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GM to build $1.3 billion Cadillac plant in China

General Motors has gotten approval to build a $1.3 billion manufacturing facility for its Cadillac brand in China. China's National Development and Reform Commission signed off on plans for GM to build the plant in the country's Shanghai's Jinqiao zone; construction is expected to begin in June of this year. According to a Bloomberg report, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 units.
No surprise here, but Cadillac would like to sell a lot more cars in the plush Chinese luxury market. The brand moved only 30,010 cars in China last year, compared with 400k for Audi, and about 330k for BMW. With Cadillac already telling us that it would be moving production of its XTS sedan to China - a production decision that saves having to pay 25-percent import tariffs - approval of the factory is a critical win for the company.
In fact, according to earlier comments by GM China president Bob Socia, it's at least conceivable that Chinese-built Cadillacs could be shipped back to the US for sale. The brave new world of globalization, getting stranger by the minute.

GM's Buckle to Drive teen safety feature comes to more models for 2021

In 2014, GM announced a feature called "Belt Assurance," which would prevent a vehicle from being shifted out of park until the driver and front passenger had buckled their seatbelts. Initially launched on certain fleet vehicles in 2014, the feature rolled out as a free option on the 2015 GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Colorado, Cruze and Silverado. At the time, GM said it would push Belt Assurance to more models if customers took to it. That appears to have happened; come 2019, GM repackaged Belt Assurance as Buckle to Drive, part of the automaker's Teen Driver System that bundled tech such as geofencing and speed limit warnings to help parents keep track of their children's driving habits. In that implementation, the system only works when Teen Driver Mode is activated, locking out the shifter and muting the radio for 20 seconds or until the seatbelts are buckled, whichever comes first. The system shows a visual warning in the gauge cluster, too.  For this model year, the Teen Driver System came standard on 10 Chevy models, but Buckle to Drive was only allotted to the Colorado, Malibu and Traverse. Later this year, the 2021 Camaro will join the Chevys outfitted with the Teen Driver System and will get Buckle to Drive in addition. GM Authority reports that for the 2021 model year, Buckle to Drive will also be picked up by the Cadillac CT4 and CT5. Previously, the Cadillac ATS, CTS, Escalade and XTS came with the Teen Driver System, but three out of those four vehicles are no more, and the 2021 Escalade makes no mention of the Teen Driver System nor Buckle to Drive among its safety features. Elsewhere around the GM empire, the Buick Envision and Encore GX include the Teen Driver System, as do six GMC vehicles, but it's not clear when any will be upgraded with Buckle to Drive. The tech could help save numerous teenagers' lives. On its page of teen crash facts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes that roughly 300,000 teens between the ages of 16 and 19 ended up in emergency rooms to treat crash injuries in 2017. Furthermore, "only 58.8% of high school students always wore seat belts when riding as passengers," and, "Among young drivers aged 15-20 who died in car crashes in 2017, almost half were unrestrained at the time of the crash (when restraint use was known)." Related Video:    

Cadillac CT4 and CT4-V pricing revealed, starts just under $34,000

The Cadillac CT4-V had its big reveal in Detroit several months ago, and last month we finally saw the regular CT4. Today, Cadillac has pricing available for every CT4 trim level including the V. The entry-level CT4 Luxury with rear-wheel drive will start at $33,990, including the destination charge. Adding all-wheel drive requires another $2,600, bringing the total to $36,590. Cadillac also throws in heated front seats and a heated steering wheel when you opt for the all-wheel drive model. The CT4-V comes in at $45,490 before options — on the V, the up-charge for all-wheel drive is only $1,100. Cadillac CT4-V View 12 Photos Cadillac offers two trims in between the base Luxury and more powerful V-Series: Premium Luxury and Sport. The Premium Luxury is priced from $38,490, and the Sport is a tad bit more expensive at $39,590. All-wheel drive is even more expensive ($3,200) in the Premium Luxury, as it adds cooled front seats on top of the heated seats and steering wheel. The cooled seats arenÂ’t included with the Sport all-wheel drive package, so itÂ’s the same $2,600 charge as in the Luxury model. Every CT4 but the V comes standard with CadillacÂ’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. An 8-speed transmission handles the shifting. Go for the much more expensive CT4-V, and you get the 2.7-liter turbo four that makes 325 horsepower and a whopping 380 pound-feet of torque. This engine is exclusively mated to a 10-speed automatic. For a full rundown and background on the CT4 and CT4-V, check out our previous coverage of the cars. YouÂ’ll be able to order a 2020 CT4 later this year.