1970 Cadillac Deville Base Convertible 2-door 7.7l on 2040-cars

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Mark Reuss: GM can't afford product 'misses,' has 'thought about' CT6 V-Series

Mark Reuss is a busy man. He oversees General Motors' global product portfolio, an all-encompassing task for a company that sold more than 9.9 million cars and trucks last year. When GM launches a well-received product, like the road-going rocket ship that is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – he gets credit. When the company stumbles with the slow-selling Chevy Malibu or grapples with fallout from the decade-old Saturn Ion and its flawed ignition switch, he gets blamed. GM owners, the press and sometimes the federal government, demand answers. Bob Lutz famously held the job before Reuss. So did Mary Barra, who's now GM's chief executive. There's a New GM, but the lineage is connected to a long history. When he's not thinking product, Reuss, an executive vice president, also runs the purchasing and supply chain for the company, which is still one of the largest industrial empires in the world. We caught up with Reuss on the floor of the New York Auto Show, where GM had just rolled out two crucial new products: the 2016 Cadillac CT6 and the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Speaking with a small group of reporters, Reuss delved into a variety of subjects, including the new Malibu, Cadillac's future (he thinks the ATS-V is going to "flame the M3 and M4"), and other topics. On fixing the Malibu: "We can't miss. We can't have those kinds of misses [like the previous generation] on our cars and crossovers and trucks. We can't do that. If we do that, we give a reason for someone to go buy something else. It's that simple. "On a car like the Malibu we have a chance to really fix all of that, which we have, and then lead. Then you've got a real opportunity there. So that's what we've really been focused on here – to fix those things." He later added: "We need that car here to transform Chevrolet desperately because it's the heart of the market. And when you think of Chevrolet, people will come back and think about what we did with the [new] Malibu and the Cruze... It's hugely important to us." On Cadillac: "If we go out and try and out-German the Germans, it's probably not going to work. We've got an opportunity here generationally where there's a lot of people younger than me that have parents that drove BMWs and Mercedes, and I think there's an opportunity there for those people to drive something different than what their parents did, and I think that's always been an opportunity in the auto industry if you look at the history of it.

The CadMad shooting brake Eldorado Brougham-Nomad cross is up for auction

The CadMad custom 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham is the coolest car crossing the block at the Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson auction. All arguments to the contrary are wrong and can be redirected straight to the gallery above. This 16-year project built by Super Rides and commissioned by the late Steve Barton won the Don Ridler Memorial Award at the 2019 Detroit Autorama, which goes to the custom build that shows the best creativity, engineering and quality workmanship. All of those qualities are on full display in this Eldorado Brougham-Nomad mashup. Just so we’re all on the same page, a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was no normal Cadillac at the time. The sedanÂ’s exterior design is thanks to Pininfarina, as Cadillac had the Italian design company tweak its styling. It resulted in a much more subdued Cadillac than the rest of Caddy's giant fin-tastic designs of the decade. Only 200 were made over the course of a couple years, and they remain some of the rarest production Cadillacs to this day. The “Fawntana Rose” Cadillac standing before us is a shooting brake interpretation of that famous sedan. It has lost 18 inches in overall length, four inches in width and the rear doors have been completely eliminated. A Chevy Nomad roof was shortened by a couple inches and grafted onto the bodywork. The builders say that every last piece of sheet metal was modified for this build. Still, thereÂ’s still no mistaking it for a Cadillac. The chrome bumpers and lights were left mostly untouched, and the small fins were retained, as well. That Nomad roof was painted in Titanium Silver for contrast, the same silver thatÂ’s used on the new Ford GT. Things only improve when you open the hood. A 632-cubic-inch twin-turbo V8 built by Nelson Racing Engines (NRE) powers the shooting brake. Most of the time (on 91 octane fuel), it produces around 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet of torque. Feed it 112 octane fuel and NRE claims itÂ’s capable of producing upwards of 2,500 horsepower. Yowza. A four-speed automatic transmission and strengthened Corvette transaxle somehow attempts to put the power down to the rear wheels. The seats are reflective of the amount of power this car puts down — 2012 Cadillac CTS-V buckets were used and modified with mauve-colored upholstery. All the trim was hand-painted, including the wood-grain flooring in back and is meant to “mimic the African Wenge and Tigerwood Maple.”  The time and effort that went into this built is truly astounding.

GM's labor deal with UAW union on verge of ratification

Nov 15 (Reuters) - General Motors' tentative labor deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union closed in on ratification as the votes were counted on Wednesday. Following the approval earlier in the day by more than 60% of union members at the Detroit automaker's large Arlington, Texas, assembly plant, additional votes in favor have the deal close to clinching majority approval. The number of union locals, most of which are smaller, still to report vote totals is not large. After several large assembly plants voted against the deal earlier on Wednesday, some media had reported the deal was heading toward failure. But Arlington's support, followed by strong voting in favor by smaller warehouse and parts facilities, has put the deal on the brink of approval. This would mark the first ratification of a deal, which runs through April 2028, with one of the Detroit Three automakers. Ford and Stellantis voting is still under way, and workers at both companies were favoring ratification by comfortable margins. The UAW's GM vote tracking site currently shows approval of the contract leading by a 54% to 46% margin with almost 32,000 workers having cast votes out of about 46,000 UAW-represented GM workers. The Arlington plant, with about 5,000 UAW members, has the most of any GM plant. Voting officially ends on Thursday at 4 p.m. EST, although most votes will be cast on Wednesday. The UAW went on strike for more than six weeks against the Detroit Three, seeking better wages, working conditions and cost-of-living adjustments. All three companies agreed to tentative agreements about two weeks ago. Workers at other GM assembly plants voted against the deal, including 60% of workers at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, truck plant, 53% at its Wentzville, Missouri, plant, 58% of workers at GM's Lansing Grand River plant and 61% of workers at the Lansing Delta Township plant. Seven of GM's 11 assembly plants rejected the deal. In addition to Arlington, workers at plants in Detroit, Fairfax, Kansas; and Lake Orion, Michigan; approved the agreement. Only nine facilities are still listed without vote totals on the UAW vote tracker, including GM's Lockport, New York, components plant with about 1,200 members. Those voting in favor of the agreement have a lead of almost 2,500 and many of the facilities still to come include workers who stand to receive large pay increases upon ratification.