Fans can bid on a trip for two to see pop singer Bieber in concert at select locations on his world tour. The winner of the auction also will receive a copy of Bieber's new album, "Never Say Never - The Remixes," which features music from his recent film, "Never Say Never."
The auction begins today and runs through May 1. It will be promoted through a series of advertisements on Clear Channel radio stations and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. For more information on the auction, visit www.cureduchenne.org.
"Once again, Cadillac's marketing team has come up with a unique way to massively increase public awareness about Duchenne, the most common progressive muscle disease to affect children worldwide," said Cure Duchenne advocate Mindy Cameron. "Cure Duchenne is honored and thankful for Cadillac's continued support in the battle to find treatments and cures for this devastating condition."
Cadillac became a supporter last year of Cure Duchenne, producing a public service announcement about Duchenne and auctioning Super Bowl ticket packages to benefit the Newport Beach, Calif.,-based charity.
"Cadillac has been impressed with Cure Duchenne's relentless efforts to seek new and innovative ways to treat and ultimately cure this devastating muscle disease," said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac marketing. "After helping shine the spotlight on Duchenne during the football season, we began looking for other opportunities to help this worthy cause."
Duchenne affects 20,000 boys and young men in the United States. It is a genetic disease that occurs in one of 3,500 boys worldwide. Boys with Duchenne are usually diagnosed by the age of 5, in a wheelchair by age 12, and may be completely paralyzed by their late teens.
Most patients do not live to see adulthood. Until now, there has
been no cure, but for the first time there is hope that current research will
result in treatments that will greatly improve the lives of children with
Duchenne.
TOOELE, Utah -- Saturday's Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Utah was a step forward for Team Cadillac, as both Johnny O'Connell and Andy Pilgrim put their Cadillac CTS-V Coupes in the top five at the finish of the 50-minute race.
O'Connell, who started sixth, and Pilgrim, who started eighth in his 100th World Challenge event, had to recover from shaky starts to earn their spots. On the standing start, neither car accelerated as normal, nor did Randy Pobst, starting between the two.
That caused a logjam that ended with a hard collision between Patrick Lindsay's Corvette and Pobst's car that blocked the front straight. All cars in the Pirelli World Challenge Series use launch control, which the driver engages on the grid and then the onboard electronics take over.
"Maybe it was the thin air or the grippiness of the track," Pilgrim speculated later on the stalls. "Johnny almost stalled, I stalled, and I'm lucky I didn't get hit. Luckily I got the thing going. The car next to me got rear-ended."
Pilgrim dropped all the way to 17th on the first lap and had a long fight to get back to challenging positions. O'Connell recovered quickly and didn't lose a spot on the start.
Pilgrim started early, ripping off seven positions in the next three laps to gain the top 10, and O'Connell was keeping the leaders honest from fourth. A pre-race handling change to the rear springs made all the difference, according to Pilgrim.
"We made some changes after the last practice that were for qualifying, and they were good,' Pilgrim said. "We don't have the straightaway speed on these guys, but the car was handling so well through the corners that I could get a run on them coming off the corners. The changes were definitely the right direction."
O'Connell agreed.
"We actually ran a race where we could see the leaders most of the day despite being choked to death," O'Connell said. "I had a great race car, really great balance. The changes we made were right on."
This was the first race for Team Cadillac with a slightly larger sonic restrictor in place, and an additional 100 pounds of ballast. The changes were positive, but nowhere near what Team Cadillac needed.
"It was a great fight. but the way road racing works, if a guy makes a mistake in front of you, having a better line and all things being equal, it's just simple math that you should get by him," O'Connell said. "We're not dealing with simple math.
"We ran the heck out of that CTS-V today. We used everything we could. It was one of those where they gave me 100 percent of a car and I brought five percent back."
Pilgrim said the extra weight was better for the balance, but did nothing for horsepower down the straightaways.
"The extra weight was the cause of the changes we made," he said. "We made a spring change in the rear, and it made the cars handle better. We are making progress on the handling, but we're still just getting killed on the straightaways. You have to make these really aggressive moves under braking, and it's not good."
O'Connell nearly had third place with five laps remaining, running up on Tony Gaples in the final turn before a lapped car foiled the move. Pilgrim, by that time, had advanced to fifth spot and was running hard to catch his teammate.
"If I had been with Johnny, could have worked with him, I could have maybe helped push him down the straightaway and gotten one of us on the podium. We made some good progress, and I'm very happy with the way it went, but I was disappointed in that I couldn't get to Johnny. We were just getting killed on the straights."
It was a good points day for Team Cadillac. O'Connell jumped from seventh to fifth in driver points, and Pilgrim leapfrogged two spots to eight after four races. In the manufacturers' race, Team Cadillac sits second behind Porsche and ahead of Volvo.
Jason Daskalos won the race in the GT class, followed by James Sofronoas, Tony Gaples, O'Connell and Pilgrim.
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.
DETROIT - Cadillac's CTS luxury sport Sedan, Coupe and Wagon will add an upgraded V-6 engine, new grille and new Touring Package edition for the 2012 model year.
The new 3.6L V-6 will use a lighter, more efficient design to give customers more power at the same fuel economy as the current 3.6L V-6. The new engine delivers an SAE-certified 318 horsepower (237 kW) and 275 lb.-ft. (372 Nm) of torque, compared to the current engine's 304 horsepower (227 kW) and 273 lb.-ft. (370 Nm) of torque. The EPA fuel economy label will remain 18 city/27 highway mpg.
