1969 Cadillac Deville Base Hardtop 2-door 7.7l on 2040-cars

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Cadillac sales chief Peffer resigns amidst slow sales

Cadillac continues to hemorrhage executives, as it's just seen its fourth high-level departure in the past year. Vice President of Global Strategic Development Don Butler (who defected to Ford) and European President and Managing Director Susan Docherty both left the company of their own volition, while Chase Hawkins, Cadillac's vice president of sales and service, was fired following a "violation of policy" in July of 2013. Strangely, it's Hawkins' replacement, Bill Peffer (shown above), who has handed in his papers this time around.
"Bill left to pursue other interests. Kurt McNeil replaces him, effective immediately," spokesman David Caldwell told Autoblog via email.
McNeil last held the VP of sales and service position back in 2012. He's currently the vice president of US sales for all of General Motors. According to The Detroit News, McNeil will take on the post in what is likely an interim capacity.

Mark Reuss: GM can't afford product 'misses,' has 'thought about' CT6 V-Series

Mark Reuss is a busy man. He oversees General Motors' global product portfolio, an all-encompassing task for a company that sold more than 9.9 million cars and trucks last year. When GM launches a well-received product, like the road-going rocket ship that is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – he gets credit. When the company stumbles with the slow-selling Chevy Malibu or grapples with fallout from the decade-old Saturn Ion and its flawed ignition switch, he gets blamed. GM owners, the press and sometimes the federal government, demand answers. Bob Lutz famously held the job before Reuss. So did Mary Barra, who's now GM's chief executive. There's a New GM, but the lineage is connected to a long history. When he's not thinking product, Reuss, an executive vice president, also runs the purchasing and supply chain for the company, which is still one of the largest industrial empires in the world. We caught up with Reuss on the floor of the New York Auto Show, where GM had just rolled out two crucial new products: the 2016 Cadillac CT6 and the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Speaking with a small group of reporters, Reuss delved into a variety of subjects, including the new Malibu, Cadillac's future (he thinks the ATS-V is going to "flame the M3 and M4"), and other topics. On fixing the Malibu: "We can't miss. We can't have those kinds of misses [like the previous generation] on our cars and crossovers and trucks. We can't do that. If we do that, we give a reason for someone to go buy something else. It's that simple. "On a car like the Malibu we have a chance to really fix all of that, which we have, and then lead. Then you've got a real opportunity there. So that's what we've really been focused on here – to fix those things." He later added: "We need that car here to transform Chevrolet desperately because it's the heart of the market. And when you think of Chevrolet, people will come back and think about what we did with the [new] Malibu and the Cruze... It's hugely important to us." On Cadillac: "If we go out and try and out-German the Germans, it's probably not going to work. We've got an opportunity here generationally where there's a lot of people younger than me that have parents that drove BMWs and Mercedes, and I think there's an opportunity there for those people to drive something different than what their parents did, and I think that's always been an opportunity in the auto industry if you look at the history of it.

Ghostbusters director tweets first photos of new Ecto-1

Ghostbusters is heading back to theaters next year with a new look. Rather than bringing back the original's aging comedic actors, four actresses are taking over the starring roles, including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. Although, one of the movie's major highlights is missing from that list – the Ecto-1. Originally based on a 1959 Cadillac ambulance, we're now getting the first glimpses of the decked-out, ghost-hunting wagon from the new version thanks to director Paul Feig on Twitter. Purists might like that the Ghostbusters are sticking with a Caddy, but the producers are going for a slightly newer, more macabre approach, as well. Rather than an ambulance conversion, the latest one starts as a hearse. Feig also has his Twitter profile picture of a ghost taking over as the hood ornament, and he even tweeted a shot of the rear. @szewcik_james Okay. pic.twitter.com/sHkx1Soj6p — Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 8, 2015 Being the Internet, Feig is being deluged both with hyperbolic vitriol for changing things, and praise for the switch. He has politely tweeted about the situation. Not blocking or deleting. I hear you all and appreciate all your input, good or bad. Thanks. https://t.co/pxZsWGeNyL — Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 8, 2015 Keep in mind this Caddy hearse is about as old today as the original Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters' release in 1984. Having the ladies driving a '50s Caddy might stretch the imagination too far even in a movie about fighting the undead. This approach seems like a perfect compromise between old and new.