BMW is offering its first ever M Sport Pro package on the completely redesigned 2021 4-series, though it won’t be available for U.S. buyers. The M Sport Pro package includes the eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission, M Sport brakes, M seatbelts, and a Harman Kardon sound system. Overseas customers can also get black 20-inch M Performance […] More

The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V debuts with a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque.Cadillac says it can hit 60 mph in under 4.4 seconds and complete the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds at 110 mph.The Escalade-V will start at $149,990 when it goes on sale late this summer.Certain Cadillacs are meant to be driven at the track, and others are meant to be driven to the track. The new 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V falls into the latter category. However, this three-ton SUV still makes for one helluva shuttle thanks to the 682-hp supercharged V-8 hiding under its hood.

This marks the first time an Escalade has worn the brand’s V badge, which broadcasts its high-performance nature. Its 6.2-liter V-8 is essentially the same engine used by the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. In fact, they’re both hand-built at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The biggest difference is the SUV has a 2.7-liter supercharger versus the sedan’s 1.7-liter unit. This helps the Escalade-V generate 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque—14 more horses and 6 fewer pound-feet than the CT5-V Blackwing.

Cadillac

All that power is channeled through a 10-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, there’s no setting to route torque exclusively to the rear axle, so smoky burnouts sound like a no-go. The Escalade-V does have an electronic limited-slip differential for maximizing traction, though, and it also has a launch-control feature that can be activated in V-Mode. Cadillac estimates the super Slade can hit 60 mph in under 4.4 seconds and quotes a quarter-mile time of 12.7 seconds at 110 mph. We’ll verify those claims once we have the chance to test one.Every Escalade-V has specially tuned adaptive dampers and air springs at all four corners, with stiffer springs in the rear. Drivers can also choose between Tour and Sport settings for the suspension, steering, brake-pedal feel, and engine sound. There are multiple adjustments for the all-wheel-drive system and engine performance that include a snow/ice mode. These can be accessed by punching the V-Mode button on the center console, which also automatically lowers the ride height by 0.8 inch.
Compared with the blingy standard Escalade, the 2023 Escalade-V has a more menacing appearance. There’s no chrome trim or brightwork. The huge mesh grille is black (obviously), as are the window moldings, the lower trim pieces, and the quad exhaust tips that flank the faux rear diffuser. A set of gigantic 22-inch rims comes standard, available in black or gray. Behind the wheels are red calipers; a pair of Brembo six-piston units pinch the massive 16.1-inch iron front rotors, and single-piston calipers clamp the 13.5-inch rear rotors. Cadillac says it won’t offer summer tires on the Escalade-V. Instead, all models come with a set of 275/55R-22 all-seasons. The V is also rated to tow 7000 pounds, which is 1000 pounds less than the non-supercharged V-8 model with all-wheel drive. When the 682-hp, 6200-plus-pound three-row SUV isn’t shocking unsuspecting passengers with its heart-stopping takeoffs and snarling, supercharged soundtrack, Cadillac’s luxury pedigree should be on full display. Every Escalade-V has black or Dark Auburn leather in all three rows plus shiny zebrawood trim, and front-seat riders are treated to heated and ventilated cushions with massage functions. As on other Escalades, the V has an enormous curved OLED display with three screens measuring a total of 38 inches. The screen size is almost matched by the 36 speakers that come with the AKG audio system. The Caddy’s other marvel is its optional $2500 Super Cruise hands-free driving tech. However, due to the chip shortage, it’s expected to have late availability.
Cadillac says the Escalade-V is “the industry’s most powerful full-size SUV,” but that’s an easy claim to make when there’s no direct competition. The company shouldn’t have any problem selling them, either, even with a startling starting price of $149,990. (Compare that to the regular Escalade, which starts at $77,840.) The long-wheelbase ESV also receives the V treatment, and opting for it is expected to cost an extra $3000. Both models will have limited availability based on volume, but Cadillac wouldn’t disclose numbers and insists the decision is based on keeping the Escalade-V “exclusive and exciting” and not the chip shortage. Whatever the reason, the company won’t be taking reservations before the 2023 Escalade-V and Escalade-V ESV go on sale late this summer.
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There’s a new full-length trailer for the forthcoming Ghostbusters movie, and it features a reborn Ecto-1.The movie, called Ghostbusters: Afterlife, features a multigenerational cast of phantom fighters and will include appearances from original cast members Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver. The movie’s release was originally scheduled for summer 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is now scheduled for a November 11, 2021, release.

