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2020 Cadillac CT4 spied completely undisguised for the first time

A few weeks ago, Cadillac gave us our first look at its new small luxury sports sedan in the form of the CT4-V. This was a bit unusual considering the company hadn't shown us the regular one yet, and the reveal is still off in the not-too-distant future. But we were lucky enough to catch a normal 2020 Cadillac CT4 parked at a local gas station completely and totally undisguised. Based on what we know about other recent Cadillacs and their trim and design, this CT4 is probably a Luxury or Premium Luxury trim, since it has plenty of bright chrome and red taillights instead of dark gray ones. The differences from the CT4-V are subtle. The mesh grilles of the V are swapped for a main grille studded with small Cadillac badge shapes and the lower grille has simple slats. The little air intakes by the lower sections of the running lights are smaller than the ones on the V. This car also lacks the V's side skirts and wider canards on the edges of the front bumper. There doesn't appear to be a rear spoiler either. While we've had a good look at the exterior of the CT4, we'll have to wait until the car's full reveal later this year to know what's under the skin. We do know that it will continue to use the Alpha platform shared with the CT5, Camaro and the old ATS and CTS. We suspect the base engine will be the same 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 from the CT5, which makes 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Since the CT4-V uses a turbo 4-cylinder that makes 320 horsepower and 369 horsepower, there might not be a V6 option for the regular CT4. The CT5's twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 makes more power and torque, so that's out, and the old ATS's naturally aspirated V6 made 335 horsepower and 285 pound-feet of torque, which would be uncomfortably close the CT4-V's specs. But we could see a V6 of some sort in an even more potent V iteration of the CT4 later.

GM is training more first responders for EV emergencies in the U.S. and Canada

GM is training more first responders to be able to handle emergencies involving electric vehicles. The automaker is "significantly expanding" its EV First Responder Training program in the United States and Canada as electric vehicle sales continue to grow. Its initiative will primarily focus on training firefighters and equipping them with the necessary knowledge about full electric vehicle technologies. GM says it's hoping to dispel misconceptions when it comes to handling EVs in emergency situations. One of those misconceptions is that water is dangerous around EV batteries — turns out the recommended way to put out lithium-ion battery fires is by using copious amounts of water.  Andrew Klock, a senior manager of education and development at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), said: "The best way for the public and private vehicle fleet owners to rapidly adopt EVs is to train firefighters and emergency responders on how to handle incidents involving battery powered vehicles. The fire service has had more than 100 years to gain the knowledge needed to respond to internal combustion engine fires, and it is critical that they are now educated on EV safety." The NFPA held trainings of its own that had benefited 300,000 first responders, but it believes more than 800,000 members of the community still need further training.   GM previously piloted the program in southeast Michigan, but now it's conducting training events across Michigan and in Fort Worth, Texas, as well. Later this summer, it's bringing the program to metro New York City and Southern California. Participants will have to attend four-hour sessions, with up to two per day, held in various venues, such as fire houses and dealerships. Interested first and second responders can register through the program's dedicated website and earn a certificate from the Illinois Fire Service Institute if they score higher than 70 percent on the learning assessment by the end of their training.  The automaker already has a few EV models on the market, including the Chevy Bolts, the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq. It has huge electrification plans for the future, though, and training responders could help make potential customers more receptive to the idea of switching to electric vehicles. GM aims to launch 30 EV models by 2025 and to exclusively sell EVs ten years after that. Related video: Green Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Safety Electric

Cadillac CT5 spied with quad exhaust, could signal a hotter version is coming

The 2020 Cadillac CT5 just broke cover at the NY Auto Show this year, but one of our spy shooters caught one decked out in camouflage looking a bit different than the versions we've already seen. Instead of the dual exhaust on both the turbocharged four-cylinder and twin-turbo V6, this one has a quad exhaust outlet. We'll note that the placement of the quad outlets is one and the same with the two larger outlets on the CT5 already revealed. Also, the rest of the car looks relatively ho-hum. It has the wheels from the CT5 Sport trim, and the front end appears to most closely represent the Luxury trim. Some of the coverings appear to be opened up on that front end, possibly in an attempt to increase airflow. The most obvious change of them all is the quad exhaust, though, which brings us back to a conversation we had with a Cadillac representative at the car's initial media launch. As we were standing around gawking at the new CT5 in Sport trim, a brand representative told us all the "Sport" models (four-cylinders and V6s) would be getting quad exhaust, while the "Luxury" trims would get dual exhaust. We pointed at the CT5 Sport right in front of us and noted that it just had a dual exhaust setup. This ended up causing more confusion, as the Cadillac representative was adamant that they had seen the CT5 Sport with quad exhaust. When all was said and done, there wasn't exactly a clear explanation given for what was up with this mysterious CT5 model with quad exhaust, so we left it at that. We can guess, though. Perhaps the Cadillac rep had seen a Sport model with quad exhaust, but it was a future "V-Sport" variant we weren't allowed to know of yet. Cadillac hasn't revealed its future plans for the CT5 fully, but it did hint that at least one performance variant would be on the way. This camo'd up car here does not look anything like a full-on V model, but it could be the beginnings of a slightly more powerful version of the sport sedan. The 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 makes 335 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Of course, there's always room for more power in this class, and a V-Sport model would slot in nicely to the new sedan's range. Keep in mind this all remains speculative in nature. However, our curious conversation with Cadillac combined with these spy shots signal that something could be afoot.