Filed under: Etc., BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche

Kelley Blue Book has issued its 2012 Brand Image Awards and Ford took home four of the 12 honors.

The Blue Oval was recognized as the Most Family-Friendly Brand, Best interior Design Brand, Non-Luxury, Best Exterior Design Brand, Non-Luxury, and Most Rugged Truck Brand. Cadillac was the only other U.S. marque to win awards. It took the Best Interior Design Brand, Luxury and Best Comfort Brand.

The usually dominant Japanese brands were scarce, with Honda the only representative. Honda took the Most Trusted Brand and Best Value Brand.

The remaining four categories all went to Germany. BMW took Best Exterior Design Brand (somewhere Chris Bangle is smiling), Porsche took Coolest Brand and Best Performance Brand. Mercedes-Benz, for the fifth year in a row, was named the Most Prestigious Brand.

Ford honored most by 2012 KBB Brand Image Awards originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Technology, Crossover, Cadillac, GM, Luxury

Cadillac is updating its best-seller for the 2013 model year, with the SRX crossover getting several technology enhancements, including CUE, the luxury brand's new infotainment system.

The acronym stands for Cadillac User Experience, which uses a capacitive touchscreen for control of numerous functions, including interfacing with a driver's smartphone. While other systems like CUE already exist, none offer proximity sensing and haptic feedback such that the display changes as a driver's hand nears it and gives feedback to his selection. We've already posted a deep dive with CUE here.

The other big upgrade is the availability of new safety technology in conjunction with Cadillac's Safety Alert Seat, which we wrote about here. Two packages will be offered, one called "Driver Awareness" and the other "Driver Assist." The former is focused on crash prevention by way of providing driver alerts, while the latter will also include vehicle intervention.

Cadillac has also added active noise cancellation to the SRX for 2013, along with redesigning the steering wheel and shifter and updating the instrument cluster to accommodate CUE. Some new USB and SD card ports, minor rear-seat entertainment upgrades, standard HD radio, and new interior color combinations round out the changes.

Click past the jump to read the full press release.

Continue reading Cadillac CUEs up improved 2013 SRX

Cadillac CUEs up improved 2013 SRX originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Safety, Technology, Cadillac, GM, Luxury

It's going to be a big year for Cadillac, which will soon be reloading its model lineup with the new ATS and XTS sedans. The 2013 ATS compact slots in below the CTS, while the larger 2013 XTS aims to take care of traditional Caddy buyers looking for immensity above all else. While at diametrical ends of the spectrum, the two new models will share a technology package that all revolves around a new seat.

General Motors is throwing around fifty-cent words like "haptic" and phrases like "directional tactile sensation" to describe its new Safety Alert Seat, which vibrates to warn the driver of potential dangers like wandering out of one's lane. The seat employs two electric motors to create its directional feedback, and it's at the center of both safety packages Cadillac will be introducing this year. The first is aimed at merely providing the driver with safety alerts, while a more comprehensive suite will also offer vehicle intervention. Cadillac is using six radar sensors, eight ultrasonic sensors and two vision cameras to drive the new safety systems.

The Driver Awareness Package will debut with the launch of the XTS in the spring and offers the seat, Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. In the fall, Cadillac will begin offering the Driver Assist Package, which adds Adaptive Cruise Control, Front and Rear Automatic Braking, and Automatic Collision Preparation. Both packages will also be offered on the SRX crossover, details of which we expect to hear about at the New York Auto Show. Click through the jump to read more and to view two demonstration videos.

Continue reading Cadillac adding vibrating Safety Seat Alert to full suite of safety tech [w/video]

Cadillac adding vibrating Safety Seat Alert to full suite of safety tech [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrid, Etc., Technology, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Electric

Our spy photographers managed to spot something curious (and decidedly hilarious) recently. General Motors has been busy testing what would appear to be Chevrolet Volt models with massive 20-inch wheels and tires in place of the low-rolling resistance pieces on the stock plug-in.

Why? Guesses are slim at the moment, but one hypothesis is that this is actually our first glimpse at a Cadillac Converj test mule. That vehicle will make use of an altered version of the Voltec drivetrain found in the Chevrolet, albeit bolted to flashier wheels. The luxury hybrid has been an on-again-off-again affair for General Motors since the concept first rolled across the stage at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Last we heard, the Converj is on track for launch in either 2013 or 2014. If true, now would be the time to begin working out any engineering bugs on the rumored Voltec 1.5 system. With luxury buyers more willing to hand over stacks of cash for new technology, the Converj could make quite a bit more sense to buyers than the Volt. Or bolting chrome dubs to a hybrid, for that matter.

Is this dub-rockin' Chevrolet Volt actually a Cadillac Converj in disguise? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Performance, Wagon, Videos, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

Station wagons, as pointed out by ex-Autoblogger Jonny Lieberman, are boring. "It's the penalty you pay for falling in love and having children," he says.

Sure, just so long as your children like to go fast, at least when the chosen conveyance to move those booster seats from Point A to Point B is either the wagon version of the Cadillac CTS-V or Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, as tested by Motor Trend in the video you'll see after the break.

Without spoiling any of the salient details, we'll say that one car was a wee bit quicker, crossing the finish line a scant 79 feet ahead of its rival after a half-mile of acceleration to speeds surpassing 150 miles per hour, while the other was deemed the overall better car for enthusiast drivers.

Which was which? See the video below for all the answers you crave, along with some brilliant exhaust notes from these two rare wagon-shaped beasts.