IMDB

In a perfect world, the third installment in the Ghostbusters franchise (or fourth, if you count the Leslie Jones–Melissa McCarthy–Kate McKinnon–Kristen Wiig movie from 2016—Sony appears not to) would have come out in July 2020. But we do not live in a perfect world. So instead of being on our third rewatch of the newest Ghostbusters movie, we’re only now watching the second official trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which features a cast of proton-pack-wielding kids and cameos from beloved members of the original cast.
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A new full-length trailer for the film was released yesterday, and there’s a lot for fans of the original movies to love. The best news for us is that it appears the Ecto-1 will feature heavily in Afterlife. If you’re not up on Ghostbusters lore, that’s the 1959 Cadillac Futura Duplex with an ambulance/hearse conversion that helped the original Ghostbusters save New York (and the world), but which did not make an appearance in the 2016 film.

The trailer casts the Ecto-1 as a barn find. The barn is on the Oklahoma homestead of now deceased Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters crew. The finder is Spengler’s teenage grandson, Trevor, played by Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame. In the trailer, Trevor is shown whipping a revived Ecto-1 around a wheat field, and when the story takes its inevitable paranormal turn, the car swerves through the streets of the plains-state ghost town where the movie takes place, proton streams blasting. The Ecto-1 is revealed to have a pop-out jump seat ideal for hunting ghosts on the fly. There’s also a shot of what looks like an RC car dropping out of the floor of the Ecto-1, perhaps for a paranormal reconnaissance mission or to serve as a capture drone. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 11.
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With Cadillac’s hotshoe Bill Wise behind the wheel, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing lapped the Grand Course at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in 2:52.5 seconds. At Car and Driver’s annual Lightning Lap, the CT4-V lapped the 4.1-mile circuit in 3:06.2 seconds. The CT4-V Blackwing is powered by a 472-hp twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 backed by a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission.
Remember in elementary school when paper chain-link countdowns were the buzz? Those simple craft projects counted down the most important days such as holidays and birthdays. For us, they’re used to measure how many rotations around the sun remain before we arrive at the greatest days of our year: Lightning Lap. Cadillac just dropped a video of the CT4-V Blackwing lapping our home track, giving us 172 reasons to get excited for this year’s event.

With Cadillac hotshoe Bill Wise manning the controls, the CT4-V Blackwing got around the 4.1-mile Grand Course in a speedy 2:52.5 seconds. For reference, we lapped the circuit in the junior CT4-V in 3:06.2. Development drivers have many talents, one of them being, of course, that they’re extremely good at driving. Typically, we at C/D trail their times by a few seconds. Not because we’re slugs, but because the sheer amount of seat time they have trumps the five or six sessions that we might get behind the wheel. The Blackwing’s predecessor, the Cadillac ATS-V, spun a 2:59.8, and we expect to lop a good bit of time off that. What else did Bill Wise beat? Check out the list here.

CT4-V Blackwing. Photo not from VIR run.
Cadillac

Though we have yet to drive the CT4-V Blackwing, we do know its details. Motivation will come from the same twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6 that powered the ATS-V. A freer-breathing intake and other engine revisions have uncorked an additional 8 horsepower for a total of 472 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, and a 10-speed automatic (which Cadillac set the time with) will cost an extra $2275. The Blackwing will feature larger brake rotors squeezed by Brembo brake calipers–six pistons up front and four in rear. It will roll on Blackwing-spec Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, which we’re told will perform more like Michelin’s Cup 2 gumballs. Watching the CT4-V and Blackwing laps side by side reveals the obvious: More power equates to more speed. At the start/finish line and on the back straight, the Blackwing carries roughly a 13-mph advantage. When the 325-hp 2.7-liter CTS-V runs out of steam through the uphill esses, the Blackwing continues to gain speed. And the Michelins simply outperform the junior V’s Continental SportContact 6s in every dynamic function. More grip grants greater cornering speeds and the ability to stomp on the Brembos deeper into the braking zones. We’re ecstatic to get behind the wheel of the new Blackwing. It should arrive in dealer showrooms sometime this summer for an intriguing $59,990 starting price. And if the CT4 is capable of this, what about the 668-hp CT5-V Blackwing? There goes another link in our paper chain.

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In a process called “kicking the trade,” some car dealers are telling people who can’t afford their current auto loan to just not pay it, and pick up a new loan. It’s a short-term solution to a longer-term problem, and it could be happening more often than anyone would expect, as the Wall Street Journal […] More