Vehicles Blog

Updates from March, 2012

• Milford, Mich • General Motors will soon be introducing the 2013 Cadillac XTS, which the automaker is claiming will be the most technologically advanced production car the Cadillac brand has ever offered. The full sized-sedan will be equipped with advanced active safety and driver assistance systems that GM says are “a significant milestone toward the development of self-driving vehicles.”

  At GM’s Milford Proving Grounds outside of Detroit, I got a chance to experience what it’s like to leave the driving to a soulless machine, courtesy of a semi-autonomous SRX. It was part of a day highlighting Cadillac’s safety and crash avoidance technologies, both near term and further into the future — or, as summarized by John Capp, GM’s director of global active safety, electronics and innovation, going the next step from just alerting the driver of a dangerous situation to actually intervening if the driver can’t.

  Related

  • Motor Mouth: Cadillac needs to regain glory

  • L.A. Auto Show: 2013 Cadillac XTS

  Giving driving control over to a car doesn’t come naturally to someone who’s been driving for 40 years, but the SRX’s “SuperCruise” (as it’s being called internally) system proved eerily smooth and effective — at least on the proving ground’s high-banked circuit. Getting up to 100 kilometres an hour, setting the active cruise control and then activating SuperCruise via a steering wheel button is simplicity itself — lights on the steering wheel switch from blue to green to indicate the system is working. Taking one’s hands off the steering wheel is a whole different feeling. With the forward cameras reading the lane markings, the SRX tracked straight and true, never straying from its intended line. Other buttons on the steering wheel allow the SRX to shift left or right in half-metre increments depending on driver preference.

  As part of the demonstration, another car on the track deliberately slowed, activating the brakes as part of the adaptive cruise control system. Again, the SRX slowed to a safe distance, then accelerated as the car ahead picked up speed. And, again, it stayed exactly in the centre of the lane. A tap of the brakes deactivates SuperCruise, putting the SRX back under the control of the driver.

  The system is not nearly perfected, says Capp, but, the way the technology is progressing, it’s quite conceivable that SuperCruise could be an option on cars within five years — notwithstanding regulatory and legal issues. One impediment is weather: The cameras need to be able to read the lane markings. Conditions such as snow and even heavy rain could require the driver to take control.

  Of greater concern with any such system, says Capp, is keeping the driver engaged in the driving experience and not, in a kind of worst-case scenario, falling asleep behind the wheel.

  Cadillac also unveiled its new Safety Alert Seat, which will be offered on the XTS this spring. The luxury sedan will be the first car to use directional tactile sensation — vibrations of the driver’s seat bottom — to warn of crash threats while driving and parking.

  The seat generates vibrating pulse patterns on the left and/or right side of the lower bolster to alert the driver of potential dangers, such as drifting from a traffic lane or toward nearby objects while parking. Threats from the front and back trigger pulses on both sides of the seat. The seat works in conjunction with other visual alerts, focusing driver attention toward the direction of potential dangers.

  Trying out the seat in a variety of exercises, such as backing out of a parking spot into cross traffic and drifting left and right from the designated driving lane, quickly activated the pulsation, which got my attention faster than it would through other systems’ annoying buzzes, beeps and/or flashing lights.

  The Safety Alert Seat is part of the Cadillac Driver Awareness and Driver Assist packages, a combination of active safety systems designed to help drivers avoid crashes. The package includes Forward Collision Alert, lane departure warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

  The Driver Assist Package, available this fall, also uses the Safety Alert Seat and features adaptive cruise control, Automatic Collision Preparation and front and rear automatic braking systems.

  
  

  

  
  8:00 am on March 28, 2012
   

• Detroit • While the underlying theme of the North American International Auto Show was the greening of the automobile, the more overt them keyed on style. Regardless of manufacturer, elegant style was to be found on every stand. The Big Three, a group not known for pushing the stylistic envelope, unveiled some stunning rides. The European manufacturers countered with some equally provocative designs. For any lover of the automotive form, it was a veritable festival of eye candy.

  Related

  • Motor Mouth: Fuel economy is what sells

  Cadillac
  The Cadillac ATS is set to become the brand’s new entry point. The rear-drive luxury sedan is said to be the lightest in the category (some 45 kilograms lighter than the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class). When it lands, the ATS will be offered with three engine choices. The base unit will be a 2.5-litre direct-injection four that’s good for 200 horsepower. In the middle sits a 2.0L turbocharged four that kicks out 270 hp while the top model features a 318-hp 3.6L V6. A little further out, a diesel engine will be added to the mix.

