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Luxury car brands scrambling to avoid a blue Christmas

DETROIT — When financial markets surge to new records, sales of luxury cars usually rise, too. Instead, October U.S. auto sales reports on Wednesday showed that a collapse in sales of luxury sedans is accelerating. Consumers have gradually shifted over to luxury sport utility vehicles from sedans in the past decade, but the trend — which has occurred in both the non-luxury and luxury sedan segments of the auto market — was particularly pronounced in October. Sales of Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz S-Class, long a global benchmark for large, premium sedans, plunged 49 percent in October, and are down 24.8 percent for the year to date. General Motors' Cadillac brand said it sold just 779 of its CTS sedans in October. Demand for that car, designed to compete with German luxury sedans, is down nearly 33 percent for the year. "There's still a significant portion of the market that wants a car, but I'm sure there were people who preferred a horse to a car at one point." Cadillac's best-selling model this year is the XT5 compact SUV, which has more than doubled sales from a year ago. The shift within the luxury vehicle market away from sedans toward SUVs of all sizes is forcing some of the most prestigious brands to scramble to add SUV models to their lineups or boost SUV production to meet demand. "In the short term, there will be pressure to add (consumer) incentives, cut production or both," said Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs. "And we just don't see an end in sight to this trend." The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been trading at all-time highs, usually a good sign for luxury sedans, but as major automakers reported new U.S. vehicle sales for October on Wednesday, sales for passenger cars continued their slide while luxury SUV and crossover sales rose again. According to Kelley Blue Book data, in 2007 luxury sedans made up 7.6 percent of U.S. new vehicle sales, while luxury SUVs made up 4.2 percent. Through September this year, luxury SUVs made up just over 7 percent of the market, compared with 4.9 percent for luxury sedans. In the short term, luxury brands could use holiday season sales promotions to clear slow-selling sedans off dealer lots, analysts said. Toyota's Lexus brand said on Wednesday it will launch its "December to Remember" year-end sales promotion for the 18th straight year.

2021 Cadillac Escalade will get next-gen Super Cruise with auto lane-change

Super Cruise is getting its first big update since it was originally launched on the 2018 CT6 sedan. As that large car fades away, this new version of Super Cruise will be coming online in the 2021 CT5, CT4 and … the 2021 Escalade! Yes, ladies and gents, Cadillac is finally applying its advanced driver assistant to the iconic Escalade. The biggest change to this version of Super Cruise is a new feature called “Lane Change on Demand.” When Super Cruise is engaged, the driver can tap the turn stalk, and the car will execute a hands-free lane change if itÂ’s safe to do so. This kind of lane-change functionality is similar to that offered by other manufacturers' systems (i.e. Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, BMW). However, like the rest of Super Cruise, the car is able to complete the task with the driverÂ’s hands completely off the steering wheel so long as the driver monitor can tell that youÂ’re paying attention. Further improvements abound. “This is our most extensive update weÂ’ve made to Super Cruise since its debut,” said Mario Maiorana, Super Cruise chief engineer. “We have made a number of improvements to make Super Cruise more intuitive, better performing and more accessible for our customers. In addition to the automated lane change functionality, weÂ’ve made improvements to the user interface and hands-free driving dynamics.” Cadillac says that it has gathered richer map information to make the lane change function possible and also to make turns and highway interchanges smoother. The software was also improved with the aim of gaining “better steering and speed control.” Cadillac also made the system easier to engage. It did this by allowing the operator to switch the Super Cruise system on, and then get the vehicle in a proper lane position — it automatically activates once the vehicle is positioned. Previously, the driver had to get the vehicle centered in the lane properly, and then you were allowed to switch the system on. The auto lane changing function operates similarly to other systems like it. When driving, you can either tap or fully depress the turn signal stalk. The car then looks for an acceptable opening in the indicated lane. Once found, the car begins its lane change. Within the gauge cluster, there are animations that keep the driver apprised of the lane change at all times. Once the vehicle has moved into the new lane, itÂ’ll shut the turn signal off and continue driving along.

How GM's grueling 24-hour test gets the kinks out of its performance cars

One of the biggest challenges automakers face when designing a high-performance car is making sure that it is both fast and reliable. For General Motors, any car that might be taken to the track by its owner - like the Corvette, Camaro Z/28 (shown above) and the Cadillac CTS-V, for example - undergoes a rigorous and strenuous 24-hour test by engineers at the Milford Proving Grounds, as pointed out by Car and Driver.
We've posted on this topic in the past - on a video showing the Camaro ZL1 being brutalized, for instance - but this article gives a more in-depth look at what actually happens behind the scenes... including what that poor ZL1 went through. Though the test isn't for 24 hours straight, the cars are pushed as hard as possible by some of GM's best drivers with only the brakes and tires replaced frequently.
We don't want to ruin the fun for you, but it is an interesting article that tells just some of what GM does to develop its sports cars. Check out the full article over at Car and Driver for the rest of the story.