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Williamson Automotive is seeking an out-going, energetic and professional person for our receptionist position as a part-timer. Must be bilingual. Please email resume to jlowe@williamsoncadillac@gmail.com
New techniques in lighting design are adding to the dramatic presence of luxury cars, while also providing real-world functional benefits. The all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan contains more than 20 separate light sources that “greet” the driver in a carefully choreographed sequence when the key fob is pressed.
The new XTS, launching in the second quarter, includes LEDs embedded in the door handles, Cadillac-signature vertical LEDs in the headlights and taillights and ambient lighting in and around the car’s perimeter. In addition to extending the car’s design signature, the lighting provides convenience and helps provide additional security to drivers in parking lots at night.
Cadillac designers took advantage of consistent advances in LED technology to use lighting to convey drama and space alongside functional benefits.
“The new LED offerings now provide a new palette of color to bring more dramatic lighting effects that have never been available before,” said Christos Roustemis, Cadillac interior designer.
On the inside, cooler blue lights accent the car’s controls and instrumentation while warmer lights highlight passenger areas.
“We sketched each phase of the process to carefully choreograph how every important area inside and outside of the vehicle would come up and fade back down, similar to a production crew lighting a theater stage,” Roustemis said.
The palette of colors also needed to harmonize with the interior colors as well as light emanating from the Cadillac User Experience (CUE) main LCD screen and instrument panel. The task was to make the ambient lighting enhance the experience and minimize distraction.
Creation of dramatic effects and pleasing spaces has long been a trademark of lighting design, said Rosemarie Allaire, a California-based architectural lighting designer. She says advances in LED lighting have opened the way to new possibilities in lighting design.
“In cars, just as in architecture, lighting defines how we feel about a space. It is both artistry and user experience,” Allaire said. “For me, the beauty is in the blends, how you layer the affects, mix the light sources, and how you package it into the final product.”
The XTS lighting choreography is timed to the fraction of a second by the car’s central control system, and is cued by various triggers, such as the key fob, the doors and ignition switch. The car’s exterior lighting brightens the perimeter of the car to provide an added level of security and make the car easier to locate.
Cadillac first used a vertical lighting signature as an exterior design theme in 1948. In Cadillac’s Art & Science design language that has defined Cadillac for the last dozen years, designers use thin, vertical LED “light pipes” in both the front and rear corners of the car.
Courtesy of Cadillac Media
Since the days when the silver screen showed moving pictures in only black and white, the Buick brand has been a part of memorable moments in theaters. Here’s a look back at some of the top Buick moments in movie history:
Buick is a modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors with thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning luxury models, including the Enclave crossover, LaCrosse sedan, Regal sport sedan, Buick Verano sedan and the all-new 2013 Encore crossover. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick or at www.facebook.com/buick.> 
Courtesy of Buick Media
Cadillac is the most-desired automotive brand in the United States by men, according to results of a market research test by a company that studies emotional connections.
The 2012 “Most Desired Brands in the U.S.” survey was conducted by the global strategic neuro-insight firm Buyology Inc and uSamp, which measured personal and emotional connections to 220 well-known brands across 10 industries.
Cadillac saw retail sales growth of 6.8 percent in 2011, led by the CTS family of cars, which were up 19 percent over 2010, and the mid-size luxury SRX crossover, which increased sales by more than 9.6 percent last year.
Cadillac is poised to further extend sales in 2012 with the introduction of the XTS full-size luxury sedan and the ATS compact luxury sedan, which will be released in the spring and summer of 2012 respectively.
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 Cadillac Media
The origin of Presidents' Day lies in the 1880s, when the birthday of George Washington—commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States—was first celebrated as a federal holiday. In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a number of federal holidays to Mondays. The change was designed to schedule certain holidays so that workers had a number of long weekends throughout the year, but it has been opposed by those who believe that those holidays should be celebrated on the dates they actually commemorate. During debate on the bill, it was proposed that Washington's Birthday be renamed Presidents' Day to honor the birthdays of both Washington (February 22) and Abraham Lincoln (February12); although Lincoln's birthday was celebrated in many states, it was never an official federal holiday. Following much discussion, Congress rejected the name change. After the bill went into effect in 1971, however, Presidents' Day became the commonly accepted name, due in part to retailers' use of that name to promote sales and the holiday’s proximity to Lincoln’s birthday. Presidents' Day is usually marked by public ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country.
Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
DETROIT – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced 2011 calendar-year net income attributable to common stockholders of $7.6 billion, or $4.58 per fully diluted share, up from $4.7 billion, or $2.89 per fully diluted share, in 2010.
Revenue increased 11 percent to $150.3 billion, compared with $135.6 billion in 2010. Full-year earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted was $8.3 billion, compared with $7.0 billion in 2010.
“In our first full year as a public company, we grew the top and bottom lines, advanced our global market share and made strategic investments in our brands around the world,” said Dan Akerson, chairman and CEO. “We will build on these results as we bring more new cars, crossovers and trucks to market, and make GM a far more efficient global team. This includes reducing our break-even level in Europe and South America and driving higher revenues around the world.”
Overview (in billions except for per share amounts)
|
|
| Q4 2010 | Q4 2011 |
| Full-year 2010 | Full-year 2011 |
| Revenue |
| $36.9 | $38.0 |
| $135.6 | $150.3 |
| Net income attributable to common stockholders |
| $0.5 | $0.5 |
| $4.7 | $7.6 |
| Earnings per share |
| $0.31 | $0.28 |
| $2.89 | $4.58 |
| Impact of special items on EPS fully diluted |
| $(0.21) | $(0.11) |
| $(0.14) | $0.70 |
| EBIT-adjusted |
| $1.0 | $1.1 |
| $7.0 | $8.3 |
| Automotive net cash flow from operating activities |
| ($1.7) | $1.2 |
| $6.6 | $7.4 |
| Automotive |
| ($2.8) | ($0.9) |
| $2.4 | $1.2 |
Fourth Quarter Results
Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased 3 percent to $38.0 billion, compared with the fourth quarter of 2010. GM’s fourth quarter 2011 net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.5 billion, or $0.28 per fully diluted share, including a net loss from special items of $0.2 billion or $0.11 per fully diluted share.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, GM’s net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.5 billion, or $0.31 per fully diluted share, including a net loss from special items of $0.4 billion or $0.21 per fully diluted share.
EBIT-adjusted was $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter EBIT-adjusted for 2011 includes the impact of restructuring charges of $0.3 billion.
GM’s fourth quarter 2011 special items include impairment charges related to goodwill and GM’s investment in Ally Financial, and gains related to the Canadian Health Care Trust (HCT) settlement, the reversal of deferred tax asset valuation allowances in Australia and the extinguishment of debt.
Regional Results
Cash Flow and Liquidity
For the fourth quarter of 2011, automotive cash flow from operating activities was $1.2 billion and automotive free cash flow was $(0.9) billion, which includes the previously announced $0.8 billion contribution to the HCT.
GM ended the year with strong total automotive liquidity of $37.5 billion compared with $33.5 billion in 2010. Automotive cash and marketable securities was $31.6 billion compared with $27.6 billion at the end of 2010.
U.S. Pension Update
GM’s U.S. defined benefit pension plans earned asset returns of 11.1 percent in 2011. They ended the year 88 percent funded, largely unchanged from 89 percent funded a year ago.
The company also announced today that it is taking further steps toward its goals of de-risking and fully funding its U.S. pension plans. Effective Sept. 30, 2012, GM will freeze its defined benefit pension plan for U.S. salaried employees, who instead will receive contributions to a defined contribution plan, or 401(k). This initiative will affect GM's U.S. salaried employees hired prior to Jan. 1, 2001. Salaried employees hired after that date are already covered by a defined contribution plan.
2012 Outlook
Looking forward, GM expects to increase its top-line revenue year-over-year in an expanding global automotive industry. In addition, GM expects continued pricing improvement with cost inflation well contained, while product mix and pension expense are expected to be unfavorable.
Capital spending in 2012 is expected to be in the range of $8 billion as the company continues to aggressively invest in new products and technologies.
“We are executing an aggressive product plan that will give customers around the world even more reasons to purchase a General Motors vehicle,” said Dan Ammann, senior vice president and CFO. “Behind the scenes, we are working hard to eliminate complexity and cost throughout the organization to increase margins in all of our regions, and return Europe and South America to profitability. Overall, we have made good progress and we have more work to do.”
Courtesy of Cadillac Media
The all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS, the most technologically advanced production car the luxury brand has ever offered, introduces an advanced active safety and driver assistance system, a significant milestone toward the development of self-driving vehicles.
