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Looking back on our favorite cars of Mad Men

The second half of the seventh and final season of Mad Men debuted this week, set to cap a run of public and critical acclaim. A decade's worth of interesting cars also made for good television, if you were paying attention. Vehicles didn't often steal the spotlight from Don, Betty, Roger, Joan and the gang, but they added meaningfully to the tone and beauty of the series. We sorted through the wheeled extras from Mad Men's archives, and choose some of our favorites to highlight. The list consists of cars that had at least a small impact on the plot of an episode, though certainly there are worthy gems hiding in just about every street and driving scene. Check out our subjective top five, and then let us know which of the Mad Men cars would be on your list. 1962 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Season 2 Don Draper's Cadillac Coupe DeVille, all 500 feet of it, shows up in a few seasons of the show, but it's the first appearance that sets the tone. A Cadillac salesman, cut from the same cloth as Draper, asks what Don drives right now. "A Dodge," Don admits. "Those are wonderful if you want to get somewhere," allows the salesman, "this is for when you've already arrived." For a man on the move up corporate and social ladders that's a powerful message, and a pitch-perfect car. 1961 Lincoln Continental – Season 3 The most stylish Lincoln Continental ever is perfect set dressing for the mod show, of course. Though it's interesting that the car isn't cast as dapper Draper's ride, but rather his father-in-law's. Grandpa Gene does what all great grandfathers are bound to: lets his granddaughter Sally drive the big Lincoln while he works the pedals. Generational bond secured, in fine fashion. When you go back through the first three seasons of the show, you'll notice that Continentals show up more than once, too. There's nothing quite like them to evoke the best of the early '60s. 1963 John Deere 110 – Season 3 The only non-standard passenger vehicle on the list, no self-respecting gearhead/Mad Men fan should quibble with the inclusion of the John Deere 110 riding mower. For starters, the Deere is lovely to look at; a miniature version of the American Heartland icon in its green and yellow duds. The 110 appears as if milled from a solid block of steel, just the opposite of today's sleek, plasticky lawn minders (we're scouring Craigslist for one to bring home). The John Deere also has dear ramifications to the plot, too.

2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid is the most efficient and torquey CT6 of all

Cadillac is returning to the hybrid game after discontinuing the ill-fated ELR, this time with an existing car and a new drivetrain. The company has taken its CT6 flagship and given it a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a pair of motors, and a big battery pack. The result of this combination is a CT6 that manages a rating of 65 MPGe, can go 30 miles on a full electric charge or 400 miles combined with the engine. The powertrain produces 335 horsepower and 432 lb-ft of torque. That's the same amount of power as the 3.6-liter V6 CT6, and more torque than that engine or the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. Cadillac claims the CT6 plug-in is capable of hitting 60 miles per hour in 5.2 seconds and reaching a top speed of 150 mph. The green and grunty CT6 plug-in will be available this coming spring, and it will have a premium price of $76,090. Cadillac says that its equipment list is comparable to the CT6 Premium Luxury trim level, which starts at $64,590 with the 3.6-liter V6, and $68,590 with the twin-turbo V6. However, in addition to the hybrid powertrain, Cadillac throws in a number of features that are options on the conventional gasoline models. To get the hybrid's rear seat infotainment system and enhanced night vision, a buyer would have to add $5,800 in option packages. That still leaves the twin-turbo model $1,700 shy of the hybrid, but that's not a terrible trade for the option of fuel-free driving for at least some of the time. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid View 15 Photos Image Credit: Cadillac Green LA Auto Show Cadillac Hybrid Luxury Sedan cadillac ct6 2016 LA Auto Show

Cadillac Rear Camera Mirror | 2017 Autoblog Technology of the Year Finalist

We give Cadillac a lot of credit for being the first to make good on the promise to replace mirrors with cameras and displays. That was good enough to earn the Cadillac Rear Camera Mirror a place on our 2017 Technology of the Year awards shortlist for new features. The idea behind this system is relatively simple; what perhaps took more doing was getting the regulations in place to allow a video feed to replace the government-mandated mirror. The hardware and that rules compliance starts with what looks like a normal rearview mirror – because it defaults to being a mirror until you switch on the display or in the event the system somehow fails. Flip the little toggle at the bottom of the mirror – the one normally used to switch from day to night mode – and the reflection is replaced by a very crisp feed from a camera at the back of the vehicle. This live stream gives you a wide-angle view of what's behind, without obstruction from back-seat passengers, headrests, or any bodywork. The camera is even shielded from weather and has a coating to shed water. What you see doesn't exactly look like a normal reflection, but the quality is good enough and you see more than you would normally with something aimed through today's small rear windows. But because it isn't actually a reflection, you have to make some adjustments. When your eyes are focused down the road, glancing at a mirror gives you a view the same distance away but in the rear. With the rear camera mirror, a glance back requires your eyes to first refocus on the display, which takes a moment. And unlike a normal mirror, which you look through at an angle, this display is angled toward the driver but projecting an image that looks straight back – no matter how you move it, the image doesn't change like a mirror's would. And because it's an image and not a reflection, you can't choose what's in focus and lose your sense of depth perception. It's not clear whether objects in mirror are closer or farther than they appear. And there are other limitations. For instance, while the display balances bright lights and dark surroundings well at night, it is tricked by LED headlights, which flicker at a rate faster than the camera shoots. The result is a distracting strobe effect like you get when you point a smartphone camera at any LED light source. For those with migraine sensitivity, this kind of fast flashing can cause real problems.