Category Archives: XTS

Capless Cadillac XTS is a gas

Posted on by
7

DETROIT – The new Cadillac XTS luxury sedan features many technologies that are noticed the instant the vehicle’s ignition button is pushed. But some advancements, like a new capless fuel filler assembly, hide literally behind closed doors.

“This new system has advantages for both the car and the driver,” said John Hamilton, Cadillac fuel fill systems design engineer. “It helps keep hands free of dirt and fuel, paint free of scratches caused by a swinging cap, and the engine running smoothly.”

Because fuel systems must be fully sealed, a loose cap can trigger a “check engine” light and lead to service visit.

The 2013 XTS doesn’t have a traditional twist-off cap hidden behind its fuel door. Because of this, the door itself doesn’t need to accommodate a hand and was designed to be smaller and less noticeable on the XTS’ sheet metal.

Despite having no cap, the system meets all fuel system sealing regulations. When a fuel nozzle is inserted, it pushes aside a set of two doors, each locking fuel in with a rubber seal around its edge. The two doors are designed to assure the system will remain air-tight through years of ownership.

“Some capless systems on the market have just a single door, making them vulnerable to leaks,” said Hamilton. “Unlike competitors, Cadillac’s system also has no internal drain, something that can also lead to inadvertent dripping.”

Moving beyond capped systems has further advantages for car owners. It eliminates the risk of leaving a gas station with a dangling cap, which can lead to paint damage and messy fuel dripping.

Because the XTS uses an advanced V-6 engine with direct-injection and lightweight innovations like exhaust manifolds integrated into the cylinder heads and a next-generation six-speed transmission, fuel stops will also be less frequent.

“We ignored no detail in making XTS the most advanced Cadillac sedan yet,” said chief engineer Sheri Hickok. “Even things taken for granted, like a fuel cap, deserved and received a full rethink.”

Cadillac XTS perfect for going clubbing

Posted on by
Reply

DETROIT – To learn first-hand what today’s customers expect in a full-size luxury sedan, Cadillac XTS designers and engineers spend time in homes making observations and taking notes. A recurring theme was the desire for more space to accommodate active lifestyle gear, like golf bags.

The Cadillac XTS full-size luxury sedan has been engineered to accommodate active adults and their lifestyle gear. For example, the XTS can fit four adults with their four golf bags - maximizing every inch of storage space. The Cadillac XTS offers 40 inches of rear legroom and 18 cubic feet (509 liters) of trunk space, more than the Audi A8L, BMW 7-series, and Mercedes-Benz S-class. (Photo by Alex Gort Jr. for Cadillac)

The Cadillac engineering team responded by setting a target to fit four adults and four golf bags without stretching the car’s modest footprint. Such intelligent use of space defines the XTS development process.

“We used computer simulations to model golf bags, as well as other common types of goods our customers are likely to transport,” said XTS chief engineer Sheri Hickok. “That also includes cases of bottled water, luggage, groceries and more. Just as we did with the rest of the XTS, we spent a lot of time maximizing every inch of storage space.”

While most vehicles on the market today carry four passengers, a lack of trunk space can still require a second vehicle to get four sets of clubs to the golf course. XTS offers  almost 40 inches of rear legroom and 18 cubic feet (509 liters) of trunk space, more than the Audi A8L, BMW 7-series, and Mercedes-Benz S-class.

“Our owners want to comfortably take four adults out for a round of golf and dinner afterwards,” said Hickok. “The challenge was to give customers what they expect in terms of interior spaciousness, comfort and luxury, but to do so without compromising exterior looks and handling dynamics.”

XTS’ country club credibility is on display at the Cadillac Championship at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. With equipment provided by Callaway, four adults and four bags fit in the sedan with room to spare.

Ryan Hershberger, group golf sales manager at Doral Golf Resort, participated in loading the clubs. “For a sedan, the room was really impressive,” he said. “It’s really convenient to fit four sets of clubs like that with no force or wedging necessary.”

Security takes as high a priority in the new XTS as storage space. While the sedan handles golf bags with the ease of a crossover vehicle, contents of the trunk remain completely out of sight and behind a locked lid.

Likewise, the passenger cabin was designed to keep valuables hidden. More than a dozen storage compartments offer space to stow items, including a space under the front center armrest that can conceal a smartphone. XTS even has a bin behind the advanced new Cadillac User Interface (CUE) accessed by a hidden button and motorized door.

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered a historic renaissance led by artful engineering and advanced technology. More information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com.

Cadillac XTS Lighting Reflects Luxury and Inspiration

Posted on by
Reply

Innovative signature lighting adds elements of drama and security

DETROIT – New techniques in lighting design are adding to the dramatic presence of luxury cars, while also providing real-world functional benefits. The all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan contains more than 20 separate light sources that “greet” the driver in a carefully choreographed sequence when the key fob is pressed.

The new XTS, launching in the second quarter, includes LEDs embedded in the door handles, Cadillac-signature vertical LEDs in the headlights and taillights and ambient lighting in and around the car’s perimeter. In addition to extending the car’s design signature, the lighting provides convenience and helps provide additional security to drivers in parking lots at night.

Cadillac designers took advantage of consistent advances in LED technology to use lighting to convey drama and space alongside functional benefits.

“The new LED offerings now provide a new palette of color to bring more dramatic lighting effects that have never been available before,” said Christos Roustemis, Cadillac interior designer.

On the inside, cooler blue lights accent the car’s controls and instrumentation while warmer lights highlight passenger areas.

“We sketched each phase of the process to carefully choreograph how every important area inside and outside of the vehicle would come up and fade back down, similar to a production crew lighting a theater stage,” Roustemis said.

The palette of colors also needed to harmonize with the interior colors as well as   light emanating from the Cadillac User Experience (CUE) main LCD screen and instrument panel. The task was to make the ambient lighting enhance the experience and minimize distraction.

Creation of dramatic effects and pleasing spaces has long been a trademark of lighting design, said Rosemarie Allaire, a California-based architectural lighting designer. She says advances in LED lighting have opened the way to new possibilities in lighting design.

“In cars, just as in architecture, lighting defines how we feel about a space. It is both artistry and user experience,” Allaire said. “For me, the beauty is in the blends, how you layer the affects, mix the light sources, and how you package it into the final product.”

The XTS lighting choreography is timed to the fraction of a second by the car’s central control system, and is cued by various triggers, such as the key fob, the doors and ignition switch. The car’s exterior lighting brightens the perimeter of the car to provide an added level of security and make the car easier to locate.

Cadillac first used a vertical lighting signature as an exterior design theme in 1948. In Cadillac’s Art & Science design language that has defined Cadillac for the last dozen years, designers use thin, vertical LED “light pipes” in both the front and rear corners of the car.