Analog Driving in the Digital Age: An Interview with Alex MacDonald from Cadillac

The Cadillac CT5 International Chief Engineer explains how you can use technology to deliver high-performance performance that feels human and deeply engaging.

Halo cars can be a boon for OEMs and authorized dealers. Although they may not sell in large numbers, they serve as a beacon for the brand and often lead to customers buying other cars and possibly switching to that brand from another. However when we hear the word fun-to-drive (which is often used to describe the dynamics of a halo car), the word can seem a bit misleading, especially in today’s day and age. The rise of computers and electrification in some ways, reckless drivers feel is one reason why many people are attracted to classic cars from the 1980s and 1990s. It’s not all doom and gloom though.

There are some OEMs and engineers who are laser focused on providing an analog driving experience in the digital age. Recently, Automatic environment had a chance to sit down with Alex MacDonald, Global Chief Engineer of the Cadillac CT4 & CT5, to ask him about what goes into making a truly fun car like the iconic CT5 V-Series Blackwing, which recently received a mid-size version. refresh life. Here is what he said:

Autosphere: Tell us a little about your role and some of your experience developing high-performance vehicles at General Motors.

Alex MacDonald: Currently, I am the Global Lead Engineer for CT4 & CT5. I’ve been in that role for about 20 months, which includes working on the 2025 redesign of the car. Prior to that, I was the Vehicle Performance Manager for Corvette and Camaro.

In that role I was part of a team that did everything from snow and ice testing; performing sound tuning, Noise and Vibration tuning on regular roads, fuel economy and chassis testing and development testing in districts across the United States, as well as track testing at the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. It was working with a really fun, dynamic, performance-oriented group, and in the building next to us was a team working on the Cadillac V Series, so we were able to trade cars and gain experience from the work each team did.

AS: In your opinion, what do you think is important for creating a modern, truly fun and performance rear wheel drive car?

AM: I think there are various things to consider. When looking at the CT5 V-Series Blackwing for example, we focused a lot on ‘unique precision.’ What I mean is to create a car that offers touring comfort and sports driving engagement, as well as true track ability. And that is all done by technology. When we talk about rear wheel drive dynamics today, a lot of it comes down to the electronic rear slip differential (LSD) and how it works. While some people will find LSD useful in providing extra traction when you leave your mailbox in the morning or hold the line on a drag line, this is only a small part of what LSD is designed to do. .

It’s really about steering feel, car handling and balance. We programmed our electronic LSD in-house at GM and are proud of how it came together. You will see other manufacturers with binary controls for differentiation. In our case, it’s very analog, making adjustments every 100 milliseconds by inputting data from sensors around the car. This translates into a very responsive drive input, so, let’s say for example, you’re driving on a track and forcing the differential open, with tight controls, you’ll need to make steering corrections very quickly to maintain your line. because it is a neutral chassis.

AS: In today’s market, why do you think we have often lost that sense of connection between the driver and the car and how can we reclaim it?

AM: It’s really about engineering the car to do what the driver wants. Often, we see engineers looking at improving the electronic LSD in terms of track performance, powertrain, and chassis. They rarely think about the driver.

With this kind of approach, high-performance driving can seem more like a video game than a direct, intimate experience between car and driver. When you include the driver in that optimization approach, you start making different decisions about how to adjust the e-LSD, the suspension, damage those things and that’s how you create a driver-centric car that incorporates a lot of technology, always feels analogue. time to get behind the wheel.

AS: When we hear OEMs and even dealers talk about enthusiast vehicles that are capable of tracking, what exactly does that mean?

AM: In our view, a performance car that is considered capable, such as the CT5 V-Series Blackwing is one that, when production hardware is available, is subjected to a 24-hour endurance test under track conditions. We are building a car specifically for 24 hours but the main thing to note is that it is not a series. When racing teams run 24-hour events the cars have quick pit stops which means they don’t have a chance to cool down, but when we’re testing, there’s a warm-up and a rest lap, even though the 24-hour clock doesn’t. let’s not include those and it starts when we start the first hot lap on the track. When doing these tests, only consumables can be changed, such as tires and sometimes brakes (there is information on how long they need to last).

The rest of the car, such as the engine, transmission and suspension needs to pass this 24-hour durability test before we can say the car is track-ready. And to us, that’s the wonderful thing about a car like the CT5 V-Series Blackwing. It seats four people comfortably and you can drive it around town all day, but you can take it to the track and crush it in a way that’s normal for a track driver without expecting any problems. An owner can take the car to your typical track day, which often consists of five sessions, and do so multiple times a year and always have a great experience.

AS: Can you tell us a little about some of the new features on the CT5 V-Series Blackwing for 2025?

AM: Besides the exterior facelift, the big announcement for the 2025 model year is a new 33-inch interior display that combines the instrument panel and infotainment features into one display. This brings software capabilities that have been expanded to the V-Series Blackwing client, including the Performance Data Recorder. It’s a great suite of data analysis software that’s available on GM vehicles that lets you link video to your lap times.

Also, if you have detailed CAN BUS data such as information from the engine, you can enter that information directly into the PDR. What’s more, it’s the same software that Cosworth uses on their racing cars and that functionality is available on this new 33-inch display instead of having to access it through your own computer. It’s a feature that has been around for a while but has now been enhanced to provide a better and improved experience. And, to give you an idea of ​​how serious we are about this, we have race engineers working on this all the time. And they came up with the idea that really, a lot of the time with a car like the CT5 V-Series Blackwing, you’re on a track day but you’re not racing wheel to wheel and a lot of times, there’s an instructor in the right seat with you when you go off the track.

With the new interior display, there are features on the screen specifically for the right-seat trainer, so they know when to brake and when to throttle. Access to this data helps them give you the best advice, whether you’re new to track driving or experiencing a different track for the first time. Ultimately, it’s about helping the instructor help you have the best driving experience possible.