1987 Cadillac Allante, No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Vintage photos: How presidential limos evolved from open convertibles to Biden's armored Cadillac

President Ronald Reagan waves from the back of his limousine in 1984.Ronald Reagan Library/Getty Images US presidents used to ride in unarmored convertibles with open roofs. After John F. Kennedy's assassination, presidential cars were customized with safety features. Today's presidential limousine is a 20,000-pound, $1.5 million Cadillac known as "The Beast." US presidents used to ride around in open convertibles. Today, President Joe Biden is driven in a 20,000-pound, $1.5 million armored Cadillac known as "The Beast." Take a look at how presidential limousines have changed through the years. Presidential cars replaced horses and carriages in the early 20th century. President William McKinley rides in an automobile in 1896.Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images President William McKinley, who served from 1897 to 1901, was the first US president to ride in a car, according to the National Archives. The administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded McKinley after his 1901 assassination, was the first to include a government-owned car. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to ride in an armored vehicle — a limousine that previously belonged to gangster Al Capone. President Franklin D. Roosevelt rides in a car with bulletproof glass in 1942.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Roosevelt previously drove around in a 1936 Packard Touring Limousine. Then, in 1941, he upgraded to an automobile with bulletproof glass that the Treasury Department had seized from Capone in 1932, according to the US Secret Service. President Dwight Eisenhower's presidential limousine was a 1955 Chrysler Crown Imperial. President Dwight Eisenhower waves to cheering crowds in 1955.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images The car featured a 250-horsepower V8 engine and a sunroof, according to the US Secret Service. President John F. Kennedy's assassination in the back of a 1961 Lincoln Continental changed presidential cars forever. President John F. Kennedy, and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy ride through Dallas in 1963. Minutes later, Kennedy was assassinated as his car passed through Dealey Plaza.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Kennedy's limousine included a hydraulic seat that could be raised 10.5 inches for a better view of the president, but no protective features. After Kennedy's assassination, presidential cars were customized to prioritize the safety of the commander-in-chief with thick layers of armor.

Don Draper's 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville up for auction

Few have ever nor ever will embody the sheer confidence and style of Don Draper, the main character on the hit AMC drama Mad Men. But if you can't quite match his style, at least you can drive his car. Now that the series has now concluded its eight-year run, the studio behind it is selling off a whole mess of artifacts from the show through ScreenBid, a specialist Hollywood memorabilia auctioneer. There's a good 1,300 lots up for grabs, from props to costumes. But the lot that's caught our attention is this 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Don picked this car up in the fifth season and drove it until the penultimate episode. These are the wheels he (spoiler alert!) drove across the country, got repaired in Oklahoma, and ultimately gave to a kid working at the motel before making his way by bus to the Bonneville Salt Flats in the final episode. At the time of writing, bidding had reached $25,000 with four days still to go. Cadillac first used the de Ville as a trim level on the Series 62 before spinning it off into its own model line. 1965 was the first year of the third-generation de Ville, stretching a massive 224 inches (over 18 and a half feet!) long. Powering over 4,600 pounds of personal American luxury was an equally massive 7.0-liter V8 that drove 340 horsepower through a three-speed automatic transmission. The name wasn't retired until 2005 when the final DeVille (as it was styled by then) was replaced by the DTS, which itself was shorthand for DeVille Touring Sedan. Cadillac produced the last DTS in 2011, finally putting to rest a name that had, in one form or another, been used since 1949. Few cars had the kind of presence that the third-gen Coupe de Ville did, though, and Draper knew it. Or at least the show's producers did.

Cadillac XT5, XT6, GMC Acadia recalled for two issues

General Motors is recalling three model years of the Cadillac XT5 and XT6, and the Cadillac's GMC sibling, the Acadia. The first recall has to do with the rearview camera. On 2020- and 2021-model-year XT5s, XT6s, and Acadias optioned with Surround Vision, insufficient crimping for the coaxial cables could cause a degraded signal from the rear camera, or cause the signal to fail. With all passenger vehicles required to have a working rearview camera, that's not an ideal situation. Only crossovers with Surround Vision are affected. The population at issue counts 95,231 vehicles, build dates being: XT5s produced from May 1, 2019 to June 23, 2021 XT6s built from February 25, 2019 to June 24, 2021 Acadias built from May 6, 2019 to June 24, 2021  The automaker hasn't been informed of any crashes or injuries related to the problem, and will begin mailing letters notifying owners of the issue on November 7. The fix is a trip to the dealer to have the cables inspected and replaced if necessary. Concerned customers can contact Cadillac customer service at 800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, then refer to GM's recall number, N222378380. Alternatively, they can get in touch with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov, and refer to campaign number 22V709000. Another recall concerns just the 2023 Cadillac XT5 and XT6 and 2023 GMC Acadia units that were built on August 9, 2022. That day, a printer in the Spring Hill, Tennessee, Assembly Plant malfunctioned, producing vehicle labels for the driver's side B-pillar with illegible tire size information. That's a violation of a subsection of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110. Only 24 units are affected, the fix being a jaunt to the dealer for a label with readable information. Owners who don't want to wait until November for letters from GM can contact Cadillac customer service at 800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 800-462-8782, and mention recall number N222381690. Or they can head to the NHTSA Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 800-424-9153), or www.nhtsa.gov, and refer to campaign number 22V708000.