il3ana: Cadillac

Showing posts with label Cadillac. Show all posts

Could this be the New Cadillac ATS Small Sports Sedan?

A bare-shell of an unidentified model shown in a introduction video on GM’s corporate site caught the attention of a forum member of GMInsidenews. The team over the website believes that this could be an early prototype of the upcoming 2014 Cadillac ATS sports sedan, with which GM wants to compete against the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class saloons. Read more »

eBay Find of the Day: 1965 Cadillac Flower Car Hearse

Here’s something you don’t see every day: an ultra-rare 1965 Cadillac Superior Coupe de Fleur “Flower Car Hearse”. Specialist vehicles such as this one traded in the glassed-in section behind their front doors for an almost pickup-like rear deck.

The idea was that an attractive flower arrangement would rest on top of the deck diverting attention away from the unsightly coffin was hidden below. This particular example is said to be based on a Cadillac Fleetwood.

A potential issue with an air-curtain air bag that may not deploy during a crash has prompted the U.S. recall of 47,401 Cadillac SRX crossovers from the 2011 model year. For the same reason, 3,099 vehicles are being recalled in Mexico and Canada, with GM stating that the problem is only in North America. Read more »

Cadillac Rolls Out New Design for its Dealerships

While the bigwigs at General Motors are mulling to expand production of Cadillacs outside of North America before the end of 2012, here in the States, the focus is on improving the customer experience at the brand’s dealerships. Today, the Detroit automaker rolled out a new design for Cadillac showrooms that will become the standard across the country.

While speaking to the media, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson revealed plans to expand Cadillac production outside of North America by the end of 2012 as part of the Detroit firm’s efforts to make its premium brand a “true global marque”. According to Akerson, building Cadillacs in other areas of the world would safeguard the company from foreign-currency fluctuations and allow GM to better handle its supply chain.

Currently, the only Cadillac model assembled outside of North America is the China-market SLS, which is a stretched version of the STS sold in the States. Akerson did not reveal where GM plans to build the Cadillac models.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so, you’d have seen that hi-larious [sic] video of one of the Barack-mobiles getting stuck on a ramp outside the U.S. Embassy in Ireland. The U.S. President’s eight ton, “Beasts” are monsters of cars, built to withstand bullets, bombs and probably reporters’ shoes (yes, I went there).

In a cute footnote to this story, ~~notorious car-hater~~ environmentally-conscious London Mayor Boris Johnson is considering levying a congestion charge on each car in President Obama’s motorcade, the cost of which would be £10 (US$16) per vehicle. A spokeswoman has stated that they will not be paying the charges if billed.

It may not be anywhere close to being a historic model for Cadillac, but for some, the outgoing DTS has a special place in their wish list. In fact so special that Nicola Bulgari of the renowned Italian jewelry, perfume and more recently hotel chain family, decided to add the last DTS to roll off the production line to his personal car collection.

“Is it important?” Nicola Bulgari asked. “Is it the number or the quality that matters? It’s the quality. I like the DTS because it’s a great sedan,” said Bulgari. “It’s the last of an era. I thought it would be wonderful to own the last Northstar in a DTS. It’s one of the best engines ever designed – reliable and a performer.”

The heavily armored Cadillac that U.S. President Obama relies on for short-distance travel caused an embarrassing moment during his trip in Dublin, Ireland, today when it got jammed on a ramp after exiting the U.S. Embassy's complex. The first cars from the presidential motorcade passed without problems through the gates of the Embassy, but a BMW 7-Series preceding the Cadillac slightly touched the asphalt.

The Presidential Cadillac, nicknamed ‘The Beast’, came next and hit the ground much harder and was immobilized. "There was a loud kind of bang, metal-on-metal, grinding, crunching noise and the car was stuck," an RTE reporter told the AFP.

Swiss-based tuning firm Fab Design will no doubt raise a few eyebrows with its most recent work on the Cadillac Escalade. Roland Rysanek, the owner of the aftermarket company, which specializes on Mercedes-Benz models, found himself in front of a dilemma when asked by a North African client to modify the heavyweight American SUV.