Coming this fall to XTS, the available Driver Assistance Package is the first General Motors system of its kind to use sensor fusion, which enables integration of a broad range of sensing and positioning technologies that can alert drivers of road hazards and help them avoid crashes.
The system’s use of radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors enables advanced safety features, including:
“We believe sensor fusion will enable future active safety systems to handle a greater number of inputs to provide 360 degrees of crash risk detection and enhanced driver assist features,” said Bakhtiar Litkouhi, GM Research and Development lab group manager for perception and vehicle control systems.
“A system that combines the strengths of multiple sensing technologies and expertly manages those inputs can provide advisory, warning, and control interventions to help drivers avoid collisions and save lives,” Litkouhi said.
Sensor fusion also is a building block in the development of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles, which are designed to maintain lane position and adapt to traffic environments. It is envisioned that more sophisticated self-driving technology, that could enable semi and fully autonomous driving, will be available by the end of the decade.
GM’s leading-edge work on sensor fusion draws on its experience with The Boss, a fully autonomous Chevrolet Tahoe developed by GM, Carnegie Mellon University and other partner companies, and named for GM R&D founder Charles F. “Boss” Kettering. In 2007, The Boss navigated 60 miles of urban traffic, busy intersections and stop signs in less than six hours to win the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge competition.
Sensor fusion development also is bolstered by GM’s work on the EN-V, three semi-autonomous electric concept vehicles unveiled at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. By combining GPS with vehicle-to-vehicle communications, distance-sensing and object detection technologies, EN-V can be driven both manually and autonomously, the latter allowing it to automatically select the fastest route based on real-time traffic information.
Among the technologies that GM is looking to develop for future active safety systems is LIDAR, a light detecting and ranging technology that can measure the distance to a vehicle or object by illuminating it, often using pulses from a laser. Although LIDAR is no replacement for driver vision, it can become another set of eyes when visibility has deteriorated due to inclement weather or darkness. When combined with radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors, LIDAR has potential crash avoidance capability.
A more advanced positioning system, using more accurate GPS and digital mapping, also is expected to play an important role on future active safety systems because it helps locate vehicles in relation to one another. While GPS effectiveness can be limited in urban canyon environments where high-rise buildings can interfere with satellite signals, the technology is still considered an asset when “fused” with other sensing and positioning technologies.
“No sensor working alone provides all the needed information. That’s why multiple sensors and positioning technologies need to work together synergistically and seamlessly,” Litkouhi said. “Sensor fusion will help facilitate that.”
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 Cadillac Media
Team Cadillac Racing is partnering with iRacing.com, a premier online motorsports simulation gaming service, to put virtual racing fans behind the wheel of one of the team’s CTS-V race cars on iRacing.com’s multitude of tracks.
The virtual race car, based on the CTS-V Coupe race cars driven by Team Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim, will be designed and based on the actual race cars by iRacing.com engineers.
iRacing engineers visited the Team Cadillac race team, Pratt & Miller Engineering, near Detroit recently to begin creating the digital version of the CTS-V race car. Precise measurements of the racing cars will be made to ensure authenticity in both appearance and performance. They’ll also record the sounds of the Cadillac engine to provide an added dimension to the user experience.
“Having more than 30,000 virtual racers drive a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe race car on some of the most challenging tracks in the world is great opportunity to demonstrate Cadillac’s world-class performance credentials,” said Cadillac Global Marketing Director Jim Vurpillat. “When they climb in, flip the switch on the 520-horsepower race engine and hear that rumble for the first time, they’ll remember the experience.”
The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is a member of the world’s fastest family of production cars. The racing version took the first place podium twice last year, with O’Connell driving in its return to competition in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS Series.
“The V-Series is Cadillac’s most exciting car, and the Coupe really drives that point home,” said John Kraemer, Cadillac V-Series marketing manager. “The virtual experience of iRacing.com will combine the technical expertise they have in the digital world with our technical excellence over the road, and the results should be spectacular.”
iRacing allows members to compete with other drivers in an online series of racing challenges that mirror the actual racing season. The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe will be among an exclusive number of race teams for participants to choose from in the 2012 racing season and will be released this spring.
“This is great news for iRacing and the online racing community,” said Tony Gardner, president of iRacing.com. “The performance of the real-world Cadillac CTS-V race car is truly astonishing. I’m sure the iRacers around the world will be eager to get their hands on our digital version of this world-class machine.”
