2011 Cadillac Srx Luxury Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l Price Negotiable on 2040-cars

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We really want to use an eCrate to restomod an old GM car. Here's what we'd build

You hopefully saw the news today of GM's introduction of its Connect and Cruise eCrate motor and battery package, which effectively makes the Bolt's electric motor, battery pack and myriad other elements available to, ah, bolt into a different vehicle. It's the same concept as installing a gasoline-powered crate motor into a classic car, but with electricity and stuff.  This, of course, got us thinking about what we'd stuff the eCrate into. Before we got too ahead of ourselves, however, we discovered that the eCrate battery pack is literally the Bolt EV pack in not only capacity but size and shape. In other words, you need to have enough space in the vehicle to place and/or stuff roughly 60% of a Chevy Bolt's length. It's not a big car, but that's still an awful lot of real estate. There's a reason GM chose to simply plop the pack into the bed and cargo area of old full-size SUVs. Well that, and having a rear suspension beefy enough to handle about 1,000 pounds of batteries.  So after that buzz kill, we still wanted to peruse the GM back catalog for classics we'd love to see transformed into an electric restomod that might be able to swallow all that battery ... maybe ... possibly ... whatever, saws and blow torches exist for a reason.  1971 Buick Riviera Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: If you’re going to build an electric conversion, why not do it with style? ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m choosing a 1971-1973 Buick Riviera. You know, the one with the big glass boat-tail rear end that ends in a pointy V. Being a rather large vehicle with a big sloping fastback shape, IÂ’m hoping thereÂ’s enough room in the trunk and back seat to pack in the requisite battery pack. That would likely require cutting away some of the metal bulkhead that supports the rear seatback, but not so much that a wee bit of structural bracing couldnÂ’t shore things up. The big 455-cubic-inch Buick V8 up front will obviously have to go. Remember, this was the 1970s, so despite all that displacement, the Riviera only had around 250 horsepower (depending on the year and the trim level). So the electric motorÂ’s 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque ought to work as an acceptable replacement.   1982 Chevrolet S10 Associate Editor Byron Hurd: OK, so the name "E-10" is already taken by a completely different truck, but let's not let labels get in the way of a fun idea.

Mary Barra thinks GM is a leader in autonomous tech

Saying General Motors is "among the leaders" in autonomous vehicle technology, CEO Mary Barra rapped about her company's driverless work in an interview with USA Today. Barra covered a number of topics, including well-known efforts, like Cadillac's upcoming Super Cruise technology, as well as hinting at "a lot of efforts that are confidential." "Things are moving quickly in autonomous [cars] because there's so many different pathways and the standards aren't even set. A lot of people can claim leads because people are making advancements in different areas," Barra said. "Next year we're going to have Super Cruise on one of our Cadillacs. On highways you'll be able to take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals – with a very creative way to make sure the driver is alert and involved in the driving process." As for those "confidential" efforts, feel free to speculate. GM has recently confirmed that it'd be running autonomous Volts at its Warren, MI tech center, which certainly indicates that the company is playing with much more than Super Cruise. GM will need to continue to embrace autonomous driving, owing to both traditional competitors like Toyota, as well as non-traditional opposition, like Google and Apple. Speaking of its competition from Silicon Valley, Barra was asked about two of the region's biggest names – Apple's Tim Cook and Tesla boss Elon Musk. "I have tremendous respect for Tim Cook, and I don't really think he needs advice from me," Barra told USA Today with a laugh. And when asked about Apple's future as a "viable competitor," she said, "I have no insights other than what I read in the papers. But it would be foolish for me not to assume that they're going to." As for Mr. Musk's openness about future products and how it contrasts with GM's relatively closed attitude, Barra also gave a chuckle. "I'm sure you would like me to say yes. I think we're fundamentally different. Look at our volume and look at the segments where we compete. His product line – his two products – his scale, it's completely different." The rest of Barra's interview is certainly worth a read, and includes talk about the Volkswagen diesel scandal, GM's changed relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Uber. Head over to The Detroit Free Press website for the full story from USA Today.

2019 Cadillac ATS-V, CTS-V get cool color, weird name

A lot of special-edition cars are really not all that special. They consist of some special paint combo, and maybe a couple of optional features made standard. The Cadillac ATS-V and CTS-V Pedestal Editions are actually pretty much that. But they make up for the mild content list with a really nifty color, great exclusivity and also a weird name. They also help celebrate the ATS-V and CTS-V before they disappear from the line. First let's take a look at the color. It's a shade called Bronze Sand Metallic. It's an earthy, dark brown with a yellow-green tinge to it. We suspect it probably looks more impressive in sunlight, and it's unlike most browns we've ever seen. It's sure to garner attention in any parking lot stuffed with black, silver and white luxury cars. It's matched with sand-colored ultrasuede inserts and bronze-threaded carbon fiber trim on the interior that look sumptuous. Each also comes with carbon fiber exterior trim, red brake calipers, and the CTS-V adds the performance data recorder and Luxury Package. The name really is strange, though. Cadillac says, "The special-edition variants are named in tribute to Cadillac V-Series' time spent at the pinnacle of luxury high-performance." So it seems the thinking was that these cars are up on a pedestal compared with other performance luxury cars. But even in that sentence from Cadillac, there's a word that would be better and more recognizable for excellence: pinnacle. We can think of other great words for marking the peak or the top of performance and luxury, words such as "apex" or "climax." Well, maybe not that one. One of the big appeals of these cars is that there won't be many of them. There will only be 300 built, and that's the total between the ATS-V coupe and CTS-V sedan. The final total for each model will be determined by orders. Ordering opens up on the first week of November, with production coming at the end of that month. The cars will only be available to buyers in the U.S., Canada and the Middle East. There are significant price differences between the two cars. The ATS-V coupe starts at $77,090, while the CTS-V starts at $102,590. That puts the ATS-V at roughly $10,000 more than a base model, and the CTS-V at roughly $12,000 more than its base model. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Cadillac ATS-V and CTS-V Pedestal Edition View 9 Photos Image Credit: Cadillac Cadillac Coupe Luxury Performance Sedan cadillac ats-v