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Cadillac CTS-V, ATS-V special editions celebrate IMSA titles

This was Cadillac's first year of competition for its DPi-V.R. Daytona Prototype race car in the IMSA Endurance Championship, and it brought home both the manufacturer title and driver title. To celebrate the occasion, Cadillac has created special editions of its fastest road cars, the CTS-V and ATS-V, and their defining features are stickers. Yes, the most unique part of these special Cadillacs is a decal package. But it is an attractive one, with white, gray, silver and red accents inspired by the race car. They're complemented by either a black or white paint job and red side mirrors. The rear quarter windows also get little stickers of the race car's silhouette. Though the stickers are the defining trait of these special-edition cars, they aren't the only features. The CTS-V and ATS-V each come bundled with an array of other features such as a sunroof, the carbon fiber exterior accent package, and a red and black interior that features red-accented carbon fiber trim and Recaro seats. Available as additional options are an eight-speed automatic for the ATS-V, a performance data recorder and a suede steering wheel and shift knob. The other neat tidbit is that, if those extra features are must-haves, the IMSA edition ATS-V is the way to go. The $72,190 price for the sedan is almost $2,000 less than an equivalent standard ATS-V sedan. The regular ATS-V sedan also isn't available with the red and black interior. The special-edition ATS-V coupe starts at $74,390, which is a little over $1,000 more than an equivalent normal ATS-V coupe. Unfortunately for CTS-V buyers, the IMSA edition model, at $105,730, is pricier than optioning up a regular CTS-V. So in that case, you'll have to decide whether the decals and exclusivity are worth it. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Cadillac CTS-V and ATS-V IMSA Championship special editions View 13 Photos Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac Coupe Luxury Performance Sedan cadillac ats-v

GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

Cadillac ParkWhiz app helps avoid endless circling to find parking

General Motors recently launched an app for its vehicles called Marketplace that includes various apps that let you order and pay for things from your car. The company is continuing to add apps to Marketplace, and the latest sounds quite useful. It's called ParkWhiz, and it will be available on Cadillacs. Basically, it lets you find and pay for parking from your car. In more detail, ParkWhiz will let you find parking in 250 cities. The app shows locations that have spaces available and which are full, along with prices for all of them. You can then select one and pay for it for however long you'll use it. You can even reserve parking in advance in case you're going to a busy event. The big benefit here is that you should be able to eliminate a lot of cruising around looking for spaces. That will save you time and money. Additionally, this could save you from having to go really early to an event to find decent parking. It's a handy sounding app, and fortunately, if you don't have a Cadillac, you can get the app on your phone. The only downside to the phone app is that it's not built into the car's infotainment system.