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Cadillac's XT6 is not, for better or worse, a mini Escalade

In its latest attempt at reinvention, Cadillac has created a trio of admirable sedans — the ATS, CTS, and CT6 — cars that challenge or beat the competition on their own terms, and do so with audacious exterior styling rendered in a distinctly American idiom. But American customers have been ditching cars in favor of high-riding crossovers, and what Cadillac has not had up until recently is a suite of appropriately (or bizarrely) sized crossovers to offer potential consumers, something competitors have been deploying for years or even decades. And so the new, full-size(ish) three-row Cadillac XT6, unveiled officially last week at an event in Detroit, is intended to help address the premier domestic automotive luxury brand's current product shortcomings. "I guess we had so many priorities and had to decide what's the most important thing," says Andrew Smith, Cadillac's executive director of design. "We decided to approach this one from an interior perspective, to do things like provide ease of use for owners, upgrade the infotainment, and allow time for ourselves to learn lessons from the launch of XT4." The XT6 doesn't exactly break any new ground within the segment, but that's not necessarily a criticism. Though huge from a sales perspective, the two-box crossover category is not the industry's leader in beauty or innovation. Still, Caddy's most recent previous crossover, the size-Small XT4, managed to create handsome proportions and a premium appearance at first glance. The XT6 doesn't feel quite so ambitious or coherent, with a front end that is at once sneering and soft, a lengthy flank that feints at muscularity without delivering, and a rather abrupt tailgate that blends the rectilinear and the anodyne. Maybe consumers won't notice? "Our biggest challenge was giving the vehicle a character that works on this scale and platform," says Smith. "We want to make sure all of our cars feel different. We didn't want it to be a mini Escalade. No one wants a mini anything. But we wanted to give it Escalade presence, but in scale. So it's this combination of nice, and aggressive. I'm convinced we will sell more than we think we'll sell." Maybe he's right, and we definitely don't see this vehicle cannibalizing sales of the Escalade. People who want a bold Cadillac can still get that one, and will have a brand new option later this year, we expect, when a new Escalade is released.

Recharge Wrap-up: Lyft partners with Didi Kuaidi, Cadillac uses ultracapacitors

Lyft and Chinese on-demand transportation venture Didi Kuaidi have announced a partnership. Additionally, Didi Kuaidi is investing $100 million in Lyft. The two ridesharing companies will share technology and provide interoperability between platforms. For users, this means it will be easier to get around when traveling between the US and China. "In today's rideshare environment, where every region presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities, partnering with the homegrown leader is the winning approach to Chinese expansion," says Lyft President and co-founder John Zimmer. Learn more in the video above, and in the press release below. Car2go has announced service in Miami Beach, FL. Beginning October 1, the one-way carsharing service will expand its boundaries beyond its current Miami service area to include neighboring Miami Beach. "We're thrilled to see car2go expand to Miami Beach," says Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. "Miami Beach residents and visitors are increasingly seeking new, environmentally conscious options to move around North, Middle, and South Beach, and carsharing is an important part of realizing that vision." Read more from Car2go. ClipperCreek has added the HCS-30 EVSE to its product line. The 24-amp, 240-volt Level 2 charging station is designed for residential and workplace duty. It allows for faster charging without the customer having to upgrade their electrical service panel. Delivering about 20 miles of range per hour of charging, the HCS-30 EVSE can charge most EVs in about four hours. Pricing begins at $565. Read more from ClipperCreek. Cadillac will use ultracapacitors in its stop-start systems for 2016. Rather than relying on battery power to run electrical systems while the engine is not running, the utracapacitors can provide a stable flow of energy without losing lifespan to repeated cycling. Supplied by Maxwell Technologies, the ultracapacitors are also lighter than batteries and, according to Cadillac, provide smoother restarts. The 2016 models to use the updated stop-start technology as standard will be the ATS and CTS, with the exception of the V performance variants. Read more at Green Car Reports. Lyft and Didi Kuaidi Announce Strategic Partnership, Building Toward a Collaborative Global Ridesharing Alliance - Didi Kuaidi Invests $100 million in Lyft - Companies Introduce Ridesharing Coverage Between the U.S.

GM CEO Mary Barra predicts mass electrification will take decades

General Motors is allocating a substantial amount of money to the development of electric technology, but Mary Barra, the firm's CEO, conceded that battery-powered cars won't fully replace their gasoline-burning counterparts for several decades. She stressed the shift is ongoing, but she hinted it will be slower than many assume. "We believe the transition will happen over time," affirmed Barra on "Leadership Live with David Rubenstein," a talk show aired by Bloomberg Television. She added that not every car will be electric in 2040. "It will happen in a little bit longer period, but it will happen," she told the host. She was presumably talking about the United States market; the situation is markedly different in Europe and in China, where strict government regulations (and even stricter ones on the horizon) are accelerating the shift towards electric cars. On the surface, it doesn't look like General Motors has much invested in electrification; the only battery-powered model it sells in America in 2020 is the Chevrolet Bolt (pictured), which undeniably remains a niche vehicle. Sales totaled 16,418 units in 2019, meaning the Corvette beat it by about 1,500 sales. In comparison, Cadillac sold 35,424 examples of the aging last-generation Escalade during the same time period. And yet, the company isn't giving up. It has numerous electric models in the pipeline including a slightly larger version of the aforementioned Bolt, the much-hyped GMC Hummer pickup, and an electric crossover assigned to the Cadillac brand. These models (and others) will use the Ultium battery technology that General Motors is currently developing. Its engineers are also working on a modular platform capable of underpinning a wide variety of cars. Bringing these innovations to the market is a Herculean task. EVs may not take over for decades, but Barra and her team must believe their 2% market share will increase significantly in the coming years if they're approving these programs. Autonomous technology is even costlier, more complicated, and more time-consuming to develop. Barra nonetheless expects to see the first General Motors-built driverless vehicles on the road by 2025. "I definitely think it will happen within the next five years. Our Cruise team is continuing to develop technology so it's safer than a human driver. I think you'll see it clearly within five years," she said on the same talk show. Her statement is vague but realistic.