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Junkyard Gem: 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Sedan

If you lived in North America in 1967 and you wanted to show the neighbors you'd clawed your way to the peak of the success pyramid, only one car would do: Cadillac Fleetwood. Today's Junkyard Gem is 4,685 pounds of General Motors luxury hardware, finally knocked off the road at age 53 by an unfortunate wreck and now residing in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. The Cadillac brand endured some rough years during the 1970s and 1980s, but rode high during the 1960s. The Fleetwood Sixty Special Sedan started at $6,423 in 1967, or just over $50,000 when figured using inflation-adjusted 2020 dollars. A Mercedes-Benz 250SE sedan set you back $6,385 that year, but it weighed barely half as much and packed just 148 horses against the Cad's 340. Really, you had to get a genuine Rolls-Royce to out-swank the Fleetwood-driving Joneses back then (the Lincoln Continental and Imperial didn't have quite the snob appeal at that time), and the Roller cost more than several Fleetwoods combined. This car has been around during its long life. On the windshield, we see 1980 and 1981 parking stickers from the Keeneland Club in Kentucky. This car was already 13 years old by that time, but still very classy. At some point, the car must have migrated to California. Here's a U.C. Berkeley sticker. This ancient In-N-Out sticker comes from the Southern California-only era of the famous hamburger chain. Sometimes it's tough to determine the reasons that an old car ended up in a place like this, but that's not a problem here. Let's hope the car's occupants had their belts on (lap belts only in 1967, but still better than nothing), because these old Detroit land yachts didn't have much in the way of energy-absorbing crumple zones. The paint and interior are quite rough, so this car depreciated from being worth perhaps a couple of grand to scrap value in an instant.  Cruise control was a very rare option in 1967, and this car has it. The famous Fleetwood triple-tone horns were still there when I got to this car. Under the hood, 429 cubic inches (7.0 liters) of super-smooth Cadillac pushrod V8. This engine grew to 472 and then 500 cubic inches during the following few years. The paint shows some great patina. Did I buy the horns? Of course I bought the horns — I always bring my trusty lightweight junkyard toolbox when I head out to shoot some Junkyard Gems. Related Video:

Diesel engine will be a no-cost option on 2021 Cadillac Escalade

Pricing for the redesigned 2021 Cadillac Escalade was revealed yesterday, with the various trim levels ranging from $77,490 to $101,290 including $1,295 destination. And while we also learned that all-wheel drive will be a $3,000 option, what's surprising is that the optional 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine will cost $0, this according to official pricing info released by Cadillac. The diesel is one of two engine choices for the new 2021 Escalade, the other being a 6.2-liter V8. The engine also is coming to the 2021 Chevrolet and GMC full-size SUVs, but it's not yet known what the upcharge will be there, if any. Already, the 3.0-liter I6 diesel is offered in the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, where it is currently a $2,500 option over the 6.2-liter V8. The Duramax inline-six turbodiesel is an aluminum-block design with dual overhead camshafts and a single, variable-geometry turbocharger. Cadillac quotes preliminary outputs of 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. The 6.2-liter V8, meanwhile, musters 420 horses and the same torque output. The primary draw for the diesel is expected to be fuel economy. EPA estimates for the diesel engine in the Escalade (and in the GMC and Chevrolet full-size utes) have not yet been released. But in the pickup trucks, the engine returns 23 city/33 highway miles per gallon with rear-wheel drive and 23/29 mpg with four-wheel drive. The 2021 Cadillac Escalade had been scheduled to reach dealerships this summer, but it's not known whether that date might slip due to the current shutdown at GM's assembly plants. Related Video:

GM announces $7 billion Michigan factory investment, most going to EVs

GM announced a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing, much of which is earmarked for EV production. Four sites are included, but the key elements are a new battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM's existing Orion Township facility to expand production of the forthcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and its GMC Sierra sibling.  GM says it is the largest investment announcement in company history and that it will create 4,000 new jobs. It also says 1,000 jobs will be retained. "We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV," said GM CEO Mary Barra.  GM says the Orion expansion and new battery plant will support an increase in full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 units. This is in addition to the Factory ZERO facility in Detroit that will also be constructing the electric Silverado and Sierra.  The Orion Township factory current builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, and will continue to do so during the plant's conversion. GM did not indicate what will happen with the Bolts once that conversion is complete or whether all will continue to be built at Orion. They do not use the Ultium vehicle architecture. GM will build other EV models at three other factories that are under construction or being converted. They are located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, Ingersoll, Ontario, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. GM says that it will have the ability to produce 1 million electric vehicles by 2025. The Ultium Cells Lansing facility is a $2.6 billion joint investment by GM and LG Energy Solution. GM says it alone will create 1,700 jobs once fully operational by late 2024. It will join two other GM Ultium Cells battery factories currently under construction in the United States, one in Ohio and the other in Tennessee.  Not all of the $7 billion investment will be for EVs. It also announced $510 million of the total will go toward upgrading the Lansing Delta Township Assembly to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Money will also go to upgrading Lansing Grand River Assembly.