Automotive World

Fittingly, the landmark small block is a hand-built, 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 V8 that will find its way under the hood of a Corvette ZR1. The force-fed LS9 is the most powerful engine ever to be installed in a regular-production Chevrolet or GM vehicle.

The rejuvenated wreath and crest brand stresses that all engineers working on the upcoming ATS were "handpicked based on their roles in developing other top Cadillacs" and "how well they can drive and evaluate cars on grueling test tracks".

But that may change soon as during an interview at the LA Auto Show, Don Butler, Cadillac’s marketing vice president, said that GM's luxury division is considering adding diesels to its engine range.

There's been some confusion about which segment the XTS belongs to since it will replace two models in Cadillac's range, the rear-/all-wheel drive STS and the front-wheel drive only DTS.

While the new XTS is Cadillac's largest sedan and as such, should be the brand's flagship saloon model, it does not target the likes of the BMW 7 Series nor the Mercedes S-Class.

The XTS takes its place as Cadillac's largest model replacing both the DTS and the STS. And large it is at 202-in. (5,131mm) long, 72.9-in. (1,851mm) wide and 59.1-in. (1,501mm) tall.

The XTS rides on a hefty 111.7-in. (2,837mm) wheelbase with Cadillac laying claims to 40 inches (1,016 mm) of rear legroom, which is about four more inches than the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class and about two more inches than the Audi A6. It also gets a capacious boot with 18 cubic feet (509 liters) of space.

The new Cadillac's exterior styling is more adventurous than the DTS/STS models and almost identical to last year's XTS Platinum concept study.

And it's not just the upcoming ATS small sedan, the XTS full-size saloon or the pure-electric ELR coupe that make the future look very promising; it's also Cadillac's most recent conceptual model, the Ciel, which drew a lot of attention at the Pebble Beach classic car show in August.

A modern day Eldorado convertible with four doors measuring a lengthy 203.7-inch (5,174mm) from nose to tail isn't exactly a recipe to rev up enthusiasts, yet Cadillac's designers somehow pulled it off and the Ciel proved to be a hit with most show-goers, not to mention readers as well.

After a general teaser and the first episode, Cadillac has now released the second part of its video series, which documents the team of drivers and engineers that put Cadillac's new BMW 3-Series saloon contender through its paces.

Hop over the jump to get a look of the new video.

The problem affects 674 vehicles manufactured between October 21 and October 26, 2011. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], these vehicles may present a problem with the power vacuum brake boost pushrod retention nut, which may not be torqued to the appropriate specification.

Since there's no point in hiding anymore, GM today released a full-blown version of the same image in high-resolution providing us with a more detailed look at Cadillac's new flagship model that replaces both the DTS and the STS in the carmaker's lineup.

Previously, we had a chance to get a peek at the new XTS's interior with a cutout dashboard meant to show off the firm's new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment, navigation and communication system that will launch in 2012, not only in the full-size sedan, but also in the ATS compact saloon and SRX crossover.

The picture was captured before it was removed from the website by a reader of Jalopnik, which then confirmed its authenticity with Cadillac.

The production model is almost identical to last year's XTS Platinum concept study that was displayed at the 2010 Detroit motor show. In fact, from this angle, the only noteworthy styling changes appear to be limited to the headlamp and fog lamp assemblies and the larger and more practical mirror housings.

Mercedes sales have increased despite the fact that it reduced discounts by an average of 15% per vehicle in October, while its Munich-based rival increases its own incentives by 35%.

Like the owner of this Cadillac crossover that was captured on film in an underground parking helping out the driver of what looks to be a previous generation Volkswagen Polo hatchback.

And there seems to be plenty of that going on with the 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe created by "The D3 Group", which will be displayed at Toyo Tire U.S.A.'s booth at the Las Vegas aftermarket show.

According to CR's survey, which is based on responses from 1.3 million vehicles owners, Ford’s drop from 10th to 20th place among 28 carmakers can be attributed to two main factors. The first is that all three of Ford’s new models, i.e. the Explorer, Fiesta and Focus, scored below average in reliability in their first year on the market.