Cadillac Optiq Reviews

Obama's presidential limo may be bomb proof, but has shown itself to be far from beach proof during the President's stay at the US embassy in Dublin.

So when a pristine 1956 Cadillac Fleetwood limo was offered for sale by a New South Wales funeral director fallen on hard times Mike was quick to name his price. And for $30,000 scored a big and handsome American machine to park alongside his aquamarine 1966 Ford Mustang convertible and yet-to-be-loved 1967 Mustang coupe. "The bloke bought a PT Cruiser convertible from me a while back because his wife had one she wouldn't let him drive," says Mike. "Six months ago he fell into a bit of strife and tried to sell the Cruiser back. That didn't work out and I asked about this Cadillac he'd told me about. "He reckons he'd spent $87,000 on the Cadillac but how do you research a price on something like this? I offered him $30,000 and he drove it up one day while we were out. We raced back and did the deal." The long-standing Brisbane dealer also bought a black 1972 Cadillac hearse, since onsold, from the Ballina funeral director. But it's the gold-painted and chromed Fleetwood limo that's now taking up some time and space in Mike's shed. Originally black, the Cadillac was brought in from San Francisco where it was owned by a man with an interest in a Reno casino; he was chauffeur-driven the 350 kilometres between the two North American cities. Here it was converted to right-hand drive, rebuilt and resprayed in Cadillac Pale Gold. The 6 litre V8 and three-speed transmission were rebuilt to General Motors' specifications while the eight-seater's internal trim was remanufactured in the USA. Standard Cadillac equipment here - all operational - includes ducted air-conditioning, power windows and front seats, glass divider behind the front seat, power brakes, steering and radio antenna. All that's been added to the original comfort and convenience features is a CD stacker and 600 watt amplifier, tucked tidily away in the boot, plus a cassette radio under the dashboard. Mike allows the Fleetwood 'is a bit of a beast to drive'. "It'd be okay out on the highway, probably cruise pretty well. Around town the brakes are either on or off and she's a bit long," he notes. But with daughter Rachael's wedding approaching in May, someone will be driving the bridesmaids in the Cadillac. The bride? She wants to go in the Mustang convertible. About the Cadillac Fleetwood Cadillacs were the favourite transport of the King, Elvis Presley, who owned a string of them from the 1950s to the 1970s. For these were the Rolls-Royce of the States, favoured by presidents, celebrities and gangsters. Less than 1000 Cadillac Fleetwood Imperials were built in 1956, priced close to $7000. Almost six metres long, the Cadillac weighed in around 2.3 tonne and rode on a 3.8m wheelbase with 15 inch wheels. The V8 produced 285 horsepower with one four-barrel carburettor; 305 horsepower with the option of an extra four-barrel carb. And for 1956 the Cadillac's three-speed Hydra-Matic transmission was claimed to smooth out shifting qualities. Other models in the 1956 line-up included a Fleetwood sedan, DeVille four-door hardtop and Eldorado Seville two-door hardtop.

Welcome to 2010 because that's wrong on both counts.  Shown at the LA Auto Show is Cadillac's Ultimate Luxury Concept.Designed in California, the baby hybrid competes in size with the Toyota iQ and yet - says Cadillac - has a cabin with all the company's renown luxury and space parameters.The four-seater ULC is 3835mm long, 1730mm wide and 1446 high and sits on a 2467mm wheelbase that really puts the wheels at each corner. It is shown with a pair of scissor doors which, if production becomes reality as is being mooted, would be replaced with conventionally-hinged doors.The cabin's dash features computer LCD screens and projected readouts instead of conventional gauges. Cadillac cabin trim includes wood and leather."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,” says Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing.The ULC has a hybrid powertrain with a 1-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine - with stop start - and an electric motor to assist propulsion in the same mannr as the Honda Insight/Civic/CR-Z model. It has a twin-clutch gearbox and is claimed to be capable of 3.6 litres/100km on the highway and 4.2 l/100km in the city.

