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Cadillac XT4-V on the way?

An anonymous photographer sent Cadillac Society two tightly cropped images of an XT4 crossover wearing two surprising badges. On the right, above the taillight, there's a 2.7 badge, In the lower right corner there's a V Series badge — the full-fat, multicolored V badge, not the monochrome V-Sport version. The images — assuming they're real — elicit more questions and no answers, the first being, is this the XT4 V-Sport that's been rumored since last October? Back then, GM Authority discovered front and rear images of such a vehicle hiding in plain sight, on a Cadillac site landing page. The backside of a thick-hipped XT4 is graced with the old V-Sport badge. We know the carmaker has split its V Series cars into two tiers, the lower intended to be less intimidating than before, the upper tier the continuation of the mongo V Series cars we've known and loved. The hints have been that the entry level will be called V Series, while the upper level takes the name "Blackwing," after the name of Cadillac's new 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine. With Mark Reuss himself having said, "We got rid of all the V-Sports," this supposed XT4-V offers more proof that V Series effectively represents a new V-Sport line. The only cosmetic giveaways to increased performance we can see are a carbon fiber trim in the license plate area, and an exhaust treatment similar to that on the recently introduced CT4-V. We're not certain what the 2.7 badge means for V branding on crossovers. The standard XT4 wears a 2.0 badge on the tailgate, representing its 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The XT5 gets a number, too, but the XT6 does not. GM's 2.7-liter four cylinder with 311 hp and 348 lb-ft first showed up in the Chevy Silverado, will get 320 hp and 369 lb-ft in the coming CT4-V, and has been predicted for the XT4-V. However, V cars — both Sport and Series — have never worn displacement badges. The new CT4-V and CT5-V go without numerical identifiers on their decklids. If there is an XT4-V on the way this year, we only have a few months before we see it and get some answers.

GM cancels CES date, possible Cadillac EV crossover unveiling

General Motors is bailing on CES 2020, the big annual consumer technology showcase in Las Vegas, after its plans to showcase an autonomous, electric vehicle were derailed by the 40-day UAW strike this fall. New evidence suggests that vehicle may have been Cadillac’s upcoming EV crossover. MotorTrend got GM to confirm that it was pulling out of CES, which takes place in January, though CEO Mary Barra in an interview said only that the vehicle they had planned to unveil was electric and featured autonomous technology — two key areas where the automaker plans to focus in the future. The automaker said the model simply wasnÂ’t ready. But MT said it then received an invitation from Cruise, GMÂ’s self-driving vehicle subsidiary, to an event later in January in San Francisco. That suggests the automaker could have been planning a different vehicle to show at CES than its self-driving Cruise AV “robotaxi,” which famously features no steering wheel or pedals. Cadillac showed off a digital rendering of a forthcoming unnamed electric crossover in Detroit in January, saying only that it would be available in both two- and all-wheel drive and sold globally. GM has said Cadillac will be its lead brand as GM delves into EV technology. The speculation is that the crossover will also feature CadillacÂ’s Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway driving technology. Whatever the vehicle was, or is, Barra said itÂ’ll be ready for viewing in the first half of 2020. GM has been developing the Chevrolet Bolt-based Cruise AV, a fully autonomous car, alongside its Cruise self-driving technology subsidiary, and building them at Orion Assembly plant near Detroit. It had once planned to debut a fleet of ride-hailing Cruise AV robot axis by the end of this year but realized the timeline was not realistic. Testing of the robot axis continues in San Francisco, Phoenix and Michigan. As for timing on a new timeline for fleets of Cruise AVs to take over the streets, Barra wouldnÂ’t show her hand. “We see a line of sight but weÂ’re not going to put another date out there,” she told MT, adding it was more important to “gain customer trust and usage.” As for Cadillac, any new reveal would likely come after the all-new Escalade SUV in February and amid a product blitz that will see it introduce a new or redesigned model roughly every six months through 2021.

Super Cruise’s failsafes

Even though Super Cruise is not a fully autonomous system, it incorporates redundancies like those used in aircraft to ensure failsafe operation. Before taking off on a 700-mile, 11-hour test drive of the system — and putting my life in its hands without my hands on the wheel — I sat down with Daryl Wilson, lead development engineer for Super Cruise, to get a deep dive into the system and its critical safety backups. Autoblog: First, what makes Super Cruise different from similar systems? Wilson: The key differentiator for Super Cruise is hand-free driving. It's an industry first in that respect. Our competitors require the driver at minimum to place their hands on the wheel with some frequency to ensure that the car knows that the driver is there. We don't. Two key technologies allow us to do this. One is our Driver Attention System, which is our methodology for making sure the driver is engaged with the vehicle and engaged with the road. This is a driver assist system, not a fully autonomous system. So it requires driver engagement. We use an infrared camera that constantly monitors the driver's face to determine the direction they're looking. We're looking for the driver to be what we call on-road — not on the center stack, not to left or right or down. That's all done by the tracking of the face. We also track that the eyes are open. It's infrared because at night you need to illuminate the face and you can't be shining a light into the driver's face. Then we have our lidar mapping that provides a foundation for control and redundancy to ensure safe performance. Autoblog: How does the mapping act as a redundant feature? Wilson: This system is only for use on divided, controlled access highways. What I mean by a divided highway is something more than a painted line between you and oncoming traffic. Whether that's a grassy area in between the lanes or a concrete barrier, anything that separates you from oncoming traffic. That's the divided highway part. The controlled access part is entrance ramps and exit ramps. Not with roads that cross at grade, with traffic crossing at the same level. To do that we geofenced these roads to ensure that operation is only allowed in these conditions. We don't just recommend you use it there; we ensure that you only use it there.