned the CT6 pack for acceleration instead of range, the way it did with the Volt's pack. Still, the main reason the packs are different is because the CT6 is a rear-wheel drive vehicle, and the tunnel that the Volt's pack uses is occupied by the driveshaft. Despite the highly touted second-gen Chevy Volt going on sale last year, GM still has the capacity to build battery packs for the old, first-gen model. This is because the company is legally required to be able to provide replacement packs for warrantied vehicles (for up to 10 years), and the second-gen packs don't fit into the first-gen vehicles.

2018 Cadillac CT6 Drivers' Notes | Super Cruiser

The 2018 Cadillac CT6 showcases General Motors' impressive Super Cruise feature. It's the next milestone on the way to an autonomous future, though GM is being conservative about promoting Super Cruise's considerable prowess. It helps the driver, GM says. Does it work? Our editors have been testing one this week as the calendar turns and the temperatures drop in Michigan. Also, the CT6 is a really nice car. Here's what we think. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: Super Cruise, man. On Wednesday night, I rode home in a 2018 Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise. I say "rode," but I was sitting in the driver's seat. I spent more time with my hands off the steering wheel than on it. It was super relaxing. Once I got on the highway, I set the cruise control, waited for the steering wheel icon to show up on the instrument cluster, and hit the button on the steering wheel that looked like a steering wheel (pretty meta, to be honest). The top section of the wheel illuminated in a green arc, and I felt the weight of the steering lift as the car began driving itself. I put my feet flat on the floor, rested my hands on my knees, and just watched the road while listening to a podcast ("The Dollop," if you were wondering). To be honest, I had trouble concentrating on the audio, as my thoughts were captivated by the way the car managed the road and traffic around me. Sure, I had to change lanes on my own and take over steering on interchanges and surface streets, but when the AI took the reins, it had my complete confidence. Perhaps just as surprising, the CT6 was also a blast to drive manually. It felt super smooth, with plenty of power and poise. I enjoyed bending it through 50-mph curves almost as much as I enjoyed being driven. Almost. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: Super Cruise just works. I was blown away how easy it was to use and how well it just did what it was supposed to do. Merging into the teeth of rush hour traffic in metro Detroit, I braced for the worst. I figured I'd be stuck in bumper-to-bumper gridlock and Super Cruise would never get deployed. Frankly, I was cynical Super Cruise would work. But then I was able to hit the 70-mph speed limit and figured, well, let's just see about this thing. Like John, I did the two-steps to set up SC, and boom, it worked. It trailed the cars in front of me at a proper distance. It braked naturally to a stop and then resumed speed. It slowed down when a Jeep Grand Cherokee cut me off.