  The power is put to the pavement through a six-speed manual gearbox or six-speed manumatic that comes complete with magnesium paddle shifters. To ensure the requisite handling, the ATS will also be offered with General Motors’ driver-adjustable magnetic ride control suspension, Brembo brakes and an ideal 50/50 weight distribution.

  Chevrolet
  Since emerging from its dalliance with bankruptcy, GM has blossomed. The next new thing in Chevrolet’s portfolio is the Sonic RS. In this case, the suspension has been lowered and firmed to improve the handling, there’s a go-faster body kit, sport seats and sport steering wheel along with aluminum pedals. So far, it’s all cosmetic; however, beneath the hood sits GM’s up-level 1.4L turbocharged four — it puts forth 138 hp and 148 pound-feet of torque, which promises to put some serious spring in the Sonic’s step. Power is relayed to the road through the front wheels and a six-speed manual gearbox.

  Dodge
  While the name conjures up horrible images from the past, the Dart gives Dodge a true competitor in the compact segment — just about anything would have one-upped the Caliber this car replaces. Based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the Dart will be offered with three different engine choices. The list includes the base 2.0L (160 hp), a mid-level 1.4L turbocharged four (also rated at 160 hp but with a much more substantial 184 lb-ft of torque) and a 184-hp 2.4L four.

  The transmission choices include a six-speed manual, six-speed automatic and a six-speed twin-clutch gearbox. Inside, the clever use of ambient lighting, soft-touch materials and high-tech features introduces a very rich feel to the cabin.

  Ford
  The new Fusion has to rank as one of the best-looking cars at this year’s show — if you see shades of Aston Martin in the front face, you are not alone. It also promises to shake up the mid-sized segment with its broad array of powertrains. It will be offered with hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, a pair of four-cylinder EcoBoost engines (a 179-hp 1.6L and an up-level 2.0L that’s good for 237 hp!) and a base 2.5L naturally aspirated four. Rounding things out are a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions and front- or all-wheel drive along with an idle-stop system that automatically shuts off the engine when the Fusion comes to a standstill.

  Inside, the cabin is stylish, with a look that keys on a large screen at the top of the centre stack. This and the latest version of MyFord Touch allows the driver to control everything through simple voice commands.

  Mercedes-Benz
  The new Mercedes SL looks very much like a pumped-up SLK but with a twist — the new aluminum body structure is 140 kilograms lighter than its predecessor. It is, as with its smaller sibling, a smart-looking piece that has an ornate face featuring LED daytime running lights along with light tubes that run above the headlights. The SL550 is powered by M-B’s new 4.6L twin-turbo V8. Blowing the air into the cylinders at 13 psi delivers a whopping 429 hp and an even more impressive 516 lb-ft of torque at just 1,800 rpm, all of which is relayed to the rear wheels through a seven-speed manumatic with three driving modes. This gives the lightweight speedster a zero-to-100-kilometres-an-hour acceleration time of 4.9 seconds!

  Mini
  Hot on the heels of the outré Coupe comes the next logical step — a droptop version. As with other Minis, the new Roadster is offered three ways — Cooper, Cooper S and the go-faster Works edition. The key feature is the new fabric roof. After unlatching the header catch, it is lowered manually (there is a power option). Thankfully, it includes a proper glass rear window with defroster. There are also two large rollover hoops that add to the overall look enormously. The one drawback is luggage space. With the top commanding much of the space, it leaves but 8.5 cubic feet of space, although there is a pass-through for longer items. In the end it matters not, as this car is about open-air fun not practicality!

  Porsche
  Following the launch of the 911 Coupe, Porsche revealed the Carrera Cabriolet. In engineering the new droptop, Porsche paid particular attention to mass — this version is 60 kg lighter than the previous model thanks to a rigorous diet and the use of magnesium in the top itself. It takes 30 seconds to raise or lower the canvas roof, and this can be accomplished at speeds of up to 50 km/h. The new Cabrio also benefits from a wind deflector that powers into place rather than having to install it manually after the roof has been lowered.

