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Even if GM does close all 5 of those plants, it'll still have too many

DETROIT — General Motors' monumental announcement on Monday that it will close three car assembly plants and two powertrain plants in North America and slash its workforce will only partially close the gap between capacity and demand for the automaker's sedans, according to a Reuters analysis of industry production and capacity data. Sales of traditional passenger cars in North America have been declining for the past six years and are still withering. After GM ends production next year at factories in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario, it will still have four U.S. passenger-car plants — all operating at less than 50 percent of rated capacity, according to figures supplied by LMC Automotive. In comparison, Detroit-based rivals Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will have one car plant each in North America after 2019. The Detroit Three are facing rapidly dwindling demand for traditional passenger cars from U.S. consumers, many of whom have shifted to crossovers and trucks. Passenger cars accounted for 48 percent of retail light-vehicle sales in the United States in 2014, according to market researchers at J.D. Power and Associates. This year, sedans will account for less than a third of light vehicle sales. That shift in turn has left most North American car plants operating far below their rated capacities, while many SUV and truck plants are running on overtime. The collapse in passenger-car demand is a challenge for nearly all automakers in the United States, including Japan's Toyota and Honda, which have the top-selling models in the compact and midsize car segments. Toyota executives said last month they are evaluating the company's U.S. model lineup. But Toyota also plans to build compact Corolla sedans at a new $1.6 billion factory it is building in Alabama with partner Mazda. The obstacles facing GM in its plans to close more auto factories became apparent on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block payment of government electric vehicle subsidies to GM. While it is not certain that Trump unilaterally has the power to do that, he made it clear he intends to use his office to pressure the company to keep open a small car plant in Ohio that GM says will stop building vehicles in March.

2019 Cadillac XT4 interior has actual buttons, no more touch-sensitive panel

Cadillac makes some highly stylish cars that are excellent to drive. In the realm of infotainment, there was room for improvement. The CUE infotainment system is infamous for being complex and annoying. One particular sore point was the touch-sensitive panels used for basic functions and their unrefined, "haptic feedback" clunk. Thankfully, spy photos show that Cadillac is changing tack both with buttons and infotainment controls in general. As seen above, there don't appear to be any capacitive buttons in sight. Instead, the XT4 has the "piano-key" buttons that are in vogue now. The most prominent are metal-finish buttons that control climate settings indicated by corresponding symbols above the buttons. Below that are additional buttons for seat controls and at least one safety feature, the parking warning. These should be vastly easier to manipulate than tapping and hoping you've engaged the correct function. This doesn't mean there won't be any touch-sensitive controls available, but they've at least been minimized. Other physical controls we spotted are down on the center console near the shifter. It looks as though the CT6's odd touchpad won't be making an appearance in the XT4 as there seems to be a more conventional knob instead. If it's indeed for the infotainment system, it would be a redundant controller as the upper screen's home button and fingerprints would indicate it's very much touch-operated. Like other Cadillacs and GM products in general, it's safe to say that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be available and possibly standard. There are a couple other interesting additions besides the physical controls. There's a Near Field Communications (NFC) logo embossed in the dashboard, indicating the car will support NFC pairing of phones. The XT4 also dispatches the more traditional mechanical shifter for a more modern monostable joystick like the found in some Buicks, but with a different shape. We're currently expecting the XT4 to be revealed late in 2018. It will be based on the Chevy Malibu platform, it'll probably stick with turbocharged four-cylinder power, and offer front- and all-wheel drive. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Cadillac XT4 spy shots View 19 Photos Image Credit: Brian Williams Spy Photos Cadillac Technology Infotainment Crossover SUV Luxury cue cadillac xt4 cadillac cue

2021 Cadillac Escalade to have a massive 38-inch curved OLED display

The redesigned 2021 Cadillac Escalade is going to be revealed Feb. 4, and it’s going to have a huge screen. Cadillac released a video teaser today showing the enormous display — watch it above. This screen is a curved OLED display that measures 38 inches from corner-to-corner. The exact resolution wasnÂ’t revealed, but Cadillac claims the pixel density is twice that of a 4K television. That particular stat is also rather nebulous, as the pixel density of a 4K TV varies with the TVÂ’s size. Regardless, itÂ’s safe to say that the screen is going to be very sharp and look fantastic. CadillacÂ’s use of an OLED screen will ensure it has spectacular color representation and the best blacks that a screen is capable of. Smartphones with OLED displays typically offer a better experience than those with LCD displays, and we can hope the same is true for this Cadillac display. On top of it being a huge screen, Cadillac also says itÂ’s the “first curved OLED” in the industry. Most infotainment screens in cars these days are flat displays, but Cadillac appears to be sticking its best tech foot forward with this curved screen. Other details worth noting in this teaser is the obvious presence of Super Cruise. The green light stretches across the steering wheel, indicating that the new Escalade will definitely offer the semi-autonomous driving technology. The rest of the interior is difficult to make out, but there appears to be a row of shiny buttons below the screen. Below this we can see what might be the top of the gear lever sticking up. ItÂ’s tough to know for certain what it is, but itÂ’s similar in size, shape and style to other new Cadillac gear levers. However, both the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban use push-button shifters. The switch to an actual gear lever would be more consistent with other Cadillacs, but inconsistent with its full-size SUV brethren. We wonÂ’t have terribly long to wait to find out. Cadillac says itÂ’s going to reveal the new Escalade in Los Angeles during Oscars week. Expect some of the big stars to roll up to the red carpet in new Escalades. ItÂ’s hard to think of a better place to show off the chromed-up, shiny new Cadillac. Related Video: