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2017 Cadillac CTS-V Drivers' Notes | V is for velocity

The 2017 Cadillac CTS-V is as close to a four-door Corvette Z06 as you're ever likely to get. Underneath the carbon-fiber hood rests one hell of an engine, a 640-horsepower supercharged V8. It's only slightly less powerful than what you'll find in the Corvette. Thanks to GM's chassis wizards, the car's handling is an equal match for the powerful engine. This particular car packs in a number of options, including Recaro seats and the performance data recorder that allows owners to measure lap times and record video. The most expensive option is the $6,950 Carbon Black Package. This nets you a carbon fiber hood vent, front splitter, spoiler and rear diffuser. This car isn't cheap, but it does undercut the less powerful Audi RS7 and Mercedes-AMG E63 S. Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale: This is a seriously fun, if also flawed, car. And the biggest contributor to the fun is the big lump of V8 under the hood. The supercharged 6.2-liter makes 640 horsepower, but Cadillac could've left the number off and just called it "effortless." The gentlest pressure on the gas pedal will result in you picking up an extra 10 mph without ever noticing. And when you stomp on it, you get this huge and immediate surge of acceleration. It's truly giggle-inducing. Although the CTS-V is big and heavy, it handles the power well. It gives you enough info on what's happening so you feel in control, and the chassis is impressively composed. The only real weak points I can find on the CTS-V (besides the low gas mileage) are the interior controls. They are abysmal. The infotainment screen is pretty poor, with a clutter of information at the main screen, and difficult-to-find commands for getting to other menus. But worse than that are the climate and volume buttons. They're all touch-sensitive spots on the center stack. They're not very responsive, and the vibratory feedback it provides isn't noticeable while driving. It doesn't help that the feedback feels pretty inconsistent, too. For me, I think I could learn to live with the infotainment, simply because I love the way the rest of the car feels and drives. But, Cadillac, you need to get to updating this ASAP. Associate Editor Reese Counts: OK, Cadillac's infotainment system sucks. Let's get that out of the way. Touch capacitive interfaces don't work well in cars. This does have the old version of CUE, so I'm hoping the next-gen system will fix some of the interface issues. Like Joel, this wouldn't turn me off from buying the car.

Combine a self-driving car with V2V, and here's what happens

Transportation engineers have started laying the groundwork for a traffic world in which cars communicate with other cars and infrastructure like bridges and traffic lights. How about an environment in which cars talk to pretty much everything and everyone? In a preview of its offerings at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, Delphi Automotive will deploy just such a concept. Engineers have designed a system that communicates with traffic signals, street signs, pedestrians, cyclists, even to fry pits and parking garages along a driver's route. To date, engineers and researchers across the auto industry have focused on the technical and safety-oriented foundation of future vehicle-to-vehicle communications, which could help cars share information about everything from traffic tie-ups to upcoming road hazards. Beyond those building blocks, many have projected that V2V could also include more consumer-focused features. Delphi's system, dubbed V2Everything, might be the first that combines those sorts of features in a tangible package. At CES in Las Vegas, scheduled to begin the first week of January, company officials say they'll demonstrate in real-world conditions how V2V technology can be used in an autonomous vehicle to provide a range of critical safety information and leisure and convenience options for riders. The first V2V technology installed on a production car is slated to appear on the 2017 Cadillac CTS. "We imagine a world with zero traffic accidents," said Jeff Owens, Delphi's chief technology officer. "To get there, we will need a convergence of active safety, sensor fusion, connectivity platforms and advanced software." Such software might allow a vehicle to start searching for and reserving parking spots at a programmed destination long before arriving. It could allow riders to place their McDonald's drive-through order from the road and have the food ready for pickup along the route. For the drive itself, the Delphi-equipped car can stay updated on the status of traffic lights around Las Vegas, and can anticipate yellow and red lights. Using smart-phone technology, the car can detect pedestrians and cyclists that may otherwise be hard to see. It can send messages to friends or family to notify them of a driver's location. Some of those features have been available on third-party apps or individually developed by automakers. But this system marries them together in a single system that is tailored for use in self-driving cars.

Cadillac teases production ELR ahead of Detroit Auto Show

General Motors has just confirmed that the 2014 Cadillac ELR will make its official debut next month at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. We've already seen the ELR testing earlier this year using the same range-extended electric drive system as the Chevrolet Volt, and based on the shadowy image above, we're happy to see that the coupe's styling has stayed pretty true to 2009 Converj Concept.
The two-door ELR will be built alongside the Volt at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant starting later next year. Aside from this info, Cadillac has remained tight-lipped on the specific details of the car. But all that will all change on January 15.
Until then, all we have to offer you is the press release posted after the jump.