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Beast mode on the open road: New presidential limo close to delivery

Signs of the Beast have been seen on the open roads around Milford, Mich., home of GM's Proving Grounds. The Beast, in this case, being the nickname for the next-generation presidential limousine. We've seen this car previously in spy shots while parked or driven, going back to January 2016. This is our spy photographers' latest look at the vehicle, and the first on public roads. Which may be a sign that it is almost ready for delivery. It replaces the current Beast, which has been in use since 2009. And "car" isn't exactly the right word for this rig, as it's actually a unique vehicle with Cadillac styling cues custom-built atop a medium-duty truck frame. There may possibly be more than one Beast 2.0 delivered, because two limos are sent anywhere the president goes, to provide a backup or decoy. The grille has touches of the Cadillac Escala concept car, which is heavily influencing Cadillac's evolving future look. But it's what's inside that intrigues everyone. Here's what we know, or at least has long been rumored, about the current Beast and the new Beast 2.0. 1. It has its own airplane. It and its twin follow the president around the globe aboard a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane. 2. It's heavily armored, with 5-inch-thick glass, 8-inch-thick doors that weigh as much as a commercial aircraft door, and its components include titanium, ceramics, and a bombproof plate that covers the underside. As such, the old Beast was estimated to weigh between 14,000 and 20,000 pounds. You can therefore imagine how it got its name. 3. It's equipped like the Batmobile or the Green Hornet's Chrysler Imperial Crown, with run-flat tires and night-vision gear. It can fire gas canisters out the front bumper. 4. It has a diesel engine because of its weight and size (see the gallery below for a sense of scale). And of course, diesel is less flammable in a firefight. The old Beast supposedly gets 8 mpg. 5. Its Secret Service codename is Stagecoach. 6. There's a shotgun by the driver and God-knows-what in the trunk. 7. It supposedly has a stock of blood in the president's type, along with a defibrillator and other emergency gear. 8. And it's pretty nice inside, by all accounts. Since this is not Trump's own personal vehicle and may well serve his successor, let's assume the gold leaf has been kept to a minimum and it's done up in tasteful leather and wood. But then again, who really knows, outside of the Secret Service and a handful of GM engineers.

Lexani Motorcars unveils plans for 2021 Cadillac Escalade Mobile Offices

Lexani Motorcars is an aftermarket shop that specializes in high-end luxury customizations for a variety of large SUVs and vans. The Corona, Calif. company aims for business-class-type vehicles, rather than "Pimp My Ride" hack jobs, and has recently been working on 30-inch extended mobile office conversions, among other projects. Up next: the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. Lexani Motorcars, not to be confused with Lexani wheels, took to Instagram to show off a vision for a custom office setup for the new-generation 2021 Escalade. Cadillac's large SUV would be extended by 30 inches and outfitted with a plethora of over-the-top luxury options. Lexani's most extreme additions include armoring, but their toys don't have to be that serious. The most immediately noticeable feature in the Escalade is the starlight headliner. Similar to what's seen in certain modern Rolls-Royces, the starry ceiling is not necessarily a new feature for Lexani Motorcars, but the design has evolved. This most recent interpretation looks like it has a specialized design, possibly one that mimics a real part of the sky.  The Mobile Office includes four massive captain's chairs, each of which has motorized functionality and quilted leather. In between each set of seats is an integrated iPad tablet, and more are seen built into the walls of the SUV. Each seat also has a fold-out desk and foot rests for reclining.  Furthermore, the Mobile Offices include hideaway big-screen TVs that pop up behind the rear seats. Other options include satellite, curtains or shades for the windows, custom trim pieces made out of high-end materials such as carbon fiber or real metals, cooled storage for drinks, and storage compartments for libation stemware. Lexani Motorcars does not list a price, as each car is configured per the customer, and it does not mention when the new Escalades will become a reality. The Escalade was originally estimated to launch in late 2020, but it's unclear whether or not that will be affected by the current production stoppages due to coronavirus.           View this post on Instagram                   Now accepting pre-orders on 2021 Escalade Mobile Offices ? Inquiries: info@lexanimotorcars.com A post shared by Lexani Motorcars (@lexanimotorcars) on Mar 23, 2020 at 3:22pm PDT           View this post on Instagram                   Look forward to rush hour?

Weekly Recap: Car-pedestrian crashes remained elevated in 2014

The death of American Horror Story: Freak Show star Ben Woolf served as a reminder this week that car crashes involving pedestrians remain a problem, and a new study issued on Thursday reinforced that the situation isn't really getting better. The Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight decline, 2.8 percent, in the number of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2014. Fatalities dropped from 2,141 to 2,125 compared with the same period in 2013, though the association says it's a statistical wash when factoring in undercounting. Deaths are still 15-percent higher than in 2009. "The number of deaths remains relatively high and is cause for concern," wrote Allan Williams, who compiled the report and is the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first look at data from last year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue its full-year results later. The GHSA found some progress on the roadways, as 24 states and the District of Columbia reported drops in pedestrian deaths. In some states, the problem isn't even a problem at all: Nebraska and Wyoming reported one fatality apiece, though large population centers in urban areas are where most accidents occur. "This is a clearly a good news, bad news scenario," Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement. "While we're encouraged that pedestrian fatalities haven't increased over the past two years, progress has been slow." Other News & Notes Cadillac previews CT6 during Oscars Cadillac previewed its upcoming flagship sedan, the CT6, in commercials that aired Sunday during the Oscars. As expected, the creased sedan carries on Cadillac's recent design language, and the car in the commercial looks like a larger version of the CTS and ATS sedans. The CT6 will be revealed this spring at the New York Auto Show and launch late this year. It will be assembled at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, and the CT6 is the first car to use Cadillac's revised alpha-numeric naming scheme. The commercials also kicked off Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" campaign, which is the first with its new advertising agency, Publicis Worldwide. Honda unexpectedly changes CEOs Honda unexpectedly announced this week that it will change CEOs. Current chief Takanobu Ito will step down in June and be replaced by company veteran Takahiro Hachigo.