2013 Cadillac XTS priced starting at $44,995

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DETROIT –The 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan, Cadillac’s most technologically advanced car yet, will be available at U.S. dealerships later this spring with a starting price of $44,995 including destination.

The all-new XTS is the only car in its class with standard Magnetic Ride Control, the world’s-fastest reacting suspension technology. Also standard and making its debut in the XTS, is CUE, Cadillac’s breakthrough in-vehicle user experience for control and connectivity.

2013 Cadillac XTS.

Three option collections will be offered on the XTS: Luxury, Premium and Platinum. The XTS Platinum model represents the highest level of technology and luxury, including a unique front appearance, wheels and interior colors, materials and trim.  An advanced all-wheel-drive system, using Haldex technology to transfer power front-to-back, and side-to-side along the rear axle, will be offered on all three trim levels above the standard model.

“The all-new XTS redefines our approach to the luxury sedan by combining advanced technology, stunning design and confident performance,” said Don Butler, vice president Cadillac marketing.  “XTS brings new and exclusive technology, while still delivering the space and elegance that is Cadillac’s DNA.”

Cadillac is preparing for the debut of CUE first automotive use of capacitive touch, the technology used by many of today’s best tablets and smartphones.

A new CUE iPad Application, which replicates the center screen that is the hub of the system, is being used to familiarize dealers with the experience as well as provide videos and information. The App will be opened to the public via the App Store in May as the XTS launches.

“We’re taking advantage of the fact that CUE is parallel technology to tablets,” Butler said. “CUE is intuitive, in part because its control and command structure aims to be consistent with popular devices millions of people already use. The App adds to this by literally putting CUE into your hands, even before you can get into the car.”

Cadillac also will use OnStar to provide live assistance to XTS owners for CUE questions.  And Cadillac dealerships will contain certified technology experts to familiarize shoppers and drivers with the system.

Cadillac Named Most Improved Among Luxury Brands

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DETROIT – Cadillac was recognized today at the New York International Auto Show by J.D. Power and Associates as the most improved among luxury brands for providing an outstanding customer experience.

The recognition is based on the rate of improvement during the past three years in J.D. Power and Associates’ five core U.S. automotive quality and satisfaction studies: Initial Quality Study (IQS); Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS); Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study; Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study; and Customer Service Index (CSI) Study. The award was announced by David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates.

“Our mission has been to re-think and upgrade every element of the customer experience,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac Sales and Service. “This is a meaningful milestone in our journey.”

A strong commitment to improving customer satisfaction requires focus and alignment at all levels – beginning in the boardroom and extending to their employees in the plants and in their dealer networks, according to J.D. Power.

Comparing IAT1, IAT2, RPM & different cooling strategies

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Just getting the hang of histograms in HPtuners.  These are powerful analysis tools that allow comparison of occurences of a variable, say IAT2 temperature in the manifold after the supercharger, in a table defined by IAT1, intake temperature, and engine RPM.  The higher the RPM, the faster the supercharger spins, and the more likely the IAT2 will heat up.

Here is an example heatsoaked from my STS-V with the OEM cooling system:

Bruce Heat-soaked Run

Reading the histogram:  down the left axis are a range of values for the IAT1, intake air.  Across the top are various engine speeds in RPM/1000, so 2 means 2000 rpm.  The values in the body of the table show what the average IAT2 or manifold air temperature after the supercharger heats up the air and the intercooler cools it back down was at the given IAT1 and RPM.  The cells are colored green for cooler temps up to red for hotter temps to make it easy to read.

We can see in this diagram that anytime the engine was at  6500 RPM and the intake temp at 95F the average IAT2 temp was 142F, or +47F hotter.

The STS-V has plenty of opportunity for heat soak.  Heat soak is when the engine has been run and retained the heat so that the intake tubing, manifold, and IAT2 sensor are all hot.  For contrast, here is a run with my STS-V not heat soaked:

Bruce not heat soaked run

We see here that when the IAT1 was 65F and the engine hit 6500 the average IAT2 was 108F, or +43F.

Jaimie has a custom intercooler cooling system on his STS-V consisting of a replacement for the OEM heat exchanger, a 2nd front-mounted heat exchanger, and a high-flow intercooler coolant pump. He was nice enough to send me some scans from his STS-V and I have run them on the same histogram below:

Run 3-23-12

Jaimie 3-23-12

In Jaimie’s run, when IAT1 was 70F, when the engine passed 6500 RPM the IAT2 averaged 126F or +56F.

Run 3-23-22

Jaimie Run 3-23-22

Run 3-27-12

Jaimie run 3-27-12

Obviously the sets of runs are on different days, different regions, different cars.  Also while I tend to mix in a variety of stop and go and 0-60 runs, Jaime tends to have stop and go and a single long run from 30-40 up through the gears to higher speeds.

I am however struck that none of Jaimie’s runs look like my heat-soaked all red first snapshot.   This may be because while the OEM intercooler heat exchanger is sufficient to maintain steady state in a cool V, it can’t overcome the heat stored on a heat soaked run.  Jaimie’s additional intercooler cooling capacity allows his system to overcome the heat soak load and get back in the green.

What do you think?  How would you further analyze this info?