2014 Cadillac Srx Luxury Collection on 2040-cars

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[UPDATE] Cadillac Blackwing gets ticket to Italy, to go to work in a supercar

UPDATE: It seems MAT's belief it had secured a supply of Cadillac's 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 was premature, and based on a handshake deal before GM sold its Turin engine center to Italy's Punch Group. Shortly after Hagerty ran the story, GM sent a statement to the outlet reading, in part, "We do not have an agreement in place with Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) to provide or sell the Blackwing engine. ... Our team is following up with MAT president Paolo Garella to discuss the misunderstanding." MAT also submitted a statement to Hagerty, saying, in part, "We thank GM for the clarification. Although a signed agreement was not finalized between the parties, we were under the impression that our counterpart was committing to making this engine available to MAT at conditions yet to be defined. ... We hope that this misunderstanding will not compromise our relations with GM and possible future collaborations." The original article follows: Some necessary cost-cutting at Cadillac led to switching the new CT4, CT5, and Escalade to older platforms. The revised architecture plan meant Cadillac's newest top-tier products couldn't fit Cadillac's newest top-tier engine, the 4.2-liter twin-turbo DOHC V8 known as Blackwing. That engine would serve limited duty at full power in the now-dead CT6-V, and at reduced output in the CT6 Platinum V8 trim before ending its bright, brief domestic life. But the story isn't over, the rebirth of Blackwing coming from a most surprising locale: Turin, Italy. Before the canceled Geneva Motor Show, Hagerty spoke to Paolo Garella, CEO of Manifattura Automobili Torino; that's the company better known as MAT, makers of the New Stratos and contract engineering house for boutique screamers like the Aspark Owl electric hypercar, Apollo Intensa Emozione, and SCG003C. Garella told the outlet, "We have an agreement with General Motors" for a supply of Blackwings, which would be developed and built at the General Motors Propulsion Engineering Center (PEC) in Turin. Since 2005, the PEC has been used to develop GM's global diesel engines and electronics. MAT's plan is to put the V8 into a new limited-run car MAT is creating from its own design. Then another surprising turn: Belgium-based global auto supplier Punch Group bought the PEC, with plans to work with GM on projects in progress until at least the end of 2021. Nothing changes as far as MAT is concerned, except perhaps a chance for an even closer collaboration with Punch Turin.

Cars with the worst resale value after 5 years

While the old saying that cars lose a massive chunk of their value as soon as they’re driven off the dealerÂ’s lot might not be entirely true these days, most new vehicles steadily lose value as they age and are used. iSeeCars recently released its latest study on depreciation, finding the models that lose value the fastest, and the list is packed with high-end nameplates. The vehicles that lost value the fastest over five years include: Maserati Quattroporte: 64.5% depreciation BMW 7 Series: 61.8% Maserati Ghibli: 61.3% BMW 5 Series Hybrid: 58.8% Cadillac Escalade ESV: 58.5% BMW X5: 58.2% Infiniti QX80: 58.1% Maserati Levante: 57.8% Jaguar XF: 57.6% Audi A7: 57.2% While sports cars, hybrids, and trucks dominated the list of slowest-depreciating vehicles, luxury brands accounted for all of the top ten fastest-depreciating models. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer also pointed out EVsÂ’ lack of representation on the slow-depreciating vehicles list, saying that thereÂ’s a disconnect between what automakers are building and what people actually want. The average five-year depreciation for all vehicles in the iSeeCars study was 38.8 percent. ThatÂ’s an almost 11% improvement over 2019Â’s figures, but some vehicle types perform worse than others. EVs depreciated 49.1 percent over five years, while SUVs dropped 41.2%. Trucks only fell 34.8% and hybrids 37.4%. Brauer noted that all vehicles depreciate slower than they did five years ago. Even so, EVs are not the best choice if youÂ’re looking for a vehicle that wonÂ’t feel like a ripoff when itÂ’s time to trade in. On the flip side, used EVs can present a stellar value, saving thousands over their new counterparts. Charging times and availability remain concerns for buyers in large parts of the country, but a heavily depreciated EV could be the used car value youÂ’ve been looking for. The same wisdom applies to used luxury vehicles, as the list above indicates. While new-car buyers shopping for luxury cars are set to see big depreciation during their ownership, that means the used car market is flooded with inexpensive used luxury cars. High repair costs and costly maintenance schedules are real issues that used luxury models face, however. Green Audi BMW Cadillac Infiniti Jaguar Maserati Car Buying Used Car Buying

Artist imagines eerie world where cars have no wheels

The wheel ranks right up there with the telescope and four-slice toaster in the pantheon of inventions that have moved humankind forward. But what if a circle in three dimensions had never occurred to anyone, and we all had just moved on without it? Perhaps we'd be driving around in Lucas Motors Landspeeders with anti-gravity engines. Or maybe we'd have the same cars we do today, just without wheels.
That's the thought experiment that seems to have led French photographer Renaud Marion to create his six-image series called Air Drive. The shots depict cars throughout many eras of motoring that look normal except for one thing: they have no wheels. The models used include a Jaguar XK120, Cadillac DeVille (shown above), Chevrolet El Camino and Camaro, and Mercedes-Benz SL and 300 roadsters.
Perhaps one day when our future becomes our past, you'll be able to walk the street and see with your own eyes the rust and patina of age on our nation's fleet of floating cars. Until then, Monsieur Marion's photographs will have to do.