Courtesy of Cadillac Media
The all-new 2013 Cadillac ATS is being exhaustively developed to achieve excellent driving dynamics – and that performance focus extends to the sounds it makes.
While designers define how a car looks and engineers develop how it feels, other experts carefully craft how a luxury performance car should sound. Kyle Stanforth, noise and vibration engineer on the Cadillac performance team, said the ATS is engineered to enhance the performance-tuned sounds for each of the three available engines, while minimizing unwanted noise in and around the car.
“Cadillac customers expect a level of refinement beyond what most cars have. Yes, it’s quiet, but it’s more than that,” Stanforth said. “They also love to hear that sound of refined power when they ask for it. So when you open it up, you not only feel the power, you hear it too.”
ATS engineers carefully shaped the intake system to allow the engine to breathe-in fresh air, while minimizing unwanted engine noise. Similar designs to the exhaust system ensure maximum engine performance, while lowering the sound levels at idle and cruising speeds.
Inside, the ATS uses technology to further refine the sound. Bose Active Sound Management technology continuously monitors the sound inside the cabin and generates a cancellation signal to reduce unwanted engine noise. In addition to helping create optimal sound quality, this approach reduces the need to add acoustical materials – which supports the ATS’s estimated curb weight of less than 3,400 lbs.
“The ATS sounds distinctly like a Cadillac should. We’ve created a signature sound that expresses Cadillac power, refinement and luxury – and we make it sing,” Stanforth said.
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.
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Courtesy of Cadillac Media
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Buick attracted more than 40 percent of its customers from outside General Motors in 2011. That number rose to more than one in two last month for the new Verano compact luxury sedan, which went on sale in December.
One of those new customers is Kevin Buick, an attorney in Sycamore, Ill.
“With my name, I’ve been asked if I drive a Buick for as long as I remember,” said Buick, a distant relative of brand founder David Dunbar Buick. “But the cars were never right for me. The Verano, though, is truly perfect in every way that I ask of a car. It honestly feels like it was made just for me, so it’s amusing that I get to step over my name embossed in the sill plate every time I get into my car.
“I couldn’t be more excited to finally have a Buick in my garage, instead of just having the name on my mailbox.”
Buick’s new Black Onyx Verano replaces a Subaru Outback and offers what he says is just the right combination of size and content. “I need some creature comforts, but I’m not interested in a larger, more expensive car. My Verano has a high quality level for the price. Small things like the heated steering wheel make a big difference.”
Verano is Buick’s first compact luxury sedan, offering a standard seven-inch Color Touch radio and other features at a starting price of $23,470 including destination. ”A lot of people want small, high-quality cars,” Buick continued. “It’s a little narrow-minded to equate luxury with size. I’m pleased, and proud, to see American carmakers stepping in that direction.”
January sales of Verano tripled as inventory is still ramping up from the assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich.
The LaCrosse luxury sedan, which comes standard with Buick’s innovative eAssist light electrification powertrain, also reported a retail sales increase in January of 7.7 percent versus the same period in 2011. LaCrosse’s 4,013 sales topped the Lexus ES350 by approximately 1,400 units.
Overall, Buick retail sales were down 18.5 percent for the month, amid the phasing out of the Lucerne sedan. Despite the decrease, Buick outsold key competitors including Acura, Audi, Infiniti and Lincoln.
More than just Buick’s vehicles are changing. Some 1,900 of the brand’s dealerships around the country are in the process of updating their designs and business practices, adding customer lounges with Wi-Fi and new loaner vehicle programs. At Marquardt Buick in Barrington, Ill., Kevin Buick appreciated a “low-key, no-nonsense experience.”
“Buick is an evolving brand,” said Brian Sweeney, U.S. vice president of Buick and GMC Sales and Service. “As more consumers walk into our updated facilities to learn about our latest products like Verano and purposeful technology like eAssist, we expect to welcome more new members to the family.”
Yesterday, U.S. News and World Report named the Buick Regal the “Best Upscale Midsize Car for Families” and the Buick Enclave the “Best 3-Row Midsize SUV for Families.” In the Regal’s category, 19 vehicles were considered, while the Enclave topped a group of 23.
Buick is a modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors with thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning luxury models, including the Enclave crossover, LaCrosse sedan, Regal sport sedan, Buick Verano sedan and the all-new 2013 Encore crossover. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick or at www.facebook.com/buick.> 
Courtesy of Buick Media
