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Cadillac ATS-V and Mercedes-AMG C63 S pitted Head to Head

Our favorite (and only) Autoblog-alum-turned-Motor Trend staffer is back with another Head to Head video, this time pitting the Cadillac ATS-V with the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. This performance machine shootout is ostensibly a way to figure out which of these new super sedans will earn the right to go toe-to-toe with the undisputed champion of its segment, the BMW M3. In reality, it's just a really good excuse to put three of the hottest sedans on the market on video at the same time... and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Jonny Lieberman spends time in each of the two new challengers on the road, picking apart their powertrains, chassis and driving dynamics on the kinds of twisty roads drivers of these cars will relish. Then, he hands the keys off to Randy Pobst, who sort of acts as an unmasked version of a certain tame racing driver, except that he talks and has a personality. 0-60 and quarter-mile times are equated, braking performance is measured and scores are tallied before the two sport sedans end up at Willow Springs raceway. Interestingly enough, the car that proves (just slightly) faster at the race track isn't the car that wins the comparison. Curious? We're not going to spoil it for you. Check out the video, above. Then, for more action of these two machines, check out the videos just below. Related Video: News Source: Motor Trend Channel via YouTube BMW Cadillac Mercedes-Benz Luxury Performance Videos Sedan motor trend cadillac ats-v mercedes-amg c63

Cadillac exec realizes ELR pricing was stupid high

At least one Cadillac exec has finally started to come to terms with something we knew all along: the initial $75,000 price for the ELR plug-in hybrid was way too high. The bad decision in part led to the model selling just over 1,000 units last year. Company marketing boss Uwe Ellinghaus recently gave an interview to Bloomberg where he discussed what went wrong. "The MSRP was, indeed, a mouthful," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. "We overestimated that customers would realize our competitors were naked at that price." People balked at the ELR's price from the very start, and dealers were receiving $5,000 at one point just for getting customers to test drive the PHEV. Later, some incentives for buyers were as high as $14,000. Cadillac planners saw a conundrum when it came to the ELR's price. Too low of a figure was thought to bring the model close to the Chevrolet Volt, and $75,000 was also believed to signal Caddy's PHEV as something special. "We just wanted to make this a statement for the brand of how progressive we are," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. Cadillac is now working to rehabilitate the ELR's reputation with a host of updates for 2016. Buyers get a 25-percent boost in powertrain output, additional standard features, and the whole package comes with a $9,000 drop in price. The tweaks should help the luxurious PHEV make a better second impression. Related Video:

Cadillac files to trademark Vistiq, Lumistiq, and Escalade IQL

Cadillac's been tapping various European patent offices to reserve names for its coming battery-electric model lineup. Remember, Cadillac plans to be an EV-only brand by 2030, it's trimmed-down dealer network expected to sell a range wherein all or most models end with "iq," as in Lyriq and Celestiq, that pronunciation being "ik," not "eek." In July of last year, brand attorney's filed to reserve the names "Cadillac Symboliq" and "Symboliq" in Switzerland. CarBuzz found three more applications in the category of "Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles," one in the UK for the name Vistiq, another in Austria for the name Lumistiq, the last in an unknown country for the name Escalade IQL.   Yes, those first two names make us think of X-Men before they make us think of cars. But assuming the names ever get applied to product, we expect those products will be cars, and we also expect those cars will be of the crossover variety since safe money says CUVs will still be more popular than sedans and wagons in 2030.  Since the Escalade name effectively acts as its own brand, it appears the moniker will be grandfathered into the EV naming structure by turning "IQ" into a kind of trim. Our money is on the IQL version being a long-wheelbase variant of a battery-electric Escalade. The Ultium-powered version of the big-boy SUV is due here by 2025 at the latest and will be sold alongside the traditional, ICE-powered Escalade until the V8 Escalade goes away.    The switch to electric is Cadillac's moon shot; there isn't much else for the brand to try for winning back its bygone glory and acclaim. By the time Vistiq and Symboliq get here, though, we could all be drinking the IQ Kool-Aid and climbing on board if the Lyriq (pictured) and Celestiq, both expected around 2023, prove impossible to resist.  Related Video: