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Question of the Day: Worst year of the Malaise Era?

The Malaise Era for cars in the United States spanned the 1973 through 1983 model years, and featured such abominations as a Corvette with just 205 horsepower (from the optional engine!) and MGBs with suspensions jacked way up to meet new headlight-height requirements. There were many low points throughout this gloomy period, of course. The horrifyingly low power and fuel-economy numbers for big V8s during the middle years of the Malaise Era make a strong case for 1974 or 1975— the years of Nixon's resignation and the Fall of Saigon, respectively— as the most Malaisey years. But then the GM-pummeling debacles of the Chevy Citation and Cadillac Cimarron could make an early-1980s year the low point. 1979, the year of the ignominious Chrysler bailout? You choose! Related Video:

Cadillac CTS-V, ATS-V special editions celebrate IMSA titles

This was Cadillac's first year of competition for its DPi-V.R. Daytona Prototype race car in the IMSA Endurance Championship, and it brought home both the manufacturer title and driver title. To celebrate the occasion, Cadillac has created special editions of its fastest road cars, the CTS-V and ATS-V, and their defining features are stickers. Yes, the most unique part of these special Cadillacs is a decal package. But it is an attractive one, with white, gray, silver and red accents inspired by the race car. They're complemented by either a black or white paint job and red side mirrors. The rear quarter windows also get little stickers of the race car's silhouette. Though the stickers are the defining trait of these special-edition cars, they aren't the only features. The CTS-V and ATS-V each come bundled with an array of other features such as a sunroof, the carbon fiber exterior accent package, and a red and black interior that features red-accented carbon fiber trim and Recaro seats. Available as additional options are an eight-speed automatic for the ATS-V, a performance data recorder and a suede steering wheel and shift knob. The other neat tidbit is that, if those extra features are must-haves, the IMSA edition ATS-V is the way to go. The $72,190 price for the sedan is almost $2,000 less than an equivalent standard ATS-V sedan. The regular ATS-V sedan also isn't available with the red and black interior. The special-edition ATS-V coupe starts at $74,390, which is a little over $1,000 more than an equivalent normal ATS-V coupe. Unfortunately for CTS-V buyers, the IMSA edition model, at $105,730, is pricier than optioning up a regular CTS-V. So in that case, you'll have to decide whether the decals and exclusivity are worth it. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Cadillac CTS-V and ATS-V IMSA Championship special editions View 13 Photos Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac Coupe Luxury Performance Sedan cadillac ats-v

Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study