2009 Cadillac Hearse on 2040-cars

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Cadillac boss: We will have diesels

Johan de Nysschen doesn't usually mince words about his plans, and the Cadillac boss says that diesel-fueled models are on the horizon for the luxury brand in the US by the early 2020s. The four- and six-cylinder engines under development would launch first in Europe about 2019. "We will definitely bring them to the US," de Nysschen said during a press event, according to Automotive News. Unfortunately, the Cadillac president isn't saying which models would get the diesels, yet. This plan has been in the works for at least several months, and Cadillac made mention of the two oil-burners earlier this year during the unveiling of its new V6 engine. De Nysschen broached the possibility during an interview at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, and he also referred to the inclusion of hybrids and plug-ins into the company's lineup at that time. Last year, a rumor suggested the addition of a V6 turbodiesel into the Escalade range. There were also rumblings of an oil-burning ATS during that model's launch. While Cadillac is no stranger to offering diesels in Europe, the decision to develop these new ones could come at an inopportune time. Governments there are rapidly moving against the fuel in favor of electrification. Tighter emissions regulations could also be on the way for the EU. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1998 Cadillac Catera

A decade or so after Ford tried to swipe some US-market sales from European luxury marques by selling the German-built Ford Scorpio with Merkur badging, General Motors opted to sell the German-built Opel Omega luxury sedan as a Cadillac. The Catera was a reasonably nimble rear-wheel-drive sedan with a 200-horse DOHC V6 engine, and its badge-engineered nature made it a much less costly gamble than, say, the Cadillac Allante, which had its bodies built in Italy and flown to Michigan for assembly. Unfortunately, it had no manual transmission option, and Americans who remembered the miserable US-market Opels of the 1970s were put off by the Catera's Opelness. Its $29,995 list price was quite a bit cheaper than that of the (slightly less powerful) $39,800 BMW 528i and a bit less than the (slightly more powerful) $33,585 Acura 3.2 TL's cost, but the Catera didn't sell in large numbers. This one made it to a respectable mileage figure, and the nice interior shows that it was well-cared-for during its 18 years on the road. The ads for the Catera featured a cartoon duck named Ziggy. Fast, fun, fiendishly flexible! By 2000, Cadillac had ditched the duck and was touting the Catera's value. Related Video:

GM Ultra Cruise hands-free system will take on Tesla Full Self-Driving

GM announced Wednesday that it will introduce a new semi-self-driving suite above its Super Cruise offering. Dubbed Ultra Cruise, it will coexist with GM's existing tech as it goes toe-to-toe with Tesla's "Full Self-Driving." GM says it will be compatible with more than 2 million miles of U.S. and Canadian roadways (with lots of headroom for expansion) and operate in more than 95% of normal driving situations at launch. The system will utilize more sensors than the existing Super Cruise system, with "cameras, radars and lidar, developing accurate, 360-degree, three-dimensional statistical representations of the environment surrounding vehicles with redundancies in critical areas." Tesla has long eschewed lidar technology as a means to improve its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites, but may be coming around on it. And Tesla recently dropped radar on Model 3 and Model Y to rely on cameras. While there are many competent semi-self-driving systems on the market today, true autonomous vehicles are still in their earliest stages, with Google's Waymo generally considered the leader of the race. Early releases of Tesla's many-times-delayed Full Self-Driving suite have demonstrated just how infantile the technology is, and even it is leaps and bounds ahead of other commercially available technology – and with good reason.    Related: GM sets goals of doubling revenue, leading U.S. electric vehicle sales   Semi-self-driving suites offered in typical mainstream cars are effective upgrades to adaptive cruise control, but even the ability to go for hours on the highway with limited input is nothing compared to the demands placed on a true self-driving platform. Things we take for granted in everyday driving — reacting to traffic lights and signs, changing lanes, navigating turn lanes and safely pulling into traffic, driving close to obstacles such as construction barricades, or something as simple as properly negotiating a tight driveway — are beyond the scope of all other advanced driver assistance suites.  "Ultra Cruise is not just a game changer in terms of what it enables ­– a door-to-door hands-free driving experience – but a technological one as well," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "It's been developed completely in-house.