Auto For Speed

In America, the Cadillac Escalade is the favorite choice of thieves, according to the latest study from Highway Loss Data Institute, which we told you about on Thursday. In fact, Cadillac’s larger than life SUV has topped the list for several years now.

The problem is that- as you may remember from previous reports- the Escalade is popular amongst thieves not only because stars of all sorts have immortalized it, but also because some security flaws made certain model year versions easy to steal.

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The production version of the Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept will arrive in 2012. The XTS will be offered as front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, or as a plug-in hybrid. The XTS Platinum Concept had been powered by a 3.6 liter engine that’s mated to a plug-in hybrid system. This system resulted to an output of 350hp and 295 pound-feet of torque (400 Nm). The car’s handling is improved with the use of a Magnetic Ride Control that was also used on the existing Corvettes and CTS-V models.

The XTS Platinum Concept made use of technologies such as OLED displays that replace the traditional gauges. OLED, also known as organic LED, provides brighter colors and its blacks are darker blacks, similar to what’s featured on the newest high-end phones. When it comes to passenger space, the XTS scores high points.

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General Motors has just unveiled its new take on the mighty Cadillac CTS-V called the Black Diamond Edition. Available on all iterations of the supercharged beast (sedan, coupe and wagon), the appearance package dips the company’s muscle-bound luxury fleet in new, proprietary SpectraFlair paint. The final product is achieved through a three-coat process that includes flakes of aluminum encapsulated in magnesium fluoride. The result is a paint that’s as gorgeous as it will undoubtedly prove impossible to repair.

This is not a car that’s to be left anywhere near a shopping cart.

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“Stop living in the past,” say countless advice purveyors across a broad spectrum of media. It’s good advice if you’re trying to get over an ex-girlfriend, but you pretty much have to live in the past to drop almost $90,000 on a body-on-frame luxury SUV like the 2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum. That’s $88,295 to be precise, making this the second-most-expensive Caddy available. (First place by a slight margin goes to the Escalade Hybrid.)

The original GMT400 Escalade was a hastily created rebadge of the GMC Yukon, designed as an answer to the then-popular Lincoln Navigator. But it was the next-generation model, based on the GMT800 platform, that became the bling king, while the Lincoln was largely forgotten. Much hype surrounded the launch of the GMT900 platform that underpins the third-generation Escalade, and early on it proved its mettle by besting the Range Rover in a head-to-head shootout. That was 2006. Some five years on, the Escalade’s shortcomings are beginning to manifest themselves.

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Lingenfelter, the renowned GM tuner has exclusively published a video, which reveals its latest performance addition — the 700+ horsepower supercharged 2011 Cadillac 6.2 L CTS-V Coupe. In the video, the Lingenfelter Cadillac conversion is at its first dyno test, showcasing results of 623 horsepower and 617 lb-ft of peak torque with stock exhaust manifolds.

The Lingenfelter 700+ horsepower performance pack is consist of LPE CNC ported LSA cylinder heads, a GT9 camshaft and the already popular Lingenfelter supercharger upgrade system.

Unfortunately, the money amount needed for this conversion is still a mystery.

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