2003 Cadillac Escalade on 2040-cars

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How Cadillac improved power output in 2016 ELR by 25 percent

Earlier this year, Cadillac announced that the 2016 ELR would come with a big price drop and a powertrain that packs 25 percent more power output. That's a lot more oomph, but it didn't sound like the Caddy engineers made any major changes to the engine or motors. So, what happened? Let's refresh our memories with the numeric details. The 2016 car is 1.5 seconds quicker to 60 miles per hour than the 2014 model (there was no 2015), down to 6.4 seconds. The 2014 put out 295 pound-feet of torque. For 2016, it will be 373 lb-ft. The specific breakdown of the various components in the powertrain has not been disclosed, but from what we can tell, the two electric motors and the 1.4-liter inline-four engine in the new ELR are not that much different than those in the old one. Sam Abuelsamid, senior research analyst at Navigant Research (and former writer here at Autoblog) said that any of the unspecified upgrades would be difficult to tell on a part-by-part basis, but the overall effect will be noticeable. "The changes to the ELR as I understand them are analogous to getting more performance out of a 1965 Mustang with the entry version of the 289 cubic-inch V8. You can replace the carburetor with a larger version that enables more air and fuel to flow into the engine, thus producing more power. The basic engine hasn't changed, but power capability is being unleashed by feeding it more." "Cadillac has changed components in the power electronics to enable more current flow into the motor and thus produce more torque. When you do this in the Mustang, you probably need to replace the rear axle gears and use a beefier clutch to transmit the power to the wheels. Similarly, the ELR probably has some upgraded clutches, bearings, and gears to withstand the increased total output." Cadillac spokesperson David Caldwell told AutoblogGreen in an email that the new ELR does indeed have more than just new lines of code. "One could not 'reflash' a previous ELR to get the performance of a 2016," Caldwell said. "If one only changed software you would not get the performance upgrade fully, as the 2016 creates higher current, more power. So these have been upgraded physically – hardware.

Cadillac SRX production moving to TN, next-gen Equinox going to Mexico

It's a good week for the town of Spring Hill, TN, as General Motors has announced that its factory in the city of 31,000 will receive a $185 million contract to produce engines. On top of that, the next-generation Cadillac SRX crossover will be built at the factory (NA models are presently built in Ramos, Arizpe Mexico), which was once famous for being the home of GM's now-defunct Saturn brand.
The factory is one of GM's six facilities around the globe that will screw together the company's new line of three- and four-cylinder Ecotec engines. Spring Hill currently builds the 2.0-liter, turbocharged Ecotec, as well as the naturally aspirated 2.4 and 2.5-liter variants.
Spring Hill's vehicle assembly lines were idled in 2009, but were reactivated in 2011. The SRX is just one of the products meant to benefit from last year's $350-million investment, and should have a positive impact, creating or retaining around 1,800 positions at the factory.

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.