2014 Cadillac Ats Luxury Rwd on 2040-cars

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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.

Autoblog Podcast #318

Toyota back on top, Barrett Jackson, Crowdsourcing your Dodge Dart payments, Nissan and Toyota double down on pickups
Episode #318 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Zach Bowman and Michael Harley talk about Toyota regaining the No. 1 sales crown, getting your friends and family to buy you a Dodge Dart, Barrett-Jackson, and Toyota and Nissan remaining committed to their pickup trucs. We wrap with your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #318:

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe First Drive

Save for a few years of its century-plus existence, Cadillac has offered its unique brand of American elegance in two-door, fixed-roof bodystyles. Most of these cars were big, floaty barges, of course, though its most recent offering was the wedge-shaped CTS Coupe. But whereas the CTS Coupe was a statement car – angular and severe, with somewhat limited appeal except to design snobs and provocateurs – the ATS Coupe represents a return to form for Cadillac, with a proper three-box (engine-cabin-trunk) body and a slightly lower price point that should broaden its appeal among a larger swath of the market. Generally speaking, the 2015 ATS Coupe is a two-door version of the sporty ATS Sedan, though, surprisingly, the only common exterior components are the hood, headlamps, and sundry trim pieces on the front fascia (which features a slightly larger grille, a wider lower air intake, and the redesigned, laurel-less Cadillac crest). Even the mirrors are different. The body stretches 0.8 inches in length and 1.4 inches in width, the roof is 1.1 inches lower and the rear windscreen slopes at a flatter, sleeker angle. Interestingly, the windowsills are actually quite a bit lower, further slimming the car. Thanks to its 0.8-inch wider front and rear wheel tracks as well as more tumblehome in the C-pillar area, the coupe sits lower and looks more planted than the ATS sedan, particularly from the rear three-quarter view. Filling the wheel wells is a family of slick 18x8-inch wheels, with 18x9-inchers coming on the rear axle of performance models. Even if all those changes haven't resulted in a wholly new look the way the CTS Coupe departs from its sedan progeny, the ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. And for that, Cadillac deserves mighty praise. The ATS two-door is a truly beautiful car that looks considerably better on the road than on a show stand. It is a proper coupe, of course, and as such is saddled with the expected limitations that accompany modern two-door packaging, notably rear seat access and limited rear headroom. Since the floorpan is common to both bodystyles, rear legroom is the same as the sedan's, though headroom shrinks a considerable 1.8 inches, making it hard for even average-sized adults to sit back there without their heads touching the window glass.