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GM's Mark Reuss explains why a performance Cadillac ELR-V won't happen

Hey, I've got enough things to worry about. That's one interpretation of General Motors executive vice president Mark Reuss' response to a question posed by Driving the Nation about the recently-introduced Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid. Reuss said GM will "definitely expand the tuning envelope" for the ELR. The question was whether GM would consider adding magnetic ride control to the quite-powerful-for-a-plug-in Caddy, creating an "ELR-V" model in the process. Reuss' non-answer: "Good question, can't really answer that," but then elaborated that magnetic ride control uses up "a lot" of power otherwise spoken for in terms of providing the longest electric-only range possible. Interestingly, he did add that GM will "definitely expand the tuning envelope" for the ELR, as you can see in the video below. With the model retailing for north of $75,000, fewer than 60 percent of US Cadillac dealers were carrying the ELR as of last month and just 99 ELRs were sold during the first two months of the year. In an effort to sell more vehicles, GM said in January that it would offer the ELR for a 39-month lease for $699 a month for qualified lessees and with a $5,999 down-payment required. Autoblog's First Drive impressions of the ELR can be found here.

Forget everything you know about Cadillac V

Cadillac rolled out the CT4-V and CT5-V performance sedans to a rather confused group of journalists last night. What are these cars? Only 355 horsepower in the CTS-V replacement? And just 320 horsepower for the ATS-V successor? Surely, there's something out of place — you can get up to speed with all the details here. Cadillac understood our confusion and explained what was going on rather quickly. The explanation means you have to forget everything you know about what "V" means for a Cadillac, though. Any Cadillac with the singular "V" badge on it previously has denoted the absolute top-tier of performance for that particular model. The CTS-V had the Corvette Z06 engine in it and made 640 horsepower. The ATS-V had a boosted 3.6-liter V6 good for a raucous 464 horsepower. They were equivalent to BMW M, Mercedes-AMG or an Audi RS. We're not talking about the lesser M or AMG models, either. No, the last Cadillac Vs were meant to compete with cars like the C63 or M3, the top-tier of performance in those brands' lineups. This is where you're going to have to start re-learning, because that's no longer the case for a Cadillac with a V badge gracing the rear end. What Cadillac has essentially done is demote what V means, with the intention of offering "something else" above it. With this new strategy, we'd equate a Cadillac V to something like an AMG 43, M340i, or Audi with an S badge on it. Cadillac has even come out with a car similar to this strategy before in the V-Sport. That didn't confuse everybody, though, because the name was different, and the strategy was clear. Now, Cadillac V is just a small stepping stone to these mysterious high performance cars still to come. We asked for any information concerning these future track-ready, fire-breathing monsters, but mum is the word for now. The naming strategy for something above a V is uncharted territory, and it'll also force everyone to learn what the top of the Cadillac lineup is all over again. Cadillac CT5-V View 6 Photos Why confuse folks like this? Cadillac wants to take advantage of the V brand cache in more of its lineup than just two super sedans. Think future vehicles like an XT5-V, XT4-V and others like that. Now that V doesn't mean a Nurburgring-conquering 500+ horsepower luxury muscle car, it makes it far easier for Cadillac to get V badges on everything. Obviously, GM isn't the first to think of this strategy.

Hot Wheels partners with Gucci for a diecast 1982 Cadillac Seville. Wait, what?

Hot Wheels is partnering with Italian fashion brand Gucci for a limited-edition toy car. And not just any toy car, but a 1982 Cadillac Seville. Wait, what? At first this trio of names may seem completely incongruous, but the collaboration is actually brilliant on so many levels. Out of the three, the one readers are probably most familiar with is Hot Wheels. The purveyor of $1 diecast cars has been around since 1968 and started out making 1:64 scale versions of muscle cars, hot rods and sports cars. In the 1980s, though, perhaps reflecting the 1:1 scale American automotive landscape, some of their castings choices began to get weird. Among cars like the Dodge Aires Wagon and Chevy Citation was the US of A's Mercedes-fighter, the bustle-butt '82 Cadillac Seville.  Fast-forward to present day, and Hot Wheels are hot collectibles. The little metal cars aren't just coveted by kids and adult car enthusiasts, but hypebeasts whose entire raison d'etre is to acquire limited edition stuff. Add to that an explosion of quasi-ironic interest in '80s cultural signifiers and you have the perfect market conditions for a $120 toy car printed with the mirrored G logo. But while totally uncool jokers quickly bought out the Hot Wheels and Supreme collab featuring the hypebeast car du jour, the E30 BMW M3, the Gucci Caddy is actually far more clever. That's because there is real-world precedent, when in 1978, a Miami-area dealer partnered with Aldo Gucci to create the "Cadillac Seville designed by Gucci". The car featured the luxury brand's signature green-red-green stripes throughout, a quarter-roof padded vinyl carriage top with the trademark "GG" print, and several real 24K gold emblems that were were quickly stolen. Oh, and it came with a five-piece set of Gucci luggage. However, there was also a lesser-known Gucci Seville in 1984 based on the front-wheel-drive second-generation (the one the Hot Wheels car is based upon). There is far less information on them than on the first-generation, but they seem to have followed a similar formula. Very few seem to have survived in tact, but one did make it overseas and resides today at the Museo Gucci showroom in Florence, Italy. It's pictured above. In any case, Hot Wheels never made a 1976-79 Seville, but the '82 was one of the most memorable castings of the era.