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Safety group pans GM’s new Marketplace in-dash shopping

When it comes to our cars, is the Internet of Things a godsend? Or a hidden menace that will create more problems than it will solve? On the same day General Motors announced it will equip newer-model cars with its in-dash Marketplace e-commerce app, a prominent safety group was shooting it down. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman tells Bloomberg the technology will only contribute to distracted driving and hurt efforts to stem the tide of rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. in 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was responsible for 3,477 fatalities and 391,000 injuries in 2015, the most recent year for which it has data. "There's nothing about this that's safe," Hersman told Bloomberg. "If this is why they want WiFi in the car, we're going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now." Marketplace, developed with IBM, will allow drivers — or more often, one hopes, their passengers — to order coffee or food, find gas stations and reserve hotel rooms from their dashboard screens. The technology is set to be uploaded automatically to nearly 1.9 million GM vehicles model-year 2017 and later that are equipped with WiFi hotspots and compatible systems. By the end of 2018, about 4 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles will be equipped with Marketplace. The app will debut with a limited number of participating retailers, including TGI Fridays, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Starbucks, with more likely to join later. Online retail giant Amazon is also partnering with automakers such as Ford to bring e-commerce capabilities inside the car through its Alexa personal assistant. While convenience is nice, one other thing is becoming clear as the IoT wedges its way into our cars: It's taking aim at some decidedly first-world problems.Related Video: Image Credit: GM Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Infotainment in-car entertainment marketplace e-commerce

GM Ultium tech can scavenge heat from everywhere, even you

GM likes to give us tidbits about its Ultium platform from time to time, and today it’s telling us about the platformÂ’s ability to capture waste heat from the propulsion system. In addition to capturing from the propulsion system, it can also capture humidity from both inside and outside the vehicle and even from passengersÂ’ body heat. Yes, you, your family and/or your friends are a usable heat source as far as GM EVs are concerned. It then deploys the heat in an advantageous way. If at this point, youÂ’re screaming, "Heat pump!" youÂ’d be right. WeÂ’re talking about an elaborate heat pump system that GM is using for its Ultium-based vehicles. Every Ultium-based GM vehicle gets this system that is covered by 11 patents and four publications. The waste heat it collects is used in a number of ways, but its primary use is to heat the cabin quickly and efficiently. GM claims it can heat the cabin of its Ultium-based vehicles quicker than vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines. Plus, when put to use, GM claims that using the heat pump provides its EVs with up to 10% more range than theyÂ’d have without. Beyond heating the cabin, the heat pump is capable of putting waste heat to use by preheating the battery prior to charging so that you can charge quicker. The system can even cool the propulsion system in preparation for Watts to Freedom (WTF) launch control starts. GM says this was vital in helping the Hummer EV achieve its bonkers 0-60 mph time of about 3 seconds. “Having a ground-up EV architecture gives us the freedom to build in standard features like UltiumÂ’s energy recovery capabilities,” said Doug Parks, GM executive VP of global product development, purchasing and supply chain. “This helps us squeeze more efficiency, performance and overall customer benefit out of our EVs.” GM says itÂ’s been developing heat pump technology since the EV1 and its heat pump. This is the modern evolution of that technology, and GM says itÂ’s going to be implemented in every Ultium-based vehicle as a standard feature. Related video: Green Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Electric Future Vehicles

Such Sweet Sorrow: Cadillac's CTS-V gets an Irish wake

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The honkin', stonkin' second-generation CTS-V, powered by Cadillac's brawny supercharged 6.2-liter V8 has been a very good thing. And now that the 500 final coupes – the only CTS-Vs designated 2015 models – have been built (just five remain unsold as of this writing), it is indeed a good thing that's come to an end. But Cadillac is not letting 2009–2015 CTS-V go gently into that good night, even as its replacement is poised to debut in just in just two months at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Instead, Cadillac invited us to Austin's Circuit of the Americas racetrack for what it called an "Irish wake" for the model that has proven to be one of the quickest and most charismatic models in General Motors' history. If you don't know what an Irish wake is, if you envision storytelling, songs, debauchery and more than a little liquor, you'll be in the ballpark. In this case, though, adrenaline substituted in for the booze, with squealing tires and shrieking V8s providing the singing. The debauchery took the form of an all-you-can-drive lapping of COTA in all three bodystyles – coupe, sedan and wagon – and the stories were told by the grins plastered on our faces all day. First and foremost, we'll miss the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Even after six years with no major changes, the CTS-V is surprisingly spry. Certainly, you never forget that it's a heavy thing, weighing in anywhere between 4217 pounds for the manual-equipped coupe to 4424 for an automatic wagon, but with 0-60 times of about four seconds and the ability to hit about 150 mph on COTA's back straight, the Vs remain an absolute hoot on the track. Sure, some of its details – the blocky front fascia shapes and the spoiler on the sedan and coupe models, for example – look a bit dated, but the overall design still looks sufficiently badass. The interior design has worn pretty well, too, and however Cadillac may feel about center stack buttons being so last decade, we favor them over the capacitive-touch madness of today's CUE system. We're not going to bother doing another full review of the car here, but suffice it to say, there is plenty we will miss. First and foremost, will be the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Rumor has it that Cadillac will offer the 6.2-liter LT4 V8 in the next generation (we predict about 600 hp), but we hear that the new car will skew more toward luxury than balls-out performance.