Cadillac Escalade Esv on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Cadillac ELR is making green sexy in Detroit

In terms of styling, inside and out, the ELR hits the ball out of the park.
Cadillac has pulled the wraps off of its newest family member, the long-rumored, Voltec-powered, eye-catching extended range hybrid coupe called the ELR. The car makes use of the same basic architecture as the Chevrolet Volt, but has been thoroughly layered on with design, technology and performance tuning - with the goal of being a properly situated product for the Cadillac brand.

Why Cadillac is willing to lose 43 percent of its dealers

Cadillac is offering about 400 dealers in the United States a lump sum of money to close down. That represents over 40 percent of Cadillac dealers in America. Offers start at $100,000 and top out at $180,000. The average offering is around $120,000. According to Automotive News, Cadillac chief Johan De Nysschen estimates it will cost the automaker around $50 million to close these dealers. Any dealer that chooses to remain open will have to submit to Cadillac's ambitious Project Pinnacle, which will divide dealers into incentive categories based on how many units they sell. "Every single Cadillac dealer will have the potential to earn significantly higher profits than they do today," says De Nysschen. Dealers have until November 21 to decide if they want to take the cash or submit to Project Pinnacle. A logical question: Why is Cadillac willing to spend $50 million to close down 43 percent of its dealers? First, GM's luxury brand has way more dealerships than it needs. Second, the 400 dealers with offers to shutter each sold 50 or fewer vehicles in 2015, representing just 9 percent of its sales volume in America. So, while closing these smaller dealerships may have a small initial impact on sales, it's not going to be a major hit to Cadillac. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Gary Cameron / Reuters Cadillac Car Dealers Luxury Performance

What will the next Presidential limo look like?

With recent news that the Secret Service has begun soliciting proposals for a new armored limousine, we've been wondering what the next presidential limo might look like. The current machine, nicknamed "The Beast", has a design based on a car that's no longer sold: the Cadillac DTS. If General Motors gets the job again, which wouldn't be a surprise considering the government still owns a chunk of the company, the next limo's shape would likely resemble the new XTS (below, left). But Cadillac hasn't always been the go-to car company for presidential whips.
Lincoln has actually provided far more presidential limousines throughout history than Cadillac. In fact, the first car modified for Commander-in-Chief-carrying duty was a 1939 Lincoln K-Series called "Sunshine Special" used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the last Lincoln used by a president was a 1989 Town Car ordered for George H.W. Bush. If President Obama wanted a Lincoln today, it would likely be an amalgam of the MKS sedan and MKT crossover, as illustrated above.
And what about Chrysler? The only record we could find of a President favoring the Pentastar is Nixon, who reportedly ordered two limos from the company during his administration in the '70s, and then another one, known today as the "K-Car limo," in the '80s after he left office. Obama, however, has a personal - if modest - connection to Chryslers, having owned a 300 himself before he took office. A 300-based Beast (above, right) would certainly earn the U.S. some style points.