1966 Cadillac Deville Convertible Project Car Rust Free on 2040-cars

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Chevy's low-cost pedestrian avoidance to debut on 2016 Malibu

The mainstreaming of safety technologies that began on luxury vehicles will get a big boost from General Motors later this year. The General says it plans to offer 22 driver assistance systems across its product portfolio of 2016 models, starting with the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu - the one that we know will keep tabs on teenagers for the benefit of parents. Pedestrian avoidance will be another of its available options. Instead of kitting the sedan out with numerous and expensive radar arrays, the GM system uses the camera mounted next to the rearview mirror that is already used for the lane-keeping function. New software lets it detect pedestrians, and when it detects a potential collision with one, it can alert the driver and brake autonomously if the driver doesn't react. Eventually, engineers want to give it the ability to do the same with cyclists. Because it uses existing hardware updated with new code, GM says the application costs "a few hundred dollars." GM demonstrated the Front Pedestrian Braking preventing a crash with a dummy pedestrian at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Automotive News reports that it will reduce the severity of impact up to 40 miles per hour, but "may not be of much use in collisions at higher speeds." That feature will also join the options list of the Cadillac CT6. The press release below has more on GM's driver tech soon on the way. Related Video: GM Paving Way to Smarter and Safer Driving at All-New Active Safety Test Area 22 crash-avoidance technologies offered on 2016 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models MILFORD, Mich. 2015-07-24 – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac will offer 22 different active safety technologies across their 2016 model year U.S. lineups, ranging from driver alerts to those that automatically intervene and assist the driver in critical situations. Safety engineers will develop and test these and other safety technologies for products around the world at GM's new, 52-acre Active Safety Test Area at its Milford Proving Ground near Detroit. The $14 million facility officially opened Friday. "Our comprehensive safety strategy of helping customers before, during and after a crash continues," said Jeff Boyer, vice president of GM Global Vehicle Safety.

Cadillac exec realizes ELR pricing was stupid high

At least one Cadillac exec has finally started to come to terms with something we knew all along: the initial $75,000 price for the ELR plug-in hybrid was way too high. The bad decision in part led to the model selling just over 1,000 units last year. Company marketing boss Uwe Ellinghaus recently gave an interview to Bloomberg where he discussed what went wrong. "The MSRP was, indeed, a mouthful," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. "We overestimated that customers would realize our competitors were naked at that price." People balked at the ELR's price from the very start, and dealers were receiving $5,000 at one point just for getting customers to test drive the PHEV. Later, some incentives for buyers were as high as $14,000. Cadillac planners saw a conundrum when it came to the ELR's price. Too low of a figure was thought to bring the model close to the Chevrolet Volt, and $75,000 was also believed to signal Caddy's PHEV as something special. "We just wanted to make this a statement for the brand of how progressive we are," Ellinghaus said to Bloomberg. Cadillac is now working to rehabilitate the ELR's reputation with a host of updates for 2016. Buyers get a 25-percent boost in powertrain output, additional standard features, and the whole package comes with a $9,000 drop in price. The tweaks should help the luxurious PHEV make a better second impression. Related Video:

Next Cadillac CTS-V confirmed for Detroit

As a car enthusiast, you should be excited for the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Hell, we can barely contain ourselves – it's shaping up to be a great show. And this bit of news only heightens our expectations – Cadillac will be bringing its third-generation CTS-V to January's North American International Auto Show. That bit of high-performance news has been confirmed to Autoblog by Cadillac officials. In fact, we've received an official invitation to the brand's press conference, and while the latter is light on information, it does say, "it's time for the V-Series to elevate to the next level." Considering our last experience with the CTS-V, we're not sure what there is left to elevate, although we're hopeful that Caddy will come up with something. What that could be, of course, is very open to speculation. When the last CTS-V debuted in 2009, it arguably outgunned Germanic challengers like the 500-hp BMW M5 and 518-hp Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG for a lot less money, boasting a detuned version of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's 6.2-liter supercharged V8. Could that trend carry on, with the next CTS-V borrowing the supercharged, 650-hp mill from the new Corvette Z06? If escalation is the name of the game, the Z06 engine would seem to once again allow Caddy battle it out on firm, big-booted footing with BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Of course, all will become clear on the morning of Tuesday, January 13. Like we said, we can hardly wait. Related Video: