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Looking back on our favorite cars of Mad Men

The second half of the seventh and final season of Mad Men debuted this week, set to cap a run of public and critical acclaim. A decade's worth of interesting cars also made for good television, if you were paying attention. Vehicles didn't often steal the spotlight from Don, Betty, Roger, Joan and the gang, but they added meaningfully to the tone and beauty of the series. We sorted through the wheeled extras from Mad Men's archives, and choose some of our favorites to highlight. The list consists of cars that had at least a small impact on the plot of an episode, though certainly there are worthy gems hiding in just about every street and driving scene. Check out our subjective top five, and then let us know which of the Mad Men cars would be on your list. 1962 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Season 2 Don Draper's Cadillac Coupe DeVille, all 500 feet of it, shows up in a few seasons of the show, but it's the first appearance that sets the tone. A Cadillac salesman, cut from the same cloth as Draper, asks what Don drives right now. "A Dodge," Don admits. "Those are wonderful if you want to get somewhere," allows the salesman, "this is for when you've already arrived." For a man on the move up corporate and social ladders that's a powerful message, and a pitch-perfect car. 1961 Lincoln Continental – Season 3 The most stylish Lincoln Continental ever is perfect set dressing for the mod show, of course. Though it's interesting that the car isn't cast as dapper Draper's ride, but rather his father-in-law's. Grandpa Gene does what all great grandfathers are bound to: lets his granddaughter Sally drive the big Lincoln while he works the pedals. Generational bond secured, in fine fashion. When you go back through the first three seasons of the show, you'll notice that Continentals show up more than once, too. There's nothing quite like them to evoke the best of the early '60s. 1963 John Deere 110 – Season 3 The only non-standard passenger vehicle on the list, no self-respecting gearhead/Mad Men fan should quibble with the inclusion of the John Deere 110 riding mower. For starters, the Deere is lovely to look at; a miniature version of the American Heartland icon in its green and yellow duds. The 110 appears as if milled from a solid block of steel, just the opposite of today's sleek, plasticky lawn minders (we're scouring Craigslist for one to bring home). The John Deere also has dear ramifications to the plot, too.

GM pauses 3.0-liter turbodiesel production due to a supplier shortage

General Motors confirmed it has temporarily stopped taking orders for trucks and SUVs equipped with the 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel six-cylinder engine. It blamed the last-minute pause on a supplier-related shortage. Website TFL Truck first reported the news, and a representative from General Motors quickly confirmed it. The spokesperson explained the issue is due to a "temporary part shortage" and added that production will resume "as soon as possible," meaning the Duramax engine (which is called LM2 internally) is not going away permanently. Additional details are not available, so we don't know if the issue is related to the ongoing chip shortage. Rather than delay deliveries and create a backlog, General Motors is reportedly asking its dealers to encourage buyers who want a turbodiesel engine to instead select either the 5.3-liter V8 or the 6.2-liter V8, depending on the model selected. Both are gasoline-powered units. There's no word yet on when Duramax production will resume. The shortage affects several models, including Chevrolet's Tahoe, Suburban, and Silverado 1500 and GMC's variants of these trucks. Cadillac's Escalade is temporarily diesel-less as well. Heavy Duty variants of the Silverado and the Sierra are not affected because they're powered by a different Duramax engine with eight cylinders. Motorists seeking a full-size SUV powered by an efficient turbodiesel engine are temporarily out of options because the Tahoe/Yukon and the Suburban/Yukon XL had the segment to themselves. The Duramax was surprisingly popular, too: in May 2021, GM Authority reported that the turbodiesel straight-six represented 8% of Suburban sales and 6% of Tahoe sales. Installed in a rear-wheel-drive Tahoe, the engine returns 21 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway, and 24 mpg in a combined cycle, figures that make the body-on-frame behemoth more efficient than the unibody, front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Blazer that's 20 inches shorter and approximately 1,700 pounds lighter. Related video: 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe 3.0L Duramax engine

GM resumes production of its 3.0-liter turbodiesel straight-six

General Motors temporarily stopped taking orders for trucks and SUVs equipped with the 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel six-cylinder engine in August 2021 due to a supplier shortage. Reports claimed the pause would last through 2021, but the engine is already back in production. Enthusiast website GM Authority learned from sources inside General Motors that the straight-six is once again coming off the assembly line at the Flint Engine Plant in Flint, Michigan. There's no official word on precisely what the problem was linked to and whether it was related to the on-going chip shortage that's wreaking havoc across the automotive industry. All we know is that the pause lasted for about two weeks. Called LM2 internally, the six is available in Chevrolet's Tahoe, Suburban, and Silverado 1500 and in GMC's version of these trucks. It's also an option in the Cadillac Escalade. It develops 277 horsepower at 3,750 rpm and a V8-like 460 pound-feet of torque at 1,500 rpm in every application, and it allows these big behemoths to post surprising fuel economy numbers. Fitted to a rear-wheel-drive Tahoe, the Duramax returns 21 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway, and 24 mpg in a combined cycle, figures that make it more efficient than a Blazer. Demand for the diesel-powered trucks is relatively high. While the shortage undoubtedly took a toll on sales, the Duramax represented 8% of Suburban sales and 6% of Tahoe sales in May 2021. There are no other diesel-burning full-size SUVs available new so they have the market to themselves. On the truck side, Ram still makes the EcoDiesel available on some 1500 trims but Ford abandoned the segment. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe RST View 24 Photos Chevrolet GMC Truck SUV Diesel Vehicles