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More than 100 pink Cadillacs assemble for Aretha Franklin’s funeral today

Aretha Franklin's funeral service is under way today in Detroit, and plans call for a service of at least five hours featuring performances by stars including Stevie Wonder, Ariana Grande and Chaka Khan, speakers including former President Bill Clinton and the Rev. Al Sharpton, and at least 130 pink Cadillacs lining the road in front of the church. The gesture is a nod to Franklin's Grammy award-winning 1985 hit "Freeway of Love" and its lyrics about driving in a pink Cadillac. Crisette Ellis, the wife of Bishop Charles Ellis III of Detroit's Greater Grace Temple, said they were inspired by how police line up their cars during funerals for fallen officers. "My husband said, 'Wouldn't it be awesome if we could have a sea of pink Cadillacs parked on Seven Mile Road to greet Ms. Aretha Franklin as she arrives?'" she told NPR. Only in #Detroit. 130 pink Cadillacs drive in front of Greater Grace Temple ahead of #ArethaFranklin funeral. pic.twitter.com/qTTJtDXNvS— ROOP RAJ (@rooprajfox2) August 31, 2018 Ellis is an independent national sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics, which famously rewards top sellers with pink Cadillacs, so she had a built-in base of people to call on for the favor. "They're coming from everywhere," she said. "They are coming from as far as Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Florida; North Carolina; Maryland." The funeral, which officially kicked off at 10 a.m. EST at Greater Grace, caps a weeklong celebration of Franklin's life and songs, including a two-day visitation at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and concerts. Performers also include Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson and the Clark Sisters, while Tyler Perry and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are also scheduled to speak. HLN and the Word Network, plus several local Detroit television affiliates, plan to broadcast the funeral, and outlets including The Associated Press and USA Today plan to livestream it. Having sung at the inaugurations of three presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — Franklin was an American institution. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then President George W. Bush in 2005. Clinton entered the church with his wife, Hillary, to loud applause and stood quietly by Franklin's open casket before the service started. Franklin's body was dressed in a golden sequined outfit. The funeral was closed to the public, but crowds of fans gathered outside, many dressed in their church best.

2021 Cadillac Escalade Onyx package adds monochrome logos

The 2016 Cadillac Escala concept showed off a number of features never seen on a Cadillac, one of them being a redesigned, entirely silver, untextured logo. Cadillac had been putting all-silver versions of its crest on the fenders of some of its vehicles, but those bore patterned silver inserts where the yellow, black, red, and blue would have appeared on the standard mark. The Escala logo, on top of being squatter and wider, displayed silver blanks where the colors went. Cadillac Society has found out a similar treatment is on the way for the 2021 Escalade as part of a new Onyx package. This time, instead of being brightwork, a Cadillac spokesperson told CS the logos are "more grey versus [the] silver/chrome [on the fenders]." And for the first time on a Cadillac on the showroom floor, these monochrome badges will appear on the grille and tailgate. Buyers can add a Sport Edition package to the current Escalade, dressing almost all the brightwork grille in gloss black and bolting on a set of 22-inch Midnight Silver wheels. The Cadillac logos, however, stay in color, and the Escalade lettering stays in chrome. That changes with the Onyx package, those gray monochrome crests joined by Escalade lettering in gloss black, plus 22-inch, 12-spoke wheels in high gloss black, and a similar blackout of all the other brightwork as found on the Sport Edition package. The Sport Edition is only available on three of the eight possible colors; a limited color selection could hold true for the Onyx package as well. Branding could get even more interesting when the crest's animated illumination shows up on the Lyriq electric crossover.  The 2021 Escalade will move to the new forked trim strategy, Premium Luxury on one side, Sport on the other, the Onyx package only available on the Sport side. For shoppers who want to go the other way, we're sure the new Escalade will offer something equivalent to the current Radiant Package that makes any Escalade even more impossible to miss on a sunny day. Related Video:    

GM recalls half-million full-size SUVs to address seatbelt issue

GM is recalling its redesigned full-size SUV models to address improperly riveted mounts securing the third-row seatbelts that may fail in the event of an accident. The population includes the 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, 2021-2022 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, and 2021-2022 model year GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, for a total of 484,155 vehicles. "Operators at the supplier’s manufacturing plant may have not properly followed manufacturing processes and inadvertently missed the rivet forming operation," GM said in its defect report to NHTSA. "In certain of these vehicles, the rivet that retains the buckle to the mounting bracket in the left or right side third-row seatbelt buckle assembly may not have been properly formed during the manufacturing process. If the third-row seatbelt assembly is not properly riveted, it may not properly restrain occupants in a crash, increasing the risk of injury." Fortunately, the fix is relatively simple. GM service technicians will inspect the rivets on the rear seatbelt buckle assemblies and replace the entire unit if the rivets are not to spec. Dealer notifications have already been distributed; owners should receive notice start in September. Related video: Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Ownership Safety SUV