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Autoweek divulges details on Presidential limo

Ever since the latest presidential limousine, also known as The Beast, debuted in 2009, we've wondered what's underneath that black Cadillac body. We already know a few details, like the fact it isn't a Cadillac at all, but a very heavy duty truck chassis from General Motors with a body that resembles a super-sized Caddy. Autoweek, however, has managed to extract new details from veteran Secret Service agents about the closely guarded presidential limo. Their methods, of course, are classified.
Designed to be a rolling office, bunker and escape pod all in one, the current presidential limo is far different from previous presidential state cars, which were heavily modified production vehicles. As we would expect, The Beast uses thick, military-grade body armor (eight inches on the doors), an armored fuel tank, special run-flat tires with Kevlar lining, an encrypted satellite phone, a fully sealed cabin with its own oxygen supply and a trunk full of weapons and medical equipment that includes a supply of the President's blood type (in case the car gets cut off from the ambulance that's always present in the President's motorcade).
The Beast also comes with a Halon fire-suppression system, night vision and is powered by a V8 engine, which we already knew runs on gas and not diesel, that returns an EPA-unfriendly estimated 3.7 miles per gallon. The Secret Service operates a fleet of 12 limos and each Beast costs $1.5 million. Lastly, AW estimates that the 18-foot-long state car weighs 15,000 pounds, and each Secret Service agent that drives the car must be specially trained to maneuver such a massive vehicle.

2014 Cadillac CTS configurator open for business

Cadillac has just set the new configurator for the redesigned, 2014 CTS live. While we've already tested out the new CTS, this is our first chance to play with all the interior and exterior color options and to get a fair idea of the price. The new CTS covers a broad swath from the $46,025 base model, with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, to the $59,995 VSport, complete with its brawny, 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V6.
It doesn't take much to send the CTS's price up from there, though. Opt for the VSport Premium trim, and the price immediately jumps $10,000. Opting for one of the premium paint colors is all that's needed to nudge the CTS past $70,000. For reference, a 556-horsepower CTS-V (previous-generation, naturally) starts at $64,515.
Click over and have a look at the configurator for yourself.

Brock Lesnar does M. Bison impression on Cadillac CTS

There's no doubt that a huge amount of physicality is required to survive night after night in the ring as a professional wrestler. Conversely, the storylines that tie all the action together are as staged as any soap opera. However, there's nothing fake about watching two axes being embedded in a Cadillac CTS by WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar. Lesnar's prodigious brawn was really putting this luxury sedan out of its misery, though. With matte black stripes on the hood, fake fender vents, camouflage along the side, and a decal proclaiming "Redneck" on the windshield, this particular Cadillac was far from the standard of the world. In favor of the CTS' build quality, Lesnar's hatchets didn't immediately do quite as much damage as you might expect, and he had to take several swings to achieve the destruction here. If you think that destroying a sedan one piece at a time sounds like something from a video game, you aren't alone. Someone else noticed a definite similarity to the bonus round from Street Fighter 2 where you get points for beating up a car at the dockside until it falls apart. Appropriate sound effects were even added, but having Lesnar throw a few pixelated fireballs would have been a nice inclusion, too. For the significantly longer, original version, check out the one embedded below. After Lesnar crushes the CTS, the actual wrestling does eventually ensue. The Caddy even briefly acts as a prop for some of the action.