2021 Cadillac Ct5 Premium Luxury on 2040-cars

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Liberace's gilded Cadillac could be yours

With their chrome grilles and oversized wheels, it's hard not to notice a Cadillac these days. But this one is even more blingtastic on account of the 23.75-karat gold-leaf bodywork.
The 1931 Cadillac Golfer's Drop Head Coupé is said to have belonged to the inimitable performer Liberace, who didn't just have it covered in gold - he also had the exterior door handles plated in silver and the inside handles in 24-karat gold as well. It's also got a white leather interior and headlights that - well ahead of their time (if you'll pardon us, Mr. Tucker) - pivot with the steering wheel. All that bling is powered by a 5.7-liter V8 mated to a three-speed automatic transmission that pales in comparison to the seven, eight and even nine-speed gearboxes appearing on luxury sedans today.
The project was undertaken over the course of three years in the 1970s by one Jack Smith from Kansas. Smith (if that was his real name) sold it at auction in 1975, and it was most recently displayed for 12 years at a museum in Germany which claimed it was Liberace's own. The car is now going up for sale by Barons' at the Sandown Park horse racing track in Surrey, England, on September 17, when bidding starts at 85,000 pounds - equivalent to over $130,000 at today's rates.

Cadillac boss says small SUV 'at least four years away'

Since Johan de Nysschen's takeover as brand president, there's a lot of buzz around Cadillac. Now, the brand's leader is now giving a little more clarity about when we might see some of the company's future vehicles, including its compact crossover. "Product development life cycles being what they are, I don't have a date in mind but I would estimate it is at least four years away," said de Nysschen about a small Cadillac CUV. The comments were made to Reuters during the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle is part of Cadillac's eight-model, $12 billion reinvention through 2020. Interestingly, de Nysschen told Autoblog at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that he estimated the compact luxury CUV to arrive by early 2018. The boss also indicated that Cadillac would get a sedan to slot below the ATS some time in 2017, and the previously spied SRX replacement, possibly called the XT5, would debut in 2016. In the meantime, the company's flagship CT6 is being unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April. The wait for a luxury compact CUV makes Cadillac one of the later entries into the segment. The space is already filling with vehicles like the BMW X1, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, Lexus NX and Lincoln MKC. Small crossovers in general seem to still be growing in sales. While building a better brand in the US, de Nysschen also wants to grow Cadillac in Europe in the future. He told Reuters that he wants diesel vehicles ready for 2019 to appeal to customers there. Some might even be offered in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Design/Style Cadillac Crossover Diesel Vehicles Luxury de nysschen

Cadillac sprinkles changes around its 2022 lineup

Cadillac is doing its best to keep the model-year-update train running, making incremental changes to the CT4, CT5, XT4, XT5, and XT6 for 2022. We'll start with the change coming to the entire Cadillac range, that being the addition of the automaker's Smart System package of nine driver assistance aids. The nine features are: Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Front Pedestrian Braking, Safety Alert Seat, Rear Park Assist, Rear Vision Camera, vehicle diagnostics, Teen Driver, and Rear Seat Reminder. After that, the CT4 and CT5 will gain the option of Super Cruise 1 and Super Cruise 2 on Sport and Premium Luxury trims. Super Cruise availability on the XT6 to follow at some point during the model year, but since the XT6 is built on GM's previous electrical architecture, its version of Super Cruise will lack some features such as Automated Lane Change. Also inside the vehicles, it's been reported that Inteluxe will be the new name for leatherette seating across the lineup.  Taking each model starting with the CT4, GM Authority says the compact sedan will lose its Dark Blue Moon Metallic, Evergreen Metallic, and Velocity Red exterior colors. They'll be replaced by Blaze Orange Metallic (pictured), which is reserved for the Sport, CT4-V, and CT4-V Blackwing, and Electric Blue and Dark Emerald Frost, which can only be optioned on the CT4-V and CT4-V Blackwing, and the latter color will have limited availability. The CT5 gets one of those new premium exterior hues, Blaze Orange Metallic. It will be available on the CT5 Sport alone. The base 350T models powered by the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder also had their fuel economy figures updated recently. The rear-driver gains another mile per gallon in the city and combined, the all-wheel driver gains one mpg in the city and loses one mpg on the highway, according to the EPA. The XT4 drops the premium exterior colors Shadow Metallic, Garnet Metallic, and Autumn Metallic. They are replaced by Galactic Gray Metallic, Latte Metallic, and Rosewood Metallic, all of which will add $625 to the MSRP and be available throughout the model lineup. Cadillac Society reports that NFC capability falls away next year, the tech deemed outdated. The refreshed XT4 that had been expected next year is now thought to arrive for the 2023 model year.