1985 Cadillac Eldorado Base Coupe 2-door 4.1l on 2040-cars

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Gimp Pimp and Aqua Volvo at 24 Hours of LeMons | Car Club USA

Car Club USA heads to Sonoma, CA where the Gimp Pimp Cadillac and Aqua Volvo will take on all the crazy, sub-$500 competition at the 24 Hours of LeMons endurance race. "Over the last 30 years, car racing has gotten extremely serious and extremely expensive and it just seemed like there was a real need to make it accessible again," said LeMons founder Jay Lamm. The result is a series of endurance races across the US and Australia where all you need to join the fun is a junky car and some basic safety equipment. "It's just fun, compared to pro racing," said Wendy Epstein, driver of a 1979 Volvo 242 in bright "Aqua Volvo" livery. "24 Hours of LeMons is a form of racing that is designed to be cheap and easy, and anybody can do it," said Bill Manfroy, driver of the Gimp Pimp, a 1996 Cadillac SLS with some important modifications. "Part of what makes the Gimp Pimp Cadillac so special is that it does have hand controls, so it gives access to people like me that ordinarily get to race." "Which makes it perfect for LeMons." Each Car Club USA episode features a different car club or event from across the US, where passionate owner communities gather to share automotive experiences and embark on incredible adventures. From Main Street cruises to off-road trails, catch all the latest car club activity on Autoblog. Motorsports Weird Car News Cadillac Volvo Driving Racing Vehicles Car Club USA Videos Original Video viral video

2020 Cadillac CT5 loses the fake scoop

Well folks, the inevitable has happened. The 2020 Cadillac CT5 luxury sports sedan prototype has shed its hood scoop. Yes, we're as disappointed as you are that instead of being outrageous and brash, Cadillac is still going to try to be classy, understated and luxurious when it comes to its mainline models. And yes, we're being sarcastic here ... but there's a part of us that would kind of like to see the scoop survive. Anyway, the good news is that the scoop is only one of a few bits of fake bodywork and camouflage that the CT5 has shed. As such, we get our best look yet at the new Cadillac sedan, and it looks pretty good. The grille is very wide and not nearly as tall as the prominent prows of current Cadillacs. It actually doesn't even look as tall as the grille of the Escala concept that inspired the CT5's design. The profile of the CT5 isn't too radically different from existing Caddies, with a long hood and a short trunk. It is still a conventional sedan, though, and not a sedan-like hatchback like the Kia Stinger and Audi A5 Sportback and A7. This is evident by the open trunk lid our spy photographer caught. The taillights also continue to be slim and vertical, though we can't quite tell if they will have a horizontal elements at the bottom like on the XTS and XT4. The car also has very bold and thick angular exhaust tips. We expect the CT5 will go into production in 2019 as a 2020 model, and it will likely take the place of both the CTS and ATS, but not be much smaller than the CTS. It will likely use versions of existing Cadillac engines including the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6, and twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. We wouldn't rule out the 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 for a potential CT5-V in the future. Related Video:

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen expands on brand's future

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen chatted with journalists at a recent roundtable, expounding on everything from domestic racing to Chinese manufacturing. The brand's been doing a slow burn on rolling out new products and increasing sales, but admittedly, there was a lot of work to do. After closing out last year 0.8 percent down in the U.S., the domestic luxury brand is more than 5 percent up so far this year, thanks to healthy double-digit bumps for the ATS and Escalade, and increased fleet sales. Globally, the brand's doing 21 percent better. The XT5 still outsells everything, though. Asked about slow sedan sales, de Nysschen cited a few reasons, one of them "energy prices," which are low enough to fuel the crossover craze. You can also read that as another admission that Cadillac doesn't have enough crossovers to please the crowds, a fact the XT4 will soon address. Yet de Nysschen also pegged the sedan malaise on "younger consumers who really are less tuned into dynamics and handling and all of those things that used to excite enthusiasts. It's more about the way cars complement and enable their lifestyle now." He topped that with a take on U.S. roads, saying, "I also have to say it may also be influenced a little bit by the decay of America's infrastructure. When roads no longer support high-performance sport sedans and ultra-low-profile rubber, people are going to respond to it." Those latter takes seem wide of the mark. Yes, BMW is the established leader, but the Munich carmaker sold 8,806 3 Series' so far this year in all variants, compared to 2,543 ATS coupes and sedans. Mercedes-Benz has sold 8,366 C-Class models so far in all variants. As for infrastructure, yes, it's a mess, but AMG sales rocketed up nearly 50 percent in the U.S. last year, nearly 10 percent of overall Mercedes sales, and the Three-Pointed Star expects that to rise again this year. People are buying sedans and performance models. They simply aren't buying enough of them with Cadillac badges. Cadillac has no plans to go racing in Europe since the brand doesn't have the kind of presence there to justify the investment. De Nysschen said they'll stick with the Daytona Prototype International formula in the U.S. domestic scene, and continue with the tech transfer from race to road.