African American-Deja Cadilac

African American-Deja Cadilac

1949 Ebony magazine asked its readers "Why Do Negroes Buy Cadillacs?

 

deja vu 1 a : the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time b : a feeling that one has seen or heard something before

Cadillac Grills  Album: Artist: ludacris

Uh, Cadillac grills Cadillac mills
Check out the oil on my Cadillac spills
Matter fact candy paint Cadillac's kill
So check out the --'s my Cadillac fills
20 inch wide 20 inch high

Oh don't you like my 20 inch ride
 

Preacher 'stole millions from black churches' Abraham Kennard, 46,  said,  "It's not a law against riding in a Cadillac if you don't want to ride in a Volkswagen," A preacher was convicted Click here: FBI Atlanta Press Release Monday of stealing nearly $9 million from hundreds of small, black churches across the country that were promised hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for small investments.  Abraham Kennard was found guilty in Rome, Georgia, of 116 counts of fraud and theft.  Abraham Kennard has been convicted of stealing nearly $9m (¬7.2m) from 1,600 black churches across the US by promising them big returns on small investments. Prosecutors said Kennard claimed his company was developing Christian resorts around the country.  Preacher , Abraham Kennard, 46,  said,  "It's not a law against riding in a Cadillac if you don't want to ride in a Volkswagen," Kennard, who represented himself, said in his opening remarks.  Prosecutors said he ran a pyramid scheme that took advantage of the tight network of black preachers to which he belonged.

Driving While Black: The Car and Race Relations in Modern America by Thomas J. Sugrue "Drivin' down the Freeway:" Blacks and Car Culture Whatever the hassles of driving, African Americans, like whites, shared a passion for cars. The automobile was, for most Americans, the most expensive item that they owned other than a house. In a status-conscious consumer society, the car became one of the most prominent symbols of "making it." The automobile industry, which developed some of the most sophisticated marketing and advertising campaigns of the twentieth century, appealed to consumers' desire to drive cars that played to their self-image. Auto manufacturers developed new models that were luxurious, sporty, sturdy, or family-friendly. As blacks moved northward and into the urban working class, their income grew dramatically. So did their demand for cars. Ebony magazine estimated that twenty percent of black households intended to buy new cars in the 1958 model year alone. Throughout the postwar years, car companies began to target black consumers, placing advertisements in black newspapers and especially in new magazines like Ebony and Jet that catered to the small but growing black middle class.

For many blacks, owning a car became a powerful status symbol. Starting at the top, black stars often appeared for photographs with sports or luxury cars. In a famous photograph, Motown singers Martha and the Vandellas struck a glamorous pose atop a Ford Mustang as it rolled off a Detroit assembly line. Singers Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight and the Pips posed for publicity photos with their cars. And in a hit single, Detroit native Aretha Franklin sang of her "Pink Cadillac." Motown performer Mary Wilson recalled that "[a]s soon as a writer, producer, or performergot his first check, it was as good as endorsed over to the local Cadillac dealership." The Cadillac assumed iconic status among the black elite as a symbol of having made it. In 1949, Ebony magazine asked its readers "Why Do Negroes Buy Cadillacs?" In an irreverent spoof of the gospel classic, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," jazz musician Dizzie Gillespie sang "Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac," a telling comment on the place of the car in black popular culture.

In the post-Motown era of "blaxploitation" films and, in the 1980s and 1990s, of gangsta rap and hip hop, cars continued to have special status in black popular culture

Car Thieves Target Escalades

By KEN THOMAS

AP

WASHINGTON (June 7) - The Cadillac Escalade, the bold and shiny luxury sport utility vehicle popular with Hollywood's A-List, rappers and star athletes, apparently also attracts an ill-intentioned constituency: car thieves.

 

Escalades had the highest rate of insurance theft claims for the fourth straight year, according to a study released Wednesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Escalade was followed by the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab pickup.

 

The Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the insurance institute, noted the Escalade offers plenty of eye candy to tempt thieves, from chromed wheels and leather seats to rear-seat DVD systems. Not to mention a marketing campaign that links the Escalade to the hip and trendy.

 

"This is the car that Tony Soprano drives. It's seen in a lot of rap videos. There are a lot of NFL players who are photographed in it," said Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute. "It's part of our pop culture as a very large, flashy SUV."

 

The institute calculated which newer vehicles were most likely to be stolen by assessing theft claims per 1,000 insured vehicles from model years 2003 to 2005. The Escalade had a claim rate of 13.2, while the Lancer Evolution had a rate of 11.9.

 

The lowest-ranking vehicle, the Ford Taurus, had a rate of 0.3, followed by the Pontiac Vibe 4-wheel drive at 0.4, and the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue, both at 0.5. Cadillac, a division of General Motors Corp., sells the new 2007 Escalade at a starting price of $57,280.

 

Hazelbaker said about one-fourth of the claims for the Escalades were for $40,000 or more, providing evidence that thieves were stealing the entire vehicle instead of seeking its parts.

 

Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said the theft rate was "an unfortunate byproduct of the desirability of the vehicle." The 2007 model comes equipped an improved anti-theft ignition immobilizer, which prevents the vehicle from being started without the proper key.

 

The Lancer Evolution, a high-performance version with more than twice the horsepower of a standard Lancer sedan, was likely targeted because thieves coveted its rear spoilers and special tires and wheels, Hazelbaker said.

 

Theft losses for pickups, meanwhile, have increased sharply since 1999, the institute found, based on high claims for the Dodge Ram and the Ford F-250 and F-350 trucks.

 

Hazelbaker said the Ram has an available option of 20-inch wheels capable of fitting previous versions of the pickup, potentially making it more desirable to thieves.

 

The study found that the Dodge Stratus and its twins, the Chrysler Sebring and Plymouth Breeze, had high theft losses in Washington,D.C., while losses of the 2003 Nissan Maxima and Lexus RX 330 were high around New York City. The group attributed the losses of the Maxima and RX 330 to their expensive Xenon headlights.

On the Net:

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: http://www.iihs.org