1976 Cadillac Eldorado on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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:

Cadillac ELR update delayed over autonomous drive systems issues

Rumors had been circulating that the 2016 Cadillac ELR would bow in Los Angeles recently, featuring, in Cadillac's own words, "engineering enhancements." The rumors and that quote are as far as it got – the updated ELR pulled a no-show in LA, and no one outside of the brand appears to know when it will appear. GM Inside News says its sources at Cadillac pinned the ELR's absence on some autonomous driving features not being ready to reveal. According to GMI, Cadillac insiders say the upgraded ELR will be a "highly autonomous vehicle," and the company needs more time to gets its systems polished. The site says "it's not unreasonable to assume that ELR will be [the] vehicle" that gets Cadillac's Super Cruise technology, but that seems a lot more involved than "engineering enhancements," and in September Cadillac said we'd see it sometime in the next two years. It's possible the wait for the 2016 ELR and its secrets might only be a couple of months: the next-generation Chevrolet Volt, which shares a platform with the ELR and whose engineering updates we know quite a bit about, is scheduled to appear at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show in January.

Cadillac developing stretched ATS-L just for China

To luxury automakers, long-wheelbase sedans are to China that crossovers and SUVs are to the US, so it isn't all that surprising any more when the latest sedan gets an extra couple of inches between the wheels to improve rear-seat comfort. According to Car News China, the next sedan to get the stretch will be the Cadillac ATS, which will increase the wheelbase by 10 centimeters (about four inches) to become the ATS-L.
Designed to go up against rivals like the BMW 335Li and the added-length Mercedes C-Class, the ATS-L will reportedly be built locally in China with an engine list that will grow as well. Currently, only the 2.0-liter turbo engine is offered in the ATS in China, but the ATS-L will get the full spectrum of ATS engines including the base 2.5-liter and the peppier 3.6-liter V6. This isn't the first time Cadillac has offered a China-specific stretched sedan either as the SLS dates back to 2006.