  Volkswagen
  VW is adding a hybrid model to its popular Jetta sedan. The new powertrain consists of a 1.4L turbo four-cylinder that’s hooked up to a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. Sandwiched between the two is the electric motor that gets its juice from a 1.1-kWh lithium ion battery. The gas side puts forth 150 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, while the electric motor chips in with another 27 hp. The combination is good enough to whisk the Jetta to 100 km/h in less than nine seconds while returning an average fuel economy of 5.2 litres per 100 km. A big part of the economy boils down to the Jetta’s ability to drive on electric power alone at speeds of up to 65 km/h and for a distance of up to two kilometres when the conditions are right. The other ace up its sleeve is that, whenever the driver lifts off the gas, the engine shuts off to preserve precious drops of fuel.

  
  

  

  
  3:30 pm on January 13, 2012
   

• Cadillac wants you to starting thinking of it as “The Standard of The World.” For anyone younger than 50, such hubris seems delusional. Cimarrons of questionable provenance and Eldorados too boaty even for the blue-rinse set took care of any notions of American automotive superiority. It’s been at least 50 years since Cadillac set the standard for anything in the automotive world.

  Nonetheless, for a long time, such a conceit rang true. It may be hard for Generations X, Y and Z to believe, but Mercedes-Benz used to copy Cadillac in its quest for luxury legitimacy. Indeed, the highest compliment you could pay to any product — literally from soup to nuts — was to describe it as the “Cadillac of …”
  Little surprise, then, that Ed Welburn, General Motors’ vice-president of global design, trotted out all the clichés in his introduction of the new Cadillac XTS at last week’s Los Angeles Auto Show. It deserves most of them. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but the XTS has a very difficult mission — it must cater to Cadillac’s diminishing but still important senior set without upsetting the momentum of the company’s rejuvenated Art & Science motif.

  It must, if you will, inspire a Crown Vic owner to want to trade up without offending a Porscheophile looking to trade in his or her 911 for a hyper-motor CTS-V Coupe. (Make mine monochromatic black with tinted windows and polished aluminum wheels with black, powder-coated accents, Mr. Welburn, if you’re feeling generous.)

  The XTS pretty much succeeds. Oh, the comparison with Audi may be a marketing embellishment too far, and a little more swoopiness to the rear roofline would not go amiss.

  But if Cadillac’s User Experience (CUE) interface really does manage to simplify the digital entertainment — Welburn promises Apple-like hand gestures and haptic feedback — then that’s reason enough to call it a grand success.

  What the XTS is most definitely not, however, is a flagship. Oh, we’ll hear a bit of such haughtiness over the coming months, but a Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 Series it most definitely is not.
  And Cadillac desperately needs one. The company is arguably GM’s most successful turnaround — in North America, at least. (One could argue for Buick as well, given its phenomenal success in China.) But Cadillac will never regain that Standard of the World moniker without having an aspirational flagship.

  Contrary to GM’s conservative approach, any Caddy land yacht that dreams of competing with the Teutonic giants needs to be completely over the top.

  It needs to rekindle some of that “our tailfins are bigger than yours” hauteur of Coupe de Villes past. Think outré. Think grandiose. Think George Clooney pulling up to the Academy Awards’ red carpet — his blonde du jour draped over the centre console — in an open-topped roadster so outlandishly huge it completely blocks out Sean Penn’s little green Prius. It needs to — using another tired old cliché — make a statement.

  The sad thing is that such a vehicle already exists. Indeed, it was at Cadillac’s stand at the Los Angeles Auto Show not 15 metres from the XTS display. It’s called the Ciel and it’s a ginormous boat of a four-door droptop that looks like a cross between a CTS and one of those gorgeous, curvy, wooden lake runners that made boating in the Gatsby Era seem so glamorous. The thing is so freakishly majestic that it has blankets built into the seats so Clooney’s dates won’t catch a chill while motoring to the estate al fresco.

  Of course, GM’s boffins claim the Ciel can’t be produced — too expensive, too radical, say the bean counters. We’d have to produce completely new running gear, complain the engineers. There’s no consumer demand for such a car, say the marketing mavens.

  It all sounds like pathetic weaseling to me. These are the same marketing mavens who constantly lament the passing of the aforementioned Standard of the World sobriquet. They claim their biggest desire is to see Cadillac return to its deserved former glory. Yet, if the company truly wants to return to whence it came, it needs a car that will sit atop its lineup like royalty upon a throne, something the XTS or even a V version of the CTS can’t begin to pull off.

  Cadillac’s only fault of late is that it teases us with the cars it could build, then tells us why it can’t build them. Cadillac’s past is rife with mistakes — believing in the American Dream writ large isn’t one of them.

  
  

  

  
  9:00 am on November 25, 2011