Live From Pebble Beach: The Show Goes On

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In the interests of timeliness, we’ve been posting press shots of the latest unveils from Pebble Beach as they happen, but our man on the ground, Alex Dykes, is updating us with his own photos and commentary as well. In his latest update: live shots of the Cadillac Ciel, a 1931 ‘llac, the last of the four-cylinder Lotus Exiges, a $52k Rolls-Royce-trimmed MINI, a Spyker and the Landie Evoque. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Pebble Beach.


Like many of us, Alex seems completely taken by the dramatic Cadillac Ciel concept. But he notes that the concept’s unobtainium appeal just got a little stronger, as

The Cadillac concept car supposedly drives, stops and turns. This begs my question: why the hell doesn’t GM just sell it? It’s enormous, brash and no doubt expensive to make. Sounds like the perfect Cadillac to me. ATS? Meh. give me a Ciel.

Now that he mentions it, I’d take one too. Who knows what it would cost or where I would keep it… this is a concept that tickles all my brain’s most irrational pleasure centers.

Why? Because it’s the first “real Cadillac” in such a long time, I was beginning to genuinely believe that history had passed such a thing by. And maybe it has… after all, things have changed a lot since this 1931 Caddy ruled the road. And sometimes the past just isn’t enough, as Alex explains

Augusta Little ordered it new and was the sole owner until she decided to give it back to Cadillac in 1976, no doubt as a hint to tell Caddy they were gettin it all wrong.

Obviously the message took a while to sink in. And even when Caddy has “gotten it right” since ’76, it’s been largely with concepts like the magnificent Sixteen, which went nowhere in terms of production. Now that GM has the cash to bring something similar to the Ciel to market, the presence of a classic like a ’31 on the same stand sends an encouraging message. The only fly in the ointment is the reason that GM has cash for such a project, and the PR challenges involved with building a super-luxury car on the heels of a government bailout.

Speaking of bailouts, the Saab-Spyker stand at Pebble Beach was not a cheerful enclave of money and privilege this year. Alex describes a tragic scene:

Saab’s booth was deserted, and the two Saab employees were muttering that all the press was asking was “when is Saab closing for good”? Oops.

Awkward!

MINI, on the other hand, was flexing its pretensions of moneyed privilege, showing its hand-trimmed, $52k base-price “MINI Inspired By Goodwood.” So rareified are these super-plush MINIs that

nobody was allowed to sit on the hallowed cow thrones or sully the lambs wool rugs. Other than the sumptuous accessories, the interior is the same as a normal Mini which makes me wonder if it wouldnt be cheaper to just get a regular mini, and have Xzibit pimp your ride.

Speaking of pimped rides, the last-ever four-cylinder Lotus Exige, the Matte Black Final Edition, was on hand in all its murdered-out glory. In accordance with its new desperately upmarket image, Lotus is giving its new Exige the Toyota V6 from the Evora, so this is the last of the stripped-out, four-pot Lotus club racers. Whether you think Lotus’s new direction will succeed or fail, you’ll probably agree that this bit of history will be back to Pebble Beach in the future, possibly worth quite a bit more than it is now.

True to form, Alex continues to be uninspired by the latest in luxury crossovers, photographing but not writing anything at all about the Range Rover Evoque. I suppose we’ll have to wait for a review…

















Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • John Rosevear John Rosevear on Aug 20, 2011

    At this particular moment in GM's history, I think it's safe to say that even concept cars don't get approved without a solid business case. I can't say for sure what it is, but I am sure that there's a hard-nosed reason why the Ciel exists. I suspect it's a trial balloon: Directionally, it's where GM's current leadership wants the marque to go, and they want a sanity check before committing big bucks to the products that will take them there. I'm sure the reaction to this car -- not just in the media, but among the big-bucks car geeks at Pebble, aka a slice of its intended demographic -- is being watched and tracked very closely. (Ed, any clue as to how the Ciel is being received in person?)

    • BuzzDog BuzzDog on Aug 21, 2011

      +1 The Ciel echos many of the styling cues seen in last year's XTS Platinum Concept (and thus, the upcoming production XTS), which leads me to believe that this may foretell the direction in which Cadillac design themes are headed over the next several years. The only disappointment is that the taillights look wickedly good in red, but I don't see how the design can work in markets that require amber turn indicators.

  • Newcarscostalot Newcarscostalot on Aug 21, 2011

    I would like to see GM build this car and shoehorn the Cadillac 16 engine into it, along with the choice of a manual or 8 speed auto.

  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
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