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Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.

2020 Cadillac CT4 spy shots reveal sedan-heavy approach in age of SUVs

You're looking at some pictures of the 2020 Cadillac CT4, which will be smaller than the upcoming CT5. And since they're both smothered in similar-looking camouflage, which is specifically intended to confuse, you might think they look pretty similar. In isolated photos, it's sometimes hard to tell which sedan you're looking at. In fact, when we first saw this car recently, we also thought it was a CT5. Here's how we know they're actually two different cars. Some background: The CT5 is slated to replace the CTS, and to try and find the balance that the old car couldn't achieve in the lineup. Cadillac's former CEO previously stated that this car would also fill in for the ATS, which is on its way out. Whatever it ends up being, it'll have to make a clear case for itself against the CT6 — it can't be too close in size and opulence, or they'll hurt each other in sales. And the CT5 can't be too small, or it will struggle against traditional midsize luxury cars. The CT4 could further complicate matters for the exact same reasons, just in a smaller package. How small can Cadillac make it? It seems poised to replace the wonderful-to-drive ATS, which was as allergic to sales as the XTS. This will give Cadillac a three-sedan lineup: CT4, CT5, and CT6. Let's hope there's enough differentiation between them to prevent consumer confusion and sales cannibalization — and that consumers understand the CT6's promotion via attrition to top dog in the sedan lineup. With all that out of the way, let's look more closely at the CT4 (above left) and CT5 (right). The CT4's greenhouse stops closer to the centerline of the rear wheels than the CT5's. That gives the CT5 a visually longer, leaner look, more of a semi-fastback arrangement. The CT5's rear vanity window should resemble the CT6's, with a glass element behind the door opening. The CT4 will have a more conventional vanity window in the door, like the ATS. Perhaps the quickest "tell" is the size of the side-view mirrors, which are rounder in the CT4 and leaner in the CT5. Out back, the CT4 has a lower cutout for the license plate than the CT5. The exhaust outlets are also different, although that may change for production. Remember, the big full-width rear lights are probably misdirection on the part of the GM camo team. The entire rear decklid of the CT4 has more roundedness to it, while the CT5's extra width gives it more room up top to spread the decklid out a little flatter.

2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6 AWD

All-Wheel, All Right
There is no escaping the luxury all-wheel drive empire Audi has built for itself over the past 15 years. While nearly every high-end marque has at least one offering with power at all four corners, the hardware can't help but play second fiddle to Ingolstadt's Quattro kingdom. Leather-lined all-wheel drive is simply Audi the way minimum wage is an English degree. But General Motors seems hell-bent on raiding as many established fiefdoms as possible with the 2013 Cadillac ATS. Engineers and designers made no secret of the fact that the baby Cadillac was penned specifically to take on the BMW 3 Series, but Audi should be no less concerned about the newest luxury prince from Detroit.
GM has been stuffing all-wheel drive systems under their vehicles for years, but the effort hasn't come without nasty side effects. Unfortunate understeer, extra ride height, smallish wheels and porky curb weight meant opting for all-wheel drive was like signing your driving pleasure's death warrant. Would you like polished brass or brushed nickel hardware for your right foot's coffin, sir?