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Cadillac applies to trademark Ascendiq and Escalade IQ

Let's start with what we know. Earlier this month, CarBuzz discovered trademark applications Cadillac submitted to various agencies in the U.S. and Europe to reserve the names Vistiq, Lumistiq, and Escalade IQL. Now, before the month is out, CarBuzz has found another pair of trademark applications that Cadillac has submitted to gain exclusive rights to the names Ascendiq and Escalade IQ. Sticking with what we know, the suffix -iq, as in Lyriq and Celestiq (pronounced "ik," not "eek"), indicates Cadillac's coming lineup of battery-electric vehicles. That starts with the Lyriq crossover early next year, then the Celestiq flagship sedan in 2023 (pictured). The all-electric Escalade is due by 2025. We assume an Escalade IQ and a longer version called the Escalade IQL will be battery-electric twins for the current ICE-powered Escalade and Escalade ESV. They are three of the six electrified vehicles we're expecting from Cadillac by the end of 2025. Moving on to what we suspect, two of the other three are crossovers, the last has only been referred to as a "low-roof" EV. In July 2020, GM applied to trademark the names Symboliq and Optiq. It had been thought that these would be the two coming crossovers, but a check with the United States Trademark and Patent Office showed both trademarks dead at the time of writing. GM does have an open brand mark application for "optiq," but it's not classified with motor vehicles, it's for a downloadable software application. As we've written many times before, USPTO applications don't mean we'll ever see the name or product being applied for. With that out of the way, we do have three remaining mysterious Cadillac vehicles and three names: Vistiq, Lumistiq, and Ascendiq. We also have a question: Will this be too much iq? Many of us have applauded brands abandoning alphanumerics on their cars for proper names because it could finally mean clear distinctions between one vehicle and another. If all the names are going to pull from the same or similar phonemes, this could end up being like meeting five siblings named Barry, Mary, Terry, Larry, and Gary. And we know how jokey and cruel that can get. So stay tuned. Related video: 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ revealed

GM says safety is a reason it's dropping Apple CarPlay, Android Auto

Update: GM sent us a statement as a follow-up to its original comments seen in this post: "We wanted to reach out to clarify that comments about GM's position on phone projection were misrepresented in previous articles and to reinforce our valued partnerships with Apple and Google and each company’s commitment to driver safety. GM's embedded infotainment strategy is driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles." The original story can be read in its entirety below.   General Motors announced its intention to remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality from its upcoming EVs earlier this year, and internet comments sections haven't been kind since. As the first of many EVs to follow – the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV – hits the market, GM is expanding on its initial explanations for dropping the tech. Motor Trend spoke with Tim Babbit, GMÂ’s head of product for infotainment, to learn more. Attributed to Babbit, from the story: “They have stability issues that manifest themselves as bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections. And when CarPlay and Android Auto have issues, drivers pick up their phones again, taking their eyes off the road and totally defeating the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs. Solving those issues can sometimes be beyond the control of the automaker.” Babbit suggests that a world without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto will be a safer one, as folks wonÂ’t be looking to control their infotainment systems via their phones. However, Babbit also tells MT that this theory hasnÂ’t been tested in either the lab or the real world yet. Instead of using a navigation or music-playing app powered through your phone, upcoming GM EVs will use a Google-based infotainment system called “Ultifi” that runs a ton of integrated Google apps. Google Maps will be the native navigation app in the system; youÂ’ll be able to log in to Spotify or other apps to load your music up, and so on. The idea here is that youÂ’ll have all the same apps that were on your phone available but integrated within the infotainment system instead, and you'll be able to use voice controls to control every last bit of it with no need to reach for a phone. That sounds amenable in theory, but how consumers react to the removal of a feature that they know and love now is a risky gamble.

GM will stop reporting monthly U.S. vehicle sales

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it will stop reporting monthly U.S. vehicle sales, saying the 30-day snapshot does not accurately reflect the market, and will instead issue quarterly sales. GM will also no longer report monthly sales in China, its largest market, and Brazil. GM will provide monthly data to the U.S. Federal Reserve, industry associations and government agencies across the globe, but that data is not made public. Analysts and investors rely on monthly U.S. vehicle sales not just to track the performance of individual automakers, but as a barometer of the health of the world's second-largest auto market and as an indicator of consumer confidence in the U.S. economy overall. GM and its Detroit rivals Ford and Fiat Chrysler have relied heavily on sales of high-margin pickup truck and SUV sales to boost profits. GM's total U.S. sales, its second-largest market, are down 3.2 percent for the first two months of 2018, reflecting a 6.8 percent drop in retail sales to individual customers, the company reported last month. GM executives have expressed frustration that comparisons of monthly U.S. sales results among rival automakers are distorted by short-term discount programs, and by differences in strategy for selling vehicles in bulk to rental car fleets. "Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market," Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president for sales operations said in a statement. GM's actions could prompt other automakers to also switch to quarterly U.S. sales reports. Major automakers will report March U.S. new vehicle sales on Tuesday. Until the early 1990s, most U.S. automakers released sales results every 10 days. The former Chrysler Corp. stopped reporting sales on a 10-day basis in 1990, and rivals followed suit over the next three years. GM executives are betting that investors will quickly adapt to receiving U.S. sales data every three months, as investors in other retail sectors already have. Retailers such as Walmart report sales on a quarterly basis. Reporting by Joe WhiteRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Earnings/Financials Green Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC US