As Brand New Just 16,839 Miles 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham All Original Wow on 2040-cars

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Safety group pans GM’s new Marketplace in-dash shopping

When it comes to our cars, is the Internet of Things a godsend? Or a hidden menace that will create more problems than it will solve? On the same day General Motors announced it will equip newer-model cars with its in-dash Marketplace e-commerce app, a prominent safety group was shooting it down. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman tells Bloomberg the technology will only contribute to distracted driving and hurt efforts to stem the tide of rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. in 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was responsible for 3,477 fatalities and 391,000 injuries in 2015, the most recent year for which it has data. "There's nothing about this that's safe," Hersman told Bloomberg. "If this is why they want WiFi in the car, we're going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now." Marketplace, developed with IBM, will allow drivers — or more often, one hopes, their passengers — to order coffee or food, find gas stations and reserve hotel rooms from their dashboard screens. The technology is set to be uploaded automatically to nearly 1.9 million GM vehicles model-year 2017 and later that are equipped with WiFi hotspots and compatible systems. By the end of 2018, about 4 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles will be equipped with Marketplace. The app will debut with a limited number of participating retailers, including TGI Fridays, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Starbucks, with more likely to join later. Online retail giant Amazon is also partnering with automakers such as Ford to bring e-commerce capabilities inside the car through its Alexa personal assistant. While convenience is nice, one other thing is becoming clear as the IoT wedges its way into our cars: It's taking aim at some decidedly first-world problems.Related Video: Image Credit: GM Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Technology Infotainment in-car entertainment marketplace e-commerce

Junkyard Gem: 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

The Cadillac Division was riding high in 1969, with sales numbers far surpassing those of Lincoln and Imperial. A few more years remained before fuel prices would go crazy, and prosperous Americans knew that a sleek DeVille or Eldorado gave them bragging rights at the country club. Here's a thoroughly used-up '69 Coupe DeVille, finally at the end of its journey and residing in a self-service wrecking yard in Denver, Colo. This inspection certificate shows that the car lived in Louisiana a decade ago. Since this is the sort of pervasive rust that occurs in places much wetter than arid High Plains Colorado, we can assume that this DeVille spent many years in the land of gumbo and alligators. The decklid sports Fleetwood badging and a Rickenbaugh Cadillac emblem, but Cadillac didn't make two-door Fleetwoods in 1969. Perhaps a Colorado-sold Fleetwood donated its decklid to replace a rust-ravaged lid on this car. Actually, there's a good chance it was purchased at this very yard. The once-opulent interior has suffered greatly over the decades, with the reek of mildewed carpeting and irradiated leather giving it That Hooptie Car Smell. Try to picture what this scene looked like in happier days, a half-century ago. The 1969 Cadillac V8 engine displaced a mighty 472 cubic inches (that's 7.8 liters to those of you living under the cruel knout of the metric system) and delivered a gross 375 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque. Scaling in at 4,595 pounds (about a half-ton less than a new Escalade), the DeVille needed that power to keep up with those cheap-but-V8-equipped Chevy Chevelles. For 1970, Cadillac would stroke this engine to a staggering 500 cubic inches for Eldorado buyers. This engine family lasted through 1984, after which it was replaced by the much-loathed High Technology V8. The build quality and snob appeal of the 1969 Cadillacs kept them on the road for decades after most of their peers got crushed, but this one was just too far gone to be worth restoring. Featured Gallery Junked 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille View 21 Photos Auto News Cadillac Automotive History Classics

2018 Cadillac XTS does its best CT6 impression

Although the Cadillac sedan lineup almost exclusively consists of rear-drive sedans, one last bastion of the old front-drive Caddy exists in the XTS. And it looks like the old-school XTS isn't going anywhere, since it just got a refresh that makes it look more like the CT6 and the CTS. This of course is a bit ironic considering the fact that the CT6 will look different in the near future. Until then, though, this update does make the XTS look more up-to-date. The main part of the headlights end higher up on the front fascia, while a strip of LED accent lights waterfall down the front bumper. The grille has slightly more sculpted slats, and the front badge has been scaled down a bit. There are no longer creases that unify the main grille and the lower one in the bumper, which help the car appear lower and wider than the outgoing model. At the back, the license plate position has been moved down to the bumper, and the trunk lid has more lines and creases. The taillights now have horizontal elements that extend toward the middle of the car. The exhaust finishers and the reverse light also look larger and more prominent now. The refreshed XTS also brings a couple of new trim options. There are new wheel designs both in 19- and 20-inch sizes. Inside, XTS buyers will be able to choose from three new color and upholstery combinations. Two of them, however, are exclusive to the Platinum trim level and come with semi-aniline leather seats. There's not really anything new mechanically with the 2018 XTS. The only major change seems to be a new tire design that is quieter and provides a smoother ride. Otherwise, the XTS will remain available with either the standard 3.6-liter V6 making 304 horsepower, or the optional 410-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 in the V-Sport model. The standard engine comes with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and the V-Sport is only available with all-wheel drive. Pricing has yet to be released for the 2018 model year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Cadillac XTS Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac Luxury Sedan cadillac xts