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Chinese-made Cadillac CT6 Plug-In starts US sales

General Motors has started US sales of the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In after taking its first domestic deliveries of the China-produced sedan last month. The model is GM's first new plug-in hybrid in the US since the automaker discontinued sales of the ELR extended-range plug-in last year. The arrival and sales, first reported by InsideEVs, were confirmed by Cadillac spokesman Andrew Lipman. Not surprisingly, the sedan isn't cheap, as the CT6 Plug-In is priced at $75,095, or almost $12,000 more than the gas-powered variant, though that figure doesn't include federal and state tax credits for electric vehicles. For that tab, buyers get a 335-horsepower luxury car that can go 31 miles on electricity alone, and 0-60 miles per hour in a little over 5 seconds. The model gives GM three plug-in vehicles to sell to the American public, or the same number US competitor Ford offers. InsideEVs estimates that about 100 of the sedans have been delivered to US dealers, so the car remains a relatively low-volume affair. By comparison, GM's Chevrolet division has sold 5,563 Volt extended-range plug-ins and 3,092 Bolt electric vehicles through March. Cadillac sold 534 units of the ELR in 2016 after moving 1,024 the previous year. GM opted to produce the plug-in hybrid in China because of that country's receptiveness to new models that feature alternative and environmentally friendlier powertrains. Additionally, such production shortens the distance to the CT6's battery maker LG Chem, which is producing the car's battery packs in South Korea. On that note, GM has previously estimated that the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In will move more units in China than in the US. Related Video:

MIT puts V2V technology on its 2015 Top Ten list

Of all the technologies swimming around the automotive world, it is vehicle-to-vehicle communication that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has fished out as one of its Ten Breakthrough Technologies of 2015. It joined emerging tech like brain organoids, supercharged photosynthesis, and Project Loon on the list, and got the nod over autonomous driving because, as the MIT Technology Review wrote, V2V communication "is likely to have a far bigger and more immediate effect on road safety." How so? Because actual cars transmitting data like their location, speed, steering angle, and state of braking to one another at least ten times per second provides a greater degree of awareness than sensor readings and algorithms. The US Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have been working for years on standards and a regulatory schedule for introducing V2V to the marketplace, and Cadillac plans to incorporate V2V into at least one of its vehicles by 2017. Since we've begun the year with a number of stories of cars being hacked into, that got us wondering about the security of V2V communications. In a recent piece by our own Pete Bigelow on what motorists should know about getting their cars hacked into, he wrote that although cyber break-ins are extremely difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to do remotely, V2V is "one more conceivable avenue a hacker could use to impact multiple cars at a given time." So we spoke to Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Security Innovation about it. The automotive consultancy company has been working with the DOT since 2003 on V2V technology and the issues around it - namely security and privacy - and its chief scientist, William Whyte, is the technical editor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1609.2 standard outlining its security protocols. Those protocols are expected to be finalized by the DOT toward the end of this year and then come into effect in 2016, and the company's Aerolink product is the security solution Cadillac will use. Whyte said, "If you hack into a car, V2V is the hardest place to start," and Pete Samson, the general manager of Security Innovation's automotive team, said "There are ten or 12 alternate attack surfaces" around the car that would make much easier targets.

Cadillac Elmiraj Concept brings big coupe style to Pebble Beach [w/videos]

Two years ago, Cadillac absolutely floored us with the debut of its gorgeous Ciel concept at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. And since that droptop four-door's debut, we've seen plenty of its design language worked into the latest Cadillac products. Now, we're seriously hoping that history will repeat itself with this stunning new Elmiraj coupe concept, which makes its first public appearance in Monterey this week.
Cadillac states that the Elmiraj concept simply showcases the next step forward for the brand's Art & Science design DNA, and doesn't necessarily preview an upcoming model. But if you told us the Elmiraj was a conceptual look at the next-generation CTS Coupe, or a smaller, two-door version of a new flagship, we'd believe you. At 207 inches long, 76 inches wide and 55 inches tall, its dimensions are only slightly larger than the current two-door CTS.
Regardless of what the Elmiraj does or does not become, it's certainly a fantastic modern interpretation of the classic GT formula with its short front overhang, long hood, rakish roofline and petite rear deck. The strong character lines running along the sides and exaggerated 22-inch wheels round out the beautiful coupe, and Cadillac's signature vertical LED lighting elements are found at the front and rear. Also take note: the badge on the grille is a crest without a wreath, basically confirming our earlier report.