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Cadillac Super Cruise needs subscription after free trial period

Not long ago, Motor Trend broke the news that Cadillac's Super Cruise is only free for the first three years, after which the Level 2 autonomy system moves to subscription pricing. MT's report came on the eve of 2018-model-year Cadillac CT6 buyers being asked whether they wished to retain access to their Super Cruise. A few days after that report, Cadillac said it would give those first-year buyers of the technology — "the helpful adopters" — another free year, so they'll need to make a decision in August 2021 along with the 2019MY CT6 buyers. After a bit of digging by other outlets, it seems Motor Trend broke the Super Cruise news primarily to members of the media (including us); the details in the report have been communicated to customers in fine print in at least two places. First, let's clarify that the subscription is for OnStar, not Super Cruise only. Cadillac has made clear since the beginning that the tech needs an active OnStar plan, a Wi-Fi Hotspot, a working electrical system, cell reception, and a GPS signal to work. Knowing that, and knowing OnStar is only free for one month on new vehicles — GM shortened the free trial last year from three or six months — before requiring a subscription, might have encouraged someone to ask the question before now (we didn't...). In response to Jonathan Gitlin at Ars Technica asking Twitter about who knew, Bozi Tatarevic responded, "It might not have been released in the press materials but I remember reading about it in the order guide documents for the CT6 and noting that it was tied to OnStar and would eventually require a plan that started at like $25 per month." And Tatarevic pointed to this snippet in The Philadelphia Inquirer review of the CT6 from 2018: "The Super Cruise feature is part of OnStar and is free for three years. OnStar advertises subscriptions from $24.99 to $59.99 a month." If Super Cruise is only free as long as OnStar is free, then new car buyers now will get the tech for one month. Owners who cancel OnStar or choose a plan that doesn't include Super Cruise will still benefit from adaptive cruise control and lane-centering.   The automaker hasn't said what Super Cruise pricing will be, but the OnStar site apparently reveals the answer. There are six plans listed on the Compare Plans page, but two are combinations of other plans.

Best and Worst GM Cars

Oh yes, because we just love receiving angry letters from devoted Pontiac Grand Am enthusiasts, we have decided to go there. Based on a heated group Slack conversation, the topic came up about the best and worst GM cars. First of all time, and then those currently on sale, and then just mostly a rambling discussion of Oldsmobiles our parents and grandparents owned (or engineered). Eventually, three of us made the video above. Like it? Maybe we can make more. Many awesome GM cars are definitely going unmentioned here, so please let us know your bests and worsts in the comments below. Mostly, it's important to note that this post largely exists as a vehicle for delivering the above video that dives far deeper into GM's greatest hits and biggest flops, specifically those from the 1980s and 1990s. What you'll find below is a collection of our editors identifying a best current and best-of-all-time choice, plus a worst current and worst-of-all-time choice. Comprehensive it is not, but again, comments. -Senior Editor James Riswick Best Current GM Vehicle Chevrolet Corvette We were flying by the seats of our pants a bit in this first outing and my notes were similarly extemporaneous. When it came time to tie it all together on camera, I failed spectacularly. Thank the maker for text, because this gives me the opportunity to perhaps slightly better explain my convoluted reasoning. I chose the C8 Corvette because it's simply overwhelmingly good, and it's merely the baseline from which this generation of Corvette will be expanded.  While the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing (more on that in a minute) is an amazing snapshot of GM's current performance standing and its little sibling so enraptured me that I went out and bought one, their existence is fleeting. Corvette will live on; forced-induction Cadillac sport sedans, not so much. So while all three are amazing machines when viewed in a vacuum, the Corvette stands above them as both a reflection of GM's current performance credentials and a signpost of what is to come. So, given the choice between the C8 and the 5V-Blackwing right now, I'd choose the C8. In 10 years, when the Blackwing is no longer in production and Corvette is in its 9th generation? Well, that might be a different story. Now, just pretend I said something even remotely that coherent when we get to the part of the video where I try to make an argument for the 5-V Blackwing as best GM car I've ever driven. Or just laugh at me while I ramble incoherently.

2020 Cadillac CT4-V, CT5-V revealed, less powerful than predecessors

Expectations have reached stratospheric heights for the 2020 Cadillac CT4-V and 2020 Cadillac CT5-V, and for good reason: Their ATS-V and CTS-V predecessors were potent sports sedans with gobs of power and handling and braking to match. Now the new sedans have been revealed, and they're not what we expected. They each lose two cylinders compared with the other vehicles, and on paper, they don't look as capable. But we do have hope that these won't be the end-all, be-all performance Cadillacs. First, let's look at the cars. The CT4-V will be the base of the V brand, and it's our first look at the small luxury sedan. It has a roofline and window treatment more like past Cadillacs, eschewing the C-pillar garnish of the CT5. It also naturally gets dark trim and headlights, a unique spoiler and quad tailpipes to distinguish it as a V. Under the hood is a turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder that is based on the engine in the new Chevy Silverado. It makes 320 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, a far cry from the ATS-V's 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. Cadillac CT4-V View 12 Photos Power goes through a 10-speed automatic transmission only. Both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are available. It gets a mechanical limited-slip differential whereas the ATS-V had an electronically controlled limited-slip differential a la Camaro ZL1. The brakes have four-piston calipers at each corner versus six-piston front units and four-piston rear units on the ATS-V, and the rotors are smaller. Magnetic Ride Control remains standard on the rear-drive version, but the all-wheel-driver version sticks with conventional shocks. The new CT4-V is about 200 pounds lighter than the ATS-V, though, and it has 50/50 weight distribution. Additionally, both the CT4-V and the CT5-V have Super Cruise available as an option. Moving on to the CT5-V, it looks like a regular CT5 but with dark trim and lights, quad tailpipes and a unique rear diffuser. Instead of the CTS-V's 640-horsepower supercharged V8, the CT5-V uses a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 making 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Changes made to the 3.0 for the CT5-V include a new intake system and new exhaust, and it revs higher too. Like the CT4-V, it comes with a 10-speed automatic and either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. It does get the electronically controlled limited-slip differential.