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2020 Cadillac CT4 First Drive | Small shoes to fill

Following an existential crisis of fits, starts, headquarters moves and executive shakeups, Cadillac has itself a new luxury sedan, the CT4. It’s a convincing driverÂ’s car, less convincing as a luxury car, and seems a long shot to lure BMW, Audi or Mercedes owners into the Cadillac fold. For all the changes at Cadillac, that sure sounds familiar. The 2020 Cadillac CT4 is a redesigned ATS by another, equally unmemorable name. That includes an updated rear-drive chassis with eager, enthusiast-friendly tuning and 50/50 weight distribution – always among the ATSÂ’ top selling points. Styling is another winner, with crisp sheetmetal and CadillacÂ’s distinctive lighting signatures helping to differentiate this Yank from the international crowd. Cadillac is stretching so hard to cherry-pick the CT4Â’s competitors, it's possible they might slip a disc. We all remember the ATS as an able, rear-driven rival to the compact BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class et al. But to paint the CT4 in a more competitive light – even as this sedan grows nearly 5 inches in length versus the ATS – Cadillac suddenly claims that its entry-level model, regardless of what it's now called, competes against subcompact, front-drive-based models like the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, Mercedes CLA-Class and Audi A3. Unfurling a tape measure reveals the truth: At a bit over 187 inches, the CT4 is actually longer than a 3 Series, C-Class, Audi A4 and every other major compact player. ItÂ’s a foot longer than an Audi A3. So, it's not a subcompact sedan, but there is one area where the CT4 does align with them – just not in a good way. The back seat is scrawny and hard-to-access, the result of its rear-wheel-drive platform and the sort of inefficient packaging that plagued the ATS. As such, it's better to think of the CT4, like the Genesis G70, as an affordable alternative to the roomier 3 Series, and other German compacts. And thereÂ’s nothing wrong with that. It starts at $33,990, undercutting the Germans by many thousands, and still boasts CadillacÂ’s greatest competitive strength: Smartly engineered ride-and-handling that matches up against the Euros with no excuses required. I drove the evident smart play in the CT4 lineup, the Premium Luxury 2.7 model, priced from $40,990, or $42,990 for the all-wheel-drive version I tested. (A Premium Luxury with the 237-horsepower 2.0T starts from $38,490, or $41,690 with AWD).

Weekly Recap: Cadillac's crossover blitz hinges on the 2017 XT5

Cadillac's aggressive new cadence of crossovers begins next spring with the arrival of the 2017 XT5, the first of four new utility vehicles that Cadillac will unleash in a bid to win more customers and revitalize its image. The XT5 replaces the aging SRX, and it's the first SUV to use the brand's new naming scheme (cars will use the corresponding CT prefix). Billed as the cornerstone of Cadillac's remade crossover lineup, the XT5 will join showrooms right after Caddy's new flagship, the CT6 sedan. It will be on display next week at the Los Angeles auto show after first appearing this month at the Dubai motor show. "It's pivotal to our ongoing growth, which is why we've developed XT5 from the inside out to provide customers more space, more technology, more luxury, and more efficiency," Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen said in a statement. "Pivotal" is almost understating the XT5 and the red-hot midsize crossover segment. The SRX is Cadillac's top seller in 2015, posting a 25-percent increase and its 56,732 units (up 25 percent) are more than one third of the brand's 141,090 sales this year. Yes, the totals have been partially incentive-fueled, and Cadillac put an average of $7,225 on the SRX's hood in October, according to TrueCar data. Still, it's an impressive performance for any vehicle, especially one that's had few major changes since the new generation launched as a 2010 model. "The SRX has been selling very well, given how late in the lifecycle it is," AutoPacific product analysis manager Dave Sullivan told Autoblog. It outsold the all-new MKX last month and really only trails the Lexus RX. This is the volume model for Cadillac and dealers need this to be a grand slam, not just a home run." Cadillac is adamant the XT5 isn't an SRX re-skin. It has a new chassis, more interior room, and adds features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Thanks to a new structure, the XT5 sheds 278 pounds compared with its predecessor, which should improve fuel economy and driving character. The crossover uses General Motors' latest 3.6-liter V6 rated at 310 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, and it is fortified with variable-valve timing, cylinder-deactivation, and stop-start features. The V6 will team with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system than can summon all of the torque distribution to the front or rear axles. Cadillac will also sell a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder model in China.

GM Super Cruise is evolving into Ultra Cruise, for hands-off city driving

GM has a "big team" working on an advanced version of its hands-free driving assistance system, Super Cruise, that will expand its capability beyond highways and apply it to city streets, the automaker's vice president of global product development Doug Parks said Tuesday. GM is also continuing to improve its existing Super Cruise product, Parks said during a webcasted interview at Citi’s 2020 Car of the Future Symposium. "As we continue to ratchet up Super Cruise, we continue to add capability and not just highway roads," Parks said, adding that a separate team is working on the hands-free city driving product known internally as "Ultra Cruise." "We're trying to take that same capability off the highway," he said. "Ultra cruise would be all of the Super Cruise plus the neighborhoods, city streets and subdivisions. So Ultra Cruise's domain would be  essentially all driving, all the time." Parks was quick to add that this would not be autonomous driving. Advanced driving assistance systems have become more capable, but they still require a human driver to take control and to be paying attention. "What we're not saying is that Ultra Cruise will be fully autonomous 100% of the time, although that could be one of the end games," Parks said. Parks didn't provide a timeline for when Ultra Cruise might be available. A GM spokesperson said in a statement after his interview that the company continues to expand its hands-free driver assistance system technology across its vehicle portfolio and has "teams looking at how we can expand the capabilities to more scenarios." GM said it "does not have a name or anything specific to announce today, but stay tuned." This new Ultra Cruise feature would put it in competition with Tesla's Autopilot advanced driving system, which is largely viewed as the most capable on the market today. Tesla's "full self-driving" package, a more capable version of Autopilot, can now identify stop signs and traffic lights and automatically slows the car to a stop on approach. This feature is still considered to be in beta. GM's Super Cruise uses a combination of lidar map data, high-precision GPS, cameras and radar sensors, as well as a driver attention system, which monitors the person behind the wheel to ensure theyÂ’re paying attention. Unlike TeslaÂ’s Autopilot driver assistance system, users of Super Cruise do not need to have their hands on the wheel. However, their eyes must remain directed straight ahead.