Rysanek eventually accepted the job, as the eccentric owner was a loyal client with plenty of Fab Design Mercedes models parked in his garage. Anything for a devoted customer, right? Well, this particular client wanted the car to look like no other Escalade and to have an interior lined with genuine snake leather and crocodile-imitating leather – lots of it.

In the ingloriously named, “small premium car segment”, the BMW 3-Series is king. A good all-rounder with sporting pretensions and cred, a nice assortment of engine and equipment options, and perhaps most importantly, a variety of body styles including a coupe and station wagon derivative that have ensured its market supremacy.

All 3-Series models are doing their bit to keep sales high. According to a study released by R.L. Polk & Co., from 2008 through this past February, the 3-Series sedan covered around 60 percent of the model's retail registrations, with the coupe, convertible and station wagon versions accounting for the rest of the sales.

You may be hard pressed to visually identify the changes over the current version by looking at the above photo, but the Cadillac CTS range has received an update for the 2012 model year that brings a redesigned grille, a revised V6 engine and a new Touring Package edition. The improvements will be carried over to all three CTS models, including the Sedan, the Coupe and the Sport Wagon, with first deliveries expected in late summer. Read more »

California Set to Slash Lawmakers' Vehicle Costs in Half, No More Freebies

In an attempt to help reduce California's $26.6 billion deficit, the state's Citizens Compensation Commission has decided that members of the Senate and Assembly who drive state-sponsored vehicles will have their annual vehicle costs cut from $7,453 to $3,600. That boils down to $300 per month for expenses (gas, insurance, etc.), and oh, they'll have to drive their own cars as of December…

California lawmakers average an income of $131,000 per year before retirement benefits, and reducing vehicle costs is one minor cut that's being made for the betterment of the whole. Some people thought the measure was a bit too broad, not taking into account lawmakers' locations.

The concept of turning SUVs into pavement-pounding, drag-racing, supercar-shredding monster rods never ceases to amaze me, and by that I mean my jaw is on the floor and I'm completely boggled. I love me some automobiles (and vehicular transportation in general), but there's something about a nigh-three ton box on wheels and oodles of GO that seems...weird.

However, if monster rods - or high performance in general - are your cup of Starbucks soy latte, then Hennessey has got you covered (as if you didn't know that already, what with their cray-cray 1,000+ horsepower Vipers from way back when). Below, for your viewing pleasure, is video of a 2011 Cadillac Escalade drag racing a 2011 R35 GT-R and beating it.

Less than two years after the market introduction of the new Cadillac SRX in North America in the summer of 2009, and General Motors has gone ahead and improved its premium crossover for the 2012 model year with a more powerful six-cylinder engine and additional equipment features.

The highlight for the 2012 Cadillac SRX is of course the new 3.6-liter direct-injected V6 engine with 300HP and 260 lb.-ft. (353 Nm) of torque, which replaces the current 3.0-liter direct-injected V6 engine with 265HP and 223 lb.-ft (302 Nm).

Making its way down to Florida for RM Auction's annual Amelia Island event on March 2, is this 1955 Ford "Beatnink" Bubbletop custom concept inspired by futuristic design studies from the 1950s. Despite its name, the Beatnik is a fairly new creation built by Gary “Chopit” Fioto. It is based on the body of a 1955 Ford model but rides on a modifies chassis of a 1988 Lincoln Town Car and is powered by a Chevrolet 350-cubic inch small-block V8 engine.

The brand mixing doesn't stop there as Fioto used a variety of components from Cadillac, Chrysler and Lincoln, including the canted quad headlights. The front bumper was adapted from a '59 Cadillac, while the rear bumper was fashioned from the front bumper of a '58 Cadillac. In addition, the finned taillights are sourced from a 1960 Chrysler. However, the front and rear fenders, the door skins and the entire rear section of the car were all hand formed.

