1966 Cadillac Deville Convertible-white W/blacktop. Original-needs Restoration ! on 2040-cars

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Cadillac, Buick and Chevy decisions impacted by worries abroad

European Concerns Drive GM, But Beware Of The French Connection
GM's bid to rationalize Europe will impact the products that will be offered domestically.
It seems that Europe is defining the future of General Motors more so than its home North American market. Having axed Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer, GM has done a fairly good job of repositioning its remaining four divisions, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC. Cadillac carries the luxury banner. Chevrolet is aimed at the masses with cars and trucks along with a nod to performance thanks to Camaro and Corvette. Buick bridges the premium gap between Chevy and Cadillac, while GMC offers a hardcore work/upscale proposition.

2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6 AWD

All-Wheel, All Right
There is no escaping the luxury all-wheel drive empire Audi has built for itself over the past 15 years. While nearly every high-end marque has at least one offering with power at all four corners, the hardware can't help but play second fiddle to Ingolstadt's Quattro kingdom. Leather-lined all-wheel drive is simply Audi the way minimum wage is an English degree. But General Motors seems hell-bent on raiding as many established fiefdoms as possible with the 2013 Cadillac ATS. Engineers and designers made no secret of the fact that the baby Cadillac was penned specifically to take on the BMW 3 Series, but Audi should be no less concerned about the newest luxury prince from Detroit.
GM has been stuffing all-wheel drive systems under their vehicles for years, but the effort hasn't come without nasty side effects. Unfortunate understeer, extra ride height, smallish wheels and porky curb weight meant opting for all-wheel drive was like signing your driving pleasure's death warrant. Would you like polished brass or brushed nickel hardware for your right foot's coffin, sir?

GM intends to offer semi-autonomous vehicles by 2020

Prepare for a few years of technological saber-rattling, as the world's automakers begin pushing to bring self-driving cars to market. Earlier this week, Nissan announced that it aims to offer autonomous vehicles by 2020, while Google, BMW and several other marks are working on similar efforts.
General Motors is doing things differently, though. Rather than push for a fully autonomous car, it's continuing to refine its semi-autonomous Super Cruise, a product that we tested in April 2012 and that will eventually see use on some Cadillacs before trickling down to the rest of the General Motors family. Super Cruise, which is undergoing testing in the Cadillac SRX, doesn't take complete control out of the driver's hands. Rather, under a very specific set of circumstances on the freeway, it will marry the capabilities of things like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control to allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel. All of which sounds a lot like the system Mercedes-Benz is launching on the 2014 S-Class.
The system is still in development, according to John Capp, GM's director of electrical controls and active safety technology. Now that that the biggest hurdle, steering control, has been cleared, GM's engineers can focus on things like teaching the system to adapt to differing road conditions and visibility levels. As we reported in 2012, Super Cruise is still befuddled in low-visibility situations or when road markings aren't particularly clear.