2004 Cadillac Deville Dhs Very Clean Leather Upscale Luxury Mint on 2040-cars

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We really want to use an eCrate to restomod an old GM car. Here's what we'd build

You hopefully saw the news today of GM's introduction of its Connect and Cruise eCrate motor and battery package, which effectively makes the Bolt's electric motor, battery pack and myriad other elements available to, ah, bolt into a different vehicle. It's the same concept as installing a gasoline-powered crate motor into a classic car, but with electricity and stuff.  This, of course, got us thinking about what we'd stuff the eCrate into. Before we got too ahead of ourselves, however, we discovered that the eCrate battery pack is literally the Bolt EV pack in not only capacity but size and shape. In other words, you need to have enough space in the vehicle to place and/or stuff roughly 60% of a Chevy Bolt's length. It's not a big car, but that's still an awful lot of real estate. There's a reason GM chose to simply plop the pack into the bed and cargo area of old full-size SUVs. Well that, and having a rear suspension beefy enough to handle about 1,000 pounds of batteries.  So after that buzz kill, we still wanted to peruse the GM back catalog for classics we'd love to see transformed into an electric restomod that might be able to swallow all that battery ... maybe ... possibly ... whatever, saws and blow torches exist for a reason.  1971 Buick Riviera Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: If you’re going to build an electric conversion, why not do it with style? ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m choosing a 1971-1973 Buick Riviera. You know, the one with the big glass boat-tail rear end that ends in a pointy V. Being a rather large vehicle with a big sloping fastback shape, IÂ’m hoping thereÂ’s enough room in the trunk and back seat to pack in the requisite battery pack. That would likely require cutting away some of the metal bulkhead that supports the rear seatback, but not so much that a wee bit of structural bracing couldnÂ’t shore things up. The big 455-cubic-inch Buick V8 up front will obviously have to go. Remember, this was the 1970s, so despite all that displacement, the Riviera only had around 250 horsepower (depending on the year and the trim level). So the electric motorÂ’s 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque ought to work as an acceptable replacement.   1982 Chevrolet S10 Associate Editor Byron Hurd: OK, so the name "E-10" is already taken by a completely different truck, but let's not let labels get in the way of a fun idea.

GM releases full Super Bowl ad with GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq: Take that, Norway!

GM just dropped its big Super Bowl ad, and it’s a good one. Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina all star in the 90-second ad titled “No Way, Norway.” The point of the ad is to get Americans hyped up about the upcoming electric vehicle range on its way from GM. Both the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV star throughout, but itÂ’s less about the vehicles, and more about changing attitudes about EVs in general. Ferrell comes after Norway aggressively, but in a playful and competitive way about how many electric cars sell in the Scandinavian country. Over half of all new car sales in Norway are of EVs, whereas GMÂ’s data show that just 4% of new cars sold in the U.S. are electric. Massive financial incentives from the Norwegian government can take much of the credit for why EVs sell at such high rates over there. However, GM thinks it can still rally the U.S. to get more excited about buying EVs once its fleet of cars using the companyÂ’s Ultium battery tech comes online. The ad is done with classic Ferrell comedy, and it sure did elicit some chuckles from us. It also follows the same “Everybody In” philosophy that GM announced back when it changed up the logo a short time ago. GM is inviting folks to strap in for the onslaught of EVs coming their way (for now, you can buy a Bolt). President BidenÂ’s administration has voiced support for a number of policies and actions to take for greater adoption of electric cars in the U.S. — we also know the federal government intends to transition its full fleet of vehicles to EVs. It's still unlikely that we make it to Norway's rate of electric car sales in the immediate future, but the U.S. could certainly begin to close the gap. Related video:

Watch the 2019 Autoblog Technology of the Year presentation to Cadillac

Autoblog presented our 2019 Technology of the Year Award to Cadillac at the Detroit Auto Show. Autoblog conducted rigorous testing last fall on the latest automotive technologies, and Cadillac Super Cruise earned top honors, edging out Infiniti's Variable Compression Turbo and Mercedes' EQ technologies, the other two finalists. Super Cruise is a semi-autonomous system that allows for hands-free driving to reduce the driver's workload. Our editors found it easy to use and noted the system simply works as intended. We happily found Cadillac under-promised and over-delivered with Super Cruise, a clever system that truly helps the driver. Super Cruise launched on the CT6 sedan, and Cadillac plans to roll out the feature to other vehicles. Watch the video above as Cadillac President Steve Carlisle receives the 2019 Autoblog Technology of the Year Award from Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore, with Autoblog GM Adam Morath and the editorial team on hand at the Detroit show. Related Video: