2014 Cadillac Xts Premium on 2040-cars

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Ghostbusters' new Ecto-1 is an oddly uninspiring '82 Caddy

The Ghostbusters, or at least the movie franchise, will emerge from Hollywood's cobwebs this summer, but instead of the iconic 1959 Cadillac known as Ecto-1 that delighted big screen audiences in 1984, the new model may leave some scratching their heads. That's because this latest Ghostbusters draws its vehicular inspiration from a decidedly less interesting period in American automobile production: the 1980s. Starring alongside Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones is a 1982 Cadillac DeVille hearse. The studio dressed up this tired Caddy to look the part, but something's amiss. Instead of the flamboyant fins and shiny chrome, the '82 is decidedly pedestrian and uninteresting. Even in 1982, it was kind of a dull choice for luxury car buyers. There's a reason Murilee Martin deemed the '70s and '80s the "malaise era." Built a couple of years before the original, Academy Award-winning Ghostbusters hit cinemas, the '82 DeVille represents one of Cadillac's lowest points bar the Cimarron. Under its hood might be Cadilac's new-for-1982 HT 4100 V8 engine, which featured what the brand referred to as "digital" fuel injection. With 135 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque, the DeVille didn't win stoplight races back then. Oddly, the V6 engine that came standard in the '82 Sedan DeVille produced the same horsepower but delivered an extra 15 torques, which made it both faster and more fuel efficient than the V8. These were bad times for General Motors, clearly, but the gas engines paled in comparison to Cadillac's first diesel. The company's LF9 5.7-liter diesel V8 was optional on the DeVille and we pity the unlucky buyers who checked that box. Generally credited as the engine that made "diesel" a haunted word in Detroit for 30 years, the 350-cubic-inch unit might actually be fitting for the Ghostbusters. On the bright side, the '82 is new enough that it may have carried a box or two of Hi-C's stellar, Ghostbusters-inspired Ecto Cooler. Maybe the mortician took his kid to Kroger one time, you never know. Fitting in In the original 1984 Ghostbusters, the '59 Caddy was a forlorn and forgotten piece of machinery waiting for a new lease on life. Character Dr. Ray Stantz picks it up and admits in the film that it needs "some suspension work and shocks ...

2016 Cadillac ATS-V Sedan Beauty-Roll

For those of you paying attention, we've really ramped up the old Autoblog video game these days. Our new series Car Club USA joins Translogic and The List, and there are more Daily Drivers and Short Cuts than ever. But sometimes, all you care about is the car. The Autoblog Beauty-Roll video series has one goal: bring you glossy video images of cars, and nothing but. We're collecting moving pictures of all the cars we test, inside and out. Each episode comes with a hit of engine sound – start-up and with a few revs – to round out the package. Set your resolution to max, kick it into full-screen, turn up the sound, and enjoy today's subject, the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Sedan. Oh, and if you'd like more Beauty-Roll, click here to see the back catalog.

Cadillac Escalade gets $5,000 discount to ward off Lincoln Navigator

General Motors apparently isn't going to let early good reception for the redesigned Lincoln Navigator steal thunder from its own luxury SUV without a fight. It's offering a $5,000 discount on the purchase or lease of the Cadillac Escalade this month to any buyer who trades in a 1999 or newer Lincoln model, Bloomberg reports. GM spokesman Jim Cain told Bloomberg the incentive is being offered to keep prices competitive for the Escalade. The 2018 Navigator starts at $72,055, compared to $73,995 for the Escalade, but the outgoing version of the Navigator is selling for an average of around $53,000, compared with more than $80,000 on average for the Escalade, he said. The Escalade was the top-selling domestic luxury SUV in October and No. 4 in the segment, according to Motor Intelligence. It far outsold the Navigator, which last saw a refresh in 2015 and a full redesign in 2007. But Ford is hoping to gain back some ground with the new Navigator and updated Expedition, which also trails the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevy Suburban in its segment. Bloomberg notes that one Morgan Stanley analyst estimates that GM owns a $2 billion annual pretax profit edge in the lucrative luxury sport utility segment. Our recent First Drive review called the new Navigator "far superior to its primary competitor, the Cadillac Escalade."Related Video: