Cadillac Continues Development of All-New ATS

DETROIT – It’s a given that the luxury cars contain high technology, but the finest must have something that cannot appear on the specification chart: expertise. Engineers working on the all-new Cadillac ATS, which begins production in 2012, were handpicked based on their roles in developing other top Cadillacs – and how well they can drive and evaluate cars on grueling test tracks.

Their shared goal: Create a new compact sport sedan challenging the best cars in that category. Most of the engineers on the team also developed Cadillac’s CTS and V-Series high-performance models, and have the highest level of training as test drivers. Some are certified drivers on Germany’s famed Nurburgring test track.

“It's been the persistent attention to detail in noise-vibration-harshness, the gram-by-gram mass reduction, and consistent focus on ‘fun to drive’ attributes that led this team to hone the suspension and steering in the demanding environments of the German Autobahn and Nurburgring Nordschleife,” said ATS lead development engineer Chris Berube.

The ATS will be unveiled in 2012 and will be built at the Lansing Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich., alongside the CTS Coupe, Sedan and Sport Wagon family.

A series of videos featuring highlights of the car’s development are available on the Cadillac YouTube page and on the Cadillac media website.

Courtesy of Cadillac Media

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Cadillac XTS: Advanced Tech Systems Enhance Vision

LOS ANGELES – Using a strategy it calls control and alert, Cadillac will debut a network of cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors on the all-new 2013 XTS to bolster driver vision and awareness of road hazards and intervene to help avert potential crashes.

In some cases, Cadillac’s enhanced vision and sensing systems will act without the driver, such as though automatic braking based on information indicating potential obstacles.

“New technology in the XTS is intended to extend the vision around the car, helping drivers identify obstacles and, when necessary, take action to assist them in avoiding a collision,” said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac Marketing. “Cadillac expands its lineup dramatically in 2012, led by the new XTS, and this suite of technologies is a central component of it.”

The new XTS contains several features using visual and audible alerts  designed to identify potential threats with sufficient warning for the driver to react and make changes. One example is the Safety Alert Seat feature, which vibrates either the left or right side of the driver’s seat cushion depending on the location of the impending concern. Intervening features, such as automatic braking, take action automatically if the driver is slow to initially react.

The advanced safety features and benefits include:

Front and Rear Automatic Brakes – Using “virtual bumpers” that rely on short-range radar technology and ultrasonic sensors, this feature helps prevent front and rear low-speed collisions via a progression of alerts that extends to complete braking if necessary. For example: If the vehicle is headed toward a small pillar inside a garage or a lamppost on a city street, the system will alert about the hard-to-spot item and stop the vehicle to help prevent an impact.

Adaptive Cruise Control – Using radar technology, this feature can apply limited braking or acceleration to maintain a selected following distance to the vehicle ahead.

Intelligent Brake Assist – Detects a panic-braking situation and assists the driver by applying brake force more quickly to help stop sooner.

Forward Collision Alert – Radar and camera technology detects a possible collision threat and alerts the driver, giving him or her time to stop and/or change course.

Safety Alert Seat – A vibration on either the left or right side of the driver’s seat cushion, depending on the location of the impending concern, alerts the driver to a potential collision threat.

Automatic Collision Preparation – When the XTS senses a collision is imminent, braking is applied to lessen the severity or perhaps even enable the driver to avoid the incident.

Lane Departure Warning – A camera-based lane detection system that warns the driver of unsignaled lane changes. The camera, mounted near the inside rearview mirror, identifies traffic lane markings and provides audible alerts or activates the Safety Alert Seat.

Side Blind Zone Alert – Using radar sensors on both sides of the vehicle, the system “looks” for other vehicles in the blind zone areas of the XTS and indicates their presence with LED-lit symbols in the outside mirrors.

Rear Cross Traffic Alert – Using radar sensors of the side blind zone alert system, it warns the driver of oncoming traffic when backing out of a parking spot – including angled parking. Visual and audible alerts are triggered if moving vehicles are detected.

Adaptive Forward Lighting – With adaptive forward lighting, the headlamps swivel with direction of the front wheels to maintain forward lighting in concert with vehicle steering.

Rear Vision Camera With Dynamic Guidelines – With a display in the center stack, the camera provides a view of objects directly behind the XTS, with dynamic guide lines laid over the video image to assist in parking maneuvers.

Behind the new technology, XTS has a strong body structure and 10 standard air bags. Other standard safety features include:

• Dual-stage frontal driver air bag
• Dual-stage frontal passenger air bag with passenger sensing system
• Driver and front passenger side-impact air bars
• Driver and front passenger knee air bags
• Outboard head curtain air bags, front and rear, with rollover sensing
• Outboard rear thorax air bags
• Safety belt pretensioners and load limiters
• Child seat LATCH system
• StabiliTrak electronic stability control
• Four-wheel disc brakes with four-channel antilock brakes.

Standard OnStar

XTS features OnStar as standard. It uses GPS and cellular phone technology to automatically call for help in the event of collision. OnStar service also includes myCadillac and OnStar myLink mobile apps, which offer vehicle information and OnStar services via the customer’s smartphone.

 

 

Courtesy of GM news

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2013 Cadillac XTS Introduces a New Formula for Luxury

LOS ANGELES – Cadillac unveiled the 2013 XTS today, the newest addition to the Cadillac luxury sedan lineup. It arrives in showrooms in the spring of 2012 as the most technologically advanced production car in the brand’s history.

Larger than the CTS, the new XTS delivers the space, elegance and dramatic presence that are Cadillac signatures, but with entirely new and technically advanced methods tuned for a new generation of luxury customers. It also marks the debut of CUE, a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and media data.

In addition to the CUE interface and connectivity, many other advanced technologies are integral to the new XTS. It will be the only luxury sedan with standard Magnetic Ride Control – the world’s fastest-reacting suspension. Advanced technologies that enhance vision are available as well.

Positioned directly above the centerpiece CTS family in Cadillac’s revamped lineup, the new XTS features a 3.6L direct injection engine and advanced all-wheel drive system, marking a shift to more-efficient performance in a spacious luxury sedan.  

“The Cadillac XTS represents a new formula for luxury, driven by advanced technology,” said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac Marketing. “XTS showcases the evolution of our Art & Science philosophy, merging the best technical ideas with the continued refinement of Cadillac design.”

Cadillac CUE is the highly customizable user interface that exemplifies XTS’ blend of advanced technology and artistic design. The heart of CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, is the standard eight-inch (203 mm) screen in the “center stack,” the faceplate below the screen and the steering wheel controls. CUE features several industry firsts, including capacitive-touch control with proximity sensing, gesture recognition and natural voice recognition.

Available exclusively on the XTS is the 12.3-inch (312 mm) reconfigurable cluster. It features vibrant graphic displays showcased among four driver-selectable themes, ranging from minimal to extensive information. And while it is the prominent element in the XTS’ technological character, CUE is part of a more comprehensive and layered approach to the car’s design, capabilities and performance

“The more you look, the more layers you see in XTS,” said Butler. “They aren’t always apparent to the eye, but they build on one another in important ways to reinforce the car’s strength of design, comfort and driving experience.”

Highlights include:

• Advanced Haldex all-wheel-drive system with electronically controlled limited-slip differential
• Magnetic Ride Control, rear air suspension, HiPer Strut front suspension and Brembo brakes – all standard
• Standard 19-inch wheels and available 20-inch wheels
• Direct-injected 3.6L V-6 with lightweight features, including integrated cylinder heads/exhaust manifolds
• Capless fuel tank filler for easier, cleaner refueling
• Folding rear-seat headrests that enhance rear visibility
• Safety Alert Seat that vibrates to alert the driver
• Intervening braking system that lessens or avoids potential collisions

Short- and long-range radar systems that support:

• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Front and Rear Automatic Brakes
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The XTS is also the most-spacious Cadillac sedan, tailored to provide roominess in a more efficiently sized package. It offers more interior space than midsize luxury cars and comparable to full-size sedans, particularly in the rear seat area, where it has 40 inches (1,016 mm) of rear legroom. That’s about four more inches than the BMW 5 Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class and about two more inches than the Audi A6 – and comparable to larger sedans.

And when it comes to trunk space, the XTS is in a league of its own, with 18 cubic feet (509 L), exceeding both midsize and full-size competitors – more than Audi A6 and A8L, BMW 5 and 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz E- and S-Class. For XTS customers, the cargo advantage means room for five or more suitcases.  

Technology reinforces multidimensional design philosophy

XTS’ hardware and spatial dimensions are the foundational layers that support a new level of surface detail. Multidimensional exterior and interior elements, including the grille, headlamps and new use of accent lighting, coalesce to give the XTS a presence and attention to detail unlike any Cadillac that has come before it.

“The XTS’ technology is woven into its design in ways that affirm the driving experience is of primary importance to a new generation of luxury customers,” said Clay Dean, design director and Cadillac brand champion. “This is the new expression of luxury at Cadillac and it shows in the multilayered details, authentic materials and unprecedented connectivity.”

CUE, for example, represents the pinnacle of technology, but it is being showcased using a subtle and sophisticated interior appearance that blends with other features to create a soothing and inviting feel. It offers more capability and driver-selectable choices than ever before from Cadillac, but the center stack has only seven buttons – four of them for the radio. That’s less than half the controls found on the center stack of the typical car.

