Cadillac has built its reputation by delivering the finest luxury vehicles year after year. No one seriously questions Cadillac’s place at the top of the luxury stack. When you want to suggest anything is the finest or most luxurious, you say “it’s the Cadillac of…”

What Cadillac has not been known for over the years in fuel efficiency. And, for the most part, that’s been fine with Cadillac owners. People have traditionally bought a Cadillac for world-class luxury and performance. The typical Cadillac customer is not looking to save a few pennies at the pump.

Times are changing. Today’s consumer demands more fuel efficient vehicles – not only to save money on gas (though that’s becoming increasingly important even to higher-income drivers with recent gas prices), but more importantly because it’s the right thing to do for the environment.

So, as we approach the 2016 model year, Cadillac is rolling out a string of technologies aimed at improving fuel efficiency without compromising the top-shelf performance that makes a Cadillac a Cadillac. These technologies include Active Fuel Management and Automatic Stop/Start. The new 8-speed transmission is also expected to improve overall fuel economy while reducing emissions.

Cadillac will offer a new 3.6L 6-cylinder engine with the Active Fuel Management System. The Active Fuel Management System enables the Cadillac to deactivate two of the cylinders under light driving conditions, essentially turning the Cadillac into a four-cylinder car. Basically, the engine will seamlessly shift from using six cylinders when the extra oomph is needed, while cutting down to four cylinders when it isn’t – saving the fuel all that extra unneeded power consumes. The really surprising part is that there isn’t any loss in performance. The 3.6L engine will be featured in the ATS and CTS models in 2016.

The V8 featured in the 2016 Cadillac Escalade and the new CTS-V high performance sedan will feature similar technology, enabling it to transition from eight cylinders to four under the right driving conditions. Ratcheting it up another notch, Cadillac will also feature the cylinder-deactivation technology in the CT6, making it the only supercharged six cylinder engine in the world to utilize that technology.

The ATS and CTS lines will continue to offer the popular 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine as well. This smaller Cadillac engine has proven popular in recent years and already offers superior fuel economy. Their already impressive fuel economy will be improved with the use of AutoStop technology.

AutoStop automatically turns off the engine when the car is sitting still, whether it’s parked in the driveway, at a red light or in other situations in which it’s going to be sitting for a while. Drivers simply have to release the brake to restart the engine. The transition is automatic and as smooth as you would expect from a Cadillac. What’s more, it operates without draining the battery (an admitted issue with many previous attempts at automatic engine stopping/starting applications). The 2016 Cadillac start/stop system uses an alternative power source – ultracapacitors – to fire the engines back up.

The end result of these new technologies, coupled with the smoother and more efficient 8-speed transmission, is that the new Cadillac ATS and CTS models use less fuel while reducing CO2 output by around 6 percent.

It’s easy to believe that fuel economy will be improved. What may be harder for those who have driven other vehicles with similar start/stop tech to believe is that the 2016s will drive like the Cadillac we all know and love. Rest assured, they do. But don’t take our word for it. Come test drive a new, more fuel efficient 2016 Cadillac.

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