{"id":26921,"date":"2021-02-23T10:51:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T14:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26921"},"modified":"2021-02-23T10:51:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T14:51:33","slug":"while-mercedes-debuts-another-knockout-c-class-cadillac-looks-to-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/while-mercedes-debuts-another-knockout-c-class-cadillac-looks-to-the-future","title":{"rendered":"While Mercedes debuts another knockout C-class, Cadillac looks to the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes unveiled its all-new C-class Tuesday, and it\u2019s stunning. With its curved, space-age screen rising from the console, state-of-the-art “MBUX” voice recognition, and smooth, 255-horse turbo engine with 48-volt battery assist, Merc’s\u00a0best-selling sedan\u00a0reasserts the automaker\u2019s place\u00a0\u2014 along with the BMW 3-series and Tesla Model 3 \u2014 as the most coveted luxury car\u00a0in autodom.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a big reason why GM’s luxury brand, Cadillac, is swinging for the fences by going all-electric in 2030.<\/p>\n

Despite producing swift chariots on par with its rivals in athleticism, Caddy\u00a0has struggled to keep up. Going electric is a chance to reset by leap-frogging the competition in technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how extreme you have to go to stay relevant in today\u2019s luxury market,\u201d said ISeeCars executive auto analyst Karl Brauer while swooning over the C-class’ new interior. \u201cIt\u2019s not good enough for Cadillac to be as good as the Europeans. They have to be over the top on tech, design, and drivetrain.\u201d<\/p>\n

To\u00a0that end, Cadillac has\u00a0unveiled its first EV, the mid-sized Cadillac Lyriq SUV, that matches Mercedes in interior wow factor. Then it takes it up a notch by promising a dual-motor,\u00a0skateboard electric chassis like Tesla.<\/p>\n

The Lyriq boasts a 33-inch, curved LED screen that stretches from behind the steering wheel across the dash \u2014 a sculpture as dramatic as the Mercedes\u2019 12-inch masterpiece. Mercedes\u2019 self-driving features allow\u00a0automatic\u00a0lane changes \u2014 just like Cadillac\u2019s Super Cruise and Tesla\u2019s Autopilot.\u00a0Building on Cadillac\u2019s Super Cruise driver-assist technology, the Lyriq will introduce \u201caugmented reality” feature \u2014\u00a0projecting two planes of driver information over the road in front of the car.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

But it’s Cadillac\u2019s commitment to an all-EV lineup in just nine short years\u00a0that it hopes will help it stand out to\u00a0new, Generation Tesla car buyers\u00a0against the European juggernaut.<\/p>\n

Significantly, Mercedes \u00a0\u2014 which has defined luxury for decades \u2014 has not felt the need to target an all-electric future until 2039. \u201cBy 2030 we aim to have electric models make up more than half of our car sales \u2014 that includes all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids,\u201d the company announced in 2019.<\/p>\n

But for Cadillac, the future is now or never.<\/p>\n

\u201cCadillac is a small financial risk for General Motors, so they can swing for the fences,\u201d said Brauer. \u201cA lot of statements made today about the electric future are meant to benefit brands like Cadillac in the present. Mercedes doesn\u2019t need to do\u00a0that because they define the market today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

In addition to its interior tech, the 2022 C-class\u00a0(due on dealer lots early next year at a likely starting price of about $43,000) doubles down on the design traits that luxury buyers covet: giant, chrome star anchoring the front grille, aviator vents anchoring\u00a0the horizontal dash, coupe-like roof flowing across an expanded wheelbase.<\/p>\n

Cadillac has tried to match Mercedes in sedan segments (as well as SUVs) with its CTS and ATS \u2014 recently rebadged as the CT4 and CT5. Tested on Germany\u2019s famed N\u00fcrburgring race track, the Caddys received raves from the motoring press for their agility and power \u2014 and for V-series performance variants that went stride-for-stride with high-end Merc AMG models.<\/p>\n

But ATS sales never crested 40,000 in the states, while the C-class often doubled\u00a0that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlong with Mazda, Cadillac is one of the most underappreciated brands in the market,\u201d said Brauer. \u201cIf you drive (a Cadillac sedan) it was right there with the Germans.\u201d<\/p>\n

In announcing his new C-class Tuesday, Mercedes CEO Ola K\u00e4llenius expressed his confidence the sedan would set a new standard: “The C-Class is already our best-selling sedan. Our most successful model range will once again raise the bar as the most sophisticated offering in its segment.”<\/p>\n

With its new lineup of EVs\u00a0coming by decade’s end, Cadillac hopes it will capture some of the magic that has made Tesla as desirable as Mercedes. In 2020, the Model 3 sold a segment-best 206,500 units.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mercedes unveiled its all-new C-class Tuesday, and it\u2019s stunning. With its curved, space-age screen rising from the console, state-of-the-art “MBUX” voice recognition, and smooth, 255-horse turbo engine with 48-volt battery assist, Merc’s\u00a0best-selling sedan\u00a0reasserts the automaker\u2019s place\u00a0\u2014 along with the BMW 3-series and Tesla Model 3 \u2014 as the most coveted luxury car\u00a0in autodom. It\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26922,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26921\/revisions\/26922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}