2017 Cadillac Cts 2.0t 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM will likely build PHEV batteries in China soon

It's a big week for batteries. Friday, Tesla will hold a big event at its Gigafactory in Reno, NV. But even in Michigan, there are things happening on the electrified automotive front. This was proven when GM invited journalists to its Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant today, highlighting the six different battery packs it makes for nine vehicles around the world (plus a tenth, coming to Asia, that has not yet been announced). During our tour, we learned a few interesting tidbits that we thought readers would like to hear: The Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid launches in China this fall before coming to the US next year. GM builds the battery packs in Michigan and ships them to China for final assembly in the PHEV. For now, this is all fine for GM to qualify for China's incentives for building green cars in the country. But, as Bill Wallace, GM's director of global battery systems, told AutoblogGreen, this could change thanks to the country's 'Made in China 2025' plan. The situation is "evolving," he said, and it's a safe assumption that GM will need to build packs in China some day. For the CT6 PHEVs that will be sold in the US, the batteries will make a round trip, since GM will only build the plug-in version in China. As for the range of the CT6 PHEV, that hasn't been announced, but since China offers incentives for vehicles that get at least 50 kilometers (31 miles), that's a likely target (the US range (UPDATE: GM did announce an expected range for the CT6 PHEV in the US at the LA Auto Show last fall, saying it would "travel approximately 30 miles on a full electric charge"). The battery pack in the CT6 is also a clunky box-type thing, totally unlike the near-elegant T-shape used in the Volt. This despite the fact that the guts of the two packs are similar. Both have 192 li-ion cells and weigh almost the same, but GM tuned the CT6 pack for acceleration instead of range, the way it did with the Volt's pack. Still, the main reason the packs are different is because the CT6 is a rear-wheel drive vehicle, and the tunnel that the Volt's pack uses is occupied by the driveshaft. Despite the highly touted second-gen Chevy Volt going on sale last year, GM still has the capacity to build battery packs for the old, first-gen model. This is because the company is legally required to be able to provide replacement packs for warrantied vehicles (for up to 10 years), and the second-gen packs don't fit into the first-gen vehicles.

Cadillac updated the Escalade for 2021, and you can win one here

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. Touchscreens in cars are getting bigger and bigger, and the Cadillac Escalade is the prime example. With a 38-inch display up front and a 36-speaker surround sound system, all this Cadillac is missing is a place to keep your snacks. Oh wait, they thought of that too, with a fridge up front. All of this is great, but the best thing about the Cadillac Escalade is that Omaze is giving it away. Win a 2021 Cadillac Escalade and $20,000 - Enter at Omaze But the fun doesn’t end in the front seat. In the second row there are large screens as well, so you can binge watch your favorite TV show on your next road trip, assuming youÂ’re not driving. To top it off, if youÂ’re stuck way in the back, thereÂ’s Conversation Enhancement, so you wonÂ’t have to yell in order for the driver to hear what youÂ’re saying.  With all of this technology, itÂ’s easy to forget the original purpose of the Escalade, to get you from one place to another, in style, which it does incredibly well thanks to a 420 horsepower, 6.2L V8. Plus, this Escalade comes with something the others donÂ’t: $20,000 in cash. Here's what we said about the 2021 Escalade in our First Drive review: "The 6.2-liter V8 remains a gem of an engine. ItÂ’s powerful and flexible, and the 10-speed makes great use of its strengths. It's hardly fuel efficient, though. Over the course of our 58-mile test loop, we averaged just under 16 mpg, which pretty much confirms the EPA's ratings of 14 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway and 16 combined. The latter is 2 mpg worse than the more powerful Navigator, a number that amounts to many hundreds of dollars in annual fuel costs. We would have liked to spend some time with the new diesel engine for comparison, but both it and the Super Cruise option are coming later this year, so that will have to wait, but based on the EPA figures for GMÂ’s full-size pickups with the same engine, weÂ’d expect somewhere in the neighborhood of low 20s combined from the oil-burner. "As delightful as the EscaladeÂ’s powertrain is, thatÂ’s not its standout feature; that honor goes to the suspension. All but the base model Escalade can be equipped with CadillacÂ’s fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control.

Autoblog Podcast #389

Episode #389 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Mark Pereira from Autoblog Canada talk about Johan deNysschen's move to Cadillac, rumors of more BMW nomenclature changes, a second generation for the Subaru BRZ, and cars from 2004 that we miss. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #389: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Johan de Nysschen moves to Cadillac BMW model designations changing even more Subaru BRZ getting second generation Cars We Miss In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2015 Volkswagen GTI 2015 Chevrolet Silverato 2500 Diesel Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Mark Pereira Runtime: 01:59:10 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Johan deNysschen - 36:12 BMW Nomenclature - 53:58 BRZ - 56:27 Cars We Miss - 01:05:07 Q&A - 01:30:09 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen