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2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid Drivers' Notes Review | Seamlessly green

In many ways, the Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid is the most interesting car the brand sells. Despite having a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain, it makes the most torque of any CT6, even the twin-turbocharged V6 model. It also has a claimed electric range of 31 miles and can still manage a combined fuel economy of 26 mpg with just the gas engine. Even its origin is interesting, since its final assembly point is China. To cap things off, it's also the second most expensive CT6 in the range. To find out if the CT6 is worth that money, and has more to offer than fun facts, we spent some time behind the wheel. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: I achieved 34.1 miles per gallon for my roughly 14-mile roundtrip in the CT6 hybrid. This sedan is a rolling example of where luxury is heading in the near term: Existing models souped up with hybrid tech, and the green features will go along way toward keeping big sedans like this relevant. It's a smart play for Cadillac to add a product like this. Otherwise, it's a fairly standard-issue CT6, which is a solid car. The flashy head- and taillights look great. The design is angled, creased and nicely proportioned. The interior is comfortable and roomy. It's a nice car. Cadillac invested a lot in the CT6, and it shows. Rumors have long swirled that the brand will add a larger flagship, though in this climate, that's hard to envision. For now, the CT6 does the job as Cadillac's standard bearer. Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale: Of all the different CT6 variants available, the CT6 PHEV is the one I would pick for myself. Why? Because the hybrid powertrain finally delivers on the quiet, refined driving experience I want from a flagship luxury sedan. I was a bit surprised by this, too, since the gas engine under the hood is the 2.0-liter four-cylinder used elsewhere, which isn't the smoothest thing in the world. But assist from the electric motor helps keep the four-cylinder from having to wind up too much to move the big Caddy, and when the gas engine does rev hard, it's well muffled by whatever insulation is in the car. Besides aural refinement, the power delivery is oil-on-ice slick. The blending of electric and gas power is seamless. There's no waiting on the turbo to spool up, and there's no loss of power at higher rpms with the electric motor. They work in perfect harmony providing excellent low-down grunt and solid upper-end power. The transmission is super smooth, too allowing for happy wafting wherever you go.

Cadillac ad boss is happy controversial Poolside TV ad created debate

Remember Cadillac's controversial commercial for it ELR plug-in hybrid? Did you find it provocative? If so, that's a good thing according to the brand's advertising director, Craig Bierley. First aired during NBC's coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, the minute-long spot returned to the tele again this weekend, bookending the Academy Awards on ABC. Titled Poolside, the bit was meant as "brand provocation" and whether you enjoyed it or not – sentiment is said to run 3:1 on the pro side – we can probably all agree it fulfilled its role as such. If you were one of those who felt the ad erred on the side of nationalistic consumerism (or what have you), your anger might be somewhat assuaged after reading this article from Advertising Age in which Bierley addresses most of what he believes are misconceptions about the message. For one, the spot isn't aimed at the One Percent, just those who make $200,000 a year. Or, as Craig Bierley, Cadillac's advertising director, calls them, "people who haven't been given anything." Bierley told Advertising Age that the spot doesn't celebrate workaholicsm, instead, "We're not making a statement saying, 'We want people to work hard.' What we're saying is that hard work has its payoffs.'" While our commentors seemed mostly to enjoy discussing the value proposition that is (or is not, depending on your point of view) the Cadillac ELR, the majority appeared to enjoy the commercial. If you were one of those offended, however, let us know if your opinion has changed upon reading Cadillac's defense. If you don't remember what all the fuss was about, scroll below to take another dip in Poolside.

Bosch builds an infotainment system that just might not suck

As far as we've come with in-car infotainment and interfaces over the past decade or so, we still have a long way to go — as most current systems show. Whether it's high-end brands like Mercedes-Benz with its kludgy COMAND system, which we hope will be replaced with the MBUX platform revealed at CES, or more mainstream vehicles like Hondas (with their frustrating, knobless Display Audio interface), getting the kind of content and ease of use in the car that we're used to having on other connected devices is far too complex and sometimes costly. While Apple and Google have tried to ride to the rescue with CarPlay and Android Auto, respectively, they're limited solutions. No automaker or tech supplier has been able to deliver an easy, economical, flexible and non-distracting infotainment solution. But Bosch could be closing in on this elusive goal, given the digital cockpit concept demo I recently received at CES. Displayed in a Cadillac Escalade, the concept featured five interconnected color screens: one in the instrument cluster, two in the center console, and two more in the front-seat headrest for second-row passengers. The digital cockpit concept demo had cool features such as haptic-feedback touch-screen controls that created an edge-like feeling similar to a physical button, facial recognition to confirm driver credentials, and the intelligence to know the location of a phone in the car to lock it out to keep the driver from texting. The most significant aspect of the Bosch digital cockpit concept wasn't visible — but shows the company's vision for a future of seamless, convenient, cost-effective and safe in-car infotainment. It's powered by a single electronic control unit (ECU) that can simultaneously run multiple operating systems and also separates vehicle and infotainment controls for critical safety and cybersecurity reasons. Most modern cars can have as many as 100 separate ECUs, Philip Ventimiglia, product manager for Bosch Car Multimedia North America, explained at CES, and several just for infotainment functions. "The goal is to reduce that to about 10 so that we can save cost throughout the vehicle and enable new technologies," he added. "OEMs want to put more technology into cars, but it costs money," Ventimiglia said.