Cadillac Capsule Collection Makes Luxury Automotive Fashion Statement

© General Motors

PEKIN, Ill. – The auto industry is transitioning into an era where brands' cultural relevance matters to consumers. With that in mind, every unfamiliar avenue Cadillac speeds down needs to be a rational extension of their luxury image, and creating a line of fashionable menswear was one of the conquerable roads they discovered.

The Cadillac Capsule Collection makes a luxury automotive fashion statement exemplified by 15 fall and winter looks designed for men by rising designers, and styled by famed street style icon Nick Wooster. The collection is the perfect conduit for Cadillac to showcase its luxury design principles in the world of designer men's clothing.

In order for the Cadillac Capsule Collection to make a luxury automotive fashion statement, Cadillac teamed up with some of the fashion industry’s most creative designers from prominent brands such as Cadet, Carlos Campos, David Hart, Ernest Alexander, Gents, J. Lindeberg, Mark McNairy New Amsterdam, PLAC, and Timo Weiland.

Many of the designers have churned out high fashion pieces for the annual New York Men’s Day (NYMD) that showcases pieces from elite designers to celebrate the impact of menswear in American fashion. Cadillac has served as a key sponsor of NYMD since its commencement as a high-end fashion show.

There’s an unfamiliar intrigue that draws excitement over the Cadillac Capsule Collection when you realize the designs fall perfectly in line with Cadillac's luxury vehicle lineup. You can find the Cadillac Capsule Collection exclusively at Gilt.com/CadillacCapsule beginning September 9, 2015. Clothing prices range from $59-2,000, and David Hart, Cadet and Ernest Alexander will have pieces only unobtainable at other retailers. 

Considering how awestruck we are by the Cadillac cars for sale at our Bartonville area Cadillac dealer, we anticipate the Cadillac Capsule Collection will imitate the same modern luxury found in the automaker's vehicles. 

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

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Ford F-650 and F-750 Production Moves to Ohio from Mexico

PEKIN, Illi. – There’s nothing like quality American manufacturing. Ford Motor Co. understands that, which is probably why Ford F-650 and F-750 production moved to Ohio from Mexico. More importantly the move to Ohio established 1,000 new jobs at Ohio Assembly Plant located in Avon Lake, Ohio.

The F-650 and F-750 stand obstinate as the top-selling medium-duty trucks in America for 30 years, and on August 12, 2015, they rolled off an American assembly line for the first time. Along with 1,000 hourly UAW jobs, Ohio Assembly Plant also received a $168 million investment that will provide new body shop equipment and other tooling needed to manufacture the trucks.

Despite their monstrous size, Ford offers the F-650 and F-750 in an array of body styles, including a Regular Cab, SuperCab, and Crew Cab, as well as straight-frame, dock-height, and a tractor model intended for heavy towing. Additionally, the medium-duty trucks storm the road with a Ford-designed-and-built diesel engine and transmission combination – a feat no other truck manufacturer has taken on.

The F-650 and F-750 are the only medium-duty trucks made available with a gasoline-powered engine. Also available is a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel engine option, as well as a 6.8-liter V10 option that boasts 320 horsepower and an impressive 460 pounds per feet of torque.  

It’s great news for America that Ford F-650 and F-750 production moved to Ohio from Mexico – It could be a sign of the times that Ford feels the urge to bring some major manufacturing back to its homeland. Bringing manufacturing back home to create 1,000 jobs shows how much Ford cares about the American people. We like to reflect that caring attitude, which is why we get you the best deal we can on the certified pre-owned cars and trucks at our Bartonville area used car dealer!

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

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Ford Driving Dreams Tour Extended to Panama

PEKIN, Illi.– Ford has held a community-driven presence in America and other nations for over a century, but for the first time Ford and Ford Motor Company Fund have extended the Ford Driving Dreams Tour beyond the borders of the United States.

Ford Fund created the Ford Driving Dreams Tour in 2012 to help Latino youth in graduate on time and pursue higher education. Since then the program has aided over 30,000 students in Chicago, Indiana, Florida and Texas, and granted over $1,500,000 in scholarships, college preparation, tutoring, parental involvement and motivational activities.

Recently, the Ford Driving Dreams Tour extended to Panama, its debut international destination, where Ford and Ford Fund assisted over 300 teen students in learning new skills. In partnership with United Way Panama and the Ministry of Education Panama, Ford Driving Dreams provided the teens with over $50,000 in grants, scholarships and motivational activities intended to encourage them to stay in school.

