Cadillac’s upcoming SRX replacement was spotted completely undisguised in New York Thursday, giving us a sneak peek at GM’s new two-row luxury crossover.
The eagle-eyed user who caught the XT5 in the wild uploaded the photos to Opposite Lock. It appears as though the new XT5 retains the same basic footprint of today’s SRX. The undisguised XT5 show off its all-new exterior, complete with Cadillac’s new signature front-end.

Out back, it discards the squared-off look of the SRX in favor of a more contemporary, tapered hatch. The dual exhaust outlets which were visible on the development prototypes carried over as expected.

The Cadillac XT5 will ship in base form with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. We also hear that two optional V6 engines will be available. The XT5 will make use of Cadillac’s upcoming nine-speed automatic transmission.

The XT5 will ride on an all-new platform codenamed C1XX, a short-wheelbase version of the Chi architecture. Vehicles like the next-generation Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse will use a long-wheelbase variant of the Chi platform.

General Motors quietly confirmed plans to begin selling the Cadillac XT5 sometime in 2016 earlier in June. The company disclosed the XT5′s arrival timing as part of its CarPlay announcement, noting that the hot-selling SRX will be the only Cadillac model that won’t get Apple’s smartphone integration system later this year.

Photos by Opposite Lock user saw930.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investing reports of power brake assist failures in last-generation Ford F-150s.
The issue has so far been reported on 2011 and 2012 models with the EcoBoost, twin-turbocharged V6. Complaints allege that the vacuum assist pump fails, resulting in significantly increased braking effort. Two on-road accidents have been reported by owners who filed complaints.

According to the customer complaints, the failures are not reported by the F-150′s on-board diagnostic systems, giving drivers no warning as to the impending condition.

If the defect is found to be valid, it could affect as many as 250,000 vehicles. Ford is cooperating with the agency and could issue a recall if it’s established that the part is defective and at the root of the issue.

Mopar, FCA’s performance parts brand, has another big Friday announcement: the all-new Challenger Drag Pak has arrived and, for the first time, it’s available with a supercharged Hemi.
Not content with simply offering Charger and Challenger owners more power for their stock 5.7L V8s, Mopar is finishing off the week by offering performance parts on a substantially larger scale.

That’s right. As far as the U.S. Department of Transportation is concerned, the Drag Pak isn’t a car. It has no VIN. Technically, it’s a part. It’s intended strictly for Sportsman drag racing.

“Today, we write the next page in our performance playbook with the reveal of the production Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, a vehicle that offers, for the first time, a supercharged engine that provides our racers more options,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA, in the announcement.

“Our brand is committed to supporting Mopar drivers who compete at all levels. In 2014, we debuted a new Dodge Dart NHRA Pro Stock car that won right out of the gate. In 2015, our new Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car did the same. Now, Mopar is supercharging our Sportsman racers.”

The Drag Pak Challenger preserves a lot of factory parts, as per the rules, but what’s under the rear-hinged, OEM hood is an entirely different story. Customers have the choice of two engines: the now-ubiquitous, naturally aspirated 426 Race Hemi or the brand-new, supercharged 354.

That’s the right, the Drag Pak now has a touch of the Hellcat at heart.

FCA’s street and race engines share essentially nothing. The supercharged 354 sports a cast-iron block and aluminum heads, like the roadgoing engines, but it’s oddball displacement (354 cubes = 5.8L) and forged steel internals aren’t found in anything in Dodge showrooms.

The naturally aspirated 426 Race HEMI engine is built off of a Mopar aluminum block with pressed-in steel liners and aluminum cylinder heads. Both engines come with custom calibration.

Additional differentiators can be found in the suspension, where the road-going Challenger’s indepdent rear suspension has been chucked in favor of a four-link Panhard bar, Strange Engineering 4-inch solid axle with 9-inch aluminum third member, 40-spline gun drilled axles, shocks with adjustable compression and rebound and an anti-roll bar. The rear axle mounting points have been upgraded to improve launches.

Up front, the Drag Pak sports a unique Mopar K-Member and custom suspension geometry with double adjustable compression and rebound struts. The wheels are also new and suited for the strip rather than the street.

Inside, you’ll find a complete, NHRA-legal cage and an OEM-look cockpit with the addition of a Mopar gauge pack, driver and passenger lightweight racing seats, along with a safety net and a five-point harness.

Want one for your race team? You won’t have to wait long. The order banks open in late July.

FCA performance accessory sub-brand Mopar announced Friday that its Scat Pack 2 and 3 performance upgrades are now available for order. Owners of 5.7L Hemi-powered performance vehicles can extract as much as 75 additional horsepower from their otherwise-stock rides.
Mopar’s Scat Pack 1 package has been available for a while, having been bundled into special edition “Mopar ’15″ kits for the Charger and Challenger earlier this year. Scat Pack 1 adds 18 horsepower and 18 lb.-ft. of torque to the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T with the addition of a Mopar Performance cat-back exhaust, cold-air intake, a premium fuel powertrain control module, and high-flow oil filter. Also included are custom “Scat Pack 1″ badges for added exclusivity. The basic package retails for $3,550.

Scat Pack 2 turns up the wick. A new camshaft lets the Hemi breathe better, boosting power and improving acceleration. Also included are upgraded valve springs, tie bars, pushrods and gaskets.

The even better news is that Mopar’s engineers exceeded their power output targets for Scat Pack 2. Rather than the 30 horsepower bump origionally projected, the upgrade can provide as much as an additional 56 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque (SAE) from the stock engine. MSRP for Scat Pack 2 is $1,895 (in addition to the cost of Scat Pack 1, for an effective total of $5,445).

Scat Pack 3 is the big daddy.Included are CNC-ported cylinder heads, hi-flow manifolds and hi-flow catalysts, a gasket set, exhaust manifolds, exhaust adapter, mounting brackets, hardware and two Scat Pack 3 badges.

The result? 75 more horsepower and 44 lb-ft of torque. Scat Pack 3 will set you back $4,495 in addition to the cost of Packs 1 and 2.

While the prices may seem steep, Scat Pack bundles have one major advantage over aftermarket performance parts: they preserve the factory warranty.

“We continue to deliver on our performance mission by inspiring our owners with extreme personalization and exclusive performance package options,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA, in the announcement. “Our kits are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for our vehicles, providing our customers not only outstanding performance but also peace of mind.”

Ordering is open as of Friday’s announcement.

Nissan introduced its new Maxima SR Midnight Friday in conjunction with its debut as part of Nissan’s sponsorship of the BET Experience in Los Angeles.
Nissan has eschewed packages for the new Maxima, so the Midnight is made up of factory- and dealer-installed accessories, and it is available to customers immediately at U.S. dealerships.

Exterior features include “Super Black” exterior paint, rear sport spoiler, custom rocker panel moldings, a rear bumper diffuser, splash guards, and 19″ black aluminum-alloy wheels.

Inside, customers will find a charcoal premium leather-appointed interior with Alcantara® seat inserts.

The SR Midnight is based on the new-for-2016 Maxima’s already-aggressive SR trim, which comes standard with a sport-tuned suspension; a flat-bottomed sport wheel with paddle shifters; the Yamaha performance damper; an integrated dynamics control module with Active Ride Control, Active Trace Control and Active Engine Brake; premium Ascot leather with diamond-quilted Alcantara seat and steering wheel inserts; “Liquid Chrome” faced interior trim finishers and unique, 19″ wheels with available summer tires (high-performance all-seasons are standard) and aluminum pedals.

Nissan’s announcement was accompanied by a new commercial titled “Day and Night,” which you can check out below.