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GM will stop reporting monthly U.S. vehicle sales

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it will stop reporting monthly U.S. vehicle sales, saying the 30-day snapshot does not accurately reflect the market, and will instead issue quarterly sales. GM will also no longer report monthly sales in China, its largest market, and Brazil. GM will provide monthly data to the U.S. Federal Reserve, industry associations and government agencies across the globe, but that data is not made public. Analysts and investors rely on monthly U.S. vehicle sales not just to track the performance of individual automakers, but as a barometer of the health of the world's second-largest auto market and as an indicator of consumer confidence in the U.S. economy overall. GM and its Detroit rivals Ford and Fiat Chrysler have relied heavily on sales of high-margin pickup truck and SUV sales to boost profits. GM's total U.S. sales, its second-largest market, are down 3.2 percent for the first two months of 2018, reflecting a 6.8 percent drop in retail sales to individual customers, the company reported last month. GM executives have expressed frustration that comparisons of monthly U.S. sales results among rival automakers are distorted by short-term discount programs, and by differences in strategy for selling vehicles in bulk to rental car fleets. "Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market," Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president for sales operations said in a statement. GM's actions could prompt other automakers to also switch to quarterly U.S. sales reports. Major automakers will report March U.S. new vehicle sales on Tuesday. Until the early 1990s, most U.S. automakers released sales results every 10 days. The former Chrysler Corp. stopped reporting sales on a 10-day basis in 1990, and rivals followed suit over the next three years. GM executives are betting that investors will quickly adapt to receiving U.S. sales data every three months, as investors in other retail sectors already have. Retailers such as Walmart report sales on a quarterly basis. Reporting by Joe WhiteRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Earnings/Financials Green Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC US

2020 Cadillac CT6-V First Drive | A new kind of V

One of the weird tidbits of car news in the past year was the change in naming for the 2020 Cadillac CT6-V. When it was first revealed, it was called V-Sport, the term previously used for Cadillacs with more moderate performance upgrades than the full-blown V cars that possessed massive power outputs and serious track-going capabilities. But then, before the car in question went on sale, Cadillac changed the name to match the equally moderately sporty CT4-V and CT5-V that officially downgraded the V name. So what should we make of this CT6-V, then? Is it a hardcore performance machine like the old V cars? Or is it what we’re expecting of the new V cars: a lightly upgraded version of the base car that isnÂ’t particularly distinguished? As it turns out, the CT6-V sits between these two extremes to create a car thatÂ’s involving and exciting for the driver without compromising the CT6Â’s refinement and luxury. Mechanically, the CT6-V is ultimately closer to its full-bore V predecessors. The highlight is the “Blackwing” twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V8 that makes 550 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. Besides giving the engine prodigious output, Cadillac borrowed some pages from the AMG handbook: the turbocharger is nestled in between the cylinder heads, just like the current 4.0-liter AMG V8, and each engine is hand-built start to finish by one of six engine builders. The builderÂ’s name is even featured in the engine bay. TheyÂ’re special details that fit the idea of the old V cars, but the fact that a version of the same engine is in the Platinum CT6 does make its inclusion in the CT6-V seem less special, even if its output is notably less at 500 horsepower and 574 pound-feet of torque. Setting aside the details, the engine performs well in the real world. ItÂ’s astonishingly smooth, exactly what you want from a fast flagship. It also emits a unique exhaust note thatÂ’s both raspy and growly. You wonÂ’t mistake it for a pushrod powerplant. The power and torque provide a prominent push at all points in the rev band after a brief moment for the turbos to spool up. ItÂ’s just a shame there isnÂ’t much of a rev band, as the engine redlines at 6,000 rpm, which is easy to hit thanks to the engineÂ’s creamy character. ItÂ’s so low one wonders why Cadillac bothered developing a double-overhead-cam engine at all. The V8 is coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The 10-speed is perfectly fine when cruising around town.

2020 Cadillac CT4 spy shots reveal sedan-heavy approach in age of SUVs

You're looking at some pictures of the 2020 Cadillac CT4, which will be smaller than the upcoming CT5. And since they're both smothered in similar-looking camouflage, which is specifically intended to confuse, you might think they look pretty similar. In isolated photos, it's sometimes hard to tell which sedan you're looking at. In fact, when we first saw this car recently, we also thought it was a CT5. Here's how we know they're actually two different cars. Some background: The CT5 is slated to replace the CTS, and to try and find the balance that the old car couldn't achieve in the lineup. Cadillac's former CEO previously stated that this car would also fill in for the ATS, which is on its way out. Whatever it ends up being, it'll have to make a clear case for itself against the CT6 — it can't be too close in size and opulence, or they'll hurt each other in sales. And the CT5 can't be too small, or it will struggle against traditional midsize luxury cars. The CT4 could further complicate matters for the exact same reasons, just in a smaller package. How small can Cadillac make it? It seems poised to replace the wonderful-to-drive ATS, which was as allergic to sales as the XTS. This will give Cadillac a three-sedan lineup: CT4, CT5, and CT6. Let's hope there's enough differentiation between them to prevent consumer confusion and sales cannibalization — and that consumers understand the CT6's promotion via attrition to top dog in the sedan lineup. With all that out of the way, let's look more closely at the CT4 (above left) and CT5 (right). The CT4's greenhouse stops closer to the centerline of the rear wheels than the CT5's. That gives the CT5 a visually longer, leaner look, more of a semi-fastback arrangement. The CT5's rear vanity window should resemble the CT6's, with a glass element behind the door opening. The CT4 will have a more conventional vanity window in the door, like the ATS. Perhaps the quickest "tell" is the size of the side-view mirrors, which are rounder in the CT4 and leaner in the CT5. Out back, the CT4 has a lower cutout for the license plate than the CT5. The exhaust outlets are also different, although that may change for production. Remember, the big full-width rear lights are probably misdirection on the part of the GM camo team. The entire rear decklid of the CT4 has more roundedness to it, while the CT5's extra width gives it more room up top to spread the decklid out a little flatter.