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Autoweek divulges details on Presidential limo

Ever since the latest presidential limousine, also known as The Beast, debuted in 2009, we've wondered what's underneath that black Cadillac body. We already know a few details, like the fact it isn't a Cadillac at all, but a very heavy duty truck chassis from General Motors with a body that resembles a super-sized Caddy. Autoweek, however, has managed to extract new details from veteran Secret Service agents about the closely guarded presidential limo. Their methods, of course, are classified.
Designed to be a rolling office, bunker and escape pod all in one, the current presidential limo is far different from previous presidential state cars, which were heavily modified production vehicles. As we would expect, The Beast uses thick, military-grade body armor (eight inches on the doors), an armored fuel tank, special run-flat tires with Kevlar lining, an encrypted satellite phone, a fully sealed cabin with its own oxygen supply and a trunk full of weapons and medical equipment that includes a supply of the President's blood type (in case the car gets cut off from the ambulance that's always present in the President's motorcade).
The Beast also comes with a Halon fire-suppression system, night vision and is powered by a V8 engine, which we already knew runs on gas and not diesel, that returns an EPA-unfriendly estimated 3.7 miles per gallon. The Secret Service operates a fleet of 12 limos and each Beast costs $1.5 million. Lastly, AW estimates that the 18-foot-long state car weighs 15,000 pounds, and each Secret Service agent that drives the car must be specially trained to maneuver such a massive vehicle.

2020 Cadillac XT5 is barely being refreshed

Cadillac has been making a serious effort to expand its crossover offerings with the all-new XT4 and XT6. With them has come slight changes to Cadillac's design language, leaving the existing XT5 looking a little out of the loop. Well, it appears that's about to change ... sort of. One of our spy photographers caught a 2020 Cadillac XT5 out testing, and it has some changes that suggest a refresh. You do have to look closely to tell anything has changed, though. And even then, the only noticeable change is to the grille, which is now dotted with little quadrilateral shapes similar to those on XT4 and CT5. You can see one of the two current designs below. Otherwise, the bumpers and lights haven't been changed at all. View 21 Photos We suspect there will be other small changes in store for the crossover. It could switch from an eight-speed transmission to a nine-speed unit like the one the XT6 will use. This would be likely considering they both use the same V6 engine. We wouldn't rule out adding an optional turbo four-cylinder engine borrowed from the XT4, but that would be a fairly significant and less likely change. The interior could see some updates, and Cadillac could possibly try to shoehorn in its new infotainment system from the new batch of cars. Then again, changes could simply be limited to new materials and some extra features. With such a light update, we expect the updated 2020 XT5 will make its debut sometime this year with sales coming shortly after.

Cadillac won't replace XTS after 2019

Cadillac wouldn't be Cadillac without a large sedan, but the definition of just which model fits that bill changed last week. Before the New York Auto Show, that role fell to the XTS. After the New York Auto Show, though, the focus shifted to the CT6. So what's to become of the XTS now that the CT6 has emerged? According to the latest intel, it'll live out the rest of its lifecycle until around 2019, but then drive off to its own funeral like so many limousines and hearses that were built off its platform. This was learned based on comments made by Cadillac chief Johan de Nysschen at the closed-door unveiling of the CT6 in Manhattan: "Ultimately, a car like XTS when it reaches the end of its lifecycle, will not be replaced." That'll be bad news for the livery business that – in the post-Town Car era – has come to rely on the XTS as the basis for its stretch jobs. "We will not have a car that will lend itself to these kind of modifications and we will probably withdraw from those markets," de Nysschen told GM Inside News. That's not all the new Cadillac boss had to say, though: he also indicated that the replacements for the ATS and CTS will be positioned differently from the current models: "As we move into the future refining our sedan portfolio, there will be no direct successor to the CTS. There will be no direct successor to the ATS. There is no point to renaming those cars because in the future those cars will disappear." Based on Johan's comments and those we've heard until now, we'd expect the replacement for the ATS to move down a size to take on the likes of the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA, and the CTS' successor to move down half a size class as well to give the new CT6 a bit more breathing room, and possibly an even larger flagship sedan to be positioned above them all. Related Video: