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Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.

Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.

2020 Cadillac XT4 Review and Buying Guide | Competence and curb appeal

The 2020 Cadillac XT4 is a handsome little crossover distinctively sized between two segments. This allows it to boast backseat space on par with larger SUVs like the Audi Q5, while being a bit more park-able and fuel efficient like the BMW X1. There should definitely be a Goldilocks "just right" thing going on for many shoppers. Cadillac's baby SUV also impresses on the technology front, boasting loads of standard, advanced features along with a user-friendly touchscreen interface that shouldn't be too hard to figure out. There are dynamic missteps, though. The steering, throttle and brake pedals lack the driver-oriented response and feedback we've come to expect from Cadillac's sharply tuned sport sedans, while also not exactly possessing the nice-and-easy isolation of Caddy's past. In either scenario, we're not sure it "drives like a Cadillac" despite some otherwise impressive engineering going on underneath that handsome skin. The XT4 is also pretty expensive given its features, size and interior quality. Competitors both larger (Acura RDX) and smaller (Volvo XC40) provide better value. Still, as we noted in our XT4 first drive, there's enough novel tech to provide bragging rights, it's obviously a Cadillac in design (and definitely not just a rebadged Chevrolet in execution), and it's a pleasing enough place to sit while scooting around in traffic. It has competence and curb appeal, which count for a lot. What's new for 2020? After being an all-new model last year, the XT4 heads into 2020 with some noteworthy features updates: Forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking are now standard, while the Premium Luxury trim level gets the hands-free power liftgate as standard equipment.   What's the XT4's interior and in-car technology like? The XT4's interior design isn't as memorable as that of its exterior, nor its stylish Volvo XC40 and Lincoln Corsair competitors. It's a bit generic, which just doesn't seem right for a Cadillac. Materials quality is acceptable when closer to its base price, but begins feeling less so as options are added and the price tag rises. We've also driven multiple XT4's with an annoying rattle in the B pillar. Standard infotainment technology is abundant. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included with the standard 8-inch touchscreen and benefit from a pair of USB ports: one standard USB-A and the other a newer USB-C.