Ford Driving Dreams narrowed its philanthropic scope to cover Panamanian students between 13 and 15 years old because this age group is the most likely to drop out of school as a result of poor social and economic conditions that prevent adequate provisions of school supplies, meals and transportation.

The over 300 students selected to receive aid from Ford Driving Dreams came from 19 public schools located in some of the most unstable and impoverished communities in and around Panama City, Panama. The students are in good academic standing despite their impoverished environments, and Ford wanted to help unleash their potential to prevent them from succumbing to stifling social and economic pressures.

According to Ford, the Ford Driving Dreams program gave the students a full day of motivational and goal-setting activities led by professional subject-matter experts, as well as testimonies from motivational speakers like former Boxing World Champion Chemito Moreno and athlete César Barría– the first disabled Latin- and Central-American to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar. 

Ford Driving Dreams also promoted the “What Drives Your Dreams?” essay contest that emphasizes the value of education and chasing your dreams while also contributing to the community.  It will provide $10,500 in scholarships, administered by United Way Panama, to help students and their families finance the costs of school supplies, books, transportation and meals that lead to students dropping out.

It’s very heartwarming to see the Ford Driving Dreams Tour extended to Panama as an addition to its Operation Better World, Ford’s global philanthropic effort, and its pre-existing environmental efforts in Panama. Overall, Ford has now invested around $900,000 in Central America since it first awarded environmental grants in 2001.

While we love the quality design, technology and performance you can find in New Ford Cars or New Ford Trucks, it’s Ford’s passion for maintaining a global community presence that really drives our Bartonville area Ford dealer where we also have a passion for community involvement!

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

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Ford Will Make Headlights that Track Objects at Night

PEKIN, Illi.­– Nighttime drives can be relaxing for passengers, but if you’re the one manning the vehicle you know how stressful it can be when your headlights make only a short span of road in front of you visible. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were technology to help you notice potential hazards so you can safely navigate the night?

You’re in luck, because with new technology called Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System and Spot Lighting, Ford will make headlights that track obstacles at night. The new technology will help you become a safer and more relaxed driver when the sun goes down, and builds on Fords Adaptive Front Lighting System and Traffic Sign Recognition that are already implemented into its vehicles.

The Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System is able to widen the light beam at intersections and roundabouts to highlight objects outside of your vehicle’s path that you normally wouldn’t notice at night.

GPS information enables the system to understand when bends or other alterations in a route occur so your headlights can adjust to illuminate them. However, you know how unreliable GPS can be at times, which is why Ford installed a forward-facing video camera in the rear-view mirror base that understands lane markings and can foretell a road’s shape and remembers that information for next time.

Spot Lighting technology brings your attention to objects that are in your vehicle’s path or just outside it using an infrared camera in the vehicle’s grille that can detect and trace eight people or large animals up to 360 feet away.

The system can spotlight two hazards by displaying a spot and a stripe on the road illuminated by two special LED lamps alongside the fog lights. The spotlighted objects are signified with a red or yellow frame on the screen inside the vehicle, depending on how close they are to you.

With the amount of accidents that occur at night due to a driver’s inability to notice objects, it’s great to know that Ford will make headlights that track obstacles at night in order to improve your level of safety when you drive at night. For now this technology is still being developed and tested in Europe, but Ford plans to implement it into its vehicles in the near future.

Even without this headlight technology, the New Ford Cars and New Ford Trucks at our Dealership are incredible safe. Suffice it to say, if you’re looking for a safe vehicle, you want to look in Ford’s direction. For now this technology is still being developed and tested in Europe, but Ford plans to implement it into its vehicles once the systems are road-ready. Even without this headlight technology, the Ford Cars and New Ford Trucks at our Bartonville area Ford dealer are incredible safe.

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

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All-New 2016 GMC Sierra Revealed

© General Motors

PEKIN, Mich.– If you’re extremely particular about the type of pickup you drive, the moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived now that the all-new 2016 GMC Sierra was revealed.

The Sierra is GMC’s best-selling truck and GMC pulled back the curtain on the 2016 model just as the current model came out of its best June sales since 2006, along with 12 straight months of nonstop sales improvements.

