Green Options

The UK’s Daily Mail recently posted this great John Lawson-penned cutaway drawing of the upcoming Cadillac One, the heavily armored limousine that President Barack Obama will be cruising home in immediately after his inauguration.

Explore Cadillac One inside and out (to varying degrees of precision) after the jump.

Editor’s Note: Marc is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome Marc!

In between a heavy rotation of aspirin, Tylenol, and Motrin, washed down with the cheapest scotch I could find, I took a few minutes to stop focusing on the ever-imploding economy and my prospects for having a job in six months, to do some problem solving for the world.

According to what anyone of any authority in the United States would have you believe, the collapse of the Big Three automakers (as if they are inextricably linked) would send our economy from the thin patch of ice that it is currently skating on, into the frigid depths to drown. Job loss estimates that I’ve seen range to two and a half million, not much less than one percent of the entire population of the country. It is for this reason, apparently, that Congress will likely throw a lifeline to each of the Big Three, by printing up trainloads (a Hummer might do actually – thanks GM!) of cash and wishing it well (thanks taxpayers!).

GM is set to unveil fuel efficient models of all of its biggest gas guzzlers in 2009.  The Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, and even the Cadillac Escalade will be equipped with gas saving technology.  Can innovations like this help clean up GM’s archaic image?

As a basic principle of fuel economy, smaller cars get better gas mileage.  Engineering trends keep pushing the limits of the term ‘compact’ car while somehow keeping the interiors large enough to carry people. Unfortunately, the Prius won’t suffice for all drivers, and rightfully so.  There are people in the United States who require space shuttle sized SUV’s and Titantic trucks, and nothing is going to change that in the immediate future.  America runs on progress, and progress cannot happen without construction and high a high towing capacity.  The next generation of GM trucks is attempting to bridge the gap between brute force, and environmental friendliness.