Then again, Obama's beast was built to protect the most powerful man in the world.  When Ground Force One lands in Australia for the presidential visit it will bring an unbeatable bunch of protective engineering.It might look like a caricature of a Cadillac, the The Beast - a nickname give by the Secret Service - is actually a heavily-amoured truck with a Cadillac-ish body dropped on top.  The exact specifications are top secret, but it has everything from ceramic-titanium-carbon fibre armour plating and bulletproof glass up to 12 centimetres thick and a bomb-proof floor made from hardened steel and Kevlar.The weight comes in around eight tonnes, thanks in part to 20cm thick doors that each weigh as much as the ones of a Boeing 747.  The latest Obama beast has more space inside and bigger windows to give a view of the Commander in Chief during state visits, but the driver's window is the only one that opens - and even then it cracks just enough to talk to the car's armed guards.No-one talks about the fitout in the car, but it is believed to include an independent oxygen suppy, night-vision cameras, Kevlar tyres and a tear-gas cannon. It has state-of-the-art communications equipment to allow it to become a mobile military command centre.  Rumours say there is even a supply of the president's blood on board for major emergencies . . .The Beast is the latest in a line of presidential limousines that goes back to the 1920s, with many - including the car that failed to protect John F. Kennedy in the 1960s - now housed at the Henry Ford museum in Detroit.But the Obama car won't be joining them in retirement, as it will be destroyed to prevent any protection secrets leaking out.  It makes you wonder what they do with the specially-trained Secret Service drivers ...

When Tiger Woods sidelined his 2009 Cadillac Escalade after hitting a fire hydrant and tree it became one of the most photographed cars in the world. It has now been revealed the black Escalade is part of General Motor's promotional fleet and not even owned by Woods. After the golfer's multi-million dollar promotion deal GM brand Buick ended last year, he made a deal with the carmaker to borrow several cars, including the Caddy, for his personal use. A Cadillac spokesman in the US, David Caldwell, has confirmed the Escalade is a loaner. "This loan derives from the fact that Mr Woods was a close partner/spokesperson of Buick, another brand within our corporate structure," he says. "That relationship ended earlier this year, at least in terms of the official contractual relationship. "But of course strong bonds were formed between Mr Woods and several folks inside the company, hence the loan of this vehicle." If the Escalade was repairable, including the back window allegedly smashed by his wife, it could be fixed and put back on the GM fleet, or replaced.  Caldwell says the damage is now being assessed. "After that it could be retained by us, could go back into some sort of service at our behest, or it could be auctioned someday," he says. "Some of the other press reports have made it sound like it is certainly headed for auction... and that's a bit over-stated. "That's one possibility. Nothing imminent. The car's in our possession and that will likely remain the case for quite some time to come." Like many carmakers, GM regular on-sells its low-mileage promotion vehicles at auction. If it does go under the hammer, the car's now infamous reputation could be worth much more than its $US63,000 sticker price.

Forget voice activation, in another 20 years cars will use mind control to turn on things like the indicators, adjust the radio volume or move the seat.  If that's not crazy enough, some cars will imprint your genetic DNA to become a part of you.Others will use high-tech polymers that change a car's shape and colour to accommodate the driver's needs.  These far-out sci-fi ideas are being presented as part of the Design Challenge at this week's Los Angeles Motor Show.Called Youthmobile 2030, this year's challenge has attracted more than 30 young designers who have cut loose to create what they think we'll be driving in 2030.Youthmobile 2030 snared gifted young designers from Audi, Honda, General Motors, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota.  Technology is a key component of the Youthmobile 2030 cars so the concepts connect with a new car buying generation aged between 16 and 23 raised on mobile phones, web cams and on-line communities.Top StoriesNissan wins LA Show designHyundai Sonata YF unveiledVolkswagen Up grows for LA showHonda P-NUT a tasty solutionCadillac an Aussie designMind control at LA ShowGM Car Hero gameMazda Souga shows future styleAudi eSpira and eOraNissan V2G grids upToyota link targets studentsHonda Helix   

Former Holden and GM Daewoo designer, Max Wolff is person behind the styling of the sleek 2+2, which was unveiled today at the Los Angeles Motor Show.  Wolff is now exterior design chief for Cadillac, reporting to former Holden design chief, Mike Simcoe, who is now General Motor's executive director of North American exterior design. And Wolff is clearly – and understandably -- proud of his latest project. "Cadillac has always been an emotional brand,'' he says. "it's about delivering art regardless of body style.  With the CTS Coupe, it was about taking something very strong - the CTS sport sedan - and extending its potential." Cadillac general manager, Bryan Nesbitt, says the coupe is an expression of the company's technical and design capabilities.  "It is intended to appeal to a new generation of car enthusiasts,"  he says.  The car's design carries over virtually unchanged from the concept car that was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2008. The coupe is a classic 2+2 layout bolstered with advanced technology, such as a rear-view camera system and a performance-oriented suspension system coupled to rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.  It has same wheelbase as the CTS, but the roofline is 51mm lower and the overall length is also 51mm shorter. Although it draws from its sport sedan sister, the coupe shares only the instrument panel, console, headlights, mudguards and grille.  Some of the key design features include: classic hardtop styling, with no conventional B-pillar;  touch-pad operation for the doors removes the need for conventional door handles; windscreen laid at a faster angle (62.3 degrees) and a long, nearly horizontal backglass area combine to create a dramatic profile. There are other Cadillac family cues like the signature vertical rear lights and spoiler integrated into the rear high-mounted stop light.  Initially, it will be powered by a 227kW/370Nm 3.6-litre direct-injection V6 with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. However, a hotter ``V'' version using the same 415kW/747Nm 6.2-litre supercharged V8 from the CTS-V sedan, will be available next year.

