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Cadillac prices the 2020 XT6 crossover from $53,690

Cadillac has announced official pricing for its new XT6 crossover, built in Tennessee. The three-row XT6, Cadillac's first big crossover, starts from $53,690 when it goes on sale later this spring. For that, Cadillac offers the "Premium Luxury" trim level model with front-wheel drive; AWD is optional. Above the Premium Luxury is the XT6 Sport, which comes standard with AWD and starts from $58,090. Both prices include destination charges. The sole engine at this point is the 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6, which produces 310 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque; the transmission is a nine-speed automatic. The Premium Luxury and Sport differ visually, with the former offering more chrome and wood, while the latter has blacked-out trim in place of chrome and carbon trim instead of cabin wood. The wheel design is different between the trim levels, and the Premium Luxury has red taillights while the Sport version has clear tails. The Sport model has continuously adjustable shock absorbers. Both models have seven airbags as standard, as well as an HD rear camera, forward collision alert, automatic emergency braking and front pedestrian braking, front and rear park assist, lane change and blind spot alert, lane keeping assist and lane departure warning and rear cross traffic alert. The lighting is LED front and rear; inside, a heated steering wheel is standard, as is a power folding third-row seat and a remotely folding second-row seat. Seven-passenger seating is standard, and a six-passenger setup is optional with captain's chairs for the second row. There are option packages such as the Enhanced Visibility and Technology Package, which adds an eight-inch gauge cluster display and an HUD, both in color, HD surround vision with recording, and automatic parking assist with braking. The Driver Assist package adds adaptive cruise and enhanced AEB, and one can also specify night vision. The XT6 charges phones wirelessly and is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible as standard. It also has a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot with 3GB or three months' worth of data thrown in, and phones are paired via NFC. Cadillac is taking orders for the XT6 starting in March.

About 150 Cadillac dealers would rather leave the brand than sell EVs

Dealerships might hamper GM’s plans to electrify its cars. Wall Street Journal tipsters claim that roughly 150 GM dealerships in the United States have decided to drop the Cadillac brand and accept a buyout (ranging from $300,000 to over $1 million) rather than spend about $200,000 to upgrade the dealerships with charging stations, repair hardware and other equipment needed to sell EVs. Many of these dealerships only sell a few Cadillacs per month versus more for Buick, Chevrolet and GMC, but itÂ’s still a significant blow when GM has 880 Cadillac dealers in the country. Cadillac brand leader Rory Harvey confirmed to the WSJ that GM was offering buyouts, but didnÂ’t say how many dealers took them or how much they were worth. The exodus underscores the challenges for conventional car brands as well as the potential advantages for alternatives like Tesla. As brands like GM are heavily dependent on dealerships, they have to please owners to have a chance of strong sales — and thatÂ’s difficult when theyÂ’re not certain about demand, even without the pandemic. Tesla and other direct-to-customer EV makers arenÂ’t bound by physical stores and already have the infrastructure in place for service centers. Dealers might not have much choice in the future. California is banning sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035, and that will likely force automakers to electrify no matter how dealership owners feel. The buyouts now arenÂ’t necessarily temporary, but we wouldnÂ’t rule out some shops having a change of heart as the effective EV deadline approaches. Related video:

Cadillac ATS-V and Mercedes-AMG C63 S pitted Head to Head

Our favorite (and only) Autoblog-alum-turned-Motor Trend staffer is back with another Head to Head video, this time pitting the Cadillac ATS-V with the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. This performance machine shootout is ostensibly a way to figure out which of these new super sedans will earn the right to go toe-to-toe with the undisputed champion of its segment, the BMW M3. In reality, it's just a really good excuse to put three of the hottest sedans on the market on video at the same time... and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Jonny Lieberman spends time in each of the two new challengers on the road, picking apart their powertrains, chassis and driving dynamics on the kinds of twisty roads drivers of these cars will relish. Then, he hands the keys off to Randy Pobst, who sort of acts as an unmasked version of a certain tame racing driver, except that he talks and has a personality. 0-60 and quarter-mile times are equated, braking performance is measured and scores are tallied before the two sport sedans end up at Willow Springs raceway. Interestingly enough, the car that proves (just slightly) faster at the race track isn't the car that wins the comparison. Curious? We're not going to spoil it for you. Check out the video, above. Then, for more action of these two machines, check out the videos just below. Related Video: News Source: Motor Trend Channel via YouTube BMW Cadillac Mercedes-Benz Luxury Performance Videos Sedan motor trend cadillac ats-v mercedes-amg c63