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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.

Cadillac CT6 will get high-res streaming video rearview mirror

Cadillac is preparing a big upgrade to the humble rearview mirror, adding a streaming video function that it claims will improve a driver's field of vision by 300 percent. The new system will debut on the 2016 CT6 flagship. The streaming system, which eliminates the visual obstructions caused by passengers, headrests and the rear pillars, relies on a 1280-by-240-pixel TFT display and a high-definition camera to reduce glare and improve visibility in low-light conditions. That camera even addresses one of the big annoyances of today's camera systems, by adding a hydrophobic coating to keep the camera lens clear. The system can easily be switched off at the press of a button, at which point the driver has a simple electrochromatic mirror at his disposal. "The closest comparison to this kind of rear vision would be driving a convertible with the top down," Travis Hester, the CT6's executive chief engineer said in a statement. "The streaming video is a significant enhancement for the luxury customer interested in purposeful technology." Scroll down for the press release from Cadillac. Cadillac Adds Streaming Video to Enhance Driver Vision and Safety Display eliminates visual obstructions, increases rearward vision by 300 percent 2014-12-18 DETROIT – Cadillac late next year will add high-resolution streaming video to the function of a traditional rearview mirror, removing obstructions of passengers, headrests and the vehicle's roof and rear pillars. The streaming video mirror improves field of vision by an estimated 300 percent, or roughly four times greater than a standard rearview mirror. "The closest comparison to this kind of rear vision would be driving a convertible with the top down," said Travis Hester, Cadillac CT6 executive chief engineer. "In addition to the increased field of view, the technology eliminates any rear seat, rear pillar or passenger obstructions, allowing the driver an unimpeded view of the lanes behind and traditional blind-spots," Hester said. Thanks to a high dynamic range, the camera's video feed reduces glare and allows a crisper image in low-light situations, versus a traditional glass electrochromatic, or auto-dimming, rearview mirror. The in-mirror display is an industry-leading 1280 by 240-pixel TFT-LCD display with 171 pixels per inch, combined with a HD camera designed specifically to enhance rear view lane width and maximize low-light situations.

GM 8-speed transmission lawsuit granted class action certification

A story on Autoblog about potentially faulty 8-speed automatic transmissions from General Motors in 2019 has, as of the day this was published, 166 comments, mostly from owners of cars and trucks who say they are experiencing "a hesitation, followed by a significant shake, shudder, jerk, clunk, or 'hard shift' when the vehicle's automatic transmission changes gears." At the time, lawyers were seeking statewide classes in at least six states. As of today, the Detroit Free Press reports that a judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit brought by 39 plaintiffs across 26 states covering the transmission issue. The lawsuit specifically applies to vehicles that are equipped with GM's 8L90 or 8L45 8-speed automatic transmissions made between 2015 and March 1, 2019. Both of these transmissions are similar units, the 8L45 being slightly lighter version used in fewer vehicles than the beefier 8L90, and are designed for front-engine, rear- or all-wheel drive applications. The lawsuit alleges that the erratic transmission behavior makes some vehicles unsafe to drive. Ted Leopold, partner at Cohen Milstein and the court-appointed lead counsel for the case, said in a statement, "General Motors knowingly sold over 800,000 eight-speed transmission vehicles, which they knew to be defective for years, and yet made the business decision not to tell its customers before purchase." He added, "Dealers were directed to tell the customers that harsh shifts were ‘normal' or ‘characteristic.Â’ Such decision making is both highly irresponsible and emblematic of what GM believes it can get away with." The vehicles included in the court order with potentially faulty transmissions includes: 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro 2015-2019 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS, ATS-V, CTS, CT6, and CTS-V 2015-2019 GMC Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Yukon Denali XL 2017-2019 GMC Canyon Some additional details of the lawsuit can be found at the Cohen Milstein site, including claims that "since 2015, GM has issued thirteen versions of a “technical service bulletin,” or “TSB,” related to this shifting issue alone." The statement from Cohen Milstein says that a "second action regarding GM vehicles with 8L transmissions is also underway in Battle v. General Motors, LLC, 2:22-cv-108783.