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GM faces possible class action lawsuit over 8-speed transmission

General Motors has been hit with a class-action lawsuit from owners who allege the eight-speed automatic transmission found in several rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC models between the 2015 and 2019 model years has a defect that causes the vehicles to hesitate and jerk when accelerating or slowing down. The lawsuit was posted to ClassAction.org and spotted by GM Authority. Problems with GM's Hydra-Matic 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions have been well-documented on Internet forums and via complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with many reporting damage to their vehicles. The lawsuit was first filed in December in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida but appears to have been transferred recently to New York. Autoblog sought comment from Theodore Leopold, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "These transmissions have a common defect," the complaint reads. "Drivers attempting to accelerate or decelerate their cars feel a hesitation, followed by a significant shake, shudder, jerk, clunk, or 'hard shift' when the vehicle's automatic transmission changes gears." The problem also occurs when the vehicles accelerate in a single gear, without shifting, the plaintiffs allege. "Drivers have reported that the shift is sometimes so violent, they feel as though they have been hit by another vehicle." The problem is believed to center on the transmission, torque converter or both. The complaint says it causes undue friction, causing hydraulic systems and gears to function improperly and sometimes leaves metal shavings throughout the transmission, leading to costly repairs and replacement of parts or the entire transmission. It says GM has known about the problems since shortly after it introduced the transmissions, and has issued 13 technical service bulletins, none of which have resolved the problem. GM declined to comment on the lawsuit. The plaintiffs say GM should have warned consumers about the issues and covered repairs under each vehicle's three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. They're seeking statewide classes in at least six states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Cadillac releases updated 2015 CTS

Cadillac is in the process of applying the new wreathless emblem across its range one model at a time, but rather than simply slap the new logo on the existing models, it's taking the opportunity to roll out some revisions as well. First came the ATS coupe, followed by the updated ATS sedan, and now the flagship brand in the General Motors portfolio has quietly announced some revisions for the CTS sedan as well.
For the 2015 model year, the CTS - which was just introduced last year - gets a revised front end with that wreathless crest but also a new chrome grille with active aero elements on standard models and a black-chrome grille on the Vsport. The revised grille is flanked by new headlights, but behind them the engine lineup carries over: a 2.0-liter turbo four with 272 horsepower, a 3.6-liter V6 with 321 hp or - in the Vsport performance model - a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 with 420 hp that's still the most powerful V6 GM has ever made. All engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission (ditching the six-speed auto on previous versions) and (apart from the RWD Vsport) can be had in rear- or all-wheel-drive flavors.
Cadillac has also given the updated CTS some new electronics (including inductive smartphone charging, onboard wifi, and more advanced parking and lane assist systems) as well as new wheels, trims and color options, details on which you can read in the press release below.

Cadillac considering more radical ATS-V

Cadillac is stepping up its performance game with the launch of the new ATS-V and CTS-V, but it's not about to rest on the laurels it removed from its own badge. While it's tipped to launch additional V models in the future, the latest word is Caddy could also come out with an even more extreme version of the ATS-V in the near future. According to Car and Driver, the prospect is on the table: "We might have something down the road that is a little bit more aggressive," chief engineer Dave Leone said, while another source pegged its potential arrival for 2017. It's too early to say what would constitute the more extreme model. The magazine points toward the Mercedes-AMG Black Series as an example. Jaguar took a similarly extreme approach with the XKR-S GT, as BMW has with the M3 GTS. As it is, the ATS-V is offered in both coupe and sedan variants with a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 464 horsepower channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. Cadillac reportedly considered employing a dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive, but went the old-school route to avoid excess weight and (no doubt) cost.