“Technology helps the XTS deliver more with less,” said Dean. “Choreographed interior lighting and other unique features tailored to individual driver preferences complement CUE to create an exceptionally refined and advanced ambience.”

The XTS’ surface details also convey a more-nuanced design philosophy, with elements that support the long, sleek proportion that is a welcome return to Cadillac. They bring forward more beauty and elegance with refined, graceful forms and surfaces working harmoniously with established Cadillac linear forms. It is a car that conveys the next step in Cadillac form and surface vocabulary.

“It is a bold, elegant design and also very efficient in the ways it encompasses passengers and cargo,” said Dean. “It’s a new proportion for Cadillac and a new era in luxury.”

The XTS Platinum is the fullest expression of Cadillac’s multidimensional philosophy, with features that include a chrome/satin-chrome grille finish, polished 20-inch aluminum wheels with chrome inserts, a fully wrapped leather interior with Alcantara headliner and more.

Advanced safety features based on ‘control and alert’ strategy

The XTS’ technology fundamentally supports a suite of advanced safety features, based on a “control and alert” strategy that extends the vision around the vehicle. It helps drivers identify potential crash situations and even intervenes when a crash threat appears more imminent, employing layers of visual, audible and tactile (vibration) alerts, depending on the alert feature.

The alerts are designed to identify obstacles with sufficient warning to give the driver time to react and make changes – including the Safety Alert Seat feature, which vibrates either the left or right side of the driver’s seat cushion, depending on the location of the impending concern. The intervening features, including Automatic Collision Preparation, take over if the threat appears more immediate or the driver does not react to previous alerts.

Two levels of control-and-alert protection are offered in the XTS’ Enhanced Safety Strategy (ESS) packages.

ESS I includes:

• Lane Departure Warning
• Forward Collision Alert
• Safety Alert Seat
• Side Blind Zone Alert
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Reflected LED display.

ESS II includes all ESS I content plus:

• Head-up display (in color)
• Front and Rear Automatic Brake
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Automatic Collision Preparation

XTS also features OnStar as standard. OnStar service also includes myCadillac and OnStar myLink mobile apps, which offer vehicle information and OnStar services via the customer’s smartphone.

AWD and Magnetic Ride Control support new driving experience

A layered approach to the driving experience relies on new and established technologies – all rooted in a stiff structure. The body is infused with strategically placed ultra-high-strength steel for strength and crash protection and serves as the foundation for the advanced-chassis system.

A smart Haldex all-wheel-drive system – with an electronic limited-slip differential that splits torque between the rear wheels – complements an advanced HiPer Strut front suspension and standard Magnetic Ride Control real-time damping to give the XTS sure-footed, confident and comfortable ride and handling traits. A linked H-arm design with “air springs” comprises the rear suspension.  

HiPer Strut is based on the MacPherson strut front suspension design and features dual-path top mountings that separate the transfer of spring and damper loads to the body structure. It improves ride-and-handling characteristics in four significant ways:

• Provides more linear and communicative steering through improved camber control
• Improves impact isolation on bumps and rough surfaces
• Reduces torque steer
• Improves vehicle sensitivity to tire irregularities and wheel imbalance.

Magnetic Ride Control delivers precise body motion control – “reading” the road every millisecond and changing damping in just five milliseconds. It replaces conventional mechanical-valve shocks with electronically controlled shocks filled with a magneto-rheological fluid containing minute iron particles. Under the presence of magnetic charge, the iron particles align to provide damping resistance almost instantly.

StabiliTrak electronic stability control is standard on all models, along with variable-effort steering and Brembo four-wheel disc brakes with four-channel antilock brakes – all features that add important layers of control to the driving experience. Like Magnetic Ride Control, XTS borrows the Brembo braking technology from Cadillac’s V-Series of high performance models.

Horsepower for the XTS comes from an advanced 3.6L V-6 that’s known by its “LFX” engine code. It is rated at an estimated 300 horsepower (224 kW). Lightweight features help reduce overall weight for greater efficiency and a more favorable front-to-rear weight balance. Examples include a composite intake manifold saves approximately 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) over the weight of a comparable aluminum intake and an integrated cylinder head/exhaust manifold design that saves approximately 13 pounds (6 kg) per engine.

The LFX engine is matched with the Hydra-Matic 6T70 six-speed automatic transmission with tap-shift control.

The XTS will begin production in Oshawa, Ontario in spring 2012.

 

Courtesy of Cadillac Media

CTS Coupe Driving Sales and Image Gains

• Top-selling luxury coupe drives brand image, CTS family sales
• CTS lineup and SRX crossover sales rise in September

DETROIT – Through September, and just over a year after its launch, the Cadillac CTS Coupe is America’s best-selling mid-size luxury coupe and vying for first place among all luxury coupes.

