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Cadillac Elmiraj Concept slinks in Leno's Garage

Jay Leno's Garage has moved to Pebble Beach for the week. This time around, the affable comedian is taking a look at the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept that debuted during the Monterey car week, and is talking to General Motors vice president of global design, Ed Welburn.
There's plenty of reminiscing about what concept cars were like when these two were kids, before a fairly deep dive into the striking Elmiraj Concept itself. Welburn shares a few anecdotes about the design process behind the two-door concept, including how his designers changed his mind on the grille design.
After bringing up the Cimarron, Leno makes a solid point that the Elmiraj would be a solid production car that could even spawn a four-door variant. We couldn't agree more. Take a look below for the full video from Jay Leno's Garage.

President Trump's new limo spotted testing at high speed

What you're looking at is no ordinary limo. Look past the swirly camouflage and you'll see what appears to be a Cadillac, but don't let those looks fool you. This is the new Beast, otherwise known as Cadillac One, and codenamed by the Secret Service as Stagecoach. This is the car that will shuttle President Trump to and fro. It's hard to get a sense of scale from these images, but this car is huge. It's very likely built atop a heavy-duty truck platform, which is necessary due to the thick armor-like bodywork that's hermetically sealed to keep POTUS safe and sound. It's hard to tell for certain, but it appears this Beastie is riding on Goodyear Regional RHS II tires, which would otherwise be used on trucks and buses. Translation: this thing is heavy. The Beast is ostensibly badged as a Cadillac, and it wears the latest version of Caddy's corporate grille, badge, and upright headlamps at the front. From the rear, there's a hint of Rolls-Royce Phantom, with rear glass that tapers elegantly into the deck lid. In between is a massive slab-sided passenger compartment that's rumored to seat as many as seven passengers. These shots were snapped at GM's Milford Proving Grounds. It seems The Beast is undergoing some high-speed tests, though high-speed here is relative. Those Goodyears are only rated for 70 miles per hour or so, and we doubt the big 8.1-liter gasoline-fueled V8 engine is geared to push the President much faster than that, anyway. Related Video:

GM removes start/stop from full-size trucks and SUVs with V8 engines

GM is removing start/stop technology from a number of its popular full-size SUVs due to the ongoing chip shortage. This follows the removal of cylinder deactivation technology from some of its trucks, which was also due to the chip shortage. GM Authority first reported the news, but we’ve just confirmed everything with a GM spokesperson.  The following 2021 model year vehicles will be affected: Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. Only versions of those vehicles built with the 5.3-liter V8 or 6.2-liter V8 and mated to the 10-speed automatic will have the tech removed from them. Only vehicles manufactured on or after June 7 will be affected. “By taking this measure, it will enable us to continue production of our high-demand full-size SUV and pickups as the industry continues to rebound and strengthen,” GM said in a statement. Those who ultimately buy one of these vehicles without start/stop technology will receive a $50 discount off MSRP for their troubles. Losing this fuel-saving tech could be a big negative for some, but we know many folks turn it off anyway. Not having to press the button to deactivate start/stop every time could actually be a positive if youÂ’re part of the camp who does that already. 2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum View 27 Photos On the downside, GM says “most of the affected vehicles will experience a minor reduction in fuel economy.” We donÂ’t have revised window stickers in hand to know how each model will be affected, but any 1 mpg reduction will be rather impactful for vehicles rated as low as these trucks already are. Any reduction will be seen in the city mpg rating, so take the kind of driving youÂ’re going to be doing into account before purchasing. When it comes to greenhouse gas compliance rules, GM says it doesnÂ’t foresee this impacting the companyÂ’s average fleet score. It also intends to begin adding start/stop back to these models as soon as possible, but there will be no retrofit effort made to fit the tech to vehicles already built without it. “Our supply chain organization continues to make strides working with our supply base to mitigate the near-term impacts of the semiconductor situation,” GMÂ’s statement reads. “GM continues to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products, including our highly profitable full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers.