Cadillac has long been a technology innovator, and its latest generation of cars – including the ATS, CT6, Escalade, and XT5 – continue the tradition of giving Cadillac buyers early access to cutting-edge technology. For example, the new 2018 CT6 includes the first operational, Level 2 hands-free driving system available in the U.S. Let’s look at some other fantastic inventions that Cadillac has brought to market:

1. Standardized Parts (1908) We all take for granted the fact that cars sharing the same make and model year can exchange parts, making repairs and maintenance a straightforward process. That’s thanks to Cadillac in 1908. Confident of its ability to consistently produce a large number of precision-engineered parts, Cadillac entered a parts compatibility test sponsored by the Royal Automobile Club, the only U.S. company brave enough to do so. Five identical 1-cylinder Cadillacs were shipped to England, completely disassembled, and parts from each car were thrown into piles. The challenge was to reassemble 5 Cadillacs from these parts, irrespective of the individual car the part came from.

All five Cadillacs came together flawlessly and worked perfectly, thus winning the competition, scoring Cadillac the Dewar Trophy, and earning the automaker the right to call itself “Standard of the World.”

2. The Electric Starter (1911) In the early days of motoring, drivers had to hand-crank their cars to get the engine started, which was extremely dangerous. After a friend of Cadillac’s Henry Leland was killed while attempting to hand-crank a car, Leland pledged to do things a better way, and the ultimate result was the industry’s first electric starter, which debuted in the 1912 Cadillac model line.

Doing away with the hand crank had the benefit of making car ownership more accessible for people with disabilities and those who simply hated the hassle of hand-cranking. This innovation (again) earned Cadillac the Dewar Trophy for automotive engineering excellence.

3. The SynchroMesh Gearbox (1928) Next to hand-cranking, the biggest hassle likely to mar an early automobilist’s journey pertained to gear-shifting. Even after many hours of practice, the simple act of shifting from one gear to the next was likely to cause gear grinding, power loss, and embarrassment. GM’s patented SynchroMesh system solved this problem. It first appeared in Cadillacs of the 1928 model year and quickly became ubiquitous across GM’s vehicle line.

4. Shatterproof Safety Glass (1928) Early automobile windshields and windows used the same kind of ordinary plate glass used in structures. When the glass broke, sharp fragments went everywhere, often resulting in serious injury to the car’s occupants. “Security Plate Glass” was Cadillac’s name for the type of shatter-proof glass introduced on all new model Cadillacs and LaSalles for the 1928 model year. This key safety feature quickly made its way across the entire GM product line.

5. Selectable Suspension Ride (1933) Being able to adjust suspension parameters with the touch of a button is a common feature in many new cars today. What’s amazing is that Cadillac had this technology in place as early as 1933. Cadillac’s system provided for 5 different suspension settings that could be changed by simply moving a small lever positioned to the left of the steering column. Today Cadillac’s high-tech adaptive suspension system is called MagneRide: it uses electricity and magnetism to provide a completely optimized ride for every road condition.

6. Power Steering (1954) While Chrysler was the first U.S. automaker to offer power steering as an option, GM was the first to include it as a standard feature in its 1954 line of Cadillacs. GM’s original power steering system used hydraulic pressure to assist in steering the wheels. Today, Cadillac’s system, branded Magnasteer, uses a magnetic system to provide just the right amount of assist for each speed range.

7. Radar-based Forward Collision Detection (1959) Today’s generation of cars sold in the U.S. routinely provide advanced collision detection and prevention technology using radar to forewarn the driver that objects lie ahead or in blind spot zones, and, if necessary, brake the car. Many will be surprised to learn that Cadillac demonstrated a proprietary radar-based forward collision warning system in its 1959 Cyclone XP-74 Concept Car, achieved through two proximity-sensing radar units installed in nose cones mounted to the front of the vehicle.

