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Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

2019 Cadillac XT4 interior has actual buttons, no more touch-sensitive panel

Cadillac makes some highly stylish cars that are excellent to drive. In the realm of infotainment, there was room for improvement. The CUE infotainment system is infamous for being complex and annoying. One particular sore point was the touch-sensitive panels used for basic functions and their unrefined, "haptic feedback" clunk. Thankfully, spy photos show that Cadillac is changing tack both with buttons and infotainment controls in general. As seen above, there don't appear to be any capacitive buttons in sight. Instead, the XT4 has the "piano-key" buttons that are in vogue now. The most prominent are metal-finish buttons that control climate settings indicated by corresponding symbols above the buttons. Below that are additional buttons for seat controls and at least one safety feature, the parking warning. These should be vastly easier to manipulate than tapping and hoping you've engaged the correct function. This doesn't mean there won't be any touch-sensitive controls available, but they've at least been minimized. Other physical controls we spotted are down on the center console near the shifter. It looks as though the CT6's odd touchpad won't be making an appearance in the XT4 as there seems to be a more conventional knob instead. If it's indeed for the infotainment system, it would be a redundant controller as the upper screen's home button and fingerprints would indicate it's very much touch-operated. Like other Cadillacs and GM products in general, it's safe to say that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be available and possibly standard. There are a couple other interesting additions besides the physical controls. There's a Near Field Communications (NFC) logo embossed in the dashboard, indicating the car will support NFC pairing of phones. The XT4 also dispatches the more traditional mechanical shifter for a more modern monostable joystick like the found in some Buicks, but with a different shape. We're currently expecting the XT4 to be revealed late in 2018. It will be based on the Chevy Malibu platform, it'll probably stick with turbocharged four-cylinder power, and offer front- and all-wheel drive. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Cadillac XT4 spy shots View 19 Photos Image Credit: Brian Williams Spy Photos Cadillac Technology Infotainment Crossover SUV Luxury cue cadillac xt4 cadillac cue

Semi-autonomous Cadillac CT6 has Batman's seal of approval

Earlier this year, Cadillac pushed the launch of its Super Cruise semi-autonomous technology back to 2017, but it looks like the automaker is still hard at work testing the system on its vehicles. Our photographers snapped a CT6 sedan with what appears to be the Super Cruise technology in broad daylight. The CT6 in the pictures, ignoring the massive equipment on the car's roof, appears to be stock. The barely camouflaged vehicle has more sensors on the front fascia and a black rear bumper, but other than those points, looks normal. Getting back to the massive piece of equipment on the CT6's roof. There's no way to definitively state what it is, but there appears to be four cameras on the corners of the rack. A sensor or camera is also fitted to the right side mirror, which is slightly camouflaged. With all of the wires from the roof going into the vehicle, there's a chance that the massive blacked-out piece of equipment on the roof could be used to gather data. While the equipment looks extremely scientific, someone at Cadillac must have a sense of humor, or be a huge fan of DC Comics, as a Batman's logo is prominently displayed on the roof-mounted gear. Cadillac announced its Super Cruise semi-autonomous technology two years ago. The system will be able to speed the car up, keep the vehicle in its lane, and slow it down. The goal, in 2014, was to introduce the technology in two years (2016), but the automaker delayed the tech until 2017. Related Video: Featured Gallery Cadillac CT6 Super Cruise Spy Shots View 13 Photos Image Credit: Spied Bible / Brian Williams Design/Style Spy Photos Cadillac Technology Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Sedan cadillac ct6 Super Cruise