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Filed under: Safety, Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Hyundai, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has put a new crop of large luxury vehicles through its crash test gauntlet, and the Cadillac CTS and Infiniti M joined some impressive company in scoring a Top Safety Pick designation. The CTS and M clinched the highly regarded award by receiving the top score of "Good" in roof strength testing. To achieve the top score in rollover safety, a vehicle's roof has to be able to support four times the weight of the entire vehicle.

The Top Safety Pick designation is handed out only to vehicles that received a "Good" score for all four IIHS crash tests while also featuring standard stability control to help avoid accidents altogether. The Cadillac and Infiniti join the BMW 5 Series, Lincoln MKS, Volvo S80, Hyundai Genesis and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class as Top Safety Pick winners.

Since large luxury vehicles cost so much and contain so many safety features, it's not all that surprising that so many models aced IIHS testing. But not all vehicles passed the test with flying colors. The Lexus GS and Audi A6 managed only an "Acceptable" score in roof testing, while the aging Acura RL lagged behind the competition with a "Marginal" rating. Hit the jump to read over the IIHS presser.




[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

Continue reading Cadillac CTS, Infiniti M models earn Top Safety Pick status from IIHS

Cadillac CTS, Infiniti M models earn Top Safety Pick status from IIHS originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Controversy can be a good thing, and there’s a fair bit of it surrounding the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, the new two-door version of the Caddy sedan with a 556-hp supercharged V8 forged in Mount Doom.

Is it better than a BMW M3 or Audi RS 5? Is it, or is it not, pathetic that Motor Trend and Car and Driver this month attempt to compare the CTS-V with these European performance coupes? Is the CTS-V’s styling – as angular as early Kraftwerk, a strange splintered diamond chip of a car – wonderful and heroic, or a fugly waste of photons?

I’ve just spent a week in the CTS-V and, while debate can be bracing and informative, I hereby invoke cloture. Here’s the cold-blooded, clear-eyed, un-debatable bottom line about the CTS-V:

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Filed under: Sedan, Cadillac, Rumormill, Luxury

There was a time, not so long ago, that if you wanted a proper fullsize luxury sedan (short of a Bentley or Rolls-Royce, at least), your choices were "largely" limited to the German three: the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. But that was before the Lexus LS came along, the Infiniti Q45 came and went, when Jaguar's XJ was still a tight fit (and an unreliable one at that) and the Maserati Quattroporte didn't really factor into the equation. Don't even get us started on underdogs like the Volkswagen Phaeton and Hyundai Equus, but you get the point. Volvo recently became the latest rumored to be joining the fold, and now it looks like Cadillac could as well.

Substantiating earlier reports, the latest batch indicate that the call for a fullsize Caddy to battle the German stalwarts came right from the top, from GM CEO Ed Whitacre. And why shouldn't it? After all, if the head of one of the largest corporations in the world needs a new ride, he shouldn't have to look to a competitor like his Japanese counterpart Toyoda-san was spotted doing.

As is often the case with such rumors, few details are known at this point. But the project is expected to slot above the upcoming XTS - the model that's slated to replace both the STS and DTS sedans - with a rear- or all-wheel-drive setup and arrive no sooner than 2014. So we've got a while to wait before we find out if there's anything to these reports. But they certainly are intriguing.



[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

Report: Whitacre wants a flagship S-Class rival for Cadillac originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe - First Drive Review

CTS goodness in a higher-concentration formula.

BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM FETS AND THE MANUFACTURER
June 2010

While most Cadillac vehicles still have a way to go to satisfy as drivers’ machines, the second-generation CTS has appeared on our last three 10Best lists; in awarding its 2010 trophy, we called it “maybe the best American car ever made.” High praise, but its combination of unapologetically brash styling, modern luxury, and strong performance credentials-especially in high-po V spec-back it up. For 2011, the new CTS coupe joins the sedan and wagon, adding more style and a higher concentration of performance to the CTS’s winning formula.

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, GM

Due to the whole bankruptcy/bailout saga, it's been awhile since we've seen General Motors advertise during the Super Bowl. That may change next year, though. According to Automotive News, the company seeks a return to pre-bankruptcy ad-spending levels by upping this year's budget three to five percent. That includes running a Chevrolet-focused spot during Super Bowl XLV. The news comes courtesy of GM marketing VP Joel Ewanick, who says that we can expect a rash of new advertising projects.

These include a new TV spot highlighting the Chevrolet Camaro and a new tagline for Cadillac, so get ready to hear plenty about "The New Standard of the World" in the near future. Likewise, Chevrolet will try on a new slogan after "Excellence for All" proved to be a dud. Exactly when these new marketing efforts will start popping up on our TV sets is still to be determined.

[Source: Automotive News]
Photo by Chris Shunk/ Copyright (C)2009 AOL

Report: GM heading back to Super Bowl with new ad originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Videos, Cadillac, Celebrities

You all know that the long-awaited U.S. version of Top Gear is headed to The History Channel, and now it's time to get your first taste of the show. The first trailer for the show is online, and if it's any indication, Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara are going to win over viewers, and the program will not stray from the BBC original's successful formula of cool tests and zany challenges.

In fact, one of the new show's challenges is the trailer's centerpiece. In involves the hosts determining the best $1,000 car by putting a trio of them through a punishing "moonshine run" dirt course. The ride selected for the teaser is Ferrara's, the airborne 1976 Cadillac Deville Calais seen above (it could be a '75, but we're pretty certain that's the '76 grille pattern). How does a malaise-era Caddy handle a landing after catching that much air? About as well as you'd imagine - this isn't the make-believe world of '70s cop shows, after all. It's hilarious.

Bottom line: The hosts exude great chemistry and the motoring action is pretty much everything you'd want and expect from a program calling itself Top Gear. Still under wraps, however, is the Stig. The suspense is killing us. This looks like a completely fun show. Hit the jump to see for yourselves. Thanks to Chris for the tip!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear!

Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear! originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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