GM Holden will be shipping at least 2500 2.8-litre versions of its Australian-made Alloytec V6 engine to the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico where the 2010 SRX is manufactured."I guess that means there will be a little bit of Aussie heart in those Cadillacs," GM Holden Australia boss Mark Reuss says.The fillip for Holden's export aspirations couldn't have come at a better time as the company is still reeling from a disastrous six months at the hands of the global financial crisis.So far this year plans to sell a Pontiac version of the VE Ute to the United States were canned, then Pontiac itself fell over the in GM global restructure taking with it more than 30,000 potential Commodore-based G8 exports.And to top it off sales of the VE into the Middle-East have also taken a hit as economic reality bites. "When you lose that sort of percentage (around 70 per cent) of half of your production it is always going to hurt," Reuss conceded at the recent launch of the Cruze small car.However, the news of the Cadillac order is just the sort of pick-me-up the local manufacturer needs. "It (the engine plant) won a GM global quality award and on the back of that came the order for 2500 of the engines for Cadillac," Reuss says. "That is pretty pleasing."There is no indication whether more orders will be forthcoming but that is a distinct possibility. Reuss says that following meetings in Detroit he is comfortable that the action plan for GM Holden will give the company the best chance of coming out the other end of the global restructuring as a working entity."We feel very good about what we have done here and where we are in the future (of General Motors)," Reuss says. "There are no guarantees in any of this. None at all ... and we have treated it that way from day one."However, he says he believes that the Holden operation and its historic position in the Australian market makes the company far more attractive to GM as an internal asset rather than as one to be auctioned off."I think it has huge value internally (to GM). Holden is a very powerful tool as a product and branding standpoint ... I would say if anything this (situation) has focussed our business on what we need to do to be a good company in Australia first and anything we do outside that as an exporter is a great thing but to have any entity fully dependent on export markets in this world we are dealing with today is probably not the right business model."Reuss says that the company has not run a survival scenario that does not include Commodore. "That is not something we have studied. We are still the best selling car here and we think the things we are going to do to Commodore over the next few years maybe makes us potentially the only game in town. Some of our competitors have revealed some questions about future business plans on their products ... and I am overjoyed (with that)."

Although put on hold `indefinitely’ last week, GM-Holden chairman, Mark Reuss, has not ruled out the premium GM brand being sold here at some point in the future.

The brand is on hold "indefinitely". The decision has now cast a shadow over two other marginal GM products, Saab and Hummer. However, GM-Holden remains committed to the slow-selling pair despite being put under a "strategic review" by the parent General Motors. GM-Holden chairman and managing director, Mark Reuss, said the company remained committed to Saab and Hummer. "We made commitments with our dealership body on that so we're prepared to honour those commitments," he said. Cadillac was to be the third make, along with Saab and Hummer, in the GM Premium Brands porfolio. Reuss has blamed the global and local car industry downturn for the Cadillac decision. "It's a tough call but we only really had one chance to launch the brand here in Australia," he said. "But in these challenging times we figured we couldn't give it the chance it deserves as our flagship brand."' Reuss said the decision was taken just weeks ago before the investment started to cost big dollars. He said the initial outlay in the luxury brand was "not significant". GM insiders believe it to be in the "low millions" for local compliance. "From a launch expense standpoint we haven't crossed over into the place where we started spending big yet," he said. GM-Holden had already certifying 89 CTS sedans for sale but these cars will now be on-sold into other right-hand drive markets. The CTS sedan was to spearhead the Cadillac brands return within weeks, with other models to join the lineup later. Reuss said the company would turn its attention on building the small four cylinder car in Adelaide. "We have to refocus ourselves on reinventing Holden and the small car," he said. Reuss has not ruled out Cadillac being put back on the agenda when the economy picks up. "We'll revisit it on a month-to-month basis," he said. But in the short term, the luxury franchise is on hold. "There's a tough road ahead from GM and the whole situation that we've gone through with the US governemnent is very tough," he said. "So we have to make some tough calls and good calls on where we focus the resources we have. "In Australia we are focusing everything we have on our core fundamental activities." GM Holden had already appointed 14 dealers nationally and three in New Zealand to handle the franchise. Reuss said discussions were being held with two dealers over compensation for some of their investment. "We're prepared to work through those issues with the dealers," he said. General Motors had wanted to make the Cadillac brand the global flagship for the company.