1994 Cadillac Fleetwood 6 Door Limousine. Fresh Out Of Service. Nice Car! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

First-edition Detroit muscle raises millions for charity at Barrett-Jackson

Amidst all the classic metal crossing the auction block each year in Scottsdale, AZ, Detroit automakers have a tradition of donating the first examples of their most enticing new muscle cars, with the proceeds of their sales going towards worthwhile charities. This year, Barrett-Jackson handled three noteworthy examples. The highest price among them was the first Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang with the VIN #001, which raised $1 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. General Motors donated the first new Chevy Corvette Z06 Convertible, the first retail example of the droptop supercar garnering $800,000 for the United Way. Along with the Z06, GM also donated the first new 2016 Cadillac CTS-V sedan, which brought in $170,000 for Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Although these were the headline Motown muscle machines furnished by the automakers themselves, they weren't the only vehicles auctioned off for worthy causes. A 1950 GM Futurliner bus donated by collector Ron Pratte led the charge when it brought in $4.65 million for the Armed Forces Foundation. Other lots included a custom Jeep Wrangler donated by SEMA ($85k), a new M5 donated by BMW ($800k), a '79 Oldsmobile Cutlass Hurst ($140k), '39 Cadillac LaSalle C-Hawk ($410k), Jeff Gordon's 1999 NASCAR-spec Chevy Monte Carlo ($500k) and a Victory Cross Country 8-Ball motorcycle ($180k). All told, the charity lots raised over $8.7 million for local and national charities. BARRETT-JACKSON REACHES HISTORIC HIGHS FOR SALES, CROWDS AND CELEBRITY APPEARANCES IN SCOTTSDALE • Barrett-Jackson sold 1,611 vehicles, which went for more than $130 million (unaudited), smashing records in the company's 44-year history during the 10-day auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale • Automobilia sales nearly tripled world records, with 2,000 pieces selling for more than $6.55 million • Celebrity attendance and crowds, along with ratings on Discovery and Velocity, spike SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Jan. 18, 2015 – Barrett-Jackson, The World's Greatest Collector Car AuctionsTM, reached historic highs during the Scottsdale auction at WestWorld from Jan. 10-18, 2015. During the 10-day auction, Barrett-Jackson recorded more than $130 million in vehicle sales (unaudited) and a world record $6.55 million in automobilia sales (unaudited), making it the highest auction in sales to date. The Ron Pratte Collection alone brought in over $40.44 million in vehicle and automobilia sales.

GM's Cruise Origin EV platform to be shared by many electric vehicles

GM on Monday announced that it was spending $2.2 billion at its Detroit-Hamtramck facility, part of its $3 billion commitment made after the UAW strike to transform Hamtramck into the company's first plant to exclusively build a wide variety of electric and autonomous vehicles. The operation will eventually employ 2,225 people. Hamtramck is still building the Cadillac CT6 and Chevy Impala. Production of those cars will wind down Feb. 28, when GM will idle the lines for 18 months of retooling. During the transition, more than 800 workers will likely be transferred to build pickups at Fort Wayne, Indiana, or Flint, Michigan. When Hamtramck production of new EVs begins in late 2021, the Cruise Origin electric shuttle revealed last week will be among the first vehicles built there. Also, an electric pickup likely branded as a Hummer to be sold as a GMC, which will be debuted by LeBron James during the Super Bowl this Sunday. GM made quite a few pronouncements during the unveiling of the electric, autonomous Cruise Origin last week in San Francisco. We heard that the Origin was designed to last for for 1 million miles, be "roughly half the cost of what a conventional electric SUV costs today,” and riders could save as much as $5,000 per year by giving up their cars for Origins. Much was left out, as well, such as detailed specs on the platform, and when the Origin could see wide deployment. Carscoops addressed one open question about the platform, reporting that the Origin's bones will be shared among a number of other GM battery-electric vehicles, probably starting with the Cadillac EV due in 2021. The site received confirmation of that tidbit from Megan Soule, the automaker's assistant manager of Electrification, Battery Technology, Fuel Cells, R&D and GM Ventures Communications. It seems what we've been shown in the Origin is the first fruit of the multi-vehicle EV strategy GM CEO Marry Barra presented at the 2017 Barclays Global Automotive Conference. One of the slides (below, full PDF presentation here) touts an "All new multi-brand, multi-segment platform" with a "Structurally integrated all new battery system." The next slide places that modular platform at the center of 11 new vehicles, the van-looking silhouette on the upper right labeled "SAV," for shared autonomous vehicle, apparently in reference to the Origin.

GM workers in Oshawa walk out in protest of plant closure

TORONTO/MONTREAL – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed his "deep disappointment" in General Motors' decision to close its Oshawa plant, a move Canadian officials only learned about on Sunday and which led workers to walk off the job on Monday. GM said the closure affects a total of 2,973 assembly line jobs. GM's total employment in Canada is 8,150 direct jobs. Workers in the Unifor trade union walked out of the Oshawa plant "in protest," ahead of a meeting with GM about the announcement, a union spokeswoman said. "I've moved my family twice for this company and they do this to me," a tearful worker told CBC TV as he left the plant. Currently, the Oshawa plant builds the Cadillac XTS and Chevy Impala sedans. Under Unifor's four-year contract signed in 2016, GM must give the union a year's notice before closing the plant. The automaker intends to close the plant in December, 2019. A 2015 study commissioned by Unifor, which represents GM employees, estimated that shutting the plant would eliminate 4,100 direct jobs and reduce Ontario's gross domestic product by C$1.1 billion. But Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, said the move amounts to a breach of the automaker's contract with its employees. "We have a collective agreement that says they're not closing any of our facilities ... so we will do anything by any means to make sure that they live up to their word," Dias said at a news conference. Dias said the contract between Unifor and the company forbids GM from closing any of its Canadian plants during the contract period, which ends in September 2020. "They are not closing our damn plant without one hell of a fight." Canadian officials promised to aid auto workers affected by the 2019 closure, part of a wider restructuring by the automaker that will cut production of slow-selling models and slash its North American workforce. "I spoke with GM (CEO) Mary Barra to express my deep disappointment in the closure," Trudeau tweeted on Monday. "We'll do everything we can to help the families affected by this news get back on their feet." GM workers have been part of the heart and soul of Oshawa for generations - and we'll do everything we can to help the families affected by this news get back on their feet. Yesterday, I spoke with @GM's Mary Barra to express my deep disappointment in the closure.