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Junkyard Gem: 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

The Cadillac Division was riding high in 1969, with sales numbers far surpassing those of Lincoln and Imperial. A few more years remained before fuel prices would go crazy, and prosperous Americans knew that a sleek DeVille or Eldorado gave them bragging rights at the country club. Here's a thoroughly used-up '69 Coupe DeVille, finally at the end of its journey and residing in a self-service wrecking yard in Denver, Colo. This inspection certificate shows that the car lived in Louisiana a decade ago. Since this is the sort of pervasive rust that occurs in places much wetter than arid High Plains Colorado, we can assume that this DeVille spent many years in the land of gumbo and alligators. The decklid sports Fleetwood badging and a Rickenbaugh Cadillac emblem, but Cadillac didn't make two-door Fleetwoods in 1969. Perhaps a Colorado-sold Fleetwood donated its decklid to replace a rust-ravaged lid on this car. Actually, there's a good chance it was purchased at this very yard. The once-opulent interior has suffered greatly over the decades, with the reek of mildewed carpeting and irradiated leather giving it That Hooptie Car Smell. Try to picture what this scene looked like in happier days, a half-century ago. The 1969 Cadillac V8 engine displaced a mighty 472 cubic inches (that's 7.8 liters to those of you living under the cruel knout of the metric system) and delivered a gross 375 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque. Scaling in at 4,595 pounds (about a half-ton less than a new Escalade), the DeVille needed that power to keep up with those cheap-but-V8-equipped Chevy Chevelles. For 1970, Cadillac would stroke this engine to a staggering 500 cubic inches for Eldorado buyers. This engine family lasted through 1984, after which it was replaced by the much-loathed High Technology V8. The build quality and snob appeal of the 1969 Cadillacs kept them on the road for decades after most of their peers got crushed, but this one was just too far gone to be worth restoring. Featured Gallery Junked 1969 Cadillac Coupe DeVille View 21 Photos Auto News Cadillac Automotive History Classics

Off-road Cadillac Escalade adds some extra bush country capability

So, you're a dyed-in-the-wool General Motors fan, but like the notion of a machine like the Hennessey Velociraptor. We have good news for you. Behold the Aria Coachworks XPLORE Cadillac Escalade. For a modest fee, Aria will outfit your Escalade with a custom suspension, BF Goodrich all-terrain tires wrapped around aluminum wheels, a Warn winch and a special exhaust. There's even a snorkel option for those of you with aspirations toward deep water crossings. Consider yourself warned, however: unlike other GMT900 SUVs, the Cadillac only has an all-wheel drive system, not the more rugged four-wheel drive setup of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon). Outside, the luxury SUV gets matte paint, black chrome trim, XPLORE power running boards and a roof rack system.
The interior also receives a few fun changes as well, but we're more interested in the fact that buyers can snag a power roof top tent. You know, in case you need to camp out at Best Buy for the PS4. There's also a matching camp trailer and, our personal favorite, a matching BMW GS motorcycle. Bikes not your bag of tricks? That's fine. Aria will also sell you a matched Airstream trailer or Old Town wooden canoes. As much as we want to hate this, we love the notion of bashing through the woods in a $100,000 Cadillac battlewagon with our GS in tow. Check the press release below for more information.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.