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Fast sedans and loose Tweets | Autoblog Podcast #555

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. Reese has been traveling a lot, and the two discuss his recent first drives of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door and the 2019 Audi Q3. The pair also talk about the 2018 BMW X2 that's been in the office this week. Also on the agenda is the SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk, Ola Kaellenius replacing Dieter Zetsche at Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac's move back to Detroit and the upcoming reveal of the 2019 BMW 3 Series at the Paris Motor Show.Autoblog Podcast #555 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door 2019 Audi Q3 2018 BMW X2 Elon Musk lawsuit New Mercedes-Benz CEO Cadillac is heading back to Detroit The new 3 Series debuts next week Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes

2021 Cadillac CT4-V Road Test Review | V is for Deja Vu

We now know that the 2021 Cadillac CT4-V is not the performance pinnacle of the line – that would be the 472-horsepower Blackwing. As it is, all the outrage spewed in the direction of Cadillac when it announced the once-great CT4-V was being downgraded to more pedestrian levels was ultimately much ado about nothing. Still, there's a kernel of truth to the notion that the new CT4-V (or CT4 V-Series as it's also known) just doesn't go far enough – or more accurately, the gap between it and the supposedly lesser CT4 Premium Luxury trim is surprisingly small. After driving the CT4 Premium Luxury with the optional 2.7-liter "450T" engine, I wrote here on Autoblog, "It's legitimately fun. You can feel the immense strength of the chassis, as well as the impeccable suspension tuning when hustling the car along. You also just feel things. There seems to be less cushion and fewer 1's and 0's between you and the car compared to other sport sedans like the BMW 3 Series and new Acura TLX. The steering has a lot to do with it: consistently weighted, regardless of drive mode, without too much speed-based adjustment, and genuine feedback filtered through the steering wheel. At the same time, the CT4 seems far more grown up and sophisticated in its engineering than the various front-drivers it competes with on price." After driving the CT4-V five months later, I wrote some notes on my computer. I later discovered they were virtually identical in overall impression to what is pasted above. It was like I had driven the same car twice. The resulting conclusion: I'd really need to exuberantly drive them back to back to notice a difference, especially as both cars had all-wheel drive. Even then, maybe not. It's perfectly plausible that many won't even notice a difference at all.  The all-wheel-drive point is key, however, because it means this CT4-V did not have the rear-drive version's Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 that always does wonders for a car's ride and handling. Maybe it would do so again here, but it's not like the CT4's ride or handling, regardless of flavor, needs much help. Much like the Premium Luxury 450T, the AWD CT4-V's fixed "performance" suspension provides a terrific balance of achieving a fast-attack pace in the mountains while not beating you up everywhere else. It absorbs bumps well and is neither crashy nor harsh. In other words, I didn't miss Magnetic Ride Control.

Watch Brad Pitt's Chinese Cadillac XTS commercial

Once upon a time, in a land not so far from this one, Brad Pitt was the very face anti-consumerism. You see, when he slipped into the role of the elitist-loathing, food-abusing, violence-embracing Tyler Durden from Fight Club, his visage was inextricably married to images of leveling credit card corporations with nothing more than a little human fat and some determination. Of course, that was before Pitt settled into old age with a passel of children at his feet. Now, it seems, he'll shill for something as long as it doesn't damage his reputation in America.
Need proof? Look no further than this Chinese ad for the Cadillac XTS. In it, Pitt contentedly wafts the big front-wheel drive barge around San Francisco against a mildly euphoric soundtrack. You can check out the scene for yourself below, just make sure you have your last meal squarely situated in your stomach before pressing play. We have to wonder if Pitt wakes up in the middle of the night with Chuck Palahniuk's oddly omniscient words echoing in his ears: "Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you."