1968 Cadillac Deville Convertible **we Export! on 2040-cars

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Petrolicious eats up Rita Hayworth's 1953 Cadillac Ghia

The automotive industry has seem some wonderful transoceanic collaborations between America and Italy, from the Ford-powered De Tomasos of the 1960s to the alliance between Fiat and Chrysler today. Of course it's also seen unfortunate experiments in between like the Chrysler TC by Maserati and the Pininfarina-bodied Cadillac Allante. But before any of those, there was a beautiful tradition of rebodying American steel at the hands of Italian carrozzerie. And this could easily be among the most gorgeous of them all. It's a Cadillac Series 62 from 1953 with bodywork by Ghia. It's one of only two made, and has a star-studded history. The car was purchased by Aly Khan, prince of the Nizari Ismaili muslims and Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, for his wife... who just so happened to be the inimitable Rita Hayworth. They split up, but she held on to the car. Today it's part of the permanent collection at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA, so the videographical artisans at Petrolicious went by to check it out. You'll want to as well in the five-minute short above.

Weekly Recap: Car-pedestrian crashes remained elevated in 2014

The death of American Horror Story: Freak Show star Ben Woolf served as a reminder this week that car crashes involving pedestrians remain a problem, and a new study issued on Thursday reinforced that the situation isn't really getting better. The Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight decline, 2.8 percent, in the number of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2014. Fatalities dropped from 2,141 to 2,125 compared with the same period in 2013, though the association says it's a statistical wash when factoring in undercounting. Deaths are still 15-percent higher than in 2009. "The number of deaths remains relatively high and is cause for concern," wrote Allan Williams, who compiled the report and is the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first look at data from last year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue its full-year results later. The GHSA found some progress on the roadways, as 24 states and the District of Columbia reported drops in pedestrian deaths. In some states, the problem isn't even a problem at all: Nebraska and Wyoming reported one fatality apiece, though large population centers in urban areas are where most accidents occur. "This is a clearly a good news, bad news scenario," Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement. "While we're encouraged that pedestrian fatalities haven't increased over the past two years, progress has been slow." Other News & Notes Cadillac previews CT6 during Oscars Cadillac previewed its upcoming flagship sedan, the CT6, in commercials that aired Sunday during the Oscars. As expected, the creased sedan carries on Cadillac's recent design language, and the car in the commercial looks like a larger version of the CTS and ATS sedans. The CT6 will be revealed this spring at the New York Auto Show and launch late this year. It will be assembled at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, and the CT6 is the first car to use Cadillac's revised alpha-numeric naming scheme. The commercials also kicked off Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" campaign, which is the first with its new advertising agency, Publicis Worldwide. Honda unexpectedly changes CEOs Honda unexpectedly announced this week that it will change CEOs. Current chief Takanobu Ito will step down in June and be replaced by company veteran Takahiro Hachigo.

Cadillac partners with Saks Fifth Avenue for limited-edition ELR

There's no softening the blow with this one - this is the limited edition 2014 Cadillac ELR Saks Fifth Avenue Edition, and it costs $89,500, including $995 for destination. The special model, limited to just 100 units, is part of a holiday season collaboration between Cadillac and luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. In addition to the ELR, there will also be a special "Frozen Escalade" window display at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store near Rockefeller Center in New York City, which will feature the 2015 Escalade with functioning LED running lamps that, as the automaker says, "appear embedded and breaking through a wall of ice."
But back to that ELR. This Saks edition plug-in hybrid coupe commands a surcharge of $14,500 over the $75,000 base model that over 85-percent of Autoblog readers polled already feel is overpriced. For that extra coin, you get an ELR wearing exclusive (to this car) White Diamond paint matched with either a jet black or light cashmere interior. Buyers will also receive an upgraded 240-volt charging station complete with professional installation, and the cars come with Cadillac's ELR Concierge service - representatives "trained in white-glove customer care" that serve as an additional point of contact beyond the dealership when it comes to topics like like battery care, charging, service scheduling and news updates.
Folks who order the Saks Fifth Avenue ELR are expected to receive their cars in March of next year. Price aside, we're sure it'll look great parked alongside the Neiman Marcus Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in owners' garages. Scroll down for Cadillac's official press blast.