Cadillac Super Bowl Spot Most Watched in U.S. History

2013 ATS commercial timing paid off in record-setting broadcast

DETROIT – Cadillac’s 30-second preview of the upcoming 2013 ATS compact sport sedan shown in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI broadcast was the most-viewed single advertising spot in U.S. television history, according to a study released Tuesday.

Kantar Media’s Super Bowl audience study found that the Cadillac spot reached an audience rating of 43.5, highest among all advertising spots shown during the NBC-TV telecast. With Super Bowl XVLI reaching a record U.S. television audience of 111.3 million viewer), this means the Cadillac spot had the highest audience ever for a single commercial.

”We have a big message this year – Cadillac is expanding with new models challenging the world’s best luxury cars. This stunning viewership data proves that Cadillac’s big message reached the largest audience,” said General Motors Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick. “When it comes to Super Bowl ads, everyone has opinions on their favorites. But it’s a fact that this Cadillac spot had the biggest audience during the game.”

The Kantar Media analysis showed that spots airing in the hotly contested game’s fourth quarter had higher viewership than those appearing earlier. Cadillac’s spot, called “Green Hell,” aired at 9:37 EST, during the game’s “two-minute warning” official timeout.

The previous record for the largest audience viewing a single commercial was “Miss Evelyn,” a spot for the Chevrolet Camaro in Super Bowl XLV last year. The U.S. telecast of the Super Bowl has achieved record audiences for three years running.

Read More: http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Feb/0207_ats

Cadillac CUE Wins Popular Mechanics Award

Only automaker to make magazine’s list of top gadgets at CES

DETROIT – Cadillac CUE, the new user experience for intuitive in-vehicle connectivity and control, received a Popular Mechanics Top Gadgets of CES 2012: Editors’ Choice Award at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Cadillac was the only automaker selected. The awards were announced on PopularMechanics.com at the conclusion of CES.

Each year at CES, the editors of Popular Mechanics select their top picks based on the level of innovation, potential industry impact and overall appeal. Cadillac presented CUE amid thousands of new products and innovations in the consumer electronics showcase.

“After seeing an earlier demonstration of the system at the Los Angeles Auto Show, I knew it would be a strong candidate for an award at CES,” said Andrew Del-Colle, assistant editor, Popular Mechanics. “The show offered a great opportunity to compare the CUE with many other OEM and aftermarket systems, and it stood out to us for its innovative use of new standards such as HTML 5, as well as for its intuitive user interface.”

CUE features the first automotive use of capacitive touch – the use of electrodes to sense the conductive properties of objects, such as a finger. It is a technology used by many of today’s most popular handheld mobile devices.

Other key aspects of CUE are natural speech recognition, Bluetooth connectivity for up to 10 devices and a motorized concealed storage compartment. The system runs on an ARM 11 3-core processor on a Linux open-source HTML5-based software platform CUE debuts in production on Cadillac’s 2013 XTS luxury sedan starting in late spring in North America. CUE will also be featured in the all-new 2013 ATS sport sedan launching in North American this summer.

Read More: http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Jan/0123_gm_cue

2012 Detroit auto show video: 2013 Cadillac XTS

The Cadillac XTS, introduced earlier at the LA Auto Show, replaces two discontinued Cadillac sedans—the STS and DTS—with just one model. At first glance, the XTS might just manage to combine the best qualities of both.

The DTS was a big cruiser of a car, the kind that gobbles up highway miles. However, its dated platform really didn’t like handling the curves. Its big back seat and trunk made it a good livery car for the few operators who didn’t buy Lincoln Town Cars. At first look, the spacious XTS seems to be just as accommodating. The well-shaped front seats are a far cry from those less-supportive perches that made the DTS a rolling couch.

Meanwhile, the STS was a smaller rear-wheel-drive sedan with a cramped cabin but enjoyable road manners. Like the smaller CTS, the STS had responsive handling and a taut ride. Cadillac is stressing that the XTS emphasizes both handling and ride. Since the XTS is based on the same front-wheel-drive platform as the Buick LaCrosse, a big sedan that handles well in its top-trim form, we expect a decent driving experience.

But the XTS brings other improvements. Visibility is better than the LaCrosse—not a major accomplishment. Interior detailing goes several steps beyond what the STS and DTS offered. We’ll see if the CUE dashboard design, which eliminates most buttons and knobs for touch-sensitive screens that you can drag and swipe, makes us yearn for the comparatively simple controls of the older cars.

The XTS occupies a fairly unique space in the market. Almost all of the large sedan competitors from the Germans and Japanese are rear-wheel-drive cars on distinct platforms. With the demise of the Town Car, Lincoln is left with the relatively cramped MKS as their large sedan. Less-pricey and mostly less-prestigious large sedans like the Hyundai Azera and Toyota Avalon could be logical alternatives.



Read More: http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2012/01/2012-detroit-auto-show-video-2013-cadillac-xts.html

Chicago Cadillac Dealers

2013 Cadillac ATS Engine Lineup: N/A and Turbo Fours, and a V6

We have plenty of spy photos of the upcoming rear-drive 2013 Cadillac ATS, but incognito photography rarely reveals what’s under a car’s hood. Thankfully, Cadillac stepped in and released that very information today. The ATS, which slots below the CTS in Caddy’s sedan lineup, will be available with a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four, and a 3.6-liter V-6.


The turbo four and the V-6 were expected, but the naturally aspirated four-cylinder is something of a surprise. Cadillac didn’t come out and say it, but we’re guessing the 2.5-liter is the same unit that will power some versions of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. We expect it will make around 190 hp in the Chevy, though Cadillac could always squeeze a bit more out of it to better differentiate it from its humble roots. As for the turbo, Cadillac says it will produce about 270 hp—the same output as the Buick Regal GS’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four. This is not, however, the same engine. Cadillac tells us it is about 95-percent new—it’s a mirror-image of the GS motor, with the intake and exhaust having switched sides. Like the other 2.0, though, it is all aluminum, and although it uses a different turbocharger (the GS uses a Borg Warner piece, the Caddy a Mitsubishi/Eaton), both cram the same 20 psi down the intake. The V-6 is GM’s latest direct-injected unit; it makes 308 hp in the Cadillac SRX and 318 in the CTS and will likely top the ATS’s engine range. Magnetorheological shocks will be available, as will paddle shifters on automatic models.

The ATS was designed to go up against entry-level luxury players like the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Both of those cars gained turbocharged four-cylinders as their base engines for 2012, but the Cadillac’s mid-level turbo will handily out-power both of them. (The base 2.5-liter four’s output will even be competitive with Benz’s turbo four.) The 3.6-liter six will trump both the C-class’s 302-hp V-6 and the BMW’s 300-hp turbo six. We’re looking forward to driving Cadillac’s first small sports sedan—especially the twin-turbo V-6–powered V version—after it debuts at the Detroit auto show in January.

Read More: http://blog.caranddriver.com/2013-ats-sport-sedan-engine-lineup-revealed-two-fours-and-a-six/

Chicago Cadillac

2011 LA Auto Show: Does Cadillac have the right touch in infotainment with CUE?

It’s clear that the designers of Cadillac’s new CUE infotainment system paid a lot of attention to the negative feedback surrounding the much-maligned MyFord Touch. After getting a run-through of CUE in Los Angeles, my initial impressions are that the system is more intuitive and user friendly, although questions remain about the potential for driver distraction.

CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, will debut next spring on the 2013 Cadillac XTS. Like MyFord Touch, CUE relies on a touch-sensitive display and touch-sensitive buttons on the dash. To give you some physical feedback, however, it provides a haptic response—a slight vibration—when you press a button, which helps give it the reassuring familiarity of using hard keys.

The system can also sense the proximity of your hand. So, simply moving your hand to within about four to six inches of the screen can automatically prepare it for a command. When using the navigation system, for example, the display will show a full-screen map while you’re driving. But moving your hand toward the screen will cause nav-function buttons to appear along the top and bottom of the display.

