USA TODAY International Edition
Cadillac pretties up its CTS, but makeover will cost you
One gauge of how sure an automaker is that it has a hit model on its hands is to look at how it’s priced. By that measure, Cadillac is oozing confidence over the redesigned 2014 CTS midsize sport sedan.
The 2014 CTS model, unveiled at a lavish Lincoln Center event before the New York Auto Show in March, will start at $ 46,025 ( with shipping) when it arrives this fall, about $ 6,000 more than the 2013 base model.
Six grand is a huge leap, but Cadillac thinks the bigger, posher CTS can take on the middleweights from BMW and Mercedes- Benz without downscale pricing.
Cadillac also wants to separate the CTS from its hot new entry- level ATS compact. The current CTS has been a volume seller and was the tip of the spear for the revival of Cadillac, but it also was small among midsize premium sedans. The new CTS is fully midsize in size — and now in price.
Base engine is a 272- horsepower, 2- liter turbo four. Caddy says it will do 0- 60 in 6.1 seconds, about a second faster than the 2013 base engine. A 3.6- liter, non- turbo V- 6 is optional. Both have a six- speed automatic and offer rear- or all- wheel drive.
There will also be a new performance model of the 2014 CTS called Vsport. It gets a new- designed, 420horsepower, 3.6- liter, twin- turbo V- 6 and Cadillac’s first eight- speed automatic. It has a sport suspension and brakes, and selectable driving modes include “track.” CTS Vsport comes with rear- drive only and starts at $ 59,995, including $ 925 shipping.
Jaguar Land Rover may add diesel model in U. S.
Jaguar Land Rover is considering a U. S. diesel model — but won’t say when — and is planning a Land Rover diesel- electric hybrid vehicle within a year — but won’t say where.
The company uses diesels elsewhere, so one for the U. S. would fit.
A diesel- electric hybrid will be a remarkable development. The mileage potential is tempting. In a government project ended in 2001, U. S. makers built diesel- electric hybrid test sedans that hit 72 to 80 mpg.
Land Rover’s top model, Range Rover, is the best candidate for a regular diesel. Its combined city/ highway mileage rating is just 16 mpg. Diesel models of similar vehicles sold by Mercedes- Benz, Porsche and Audi are rated 22 and 23 mpg.
JLR U. S. spokesman Stuart Schorr tells USA TODAY, “The company has launched diesel powertrains in markets around the world, though not the U. S., and Land Rover will launch a diesel hybrid in the coming year.” But he says there’s no deadline for announcing a U. S. diesel, and the company won’t say yet where it will sell the diesel- electric hybrid.