Autoblog

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]

Cadillac announced Monday that it is offering the first free downloadable content pack for the Xbox 360 version of Project Gotham Racing 3. The free Caddys cover the high-performance V-Series: the CTS-V, STS-V and XLR-V models.

Gamers who are quick enough to put a Caddy in the top 100 on the Full F1 Ciruit version of the Nurburgring via Xbox Live will gain "Cadillac Elite" status, part of a Cadillac game-player's ranking system that will eventually encompass multiple console gaming titles. Elite-class Xbox Live gamers gain access to exclusive events, customized downloadable content and are eligible to win prizes. No word on whether or not the prizes include a real-world V-car...

[Source: GM]