The one-of-a-kind model, which took four years of hard work to create, also features a bespoke interior complete with an aircraft control yoke-inspired steering wheel and a rounded dash pod as a tribute to the late 1950s and early 1960s concept cars from Detroit.

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Lingenfelter Raises the Bar with 700HP+ Tuning Package for Cadillac CTS-V Models

If there's one company that knows a thing or two about tuning GM's products, it's Lingenfelter. The Indiana-based tuning firm has just announced its latest package for the Cadillac CTS-V series, which covers the sedan, station wagon and coupe models. In stock form, the CTS-V's 6.2-liter supercharged V8 churns out 556HP and 551 lb.-ft of torque.

Lingenfelter's engine tune includes a variety of mods such as ported LSA cylinder heads and the addition of LPE's GT9 ZR1 supercharger camshaft, which help push the V8's output to more than 700-horses at the crankshaft. The long-time GM tuner also tried out a CTS-V Coupe with a manual transmission on the dyno, with the test yielding 623HP and 617 lf-ft at the rear wheels. Follow the jumps for a video and detailed info on the tuning package.

Lingenfelter Cadillac CTS-V Turnkey Package:
- Engine removal and removal of supercharger assembly, cylinder heads and camshaft
- Lingenfelter CNC porting & polishing of LSA cylinder heads for optimal flow
- 2.165" diameter hollow stem intake valves
- 1.59" diameter high temperature inconnel exhaust valves
- Lingenfelter multi-angle valve job, cc chambers, surfacing and spring height adjustment
- Competition Cams valve springs, titanium retainers, 10 degree locks
- Lingenfelter GT9 camshaft
- GM Head gaskets & head bolts
- 2.55" diameter steel supercharger drive pulley - powder coated black - 8 rib
- 8 rib serpentine belt
- Lingenfelter LS9 solid supercharger isolator coupling
- Port and polish supercharger front cover
- Lingenfelter air intake duct
- K & N Air Filter
- Lingenfelter 10% overdrive harmonic balancer
- 63 lbs/hour fuel injectors
- Fuel injector connector change
- 160 degree thermostat
- Professional installation
- Engine testing and expert ECM tuning
- Chassis dyno testing before and after installation
- Excellent drivability, highway mileage not adversely affected
- Lingenfelter certificate of authenticity
- Lingenfelter 2 year/24,000 mile warranty

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2014 Cadillac ATS and ATS-V Spec Sheet Makes the Internet Rounds, but is it Real?

A supposedly official preliminary spec sheet of Cadillac's forthcoming new small luxury sedan surfaced on the internet today. We're not going to call it a leak just yet as we're not at all certain for its authenticity. That said, we'd advise you not to take anything you read on the paper after the jump for granted.

Labeled as the 2014 Cadillac ATS, the spec sheet says the Detroit firm's BMW 3-Series rival will be offered with three engine options including a 270HP 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger and a 330HP 3.6-liter V6 for the standard versions, and a 470HP 6.2-liter V8 for the M3-challenging ATS-V. The four-and six-cylinder models are said to be hooked up to an 8-speed automatic transmission, while the flagship V8 comes with a 6-speed auto.

While we can't vouch for the numbers and data shown on the spec sheet, we can tell you that the ATS, or whatever else GM decides to name its new entry-level sedan, is expected to hit the market within the next two years.

Via: Cheers and Gears & Atsforums

New Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Racer Hits the Tarmac for the First Time

Cadillac is getting ready to return to the fabulous world of motorsports with its new CTS-V Coupe race car. Following the two-door model's world premiere at the Detroit Motor Show last week, the race-prepped CTS-V Coupe hit the track for the first time on Monday driven by Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim, for tests at Sebring International Raceway.

GM's luxury car division had pulled out of racing before the U.S. government bailed out the company in 2009. More specifically, the last time Cadillac competed was in 2007 in the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT series. Now, the company will reenter the series, beginning with the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 25-27. Hit the jump for a comprehensive gallery.

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