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Cadillac drops the base engine in the 2017 ATS

Cadillac, in an effort to boost sales of the slow moving ATS, is making some changes to the 2017 model. Most notably, the luxury manufacturer is dropping the base 2.5-liter normally-aspirated four-cylinder engine from the lineup, leaving the 272 hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four as the base engine. The base 2.0-liter ATS will start at $35,590, $1,380 more than the 2016 model, though that's partially offset by more standard equipment. The base model now comes standard with Cadillac's controversial CUE infotainment system with an 8-inch touchscreen display, a Bose surround-sound speaker system, and a backup camera. Despite the bump in price for the base model, all other ATS trim levels will see prices reduced between $650 and $1,100, depending on the model. The ATS was designed to be Cadillac's answer to the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Though the ATS was originally released at a time where the Germans were slightly off their game, it's never quite matched up in terms of performance or customer perception posting disappointing sales figures compared to the competition. Cadillac has had problems getting customers into cars, and few ATS customers are converts from luxury competition. In order to offload inventory and lure in new customers, the company has previously been forced to offer big lease deals. Many of these customers have come over from more mainstream brands like Chevrolet and Ford. ATS sales have fallen 23 percent through May versus 2015. The car's market share has fallen every year since 2013, currently occupying just 4.5 percent of the compact luxury market. Unless Cadillac can offer some truly amazing deals, we don't expect many shoppers to buy American over the strong German competition. Related video: Cadillac Luxury Sedan

Dodge Dart falls short of Consumer Reports Recommended, Caddy XTS and Lincoln MKS, too

The Dodge Dart, Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKS all failed to earn a "Recommended" rating from Consumer Reports. When it came to the compact Dart, the organization's testers thought the vehicle offered a quiet cabin, solid-feeling chassis and nimble suspension, but the new model ultimately fell short of the coveted rating due to powertrain issues. The institute's reviewers found the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to be underpowered and noted "drivability issues" when the available turbocharged 1.4-liter four was paired with the optional dual-clutch transmission (some of our editors disliked it paired with the six-speed manual). CR also dinged the latter powerplant for sounding "raspy." For what it's worth, we think the forced-induction engine offers an excellent and playful exhaust note, but that's just us.
As for the XTS, CR lauded the car for its luxurious cabin, but the vehicle's experience was dulled by its finicky CUE infotainment interface. Overall, the big Cadillac scored much higher than its cross-town rival from Lincoln. While testers found the American luxury sedan to offer a quiet ride and quality fit and finish, they felt the MKS delivered a "cramped driving position, ungainly handling, uncomposed ride, and limited visibility." Ouch. At the end of the day, both cars fell short of rivals from Japan, Germany and Korea. Check out the full press release below with more details, along with CR's musings on the Chevrolet Spark and Lexus ES.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.