2006 Cadillac Xlr Base Convertible 2-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Cadillac developing stretched ATS-L just for China

To luxury automakers, long-wheelbase sedans are to China that crossovers and SUVs are to the US, so it isn't all that surprising any more when the latest sedan gets an extra couple of inches between the wheels to improve rear-seat comfort. According to Car News China, the next sedan to get the stretch will be the Cadillac ATS, which will increase the wheelbase by 10 centimeters (about four inches) to become the ATS-L.
Designed to go up against rivals like the BMW 335Li and the added-length Mercedes C-Class, the ATS-L will reportedly be built locally in China with an engine list that will grow as well. Currently, only the 2.0-liter turbo engine is offered in the ATS in China, but the ATS-L will get the full spectrum of ATS engines including the base 2.5-liter and the peppier 3.6-liter V6. This isn't the first time Cadillac has offered a China-specific stretched sedan either as the SLS dates back to 2006.

What are the odds an actual Cadillac EV looks anything like this?

The Cadillac EV concept sure looks neat. It's all-electric, too, which is even neater. Unfortunately, it's a concept car, and when it comes to concept cars with Cadillac badges on them, it's best not to get too excited. For instance, you might recall this exquisite piece of automotive art. It was called the Elmiraj. You might recall the production version became the bold face of a new Cadillac and inspired a renaissance for the brand. Jay-Z drives one. Oh wait, no he doesn't. It was never made, nor was anything like it made. This is the Cadillac Escala. It has certainly inspired design cues on production Cadillacs, most notably the just-revealed XT6. However, besides those cues, it's a pretty anonymous large crossover. Hardly anything as stunning as the Escala. Now, perhaps the CT5 will be a dead-ringer, but we wouldn't get our hopes up. Then there's this, the Ciel. Not to be confused with an Acura CL, it was 100 feet long, a convertible and purple. This was also not made. OK, we can see why. And finally, this is the Cadillac Sixteen. As the name suggests, it had 16 cylinders. That's a lot. The most you can get in a Cadillac today is half that many. Now, to be fair, most manufacturers produce concept cars that have zero chance of production. They are meant to serve as inspiration for future designs, showcase future technologies or just draw attention to the brand. The problem with the Cadillac concepts is that they're not that fanciful. Those aren't pod-like Jetsons cars up there. They aren't this nonsense. They look like modern interpretations of the exact sort of grandiose cars Cadillac used to make. The very cars that made Cadillac the "Cadillac of the World." You know, like this. I'm not talking about literal tail fins and pink paint, but that's a CADILLAC. It's confident. It's its own thing. It doesn't need to beat BMW around the Nurburgring to prove something to someone somewhere. The Elmiraj was also a CADILLAC. The XT6 literally wears a Cadillac badge, but it could be anything. By contrast, Lincoln is doing a much better job of tapping into the spirit of its grand past with the Navigator, Aviator and suicide-doored Continental. Nowhere is that better seen than in the cabins of the XT6 and Aviator. One is swank. The other is not. But back to where we started: that EV concept. You'll note that it doesn't actually have a name.

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).