1949 Cadillac Fleetwood 4 Dr Sedan Strong Engine Hydra Matic Transmission on 2040-cars

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Cadillac dealers get $5,000 incentive for ELR test drives

The 530 Cadillac dealers - out of 940 total dealers - that signed on to sell the brand's ELR for $75,000 or lease it for $699 per month have managed to move 247 of them in the last five months. That's a little less than two cars for each dealer more than two dealers for each car if you need help with the math. With inventories of the luxury plug-in hybrid building up - Automotive News reports a 725-day supply - General Motors has created the Demonstrator Allowance Program to billow the sails on that slow moving ship, giving dealers $5,000 to promote ELR test drives.
A dealer with one ELR in its test fleet that racks up 750 test driven miles between May 1 and June 2 earns the fifty Benjamins, a dealer with two ELRs in the test fleet will get one hundred Benjamins. That will be added to summer incentives for dealers that pay $2,000 for units sold in July and $1,000 for units sold in August, while on the customer side, Cadillac has put "customer discount certificates" worth $3,000 on the hood for buyers and lessees.
Cadillac suggests this is about raising awareness of the ELR, but the question is how much dealers will be able to do for a car that observers - and buyers, apparently - still consider highly overpriced.

Cadillac shows dealers convertible rendering

Cadillac is getting serious about revitalizing and expanding its lineup, and to that end, a new report claims that brand boss Johan de Nysschen has been showing plans for several new models to the marque's dealer body - among them, a new convertible.
The droptop which Cadillac reportedly showed its dealers in sketch form, would be based on the same platform as the ATS and CTS, those it's unclear to which (if either) of those model lines the new convertible would be added, or whether the design features a canvas or folding hardtop roof. One way or another, it would be the first time Cadillac would offer a convertible since the Corvette-based XLR roadster was discontinued more than five years ago.
Quoting an unnamed brand spokesperson, Cadillac would "like to introduce an open car to the portfolio at some point," however, "it's not likely to be one of the near-term portfolio additions."

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe

Cadillac has become a very, very different company since the dawn of the new millenium. Its turn-of-the-century lineup, consisting of staid offerings like the Seville, DeVille and Eldorado, represented the Old Cadillac. These cars were plagued with Old GM quality issues and catered to a more elderly audience. Since the company's Art and Science design language arrived, though, we've seen Cadillac flesh out its lineup in a big way, introducing notable and (so far) enduring products, like the the CTS, SRX and most recently, the ATS.
With the CTS tackling the 5 Series segment and the SRX duking it out with the Lexus RX and its classmates, the ATS has been left with the tough task of battling the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, among others. Critically, at least, it has excelled in this role, but it's still working on finding its feet sales-wise. On paper, broadening the model range by adding a two-door personal luxury coupe could help.
After a week with the ATS Coupe, though, we've found a car that, while retaining the standard model's excellent driving character, doesn't quite offer enough visual excitement to stand up to other cars in its segment.