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GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

2020 Cadillac CT5 finally appears, hopes you think it's a Charger

This is our first look at what we expect to be the 2 020 Cadillac CT5 sport sedan, a one-to-rule-them-all replacement for the ATS, CTS and XTS. The name follows the scheme set by the CT6 and XT5. The first thing that jumps out about the CT5 is the big hood scoop. We sincerely doubt that scoop will make it to production, and when combined with the scalloped shapes on the car's flanks, we and the spy photographer feel they're probably there to dupe people into thinking it's a weird Dodge Charger. The disguise isn't working, but the scoop surprisingly looks pretty good. Maybe Cadillac should consider putting one on an inevitable V model. Moving past the fake bodywork, we can see that this CT5 takes inspiration from the Cadillac Escala concept. It has the long, almost fastback cabin and extra rear quarter window of that concept. The headlights are slim horizontal units, too, though they still sweep back a bit to bridge the gap between current models and the Escala. We also see that there's a decent amount of distance between the front axle and the base of the A-pillar, so we suspect that the sedan will retain rear-drive and optional all-wheel-drive drivetrains. We don't have any other cars in the image to compare it to, but considering the cars the Cadillac CT5 will replace, we expect it's roughly the size of a CTS, maybe even a touch smaller to satisfy those who want a 3 Series/A4/C-Class size luxury sedan. It will also probably use one or more of the existing powertrains in the Cadillac sedan fleet, which include a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6, and a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. We'll also probably see the production model sometime in 2019 since that's when the CTS and ATS will go to the big garage in the sky. Related Video: Featured Gallery Cadillac CT5 spy shots Image Credit: Chris Doane Automotive Spy Photos Cadillac GM Luxury Sedan cadillac ct5

2014 Cadillac ELR wears a suave suit with Volt underpants

The Cadillac design and engineering teams were smiling like a bunch of proud papas here in Detroit this morning, as the Wreath and Crest crew pulled the curtain back on their 2014 ELR. The house was packed for the ELR's coming out party, and reaction was enthusiastic amongst the murmuring media, as far as we could gather, while the flashes were firing.
In fact, we think that the sleek styling and aggressive proportions of the Voltec-powered ELR looked even better in the metal than they did in the first official images we saw earlier. Further, the leather-lined interior seems custom made for serious driving, even if the ELR is slightly less than rocket-ship quick.
The new Cadillac makes good use of the basic running gear from the Chevrolet Volt, including the 1.4-liter range-extending gas engine, a 15.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and an electric drive motor that offers 295 pound-feet of torque, and a total system output of 207 horsepower. All-electric range is down by just one mile versus its Chevrolet forebearer, for a total of 35, and Cadillac speculates that the total range with the gasoline generator figured in will top 300 miles.