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Cadillac dealers get $5,000 incentive for ELR test drives

The 530 Cadillac dealers - out of 940 total dealers - that signed on to sell the brand's ELR for $75,000 or lease it for $699 per month have managed to move 247 of them in the last five months. That's a little less than two cars for each dealer more than two dealers for each car if you need help with the math. With inventories of the luxury plug-in hybrid building up - Automotive News reports a 725-day supply - General Motors has created the Demonstrator Allowance Program to billow the sails on that slow moving ship, giving dealers $5,000 to promote ELR test drives.
A dealer with one ELR in its test fleet that racks up 750 test driven miles between May 1 and June 2 earns the fifty Benjamins, a dealer with two ELRs in the test fleet will get one hundred Benjamins. That will be added to summer incentives for dealers that pay $2,000 for units sold in July and $1,000 for units sold in August, while on the customer side, Cadillac has put "customer discount certificates" worth $3,000 on the hood for buyers and lessees.
Cadillac suggests this is about raising awareness of the ELR, but the question is how much dealers will be able to do for a car that observers - and buyers, apparently - still consider highly overpriced.

Cadillac to vie for Secret Service armored car contract, new Beast?

President Obama has used the same armored limo since his inauguration in 2008. Known by many as The Beast, the Presidential Limo was provided by Cadillac and earned its nickname in large part because of its massive size, which isn't surprising considering that its Caddy-shaped bodywork is said to sit atop a heavy-duty truck chassis.
It seems the Secret Service may be in the market for a Beast replacement, having issued a request for proposals for a new armored limo. According to Motor Trend, Obama's backup limo is a leftover from the Bush Administration, so it will be interesting to see if this new machine will serve as a replacement for The Beast or for its backup. The contract is to be awarded by September 29, 2013.
The boys from MT contacted Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler, and Chrysler is the only one that would confirm that it is not pursuing the contract. Cadillac may have the inside track, as it has provided Presidential limos since 1993, but Lincoln also has a long and storied history of chauffeuring the President.

Cadillac shows dealers convertible rendering

Cadillac is getting serious about revitalizing and expanding its lineup, and to that end, a new report claims that brand boss Johan de Nysschen has been showing plans for several new models to the marque's dealer body - among them, a new convertible.
The droptop which Cadillac reportedly showed its dealers in sketch form, would be based on the same platform as the ATS and CTS, those it's unclear to which (if either) of those model lines the new convertible would be added, or whether the design features a canvas or folding hardtop roof. One way or another, it would be the first time Cadillac would offer a convertible since the Corvette-based XLR roadster was discontinued more than five years ago.
Quoting an unnamed brand spokesperson, Cadillac would "like to introduce an open car to the portfolio at some point," however, "it's not likely to be one of the near-term portfolio additions."