1958 Cadillac Eldorado Seville on 2040-cars

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Nine cars we wish were convertibles

The snow has melted, the sun is shining, and the days are getting longer. At the Autoblog Detroit office we feel like our winter hibernation is finally over. And with warmer temperatures come visions of opening up a convertible roof and cruising. You know, just turn up the bass and let the Alpine blast. There are plenty of droptops on sale in the US, and more on the way (like the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata). That said, we always want more. More! More! More! In that spirit, we cooked up a list of nine cars aren't currently sold as convertible, but ought to be. Check out our picks, below. Summer's just around the corner. Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S In some parallel universe, this car actually happened. Toyota showed us a FT 86 Convertible concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013, and we immediately started licking our chops over the thought of a rear-wheel-drive convertible based on the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins. These days, the MX-5 Miata is our only option for affordable roadster fun. A competitor to the Mazda seems like a no-brainer to us, especially since we have naught but good to say about the BRZ/FR-S as-is. Unfortunately in our present timeline, this car is as likely for production as a BRZ STI. Which is to say, not very. Dang. Lexus RC F Unlike the FR-S, a convertible from Toyota's luxury division might actually see the light of day. The current IS convertible is about to be phased out, and the Lexus LF-C2 concept from the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show is really a thinly veiled look at a possible RC convertible. A droptop RC would be plenty good, but let's reach for the starts. What we really want is to run topless in an RC F, complete with that powerful, loud, 5.0-liter V8 engine. Lexus says the RC F is a true competitor to the BMW M4. If that's true, it only makes sense for Lexus to mimic the Germans and offer its performance coupe in a folding hardtop form. Maybach Landaulet Maybach is bach back, recast as an upper crust trim level for Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes-Maybach S600 is seriously awesome, and more luxurious than a trip to the spa. But why not go a step into the truly ridiculous levels of extravagence and bring back that open-top Landaulet? We think your local princess will love this idea, and with better S-Class bones underneath, Jeeves will have a pretty enjoyable ship to steer, too. Besides, with that slick new Mercedes design language, a Landaulet redux wouldn't be nearly as hideous as the old model, pictured here.

Woman thwarts car thieves by jumping on hood

When a pack of car thieves tried to steal a Milwaukee-area woman's car at a gas station, she didn't run for help. Oh no. She hulked out, jumped on the hood, and screamed her head off until the thief finally ran off. According to WISN, Melissa Smith was gassing up her white Subaru Outback at a BP station near Milwaukee's historic Third Ward on the afternoon of May 24. As she stood there pumping gas and minding her own business, a black Cadillac swung slowly around the front of the Subie and came to a stop just off the front left corner. As Smith turned her back to hang up the pump nozzle, a dude bailed out of the Caddy, crouched down, and snuck into the Outback's driver's seat. "I didn't see him till I saw him get into my car. Or someone was in my car, and had my, 'Oh, hell this isn't happening to me today' moment," Smith told WISN. As soon as she saw the thief in her car, Smith ran around the front then leaped on to the hood. She started yelling and pounding on the windshield as the thief tried to pull away from the pump, but he refused to stop. He tried a couple quick stops in an attempt to shake her off, but to no avail. "He looked at me, and he laughed at me, which really irritated me," Smith said. "He was laughing while I was on my car, and he was trying to throw me off, so zero remorse." Smith clung to the Subaru, shouting and pounding until the thief gave up. He abandoned ship, jumped back into the Caddy, and the group of thieves sped away. Unfortunately, when the thief bailed he left the Subie in gear with Smith still holding on for dear life. "Then I had to chase my car into the street and stop it before it hit somebody else," Smith said. Thankfully, Smith was unharmed in the incident, but the crooks got her purse, phone, wallet, and sunglasses. Milwaukee police are still looking for the suspects, who they say stole the black Caddy before trying to steal Smith's Subaru. Related Video: News Source: NBC News, WISN Auto News Weird Car News Cadillac Subaru Crossover Sedan carjacking milwaukee

2020 Cadillac CT5 debuts at N.Y. Auto Show as a proper sport sedan

The 2019 Cadillac CT5 is here, and it's not a tweener sedan. After having done battle with the luxury sedan world through cars that were either too large or too small, Cadillac is using the CT5 to take direct aim at the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Alfa Romeo Giulia and Mercedes C-Class. Specifically, the CT5 replaces the CTS, but takes on vehicles one class smaller than what the CTS did. So, let's take a look at what Cadillac is bringing to the table. To begin, GM knows it has a winner on its hands with the Alpha platform used on the CTS and ATS and the Camaro, so engineers adapted it to the CT5. This seems like a great start, because we all happen to love the driving dynamics from vehicles on this chassis. The wheelbase is a couple inches longer than the CTS, but the CT5 is a couple inches shorter in overall length. As a result, the wheels get pushed toward the corners of the car, leaving the CT5 with relatively short overhangs in the front and rear. It looks different than both of the to-be-discontinued Cadillac sedans, but we wouldn't call it revolutionary. The rear end isn't quite a "sportback," but it's a "faster" shape, eschewing a traditional sedan's long decklid for a sloping-roof look instead. This shape does come at the expense of rear seat headroom, but we'll dive into the interior later. We got a little preview of the powertrain setup before this official reveal, but details were scarce. The base engine is the recently new 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder found in the Cadillac XT4. Just as it did in that vehicle, this engine makes 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. While it might be down on power compared to the old 2.0-liter in the ATS (272 horsepower and 295 pound-feet) we found it to be incredibly smooth, refined and not lacking in thrust compared to the old unit. We're sure the four-pot will offer sufficient power for the CT5, but the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 is lying in wait. This engine makes 335 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission and can be had in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive in every configuration. So yes, you can get the V6 with rear-wheel drive, thankfully. Cylinder deactivation is also equipped to both these power units — the four-banger is able to run on two cylinders, while the V6 drops to four. Cadillac was entirely transparent about its new pumped-in engine sound strategy, too.