The big story in Detroit this week is the Cadillac Speedbump Special. Aimed specifically at the UK market, it uses a special reinforced front air dam to ‘neutralise’ speed bumps.
The Speedbump Special is based on the so-called ‘cow-catchers’ that remove fallen cattle from railway lines, and uses materials and technology developed for snow ploughs by Caterpillar and others,
When confronted by speed bumps, the new Cadillac simply planes them down to the road surface, and the angled valance neatly disperses the resulting rubble to either side of the carriageway.
Cadillac is anxious to avoid the seven-litre Special’s being labelled a ‘gas guzzler’, and to appease UK environmentalists has re-bored the engine to a more modest 5.8 litres. “We had even considered a joint venture with Mini,” said a Cadillac spokesman, “but there was a size issue.”