The dramatically designed luxury sport coupe is a force in Cadillac’s overall ongoing gains in consumer image in a segment that previously consisted of only well-established European luxury sport models.

Cadillac sold 15,771 CTS Coupes through September, with a take rate of nearly 27 percent with the rest of CTS sales split between Sedan and Sport Wagon models. The industry average for coupe sales is 9 percent among luxury automakers.

“The launch and sales of the CTS Coupe has been an unqualified success and sets the stage for the all-new ATS and XTS models as a critical step in Cadillac’s brand renaissance,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac Sales and Service.

Cadillac’s V-Series of high-performance models feature the brand’s Magnetic Ride Control technology and a 556-hp supercharged engine. Nearly 20 percent of CTS Coupe models sold are V-Series editions. The Coupe and V-Series products give Cadillac an expanding reputation for high performance, a necessary element for the top luxury brands. 

The CTS Coupe has attracted new buyers to Cadillac in general. Sales of the other CTS models – Sedan and Sport Wagon – have also increased. Total sales of the CTS family are up 24 percent in 2011, with 4,663 units sold in September.

According to Polk vehicle registration data through July, the CTS Coupe has driven more than half of the mid-luxury sales gains for the year. Comparatively through August, the overall luxury segment share of the industry is down 0.8 points over last year.

Meanwhile, the SRX midsize luxury crossover, which saw its share jump from ninth in the segment to second after its redesign a year earlier, is also vying for the top spot in its segment. Cadillac sold 4,901 SRXs in September, just 102 units fewer than the segment leader.

Escalade continues to lead the full-size luxury SUV segment sales in the United States with total sales of 2,414 units in September.

Beyond its products, Cadillac has also made substantial investments in updating its dealership and sales processes, and revamped its customer care programs, such as Cadillac Shield premium care maintenance and roadside assistance. As a result, Cadillac has grown its share of the luxury retail market 1 percentage point over last year while simultaneously reducing incentives.

 

 

 

Courtesy of media.cadillac.com

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Cadillac Announces XTS Luxury Sedan Debut

DETROIT – The  2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan will debut at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 12:30 p.m. EST.

About Cadillac

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered a historic renaissance led by artful engineering and advanced technology. More information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com.

 

Courtesy of GM news

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ATS The Journey Chapter One - Welcome to The Green Hell

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Watch as Cadillac tests develops and perfects our new compact luxury sedan. In the first installment of our Web series, we introduce the 2013 ATS to Germany’s demanding Nürburgring. Dubbed “The Green Hell", this stunning testing ground is known for attracting—and tormenting—the best drivers and performance vehicles in the world.

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Cadillac CUE Offers Personalized Connected Driving Starting In 2012

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Cadillac CUE, a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and entertainment data, will benefit consumers by offering personalized, connected driving beginning in 2012.

“CUE will transform personal transportation by  simply and efficiently integrating luxury design and instinctive technology with unparalleled levels of customized in-vehicle connectivity,” Don Butler, Vice President, Cadillac Marketing, announced at the CTIA Wireless Association’s Enterprise and Applications conference.

CUE will debut in 2012 in the Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans and SRX luxury crossover. CUE is designed to be unique for each consumer, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user.”

“For the tech-savvy, it’s everything you want it to be – a full suite of infotainment, navigation and communication tools that keeps you fully connected. For the tech-averse, its power is remarkably simple, intuitive and accessible,” Butler said.

CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, will pair entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system that reduces complexity through customized information, natural voice commands and fewer buttons and larger icons

For example, most of today’s luxury cars have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions. CUE reduces that to just four buttons.

“CUE doesn’t replace your smartphone or your iPod™,” said Micky Bly, executive director, Global Electric Systems, Infotainment and Electrification.  “Rather it allows consumers to securely store those mobile devices while channeling the information on those devices, along with your navigation tools, weather maps with Doppler radar, AM/FM and XM radio, instant messages and emails, through a central portal in your Cadillac, keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”

The heart of CUE is the 8-inch LCD touch screen, seamlessly integrated into the top of the central instrument panel and a motorized fully capacitive  faceplate at the bottom concealing a 1.8L storage area.   The vibrant LCD screen displays CUE’s home page, which resembles a smart phone’s screen by using large, easy-to-target icons to execute commands. Capacitive refers to using electrodes to sense the conductive properties of objects, such as a finger.

“CUE is a very elegant in-vehicle hub of all the information and entertainment in your life. All of CUE’s controls use the same design vernac­ular to create a harmony unique to Cadillac,” said Dave Lyon, executive director, Cadillac Interior Design. “Vibrant colors, a piano black face plate, precision-milled buttons, intuitive touch screen placement and sculpted front console provide a spacious, fashion-forward cabin.”

**Courtesy of Media Cadillac.com