The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall campaign for two separate issues concerning GM trucks and SUVs.

The first recall concerns 6,768 units of the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon from the 2011MY due to a failure in a transmission clip that may not engage the “Parking” mode even though the driver has moved the lever to the appropriate position. GM’s dealers will repair the faulty automatic transmission free of charge, and the recall is expected to begin on July 19.

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the above and below images are from the same time and place, check out the VIP limo, a 1940Cadillac V16

It was stylistically important for several reasons. First, it departed from all common car and truck-body conventions. There were no fenders on the Doodlebug, certainly not in any normal sense. The conventional hood was gone, as were the running boards, cowl,and setback windshield. The "little house on wheels" that made up the passenger compartment of most vehicles of the day was visually absent. The Doodlebug's bread-Ioaf shape was all of one piece and, except for the applied headlights, could have been designed today. Second, the Doodlebug used curved side glass and a compound curved windshield. This last innovation didn't see mass production until the '57 Chrysler Imperial. The "through" body sides were at least 13 years ahead of their time--Kaiser and Frazer put the idea into production for 1946. The eyebrows over the full wheel cutouts reappeared as a focal point on the '66 Olds Toronado. Third, the Doodlebug tapered toward the rear and had considerable uninterrupted tumblehome curve, which were unusual features in that day of boxy bodies.

Most surprising was the overall height. At 72 inches, the Doodlebug stood a mere 4 inches higher than a '34 Ford sedan. No one was building trucks that low in those days, nor do many manufacturers do so even today. Bel Geddes' inspired Texaco fleet, helped prompt other oil companies to produce similarly streamlined commercial vehicles.

I saved these photos yesterday and now I can't find the webpage I got them from

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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.”

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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.

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The racing division of Cadillac travelled to the Sebring International Raceway for a second round of testing before the start of the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT season, which will mark the return of the brand with the crest to racing after a three year hiatus.

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If you want more proof that Cadillac is once and for all abandoning its "bigger is better" mentality adapting to the times, here it is: the Urban Luxury Concept, a design study for a supermini-sized city car (think Aston Martin Cygnet) that will have its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show tomorrow.

"While small in size, this concept is an exploration of what Cadillac could be in the future, as the brand continues to focus on redefining industry standards for advanced vehicle design and integrated technology," said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing.

Conceived and designed in the Los Angeles area, the car's styling is typical of Cadillac's current design language with plenty of hard edges and vertical head lamps and tail lamps. To make it look more conceptual, the designers threw in a pair of scissor-type doors that extend outward and rotate forward when opened.

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Cadillac has officially cranked its CTS Sport Wagon to 11, and it'll be on-hand at the upcoming New York International Auto Show.

Powered by the CTS-V's 556-horsepower 6.2 liter LSA and billed as a pre-production show car (kind of like Buick's Regal GS), the CTS-V Sport Wagon will be previewing what Cadillac expects to have in dealerships before the end of the year.

Painted in Midnight Silver paint cribbed from the Sixteen concept, the show car's interior will leather/Alcantara-trimmed seats, a leather-trimmed upper dashboard, and Sapele wood trim (from the Sapele tree, which is indigenous to tropical Africa).

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Lingenfelter has released a new supercharger pulley Cadillac's LSA-powered M5-eater, the CTS-V. The 6.2 liter V8 is now force-fed around 12 or 13 psi of boost, upping the Caddy's power and torque past the 600 mark to 630 horsepower (+74 over stock) and 630 lb-ft of torque (+79).

Company main man Ken Lingenenfelter says, "Our new supercharger pulley upgrade kit produces excellent horsepower and torque improvements, while maintaining a safe level of boost and supercharger RPM."

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Those folks holding the reins over at General Motors are a funny bunch. Every so often then they announce some grand scheme to enter Europe's extremely competitive premium automotive market with their Cadillac brand.

After GM's most recent fiasco with Kroymans, a Dutch distributor that sold Cadillacs in Europe before declaring bankruptcy last year, the U.S. automaker will now establish its own organization, called "Cadillac Europe" that will import, distribute and market a selected range of models specified for the Euro market.

"Europe is an important market for Cadillac," says Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac general manager. "Re-establishing distribution of our premium offerings is good news for those who seek import exclusiveness".

Of course many Europeans have associated Cadillac's "import exclusiveness" with products such as the now discontinued BS BLS that was essentially a re-skined Saab 9-3 which in turn was heavily based on the Opel Vectra, but anyway.

At the Geneva Motor Show, Cadillac will give Europeans a taste of their newest products including the CTS Coupe that's sated to arrive in North American showrooms this summer and this fall in Europe as well as the new CTS Sport Wagon, CTS Sport Sedan, the range-topping 556HP CTS-V, the SRX crossover and the "oh so European" Escalade Hybrid.

No word on any diesel or small displacement gasoline engines. That said, we suspect that Cadillacs will continue to be a more rare sight than pink-colored Aston Martins on European roads.

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Cadillac's CTS is looking to infuse a little more pep into its luxurious step with the addition of Recaro buckets that are inherited from its rip-roaring steroid-infused twin, the 556-horsepower CTS-V. To outfit the Performance or Premium-trimmed CTS with Recaros, customers will end up dropping $2,800.

For that money, however, Cadillac says the seats provide 14 ways of adjusting comfort, including back/thigh buffers, seat cushion extenders, and French-stitched leather, along with the basics: microsuede inserts and that heating and cooling so many people love.

The Recaro seats will be available on both standard and V'd coupes and sedans, with no mention of the Sport Wagon.

If Cadillac wants the CTS to compete globally, they're going to need to have a sport/performance package on the wagon also available with those Recaros.

Just because the idea of an all-wheel-drive CTS Sport Wagon outfitted with Recaros and a 6-speed-backed turbodiesel power train may not appeal to anyone but car aficionados Stateside, it doesn't mean that Cadillac has to deprive consumers from other markets of such vehicles. Standard of the World and all that.

- By Phil Alex

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patina on a Vette? I don't see that often... and it's got a Ratfink, ergo, it gets posted

The military aren't charged for the event, but have to be there in dress uniform. I always hated that, having to be in dress uniform at an event where you are likely to get dirty, just think about all the brake and rubber dust.When is the last time you saw a coon tail cap?

Bring a kid to a show, in action. Very cool!

Cadillac Barritz convertible... the first one I've ever seen

The godfather of the GTO, Jim Wangers. Really nice guy, I got to talk to him for a few minutes. He is very generous with his time, and a pleasure to chat with.

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Combining a sexy fastback-coupe design with GM's Voltec electric propulsion system that is similar to the one found in the Chevy Volt, the Cadillac Converj concept made its debut today in Detroit. The four-passenger Converj concept is equipped with 16-kWh, T-shaped battery pack with more than 220 lithium-ion cells, an electric drive unit, and a four-cylinder engine-generator, using electricity as its primary power source. Cadillac supports that the Converj can be driven electrically up to 40 miles without using fuel or producing tailpipe emissions.

It takes less than three hours to recharge the 2+2 coupe's battery at 240V, or about eight hours from a 120V outlet. Just like the Volt, when the battery's energy is low, electricity needed to power the vehicle is created on-board by a flex-fuel-powered engine that operates much like a home generator to create electricity.

The electric engine powers the front-wheels delivering 273 lb.-ft. (370 Nm) of instant torque, for a quick launch, and 120 kW of power. The Converj's top speed is 100 mph.

Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman of Global Product Development, said the Converj concept has production substance. "It's a logical extension of our plan to reinvent the automobile," he said. "It clearly shows what a Cadillac electric vehicle could look like, and clearly indicates that global luxury customers can have a car that has both strong design and electric propulsion with a total range of hundreds of anxiety-free miles."

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