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Cadillac CT4 and CT5 get meaningful updates for 2021

It's common for vehicles to get an update here or there in between full redesigns every five or six years, but the changes being made for the 2021 Cadillac CT4 and CT5, each just introduced last year, represent more than just a little nip and tuck. For starters, Cadillac's excellent Super Cruise will show up on the options sheets for the two sedans early next year in Enhanced form with with Lane Change on Demand functionality. Super Cruise will be offered on Premium Luxury and V-Series trims only. As we already knew thanks to early order guides, a new 12-inch digital instrument cluster that features driver-selectable themes is also on the menu for 2021. A traditional Tour theme is probably what most drivers will default to, while a Sport theme will likely include red accents and performance-monitoring readouts and a Stealth theme will offer minimal information and what we'd guess are non-distracting colors. CT4-V and CT5-V models will get an exclusive Track theme. New for the CT5 Sport trim level is a V Performance package that adds upgraded suspension bits, Magnetic Ride Control and a mechanical limited-slip differential. V Performance front brake calipers from Brembo are also optional on Sport models. Additionally, a new Diamond Sky special edition package will be offered on Premium Luxury CT4 and CT5 models, adding interior and exterior styling upgrades along with all-season run-flat tires on unique wheels. The package also gets the aforementioned V Performance brakes. Additional updates include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM with 360L with more than 200 live SiriusXM channels and on-demand programming choices, and a console-mounted rotary infotainment knob that enables left and right clicks to more easily navigate the CUE infotainment system. Buckle to Drive will come enabled from the factory (it can be disabled after purchase) and won't allow the driver to shift into drive unless the seatbelt is buckled. A Teen Driver mode will encourage safe driving from — you guessed it — teens. Forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking, automatic emergency braking and the patented haptic Safety Alert Seat are now standard equipment across the board for both sedans. Check out the image gallery above to see many of the updates, including Super Cruise, the digital instrument cluster and the Diamond Sky edition. Related Video:    

The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.

Consumer Reports explains its disdain for infotainment

One of the perks of reviewing all manner of cars and trucks is that we're exposed to all the different infotainment systems. Whether Cadillac's CUE, Chrysler's UConnect, BMW's iDrive or MyFord Touch, we sample each and every infotainment system on the market.
Not surprisingly, some are better than others. It seems consumers have come to a similar consensus, with Consumer Reports claiming that Ford and Lincoln, Cadillac and Honda offer the worst user infotainment experiences. Not surprisingly, you won't find much argument among the Autoblog staff.
Take a look below to see just what it is about the latest batch of infotainment systems that grinds CR's gears. After that, scroll down into Comments and let us know if you agree with the mag's views.