Continue reading Motor Trend pits Cadillac CTS-V vs Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG in wagon-off

Motor Trend pits Cadillac CTS-V vs Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG in wagon-off originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Jaguar, Lexus, Mini

When it comes to handing out awards, nobody works harder than J.D. Power. With surveys concocted to measure dependability, brand reputation, customer retention, quality, and whatever else the company can dream up, we sometimes wonder whether the company's plaudits aren't becoming a little like "participant" medals awarded at the end of kids' sports seasons.

This latest J.D. Power survey, the 2012 Customer Service Index, measures service satisfaction at dealerships. The most interesting find is that overall satisfaction at dealers is nearly four percent greater than at independent repair facilities. Visits to dealers among owners of vehicles less than three years old are up as well.

Of course, the numbers that people will be most interested in relate to how each brand fared in the survey. J.D. Power ranks each marque on a 1,000-point scale, "based on dealer service performance during the first three years of new-vehicle ownership, which typically represents the majority of the vehicle warranty period. Five measures are examined to determine overall customer satisfaction with dealer service (listed in order of importance): service quality; service initiation; service advisor; service facility; and vehicle pick-up."

The brands are broken into either luxury or mainstream categories, and the top performers in each list are clustered fairly close together. Lexus scored 861 points, followed by Cadillac (852) and Jaguar (849) on the luxury side. The mass market competitors finished even closer, with Mini leading at 809 points, followed closely by three General Motors brands: Buick (805), GMC (803) and Chevrolet (801).

See below for the full press release.

Continue reading Lexus, Mini take home dealer satisfaction laurels in latest J.D. Power survey

Lexus, Mini take home dealer satisfaction laurels in latest J.D. Power survey originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Cadillac, Specialty, Luxury

A seriously stretched Cadillac XTS has been snapped during cold-weather testing doing what appeared to be checks of its traction-control, braking and stability systems, according to our spy photographers. With the Lincoln Town Car having left the building, Cadillac probably sees a huge opportunity not only in the livery market, but also in the celebs-and-prom-kids segment.

More than once the spy photogs mentioned the size of this car, and it looks massive even from its best angle. Another option for its use is as a new presidential limo to replace the rolling Imperial Starship that is the current Cadillac One, though while that vehicle does have the body of a Cadillac, its underpinnings come from a medium-duty Chevrolet Kodiak truck.

Cadillac XTS stretch limousine spotted looking prom-idential originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Technology, Videos, Cadillac, Design/Style, Luxury

Cadillac has already been releasing a steady drip of information about what's going into its 2013 XTS like its autonomous-vehicle tech, and now it's focusing on lighting choreography. Cadillac reminds us that its lighting signature is vertical bands of illumination, tying it back to 1948, when the tailfins for which the brand is still known were first used on cars like the Fleetwood Sixty Special and Series 61 Coupe.

The illumination system goes by the intriguing names of either "Lead Me to the Vehicle" or the Phil-Collins-esque "Take Me Home" and is charged with adding drama and security. Twenty light sources are used in total, starting outside with the LEDS in the headlights, mirror housings, door handles and around the perimeter. Inside, LEDs are used everywhere from overhead to controls to door handles to the footwells, and they are timed in their illumination and dimming, "similar to a production crew lighting a theater stage."

Follow the jump for a press release and vids demonstrating the latest in Art & Science.

Continue reading Cadillac choreographs light show for approaching its 2013 XTS

Cadillac choreographs light show for approaching its 2013 XTS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Lexus, Lincoln, Porsche, Scion, Toyota

Remember the days of planned obsolescence? They're over. The latest J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study shows a 13-percent improvement in new car dependability over the first three years of ownership. The latest sample of 2009 model year vehicles shows the lowest rate of problems since the study's inception in 1990.

The big winner was the Lexus LS, which had the fewest reported problems in the study. Lexus was the highest rated brand as well, followed by Porsche, Cadillac, Toyota and Scion. J.D. Power says 25 of 32 automotive brands showed improved dependability, with six declining and one remaining the same.

While J.D. Power was pleased to see automakers producing high quality cars despite the economic disaster unfolding around them three years ago, it did note that some brands are still not getting credit for building reliable vehicles. "During the past four years, models from Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai and Lincoln have achieved consistently strong levels of dependability," the company's release stated, "but still have relatively high proportions of new-vehicle buyers expressing reliability concerns."

To read the full press release, click past the jump.

Continue reading J.D. Power reports vehicle dependability has substantially improved

J.D. Power reports vehicle dependability has substantially improved originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedan, Cadillac, Luxury

The Cadillac CTS has always been a bit of a anomaly in the luxury segment, spanning the space between the entry-level BMW 3 Series/Mercedes-Benz C-Class/Audi A4 and mid-size 5 Series/E-Class/A6. But with the introduction of the 2013 Cadillac ATS, the CTS has room to grow, and based on these first set of spy shots, it's doing just that.

Based off a stretched version of the Alpha platform that's underpinning its smaller sibling, the 2014 CTS' wheelbase is likely to grow a few inches, affording rear seat passengers up to 40 inches of leg room. While the front overhangs are still short and will continue on with Cadillac's Art and Science design motif with angular headlamps that stretch up the front fenders, the rear will likely extend a bit further back, maximizing trunk room in the process.

It's expected that the base engine will continue to be a V6, but churning out something in the neighborhood of 350 horsepower, possibly through the use of forced induction. The current six-speed automatic will likely be swapped in favor of a new eight-speed auto 'box to keep up with the rest of the luxury set.

If we had to place bets, we'd put our money on the 2014 CTS debuting at the Detroit Auto Show next year, with sales beginning late in 2013.

2014 Cadillac CTS grows to compete with BMW 5 Series originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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