1984 Cadillac Eldorado Base Coupe 2-door 4.1l on 2040-cars

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Economy-car buyers increasingly get the best deal on technology

One of the great things about technology is – with the exception of Apple products – consumers get more for their money every year. For example, the first 1GB USB drive I bought in 2005 cost me $30. Today you can get 10 for that price, delivered to your door thanks to Amazon. The same goes for car tech. Features such as navigation and Bluetooth started out on high-end vehicles before trickling down to entry-level cars. Same with driver assist features ranging from rearview cameras to forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking — so now it's not only rich people who are protected in car crashes. I've found that this democratization of tech has reached a point where amenities on low-cost cars can be as good — and sometimes even better — than those on vehicles costing tens of thousands of dollars more. While attending a media event for the launch of the all-new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, I was impressed by the car's cool styling and go-kart performance. Equally noteworthy is the amount of standard tech on the low-cost hot hatch. (Pricing will be announced later this month, but expect it to come in a bit higher that the current Corolla iM's roughly $19,000 base.) Even the base SE CVT trim of the 2019 Corolla Hatchback comes with an 8-inch touchscreen and Toyota's Entune 3.0 infotainment system. Among other features, Entune 3.0 provides Wi-Fi capability, Amazon Alexa connectivity, the Entune App Suite for integration of smartphone apps such as Pandora and Yelp and, for the first time in a Toyota, Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto). The 2019 Corolla Hatchback is also the first North American vehicle to get the second-generation Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite of driver assists that's also standard on the base model. TSS 2.0 includes Toyota's Pre-Collision System (forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking) with new daytime and low-light pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection features, lane keeping and lane departure alert with steering assist, auto high beams, adaptive cruise control, and road sign detection. While the 2019 Corolla Hatchback sets a new benchmark in standard tech on a budget-mobile, competing cars aren't far behind. The 2018 Honda Fit LX, for example, includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and assist and adaptive cruise, while the automaker's Lane Departure Mitigation and Lane Watch camera system is added the two top trims.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

2020 Cadillac CT5 pricing is out, and it's cheaper than the Germans

We know pretty much everything there is to know about the 2020 Cadillac CT5 sport sedan, and today Cadillac tells us its price. Cadillac isn’t giving us everything, though: all we get for now is pricing for the four-cylinder models. The cheapest CT5 youÂ’ll be able to lay your hands on starts at $37,890. That chunk of change nets you a CT5 Luxury with rear-wheel drive. The base four-cylinder is a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine making 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. If we peruse current Cadillac CTS and ATS pricing, this puts the CT5 under even the base price for a 2019 ATS. The current CTS is way above the CT5, starting at just under $48,000. So in comparison to the cars itÂ’s half replacing, the CT5 price already looks much more attractive. Cadillac has two trim upgrades from the base Luxury trim. A CT5 Premium Luxury will run you $41,690, while the Sport is an even pricier $42,690. You get some additional features for your money, with the Sport being more performance-oriented for those wanting it. All CT5 Sports will be equipped with upgraded Brembo brakes, different 19-inch wheels, sport seats, sport steering wheel with magnesium paddle shifters and unique trim inside and out to differentiate itself from the Luxury.  All-wheel drive is also available for any of the trim levels. In Sport and Luxury trims, all-wheel drive is a $2,600 premium, but youÂ’ll have to fork out $3,090 more in the Premium Luxury trim to get power going to all four wheels. Cadillac says the Cold Climate Package is included automatically with all-wheel drive, and that includes heated front seats plus a heated steering wheel. The base price for the CT5 undercuts the base price of others in its segment like the new 3 Series ($41,245), A4 ($40,195) and C-Class ($41,400). It falls short of beating the Genesis G70 out, though, as that fantastic little car starts at $35,895. WeÂ’ll note that the CT5 is slightly larger than all of these vehicles, but close enough that folks should be cross-shopping them. As of today, we can safely say the CT5 is looking like a solid value versus its competition. WeÂ’ll see how our thoughts evolve after driving it for the first time, and after pricing for the V6 rolls in.