Autoblog

In yet another indication that thieves may boast more skill and luck than overall intelligence, a 22-year-old Somers, Connecticut, resident in possession of a stolen Cadillac STS complained to authorities that someone had broken the window on "his" car. Of course, it took the police just a few minutes to determine that there were some serious holes in the thief's story, and maybe more than a small bit of air inside the young man's head.

Although the self-proclaimed "victim" was in possession of the Caddy's keys, there was no supporting documentation proving ownership, or that he was in the process of purchasing the vehicle from an Avis rental agency, as he claimed. In fact, just how the shady character expected to make those payments on a $50,000 car was in question -- his "employment" was all arranged through a local temp agency. Long story short, the rental agency just so happened to be missing one Cadillac STS, and it didn't take them long to press charges.

Instead of sitting behind the wheel of America's finest luxury marque, the vandal finds himself sitting in jail today, unable to post bail of just $3,500... it may be time to call the agency for another temp position. Thanks for the tip, Keith!

[Source: Courant]

Now you don't have to leave the lovely visage of your favorite ponycar languishing in the dark of the garage anymore. California Car Cover Company is offering shelves that pay homage to Shoebox Chevies, '59 Caddies, C3 Corvettes and '65 Mustangs, so you now have a boomeriffic place to stash various and sundry little bits that would otherwise clutter a more pedestrian shelf. Prices range from $19.99 to $79.99, far less than even a set of sparkplugs for the old clunker that's spent the last decade and a half leaking on your driveway, and we bet that it'll take less time to mount one of these to the wall than it will to get that old Quadrabog rebuilt and tuned.

[Source: CalCarCover]

click above for more live high-res images of the Cadillac Provoq Concept

We've already covered Cadillac's Provoq E-Flex fuel-cell vehicle during its first public appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, but GM also rolled it across the stage here in Detroit. There were no additional technical details or hints towards production plans (either for the E-Flex powertrain or the BRX crossover that this design represents), but we at least got to spend a few minutes up close and personal with the concept to snap some shots of the whiter-than-the-pure-driven-snow interior. Also note the chromed cowl vent. Oh, and the Provoq wears what has to be the skinniest tires we've seen on a concept car in recent memory.

Update: Video of the CTS-V live reveal are available after the jump.

Click the photo above for a gallery of live shots

If you look at the picture above, you can easily imagine Maximum Bob shouting, "I told you folks that it'd be <bleeping> spectacular!" Those of course were not his exact words during the intro of the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, but the sentiment was approximately the same.

We've already covered the technical details, but in case anyone has been disconnected from the world for the past week, here's what is important - 550 HP and 550 lb-ft of torque from the supercharged LSA 6.2L V8, huge Brembo brakes front and rear, Magnetic Ride Control suspension, and a choice of a manual or automatic (each carrying six forward ratios). Huge Michelin Pilot radials wrap the 19" wheels, and inside are a pair of seriously sporty Recaro buckets with 14-way adjustment. If there has ever been a four-door embodiment of the Corvette spirit, this is it.

We've already started behaving well, just in case Santa is thinking of bringing us one next Christmas. Rest assured, though, that our behavior behind the wheel of the CTS-V would earn us several years of coal in our stocking along with a revoked driver's license - and it'd be worth it.

Although it's certainly not the sexiest thing to come out of Frankfurt thus far, the new Volkswagen Caddy Maxi MPV still deserves (a little) note. Produced by VW's Commercial Vehicles group, the Maxi Life is a step below the Transporter, built atop a 320 mm wheelbase and stretching a full 4,880 mm, the Maxi Life has all the practical conveniences you'd expect of your typical Euro-MPV, including sliding doors, rugged materials, and now, a set of third row seats.

Power will come from one of three engines, either a 1.6-liter gasoline-powered mill producing 100 HP, a 1.9-liter TDI making 103 HP or a new two-liter diesel that's making upwards of 140 HP.

While the commercial versions that ditch the windows will be released sometime in 2008, those of you pining away for an incognito people mover will be able to get your hands on the new Maxi in the early part of next year.

VW's full press release is after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

There are many different ways you can determine a vehicle's success, like sales volume, the amount of days on the lot it takes to sell the vehicle, or the number of rebates (or lack thereof) on the hood. One less desirable measure of a vehicle's cache however, is the rate at which it is stolen. And if you go by that, boy oh boy, is the Cadillac Escalade popular.

Each year, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) assembles data of the average theft loss rates for vehicles in every price range, which includes everything from the theft of wheels, radios, and other components to the whole car itself. Dan Leinert at Forbes assembled a list of the top seven luxury vehicles in terms of theft loss rates, and the Escalade EXT is far and above the most popular vehicle for thieves. While the mean theft loss rate spanning vehicles of all price ranges carries a score of 100, the Escalade checks in at a staggering 1728. This number, which is highest in the luxury category, is even more impressive when considering that the number two vehicle, the BMW 7-Series, received a score of 431.

Also amazing is that almost one quarter of all Escalade theft reports total over $40,000, which means thieves are taking the whole car. The average claim amount for an Escalade is almost $18,000, which is over $14,000 per claim more than the Ford Taurus, which owns the lowest claim frequency. Big theft items on Cadillac's best-selling SUV are those super-bling 22' rims, and the 'Slade's backseat DVD player.

Of all the Escalade variants, the EXT pickup has the worst theft rate of all, with an overall rate 16 times higher than average. We knew the Escalade was popular, but we didn't think it would go this far. Check out Forbes' list of the luxury vehicles with the highest theft rate after the jump.

[Source: Forbes]

click above image to view our high-resolution gallery with 52 images

With the way that GM bigwigs have been talking up the 2008 Cadillac CTS, one could be forgiven for thoughts that the car might not live up to the hype; however, one glance at Caddy's new entry-level sedan should dispel the notion that this car is anything but world-class.

To introduce the next step in Cadillac's brand revival, GM trotted out approximately 50 members of the design and engineering teams to talk about the work that went into this vehicle. The 3.6L High Feature (HF) V6 will feature direction injection and is good for over 300 HP on regular gasoline. It'll be backed by GM's new 6-speed automatic. A large amount of attention was paid to the team's efforts in reducing NVH and visible panel gaps; given GM's recent progress in these areas, we expect good things from this vehicle.

Follow the jump for more thoughts on the CTS and no less than three official press releases from General Motors providing more detail, and visit our high-resolution photo gallery for 52 desktop-wallpaper sized images.



For our comprehensive listing of everything from Detroit, click here.

The all-new Cadillac Escalade will be the first vehicle to hit the ground in Europe as the American luxo-marque initiates stage two of its European invasion. It'll appear in showrooms at the end of the year, joined by the all-wheel-drive STS, which will be offered for the first time. Also in '06, the Cadillac BLS gets a 6-speed manual and the automatic is given a sport mode.

After the ball drops in Times Square, Q1 2007 will see the arrival of the SRX with its spiffy new interior and a rear-wheel-drive version. The rear-driver supplements the AWD version that is currently available on the Continent. The product blitz concludes with an attack by Cadillac's V-Series cruise missiles. The 448-horse, wind-in-your-hair XLR-V comes first, followed by the even more potent STS-V (476 hp) shortly thereafter.

Why is Cadillac throwing down the gauntlet with a bunch of V8-powered machines in Europe, where smaller cars and diesel power dominate the roads? Well, their stated goal of producing vehicles that equal or surpass the quality of their European competition is no secret. For them to do that, they're going to have to go play in the competition's backyard.

Besides, no one says a peep about the European automakers' vehicles that Cadillac is competing against, many of which are available with thirsty gasoline V8s of their own. For Cadillac to make progress on the other side of the Atlantic, they have to bring their best, which is precisely what they're doing. We'll keep an eye on how things go.

(Cadillac press release after the jump)

[Source: Cadillac via Inside Line]

Despite lowering expectations for its Euro-only BLS sedan all the way down to around 7,000 to 10,000 units annually, it appears Cadillac was still a bit too optimistic with the car's chances for success in the old country. The FWD sedan that's based on the Saab 9-3 and built alongside the Swede in the company's Trollhatan factory has sold a little over 400 units after being on sale since April, with the month of May being its first full sales month. Trollhatan has slowed its production of the car down to 30 units a week. When the BLS launched the factory was producing that many cars per day. At this pace GM/Saab is on track to produce only 1,560 cars a year, a number well off any of GM's original targets. Despite the slow start, the BLS is still the best selling Cadillac in Europe so far this year. The BLS has also been fairly well received by the European automotive press and dealers are reporting many requests for test drives, so don't count out Cadillac's chances for success in Europe just yet.

Thanks to Ulf for the tip and translating the original source from Swedish.

[Source: Ekonomi & Politik]

Warren Buffett was impressed after watching CEO Rick Wagoner's performance on CBS's "Face the Nation" a couple of months ago. So, the Oracle of Omaha faxed a note to Wagoner praising him for his work in front of the TV cameras, and promised that his next vehicle would be a Cadillac. Buffett apparently has kept his promise, recently sending out his daughter to pick up a new DTS - a sign that he's "behind GM 100%".  

Now, we admire Buffett and his investment savvy, and we understand that one doesn't earn $42B by spending irresponsibly (he's said to still live in the house he bought back in 1957). But let us make it very clear that if we ever have an eleven-figure bank balance and find the urge to buy a Cadillac, we will skip right past the DTS and find ourselves zipping around Nebraska in a nice Cadillac STS-V.

[Source: Money/CNN]