1960 Cadillac Deville on 2040-cars

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We really want to use an eCrate to restomod an old GM car. Here's what we'd build

You hopefully saw the news today of GM's introduction of its Connect and Cruise eCrate motor and battery package, which effectively makes the Bolt's electric motor, battery pack and myriad other elements available to, ah, bolt into a different vehicle. It's the same concept as installing a gasoline-powered crate motor into a classic car, but with electricity and stuff.  This, of course, got us thinking about what we'd stuff the eCrate into. Before we got too ahead of ourselves, however, we discovered that the eCrate battery pack is literally the Bolt EV pack in not only capacity but size and shape. In other words, you need to have enough space in the vehicle to place and/or stuff roughly 60% of a Chevy Bolt's length. It's not a big car, but that's still an awful lot of real estate. There's a reason GM chose to simply plop the pack into the bed and cargo area of old full-size SUVs. Well that, and having a rear suspension beefy enough to handle about 1,000 pounds of batteries.  So after that buzz kill, we still wanted to peruse the GM back catalog for classics we'd love to see transformed into an electric restomod that might be able to swallow all that battery ... maybe ... possibly ... whatever, saws and blow torches exist for a reason.  1971 Buick Riviera Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: If you’re going to build an electric conversion, why not do it with style? ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m choosing a 1971-1973 Buick Riviera. You know, the one with the big glass boat-tail rear end that ends in a pointy V. Being a rather large vehicle with a big sloping fastback shape, IÂ’m hoping thereÂ’s enough room in the trunk and back seat to pack in the requisite battery pack. That would likely require cutting away some of the metal bulkhead that supports the rear seatback, but not so much that a wee bit of structural bracing couldnÂ’t shore things up. The big 455-cubic-inch Buick V8 up front will obviously have to go. Remember, this was the 1970s, so despite all that displacement, the Riviera only had around 250 horsepower (depending on the year and the trim level). So the electric motorÂ’s 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque ought to work as an acceptable replacement.   1982 Chevrolet S10 Associate Editor Byron Hurd: OK, so the name "E-10" is already taken by a completely different truck, but let's not let labels get in the way of a fun idea.

Cadillac expects major growth in China

The US sales issues facing Cadillac are not being paralleled in the People's Republic of China, as a new report from Automotive News indicates the US luxury maker should see its sales increase by as much as 40 percent.
The report cites Cadillac's own forecasts, which put its 2014 sales in the PRC at 70,000 units after cresting 45,000 vehicles at the end of August. Provided the sales pace holds true through 2015, the brand would hit its new 100,000-unit sales goal, AN reports.
"We're very optimistic about the luxury market, we believe that the luxury market by 2016 here will become the largest luxury market in the world, surpassing even the size of luxury in Europe," GM China President Matthew Tsien told AN. "With [Cadillac president] Johan [de Nysschen], we have somebody that really is an executive that understands luxury, but he also is very, very keen on understanding what do we need here in China for Cadillac to be successful."

Cadillac sprinkles changes around its 2022 lineup

Cadillac is doing its best to keep the model-year-update train running, making incremental changes to the CT4, CT5, XT4, XT5, and XT6 for 2022. We'll start with the change coming to the entire Cadillac range, that being the addition of the automaker's Smart System package of nine driver assistance aids. The nine features are: Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Front Pedestrian Braking, Safety Alert Seat, Rear Park Assist, Rear Vision Camera, vehicle diagnostics, Teen Driver, and Rear Seat Reminder. After that, the CT4 and CT5 will gain the option of Super Cruise 1 and Super Cruise 2 on Sport and Premium Luxury trims. Super Cruise availability on the XT6 to follow at some point during the model year, but since the XT6 is built on GM's previous electrical architecture, its version of Super Cruise will lack some features such as Automated Lane Change. Also inside the vehicles, it's been reported that Inteluxe will be the new name for leatherette seating across the lineup.  Taking each model starting with the CT4, GM Authority says the compact sedan will lose its Dark Blue Moon Metallic, Evergreen Metallic, and Velocity Red exterior colors. They'll be replaced by Blaze Orange Metallic (pictured), which is reserved for the Sport, CT4-V, and CT4-V Blackwing, and Electric Blue and Dark Emerald Frost, which can only be optioned on the CT4-V and CT4-V Blackwing, and the latter color will have limited availability. The CT5 gets one of those new premium exterior hues, Blaze Orange Metallic. It will be available on the CT5 Sport alone. The base 350T models powered by the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder also had their fuel economy figures updated recently. The rear-driver gains another mile per gallon in the city and combined, the all-wheel driver gains one mpg in the city and loses one mpg on the highway, according to the EPA. The XT4 drops the premium exterior colors Shadow Metallic, Garnet Metallic, and Autumn Metallic. They are replaced by Galactic Gray Metallic, Latte Metallic, and Rosewood Metallic, all of which will add $625 to the MSRP and be available throughout the model lineup. Cadillac Society reports that NFC capability falls away next year, the tech deemed outdated. The refreshed XT4 that had been expected next year is now thought to arrive for the 2023 model year.