The Cadillac logo consisting of the familiar crest surrounded by a laurel wreath has officially been put to rest following the introduction of the 2014 Cadillac ATS Coupe. The new ATS Coupe will be the first production spec Cadillac to roll off the assembly line wearing an officially revised badge that still contains the crest but abandons the laurel wreath. All Cadillac’s to follow will also bear the new design emblem, a move that puts an end to any speculation…
The overall exterior appearance of a classic 60’s era Buick Riviera can be significantly degraded if the original factory Riviera fender emblems are missing, broken or just in bad shape from exposure to the elements. Although preserving vintage badges and emblems can be important to the originality of a restoration, new old stock emblems are scarce these days and for Buick Riviera’s from the years 1963 to 1967, they are practically unobtanium. If you do have damaged original fender emblems,…
Following General Motors’ recent announcement of a new chief executive officer it seems the company has been in the news with some sort of different business plan or goal every day. Some of GM’s recent actions have been very positive, like the announcement of an upcoming $1.3 billion investment in existing General Motors factories in three different states. GM will invest the money over the next two years to make new pickup trucks as well as new, more fuel-efficient engines…
If the cars you see on the road seem a little older to you these days, you would be correct because the average age of the vehicles on our highways has reached an all-time high according to the Polk market research firm. Polk’s research says that the average age of American vehicles has now reached a record high of 11.4 years old, an age that Polk says will likely increase going forward. In fact, the numbers show that the cars…
Last month we took a look back at the 2009 Cash for Clunkers program and found that industry analysts had determined that instead of providing the American auto industry with a boost, the optimistic $2.85 billion program wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and caused the destruction of thousands of used cars. In addition to wasting money and destroying cars, the only real benefit for the auto industry was a forward shift in the purchase of new vehicles at the time,…
General Motors wasted no time in naming a new chief executive officer (CEO) after its’ current Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson announced his own imminent retirement. Just one day after the U.S. Treasury Department sold off the last of its stake in General Motors, Akerson’s departure was quickly followed by the news that Mary Barra will take over the vacant slot, a position that makes her the first woman CEO of a major automaker and one of the few women…
Both the demand for and the prices of vintage and collectible cars have been rising to the point that average values across the marketplace climbed by nearly 40 % just in the past year alone. Auction houses and financial advisors have both recently noted that along with high-end jewelry and Asian art, collectible autos have entered the three most active and potentially lucrative collecting categories. The market has shown no signs of topping out and prices continue to climb as…
The 327-cubic-inch Mighty Mouse The Chevrolet 327-cubic-inch V8 originated with the small-block family of engines that first appeared in 1955 with a 265 cubic inch powerplant. Following with a 283 cubic inch version that appeared in 1957, the mighty 327-inch small block made its debut in 1962. Although the 327 was eventually superseded by the 350 across the entire Chevrolet product line, the intermediate displacement 327 was used in just about every Chevy on the market between 1962 and 1969,…
It appears the old adage that “hindsight is 20/20” is quite true when examining the overall effects of the 2009 governmental subsidy program for new car buyers known most commonly as “Cash for Clunkers.” Even though the current administration has maintained for the last several years that the program delivered real economic benefits to the U.S. auto industry, the Brookings Institution research group and think tank recently issued a report saying the complete opposite. The Brookings group now flatly states…
With so many high profile car auctions featured in the news and on television these days, it’s not surprising that large numbers of vintage vehicle enthusiasts have been showing up at the auto auctions held in their own areas of the country. The big televised auctions like Barrett-Jackson have made the general public more familiar with the auction format and seem to have also provided auto fanatics with the incentive needed to get out and try their own luck at…
