Cadillac News - It’s not clean and certainly not green - it’s a coal-powered Caddy
January 7, 2009 by tsikot · Comments Off
It’s not clean and certainly not green - it’s a coal-powered Caddy
The legacy of experimentation with alternative fuels to gasoline is nothing new. It started back in the earliest days of the car in the late 19th century. Alternatives to piston engines are also not new, although none but the Wankel rotary have had any notable commercial success. Starting back in the 1950s, there was a lot of interest in trying to run cars on turbine engines. Turbines had some inherent advantages,including high power density and, most importantly, the ability to run on virtually anything combustible. In the wake of the first Middle East oil embargo, the search for gas alternatives heated up again, and the engineers at General Motors came up with a novel idea: a coal-powered Caddy. The US had plenty of coal, after all, and GM had a turbine engine. The General’s engineers therefore built a Cadillac Eldorado with a turbine engine that ran on powdered coal. As a proof of concept, it worked. The car ran fine. As a practical alternative? Not so much. The coal powder was messy and difficult to handle and the engines produced high NOx emissions. Then there was that pesky problem of a re-fueling infrastructure. Where have we heard that one before?
[Source: New York Times]
It’s not clean and certainly not green - it’s a coal-powered Caddy originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: www.autobloggreen.com
[tags]cadillac cars, cadillac news, cadillac models[/tags]
Cadillac News - Cadillac Volt rumors resurface; headed to Detroit?
December 20, 2008 by tsikot · Comments Off
Cadillac Volt rumors resurface; headed to Detroit?
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Cadillac, Detroit Auto Show
General Motors could be working on a new Cadillac-branded Volt concept that would debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Last year in Detroit, the automaker set the precedent for a range-extended Caddy when it rolled out the Provoq concept, which featured a E-Flex drivetrain layout similar to the Volt but used a hydrogen fuel cell in lieu of the sedan’s gasoline engine. Could another such concept be ready for display next month? We all know that the prospect of using hydrogen as an energy carrier isn’t exactly right around the corner, so using a biofuel-powered engine would seem to make the most sense from a production standpoint, and GM could very well use the Delta platform for an uplevel E-Flex from Cadillac to help defray its cost.
Another reason it might make sense to spread the Volt technology to the Cadillac range is that consumers are willing to pay more for the Wreath and Crest than for the golden Bowtie. Therefore, dropping the E-Flex platform - including its expensive lithium ion battery pack - into a Caddy makes sound financial sense. We’ll know for sure in January.
[Source: Autoweek]
Cadillac Volt rumors resurface; headed to Detroit? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: www.autobloggreen.com
[tags]cadillac cars, cadillac news, cadillac models[/tags]
Cadillac News - Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick “Cadillac”
November 14, 2008 by tsikot · Comments Off
Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick “Cadillac”
Filed under: Cadillac, GM, GMC, Legislation and Policy, USA
There’s no doubt that the President of the United States needs a safe vehicle to be transported in. Various assassination attempts prove that case rather easily. President-in-waiting Barack Obama will be getting a brand-new armored “car” that will look like a Cadillac, but will really be based on the positively gigantic medium-duty GMC Topkick chassis. Nobody is quite sure what kind of armament the First Car will be equipped with, but let’s just assume that there is plenty, including up to five inches of glass and ceramic ballistics materials. That should make this one heavy vehicle. In fact, a couple of heavy vehicles, as General Motors is likely building multiples so that decoys can be used. With all that weight to move around, we’d expect GM to use a version of its diesel engine (running perhaps on biodiesel? No?) and Allison transmission from its line of heavy-duty trucks. Alternatively, Obama could make a green splash by using GM’s 2-Mode hybrid system. Just a thought.
[Source: The Boston Globe]
Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick “Cadillac” originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: www.autobloggreen.com
[tags]cadillac cars, cadillac news, cadillac models[/tags]
Cadillac News - Paris Hilton drives pink Escalade hybrid in new Paris for President video
October 30, 2008 by tsikot · Comments Off
Paris Hilton drives pink Escalade hybrid in new Paris for President video
Filed under: Hybrid, Cadillac, Legislation and Policy, USA
Perhaps the Paris for President stunt is getting to be past its sell-by date, but the latest video from the series has made it out to the interwebs anyway. It seems that the heiress got her wish for a green luxury car. It’s not a hybrid HUMMER, as she stated she wanted a while back, but it’s the next best thing, we guess. The Cadillac Escalade hybrid is currently the top-of-the-line hybrid vehicle on the roads for young celebs wanting to make an eco-friendly statement. Plus, there is plenty of sheet metal available for the hybrid ‘ute to be painted your favorite shade.
We wonder if Paris is still driving the hybrid Ford Escape that the automaker gave her last year, of if that car just wasn’t luxurious - or pink - enough. Paris also suggests that we ratify the Kyoto Treaty right away, amongst other things. Would her new BFF be the Vice President? See the full video from CNN after the break.
[Source: CNN]
Continue reading Paris Hilton drives pink Escalade hybrid in new Paris for President video
Paris Hilton drives pink Escalade hybrid in new Paris for President video originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: www.autobloggreen.com
[tags]cadillac cars, cadillac news, cadillac models[/tags]
Autoblog attends the 26th Annual Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance
October 1, 2008 by tsikot · Comments Off
Filed under: Time Warp, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari, Saleen
To celebrate its 26th year as Orange County’s most prestigious classic car show, this year’s Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance moved from its recent home in Irvine to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. Still not Newport Beach, but much closer to the ocean at least. Benefiting the Mary & Dick Allen Diabetes Center at Hoag Hospital and the Assessment and Treatment Services Center, the event featured Cadillac as its honored marque to commemorate GM’s 100th birthday this year. Besides the gorgeous 1931 Cadillac Sport Phaeton V16 Fleetwood poster car, there were at least a dozen other notable Caddys, as well as about 150 other beautiful classic and collector cars, of which you can see most of them in our high-res gallery below.
Although a notch below the premier events like Pebble Beach, some of the most beautiful and significant vehicles around show up for this concours. Representatives from The Petersen, The Nethercutt Collection, the William Lyon Estate, the Mercedes Classic Center, the Simon Collection, the Caballeriza Collection, and the Marconi Museum were on display, alongside some superb machinery from local collectors like David Sydorick and Peter Mullin. Altogether there were about 150 cars in 14 classes. Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, Packards, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Delahayes, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Duesenbergs, Woodies, race cars and even a horseless carriage or two were visible through the fog around the links.
Personal favorites included the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Sport Coupe, 1939 Delahaye 165 Cabriolet, 1908 Niclausse D971B, 1961 Abarth 1000 GT Bialbero Berlinetta, 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic Berlinetta, 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Jota, 2006 Saleen S7R, 1959 Ferrari 410 Super America Series III, 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione, 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Shooting Brake Woody, 1933 Duesenberg J Speedster and the blue Ferrari 550 Barchetta in the parking lot. Another great show for a wonderful cause.
All photos copyright (C)2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.
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