1990 Cadillac Fleetwood - Brougham on 2040-cars

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Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

Cadillac's de Nysschen takes aim at Porsche 911, Cayenne

Johan de Nysschen has big plans for Cadillac. He's moved the brand from Detroit to New York, revamped its model nomenclature, and planning a raft of new models for the near future – including a $250,000 luxury sedan to take on the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. But the veteran executive of luxury automakers has some more performance-oriented machinery in mind, too. Speaking with Car and Driver at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week, de Nysschen suggested Cadillac could be ready to launch a flagship sports car sometime in the next decade. The halo model would take aim at the Porsche 911 and do for Cadillac what Audi did with the R8, Mercedes is doing with the AMG GT and Acura once did (and is aiming to do again) with the NSX. Just what form it would take remains a big unknown, but de Nysschen indicated that the brand would need to be built up further before the sports car would be launched, lest it emerge too detached from Cadillac's image. The last time Cadillac delved into that territory was with the Corvette-based XLR, of which it sold only 15,000 or so examples – far below initial targets. The 911 rival isn't the only performance model de Nysschen has in mind, however. He plans to further expand the V series into a more substantial sub-brand to include a crossover to take on the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, BMW X5 M and all those many AMG-tuned Mercedes utilities. The idea of an entry-level model to slot in below the ATS was mooted as well. A range of diesel engines are slated to help Cadillac break into overseas markets in similar fashion to how Maserati has expanded its market reach with oil-burning versions of the Ghibli and Quattroporte. And we wouldn't be surprised to see Cadillac get in on a new flagship SUV being launched by Opel in Europe, either.

eBay Find of the Day: Ryan Gosling Eldorado from Lost River

What's better than a car connected to Ryan Gosling? A car connected to Ryan Gosling and Matt Smith (the eleventh Doctor Who for our less nerdy readers). This 1966 Cadillac Eldorado convertible is driven by Smith in Lost River, Gosling's directorial debut. The movie was filmed in Detroit, with plenty of footage at the Packard factory, and the car is located in the nearby enclave of Hamtramck. Truth be told, this car has questionable star appeal and it needs a lot of work. Lost River currently holds a 20% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I've never seen an episode of any Doctor Who – a fact that amazes Seyth Miersma. And while I agree with Kroll Show character Wendell Shawn that Gosling is a "beautiful idiot," that's not enough for me to buy a car with an exhaust leak. The body on this Eldorado looks clean, but there is plenty of restoration work for the next owner. The listing states that most of the exterior and trim needs to be installed, and the front seats are in rough shape. Other details are vague – the carburetor "might need to be rebuilt" and the radiator and fan "may need to be replaced" but neither statements explain why. On the upside, the 340 horsepower (gross rating), 429 cubic inch V8 runs well. Reserve is not met at the current price of $4,000, but this could be a chance to get a classic '60's convertible for cheap. Featured Gallery eBay 1966 Cadilac Eldorado View 18 Photos News Source: eBay Celebrities TV/Movies Cadillac Auctions ebay Find of the Day celebrity ryan gosling