Cadillac is entering the luxury electric SUV market with its 2023 Lyriq, falling in line with many auto manufacturers as they strive for a more environmentally sustainable future.
The vehicle features a 340 horsepower engine and a 100 kWh battery capable of driving more than 300 miles on one charge. It will start at $59,900, with pre-orders beginning September 18 and production slated to start during the first quarter of 2022.
"We believe that it's an absolutely stunning vehicle," said Rory Harvey, global head of Cadillac. "I'm sure you'll draw your own conclusions."
Parent company GM has committed to only producing zero-emission cars by 2035. The Lyriq will be produced at a converted plant located in Spring Hill, Tennessee. About $2 billion was invested to update the site, as well as an additional $2.3 billion to create a battery manufacturing facility that should provide an additional 1,500 U.S.-based jobs, Harvey told Cheddar.
"There is no doubt that there is growing momentum and that EVs are the future," he said. "From our perspective, a Cadillac point of view, we will be leading the GM transition, and by 2030 all of our vehicles will be EVs."
There are still some issues the electric vehicle industry must face, including sustainability and humanitarian concerns over mining materials used for batteries. GM and Cadillac have processes in place to ensure that its mining partners are humane and equitable to its workers, Harvey said, and has a new program to recycle 100 percent of rare materials used in the batteries. The Lyriq battery is expected to last at least eight years with regular use.
Another concern is that there are still so few electric charging ports across the country compared to gas stations. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are only 43,900 EV charging stations compared to just north of 150,000 gas stations across the country. But with the Lyriq's extensive charge range and more EV charging stations added to the map each day, Harvey isn't concerned.
"From our research, the average daily commute is 40 miles," he explained. "For somebody that uses it under those conditions, range anxiety shouldn't be an issue."
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
It’s an annual tradition: the Fed’s banking ‘stress test.’ A year after the regional banking crisis, there are good reasons to make sure they’re prepped.