Although the Sierra is a top performer in its segment, the majority of consumers are first drawn to its impressive design. That’s why the all-new GMC Sierra was revealed as having a number of new design elements like:

• “C-shaped” LED signature daytime running lights and LED headlights
• “C-shaped” LED taillights
• New front fascia and grilles for each trim level
• New LED fog lamps
• New bumpers

So far details on the 2016 Sierra are scarce, but GMC will disclose more information between now and when the best-selling pickup will be available near the end of 2015. Looking through some of the photos GMC released, we can at least gather you’ll be able to use Apple CarPlay– Apple’s operating system used to integrate iPhones with vehicles– through the new Sierra’s IntelliLink infotainment system, which is a definite plus.

As somewhat of a little brother to GM’s bigger brands like Chevrolet, it’s not often we hear big news like this from GMC. We can’t wait to add the 2016 GMC Sierra to our inventory of New GMC Trucks at our Bartonville area GMC dealership!

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

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2015 Ford F-150 and F-Series Super Duty Win AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

PEKIN, Illi.– You may have heard that U.S. military members prefer Ford trucks over any other brand, but they aren’t the only consumers that feel satisfied with Ford’s pickups.

AutoPacific, an automotive research and consulting group, says Ford trucks provide the most contentment to consumers who purchase pickups. That the 2015 Ford F-150 and F-Series Super Duty won AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards is evidence of Ford’s popularity among those consumers.

“The Vehicle Satisfaction Awards look at the big picture, including owners’ experiences with overall quality and safety, but it goes deeper than that,” said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “We also take into account the heart of the ownership experience to determine those vehicles that are extremely satisfying to their owners.”

To determine the F-150 and F-Series Super Duty as winners, AutoPacific determined pickup-owners’ satisfaction with 50 different vehicle aspects, including fuel economy, performance, interior comfort and styling.

A wide range of vehicle attributes helped the F-150 earn AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award for light-duty pickups, reeling in the second-highest owner score to date as well as the highest truck rating ever. But Ford’s famous pickup also has the backing of recognition for best-in-class towing, payload and EPA-estimated gasoline fuel economy, and the government’s five-star crash test rating for all of its cab options.

The F-Series Super Duty acquired AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award for heavy-duty pickups, but, like the F-150, has its own history of previous accolades. Ford’s best-in-class with diesel horsepower and standard torque heavy-duty pickup also recently won the 2015 Best Retained Value Heavy Duty Truck from Edmunds.com for the F-350.

You don’t necessarily need to see the 2015 Ford F-150 and F-Series Super Duty win AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards to believe they’re the best pickups around, but those awards certainly make a statement! We still think you should come test drive one of the New Ford Trucks or New Ford Cars at our Bartonville Area Ford Dealer to get a full understanding of why Ford vehicles earn the awards they do, so come on in!

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

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2015 Mustang Could Become Top-Seller Against Competition

PEKIN, Illi.– It has been six years since the Ford Mustang last surpassed the Chevrolet Camaro in sales, but that could easily change with the 2015 model year.

The 2015 Mustang could become the top-seller against competition like the Camaro and the Dodge Challenger now that Mustang sales are up 55 percent from last year.

To put it into perspective, Ford sold 56,571 Mustangs into May 2015, compared to Camaro sales of 33,938 and Challenger sales of 30,166, according to Autodata Corp. You don’t have to think hard to figure out why the Mustang is outselling its competitors this year considering the 50th-anniversary redesigned pony car comes with a new 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that pumps out 310 horsepower and still gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway.

Style and performance are obvious factors in why the 2015 Mustang could become the top-seller against competition, but who’s buying these muscle cars? Surprisingly, millennials account for 35 percent of Mustang sales now, and many of them hail from Southern California where Mustang sales shot up 117 percent.

Based on the history of Mustang sales this year, Ford believes sales data for June will show another 40 percent increase in sales, placing Ford’s prized vehicle the closest it has been in six years to achieving a best-seller status for its segment.

Some skeptics with a wait-and-see attitude are quick to point out that the 2016 Camaro and its convertible version, due in spring 2016, could pose some difficulties for Mustang sales. But if you ask us, we’re confident that the Mustang will achieve a best-seller status and keep it!

If you see the New Ford Cars and New Ford Trucks at our Bartonville Area Ford Dealership, you’ll understand the quality manufacturing that goes into a Mustang, and that’s what it takes for a performance vehicle to be the best!

At Velde Automotive Group, we are committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit either of our dealerships, Velde Ford  at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or Velde Cadillac Buick GMC is located at 2220 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our websites: VeldeGM.com and VeldeFordPekin.com

Follow us on: Velde GM Facebook, Velde Ford Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram