2009 Cadillac Cts Base Sedan 4-door 3.6l on 2040-cars

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Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

Corvette's Performance Data Recorder headed to other cars, will Cadillac ATS-V be first?

For 2015, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray gained a novel piece of high-performance technology: The Performance Data Recorder. This trick system combines video from a front-mounted camera with in-car data and GPS information to help drivers record and study their lap times, complete with data overlays. While it's a clever tool for track days, it's also finding popularity as a built-in dash cam of sorts. To this point, the technology has been a Corvette exclusive, but General Motors' executive vice president of global product development, Mark Reuss, has confirmed to Autoblog that it will soon be available in other vehicles.
At a media luncheon on Thursday, we asked whether GM was keen to expand usage of the technology to other models, and if we could expect to see something soon. Reuss coyly replied, "What's soon?" When we suggested the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V (which is scheduled to debut at next week's LA Auto Show), he replied, "There will be other uses, and it won't be that far away. How's that?"
Certainly not an outright confirmation, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to see the next high-po Cadillac roll under the klieg lights at the Los Angeles Convention Center next Wednesday brandishing more than just 450 horsepower.

2020 Cadillac XT5 light refresh shown in China ahead of U.S. reveal

We spied the lightly refreshed 2020 Cadillac XT5 not too long ago, but now we have official photos via China. Cadillac decided to reveal the mid-cycle refresh of its crossover on that side of the world, so the vehicle you're looking at here is a China-spec XT5. While this may be the case, many of the details unmasked about the vehicle will likely be seen here, too. Cadillac told us it will be able to confirm U.S. specifics in the near future. You may be wondering, what's different? Truthfully, there isn't much to the mid-cycle update from a visual perspective. The grille has been swapped for one that better matches all the other grilles in Cadillac's newest crossovers like the XT4 and XT6. Cadillac of China didn't include any photos of the rear for this light reveal. There are significant updates in other places, though. At least in China, Cadillac is giving the XT5 its new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine we first saw in the XT4. That engine produces a refined 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. We can't say whether the crossover will or won't keep the 3.6-liter V6 option in the states, but adding the boosted motor won't come as a surprise. Along for the ride is GM's nine-speed automatic transmission that is paired to that four-cylinder. The interior looks largely the same, save for the addition of Cadillac's rotary knob to control the infotainment system. This follows suit with other newly-released Cadillacs that allow you to control the system with both the knob and the touchscreen. Another notable interior upgrade is the addition of the rearview mirror camera. Cadillac is clearly set on integrating this technology onto every car it makes, and we certainly don't have any qualms with that. One bit of tech that wouldn't be included for China but may present itself for the U.S. model is Super Cruise. We've been told to expect the driver assistance system to spread throughout the manufacturer's lineup, and the XT5 seems a perfect candidate for the tech. Watch out for more details and photos coming soon for the 2020 XT5, as Cadillac will be sharing more specifics on the U.S. version in due time.