Cadillac Unleashes New Technologies
Innovations Enhance Safety, Entertainment and Convenience
DETROIT, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- This fall Cadillac delivers several innovative new technologies to consumers, as the brand continues its renaissance of new vehicles with dramatic designs and useful, intuitive new features. These new technologies range from important safety innovations to the pure enjoyment of enhanced in-vehicle entertainment and driving performance.
"Cadillac has a long heritage as a technology flagship for GM and the entire industry," said Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager. "Our philosophy is to continue to deliver purposeful technology in a way that adds safety and pleasure, not complexity, to the experience of driving a luxury vehicle."
Safety: Smarter air bags and headlamps
The all-new Cadillac DTS full-size luxury sedan features a new technology taking air bags to a new level of precision, the industry's first Dual Depth Air Bags. This GM co-patented technology enables an air bag to deploy in either of two sizes, depending upon the severity of the crash, seat belt usage and occupant seat position. When small air bag deployment is necessary, a tether is used to hold the air bag back to the smaller size, and gas is vented from the inflation canister. For large air bag deployment, the tether is released, the canister vent is shut off and the air bag is allowed to expand to its full size. The new DTS is in dealerships now.
Cadillac's XLR roadster is a high-performance machine enabling drivers to carve up twisty roads, day or night. The 2006 XLR includes Adaptive Forward Lighting, a system allowing the headlamps to better illuminate the car's path. This advanced technology moves the lighting pattern in synch with vehicle steering, enhancing driver visibility in corners and on twisty road sections. The system allows an industry-best maximum of 15 degrees of movement.
The new DTS and the STS luxury sport sedan employ another form of "smart" headlamps, called IntelliBeam. This system automatically switches high-beam headlamps back to the normal low-beam setting when a vehicle's headlamps or taillamps appear in front of the car. It also will switch the high-beams back on again automatically when the road is clear in front of the car. The system operates via a light-sensing metal oxide semiconductor, mounted onto a tiny camera that peers through the windshield searching for light sources in front of the car.
Entertainment: Stealth antennae, digital tunes
Most 2006 Cadillacs include the acclaimed XM Satellite Radio service (Nasdaq: XMSR) as standard equipment (not including subscription fees). The rapid expansion of satellite radio has made the plastic roof antennae a fixture on top of millions of vehicles on U.S. roads today. Cadillac is changing that with the industry-first "stealth" antennae for XM Radio on the XLR. The tiny antennae are cleverly concealed within the outside rear view mirrors, an industry-first. XLR includes a network of more than one dozen antennae throughout the car, all concealed under its striking exterior. These antennae power features such as the car's AM/FM/XM radio, OnStar communication, GPS-powered navigation system, Keyless Access system for entry and exit, push- button start and tire pressure monitoring.
In the new STS and DTS sedans, Cadillac drivers can effortlessly add their digital music player to their vehicle's entertainment system. The standard audio system of the DTS includes an audio input jack in the radio system expressly for digital music (mp3) players such as the Apple IPod. The all-new 2007 Escalade, in dealerships in early-2006, will also include an input for digital music players.
Convenience: The demise of the windshield ice scraper
Drivers of the all-new DTS have a reason to look forward to winter snow and ice. DTS includes a new heated windshield wash system. The system heats washer fluid to approximately 176 degrees in 40 seconds, then applies the hot fluid to the windshield in four shots over a span of 90 seconds. Working with the wipers, the system clears snow, ice and just about anything else, off the windshield -- with the driver comfortably seated inside. Even in warmer weather the system is helpful, as the heated fluid more effectively clears debris such as bugs from the windshield.
Cadillac is a division of General Motors (NYSE:
GM). GM, the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 317,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent and the second-highest total in the company's history. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM can be found at
http://www.gm.com .
SOURCE Cadillac -0- 09/29/2005 P NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional media information visithttp://media.gm.com CONTACT: David Caldwell of Cadillac Communications, +1-313-665-7252,David.caldwell@gm.com Web site:
http://media.gm.com