The CTS's distinctive shield-shaped front grille has been redesigned with new premium finishes that highlight the intricacies of a new frame and mesh combination. The Wreath & Crest logo also has sharper colors and raised ridges between the colors, giving it a three-dimensional quality. The result provides customers a CTS with a more refined appearance.
The changes will be carried in all three CTS models - CTS Sport Sedan, Sport Wagon and Coupe. The 2012 models will arrive at dealerships in late summer. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of production.
"CTS has established itself as a world-class line of luxury sports cars, but to remain on top, we have to continually make improvements," said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac marketing. "The changes for the 2012 model year give customers a fresh take on the CTS's bold front grille and provide enhanced driving performance without sacrificing fuel economy."
The new grille builds on a design that has helped the CTS family win a spot on Car and Driver's 10 Best list, Popular Mechanics' Auto Excellence Awards and Automobile Magazine's All-Stars list. The new finishes on the grille add more gloss to the mesh and luster to the frame, accentuating the details in the design. The mesh also is pulled flusher to the frame, making these details stand out even more.
The new 3.6L V-6 builds on another award-winning design. It's an evolution of an engine named twice to Ward's 10 Best Engines list for what the automotive publication called its "laudable low-end torque and effortless power delivery." The new CTS engine, like its predecessor, provides more horsepower and torque than comparable V-6 offerings in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Lexus ES350.
Cadillac engineers were able to improve the current design in several ways. The cylinder heads have larger intake valves and an improved intake port design. These work with a longer-duration intake camshaft to boost power and efficiency by allowing more air to flow into the engine.
Engineers also reduced the engine's weight. An integrated cylinder head/exhaust manifold design saves about 13 pounds (6 kg) per engine compared to the cylinder heads and manifolds of the current engine.
The new composite intake manifold saves about 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) compared to the current aluminum intake. A lighter-weight structural front cover and lighter-weight, high-strength connecting rods bring the total weight savings to 20.5 pounds (9.3 kg), which helps the vehicle's fuel efficiency and improves the car's handling and driving balance.
In addition to the new engine and grille, Cadillac is adding a new Touring Package for 2012 that enhances key touch-points of the CTS. The Touring Package, available in the 3.0L V-6 and 3.6L V-6 engines, will have an exclusive grille with a dark finish, metal pedals, dark Sapele wood interior trim and sueded seat inserts, steering wheel and shift knob.
The Touring Package Sedan and Wagon also will have chrome door handles. The 3.6L version will have 19-inch polished wheels and Recaro 14-way adjustable performance seats. The 3.0L version will have 18-inch wheels with a pearl-nickel finish.
Other changes for the 2012 model year on the CTS include standard Bluetooth
phone integration on all models and side blind-zone alert technology available
on the CTS Coupe.
The SRX will receive a 3.6L direct-injected V-6 engine projected to deliver 300 horsepower (224 kW) and 260 lb.-ft. (353 Nm) of torque, according to preliminary tests by Cadillac. The SRX's current 3.0L direct-injected V-6 engine provides 265 horsepower (198 kW) and 223 lb.-ft (302 Nm) of torque. SRX models with the new engine are expected to arrive at dealerships in late summer. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of production.
Dramatically redesigned for the 2010 model year, the SRX has quickly climbed the luxury crossover ranks. SRX total U.S. sales rose 153 percent last year to 51,094, outselling the Acura MDX, Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLK350, and second only to the Lexus RX350 in sales among midsize luxury crossovers.
With the new engine, the SRX is projected to top the Lexus RX350 in horsepower and torque. Lexus rates the RX350's 3.5L V-6 engine at 275 horsepower (205 kW) and 257 lb.-ft. (348 Nm) of torque.
"SRX is resonating with luxury buyers by offering the function of a crossover and the distinctive style of a Cadillac," said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac marketing. "Now, we're raising the standards even higher by providing the SRX with enhanced performance. The new engine will make the SRX more responsive for passing on the highway, entering freeways from on-ramps and climbing hills."
In addition to more horsepower and torque, the new engine has a wider rpm range for its maximum torque, which gives the driver more power across a wider range of speeds and driving conditions.
The new engine also is FlexFuel capable, meaning it can use either gasoline, E85 ethanol or any combination of the two. EPA fuel economy ratings have not been finalized, but Cadillac expects the SRX to provide customers with comparable real-world fuel efficiency. The current engine has an EPA rating of 18 city/25 highway mpg.
Other enhancements on the 2012 SRX include standard Bluetooth phone connectivity on all models, a heated steering wheel on the luxury, performance and premium trim levels and door lock switches on the driver and passenger door panels. The new model will continue to have door lock switches on the center console. Also for 2012, SRX will offer a new machined-face finish on the 20-inch wheels, which are standard on performance and premium trim levels.
"Every detail counts," Butler said. "The SRX has been a phenomenal success, but at Cadillac, we're always looking for ways to make our automobiles better."
Popular features already offered on the SRX include a moveable cargo fence and large under-floor storage space in the rear, a liftgate that can be programmed to stop at different heights and an UltraView sunroof that covers 70 percent of the vehicle roof.
2012 Cadillac SRX Offers More Powerful 3.6L Engine The SRX also is available
in an all-wheel-drive version that incorporates an electronic limited slip rear
differential. This system not only improves traction in slippery road conditions
but provides side-to-side torque transfer along the rear axle to enhance control
during hard cornering.