1993 Cadillac Deville 4.9l V-8 Auto Needs Catalytic Converter No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Cadillac gives enthusiasts an early look at its next high-performance sedans

Cadillac will introduce a pair of sport sedans named CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing, respectively, at 7 p.m. Eastern today (February 1). While car companies routinely drum up excitement for new models by releasing tightly-cropped or blacked-out images, Cadillac surprised us with a photo, and a TV spot that aired during the Rolex 24 at Daytona, that shows both cars in their entirety. Somewhat confusingly, the CT4-V and the CT5-V are not direct replacements for the ATS-V and the CTS-V; they're mid-range models, and they're powered, equipped, and priced accordingly. It's these flagship Blackwing variants that will pick up where the last-generation Vs left off with a significant bump in power, numerous chassis tweaks, and a more aggressive-looking design. They'll arrive in showrooms in time for the 2022 model year. Blackwing drivers won't draw unnecessary attention to themselves, because the visual changes are relatively subtle. Riding on model-specific wheels, the CT4-V Blackwing gains bigger air intakes on the front end, vents punched into the fenders, and a low-key body kit that adds a front splitter, front winglets, and a trunk-mounted spoiler. Cadillac gave the CT5-V a similar treatment, and it mounted the rear wheels on surprisingly wide tires. Cadillac pointed out the Blackwing sedans benefit from the world's fastest-reacting suspension system. It's likely the fourth evolution of its magnetic ride control technology, which it detailed in October 2020.  While full specifications remain under wraps until the duo's unveiling, we know that both sedans will be available with a six-speed manual transmission. It's reasonable to assume that an automatic (likely the familiar 10-speed) will be offered as well. As for what's under the hood, our crystal ball tells us that the CT5-V will land with a V8 engine, though it won't be the short-lived twin-turbocharged Blackwing unit that gave both cars their name. Enginers might have selected an evolution of the CTS-V's 6.2-liter. As for the CT4-V, it will receive the ATS-V's 3.6-liter turbocharged V6. Both models will be exclusively available with rear-wheel-drive. Enthusiasts who want to secure an early built slot will have the chance to reserve a 2022 CT4-V Blackwing or a 2022 CT5-V Blackwing by visiting Cadillac's website shortly after the sedans are unveiled on February 1. As we previously reported, the first 250 units of each car will wear a numbered plaque on the steering wheel.

Frustrated GM investors ask what more Mary Barra can do

DETROIT — General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra has transformed the No. 1 U.S. automaker in her almost five years in charge, but that is still not enough to satisfy investors. Ahead of third-quarter results due on Oct. 31, GM shares are trading about 6 percent below the $33 per share price at which they launched in 2010 in a post-bankruptcy initial public offering. The Detroit carmaker's stock is down 22 percent since Barra took over in January 2014. After hitting an all-time high of $46.48 on Oct. 24, 2017, the shares have declined 33 percent. In the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.8 percent. Several shareholders contacted by Reuters said GM could face a third major action by activist shareholders in less than four years if the share price does not improve. "I've been expecting it," said John Levin, chairman of Levin Capital Strategies. "It just seems a tempting morsel to somebody." Levin's firm owns more than seven million GM shares. Barra has guided the company through the settlement of a federal criminal probe of a mishandled safety recall, sold off money-losing European operations, and returned $25 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks from 2012 through 2017. GM declined to comment for this story, but the company's executives privately express frustration with the market's reluctance to see it as anything more than a manufacturer tied mainly to auto market sales cycles. GM's profitable North American truck and SUV business and its money-making China operations are valued at just $14 billion, excluding the value of GM's stake in its $14.6 billion Cruise automated vehicle business and its cash reserves from its $44 billion market capitalization. The recent slump in the Chinese market, GM's largest, and plateauing U.S. demand are ratcheting up the pressure. GM is one of the few global automakers without a founding family or a government to serve as a bulwark against corporate raiders. In 2015, a group led by investor Harry Wilson pressed GM to launch a $5 billion share buyback, and commit to what is now an $18 billion ceiling on the level of cash the company would hold. In 2017, GM fended off a call by hedge fund manager David Einhorn to split its common stock shares into two classes. Einhorn, whose firm still owned more than 21 million shares at the end of June, declined to comment about GM's stock price. Other investors said there were no clear alternatives to Barra's approach.

Meet the mother-daughter team that's worked on almost every Chevy Volt

It's Mother's Day, and we're soft enough we love our mothers enough to share a new video from General Motors with you. In it, we meet Monique Watson (left) and Evetta Osbourne, a mother-daughter team that works at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly where GM makes the Chevy Volt (along with all of GM's other plug-in hybrids: the Opel Ampera, Holden Volt and Cadillac ELR). The two work side-by-side and have installed the lithium-ion battery pack on almost all of those vehicles - nearly 80,000 of them - since GM started making the pre-production Volts in 2009. In a prepared statement, Watson said that she likes working next to her mom, day in and day out, and they the two are totally in sync when it comes to putting the 400-pound, 16.5-kWh packs into the vehicle undersides. They two can also share stories throughout the day, and Watson said, "The arrangement has absolutely improved our relationship." Osborne started working at Detroit-Hamtramck in 1999, Watson since 2006. If you're driving a Volt today, you probably have them to thank for doing a bit of the work putting your car together. See a short video of them in action below. It's Always Mother's Day for Detroit-Hamtramck Duo Mother, daughter install lithium-ion battery pack in nearly all GM electric vehicles 2014-05-08 DETROIT – For Detroit resident Evetta Osborne, every day is Mother's Day. That's because she literally works side by side with her daughter, Monique Watson, at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. They have installed the lithium-ion battery pack on nearly every Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera, Holden Volt, and Cadillac ELR since production began. In fact, apart from vacation days and an occasional sick day, the mother-daughter duo has installed almost every battery pack since the Volt was in pre-production in 2009. The ELR launched earlier this year. All told – including Ampera – that's more than 80,000 electric vehicles. "We're a good team and our relationship is secondary when it comes to performing our jobs – but it's great to work alongside my daughter, said Osborne, a mother of five. Because the battery packs weigh more than 400 pounds each, automatic guided vehicles – robotic carts that use sensors to follow a path through the plant – deliver them just as the vehicle body structures glide into position overhead. The carts then lift the T-shaped packs, and Osborne and Watson guide them into the chassis and secure each one with 24 fasteners.