The CUE screen is uncluttered and has relatively large buttons and customizable settings. It’s also multi-touch sensitive, so you can scroll, swipe, and interact with it as you would a smart phone or tablet computer. Since even dead areas of the screen are active, you don’t need to be pinpoint precise when pressing a button, according to a spokesperson. A function will often activate even if you press in the vicinity of the related button.

The digital gauge cluster in front of the driver is also customizable. When using the navigation system, for example, a second route map can be displayed there so the driver doesn’t have to take his or her eyes as far off of the road.

According to Cadillac, CUE’s voice-command system has a conversational interface, so you don’t need to remember specific commands. This is becoming more common with other voice-command systems, as well.

Read More:  http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/11/2011-la-auto-show-does-cadillac-have-the-right-touch-in-infotainment-with-cue.html

2013 Cadillac XTS Leaked Ahead of L.A. Auto Show Debut

Last night, what appeared to be a production 2013 Cadillac XTS sedan appeared on Cadillac’s consumer website before quickly being taken down. A few hours later, Cadillac officially released the same photo and announced that the large sedan would debut at the L.A. auto show next week. We already knew the XTS would land in L.A., but the photo gives us our first look at the production version; until now we’ve seen only the show car, spy photos, and the new Caddy’s interior. Oh, and we tried out its new CUE infotainment system.

It appears as though the production XTS’s styling will deviate remarkably little from the concept’s—the car seen above sports the same chunky, cab-forward stance and heavy front-end styling as the show car, which now looks as though its body panels may have popped from production molds. The XTS is set to replace the slow-selling STS and the long-in-the-tooth DTS at the top of Cadillac’s lineup. The front-drive XTS rides on stretched Buick LaCrosse Epsilon II bones, and we expect it will be powered by the same 3.6-liter, direct-injection V-6 as is found in the CTS. Stay tuned for the XTS’s big reveal next week.

Read More: http://blog.caranddriver.com/2013-cadillac-xts-leaked-ahead-of-l-a-auto-show-debut/

Car and Driver Review: 2012 Cadillac CTS 3.6 Sedan

What Is It?

It’s the latest CTS, which is a lot like the CTS we already know and like. For 2012, the 3.6-liter version of Cadillac’s only car gets a new cylinder-head design with integrated exhaust manifolds, a composite intake manifold, lighter connecting rods, and upgrades to the fuel system. Power is up by 14 hp to 318, and the torque peak is now 275 lb-ft, an increase of just 2 but available 300 rpm sooner on the tachometer. Incidentally, the 2012 Camaro’s V-6 gets the same upgrades this year and makes 323 hp. Cadillac claims that the changes reduce engine weight by 21 pounds.

The other major change for 2012 is a refreshed grille, which has a new “frame and mesh combination” and sharper colors in the Cadillac logo. We actually had to take that line from the press release because we only noticed the changes after looking at photos of the 2011 and 2012 car side by side. In person, it still looks like a nice grille, but it doesn’t stand out as radically different.

How Does It Drive?

So, about that weight savings. Our test car weighed in 101 pounds heavier than a comparable 2008 CTS equipped with an automatic transmission. Some of those extra pounds can be attributed to larger wheels (the new car rides on 19-inchers; the 2008 rolled on 18s) and differences in optional equipment, but the weight savings from the engine alone is negligible.

The power difference is negligible as well. With a 0-to-60-mph time of 6.2 seconds, the new car is 0.2 second slower than the 2008 version we tested but in the middle of the range of other CTS cars, including those with a manual transmission (which, incidentally, is no longer offered with the 3.6-liter). The 2011 does the quarter-mile in 14.7 seconds at 98 mph, 0.1 second and 1 mph behind the old car. Fuel economy is unchanged at an EPA-rated 18 city, 27 highway, and we averaged 22 mpg during our test.

Read More: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2012-cadillac-cts-36-sedan-test-review-car-and-driver

Illinois Cadillac Dealers