8. Hands-free Self-Driving Technology (2017) In 2017, Cadillac became the first auto-maker to provide a genuine Level 2 hands-free driving system called Super Cruise. It’s an optional feature available to buyers of Cadillac’s 2018 CT6. Super Cruise uses 3D mapping technology developed by GeoDigital, a GM subsidiary, along with a unique driver-watching “attention” system ensuring that the human driver remains alert and attentive to what’s happening on the road ahead. Several Super Cruise-equipped Cadillac CT6 recently completed coast-to-coast trips without incident. Count on Cadillac to be aggressive advancing the self-driving art in the years to come.

If you’d like to see for yourself how far Cadillac is pushing the innovation envelope, please visit us at Sarant Cadillac’s dealership in Farmingdale. We’d love to meet you and provide you a test drive in one of Cadillac’s great new cars. Call us at 877-212-1682 or use our website’s online contact form.

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Cadillac has been the preferred auto brand of celebrated people for more than a century. And its latest models, including the ATS, the CT6, and the Escalade, are intended to keep it that way. While a complete list of notable Cadillac owners would stretch for many pages, this article will focus on 10 of the greats, with attention paid to the special cars belonging to these very special people.

Al Capone’s Armored Model 341 of 1931 When famed Chicago gangster and Public Enemy #1 Al Capone was in the market for a fine personal luxury car, he chose a 1928 Cadillac Model 341 Town Sedan – a four-door, five-passenger beauty that was among the most luxurious cars available at the time. But given the risky nature of his work, Al insisted that several important modifications be made to the car by a local mechanic, including the installation of 1-inch thick bulletproof glass, steel-armored doors, a police siren, radio, and a “drop down” rear window for spraying lead at any pursuers. Al’s armored Cadillac also received a hopped up engine and a tasteful custom black/green custom paint scheme (to disguise it as an official Chicago police vehicle of the era). In 2012, Al’s famous car – lovingly restored – sold at auction for $341,000.

Liberace’s 24 Karat Gold 1931 Coupe In the mid-20th Century Liberace was as famous an entertainer as Beyoncé is today. He loved flash, glitter, gold, and Cadillacs, and his 1931 355 Drop Head Coup, custom-adorned with 24 Karat Gold foil, recently came to auction. Unfortunately, bidding on this stunning failed to meet its $132,000 reserve price, which means this ultra-flashy car will probably show up on the auction block again sometime soon.

Shirley Temple’s 1938 Series 90 V16 Formal Sedan Child actress Shirley Temple was at the very peak of her movie career when she acquired a black 1938 Series 90 V16 Formal Sedan to serve as transportation to and from the set. While there’s no evidence she ever drove the big 7-passenger car (she was only 10 in 1938), she was photographed stepping into it during a much-publicized 1938 to visit the White House, and likely used it regularly during her final years of Hollywood stardom. The Series 90 of 1938 represented one of the last appearances of Cadillac’s famed 16-cylinder engine. The highly collectible car sold for a modest $44,000 at auction in 2012.

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1942 Series 75 Armored Staff Car Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the U.S., was a huge Cadillac fan who owned many in his lifetime, and famously travelled to his inauguration in a 1953 Eldorado. But Ike’s most notable Cadillac was the armored 1942 Series 75 Sedan issued to him as a staff car by the War Department while he was serving as Supreme Allied Commander. Equipped with blackout lights, anti-reflective olive drab paint, and a red license plate adorned with five silver stars, this Cadillac faithfully ferried the General to fighting fronts in North Africa, France, and elsewhere in the European theater from 1942 to 1944. In the mid-1950s, the car, declared war surplus, was restored by some of Ike’s friend and presented to him as a birthday present. Today it resides in the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas, with 200,000 miles of travel under its belt.

Marilyn Monroe’s 1954 Eldorado Convertible Marilyn Monroe was an authentic American original, as was the 1954 Cadillac Eldorado she was given by radio host Jack Benny as a token of appreciation for appearing on his program. Only about 2,150 Eldorados were produced that year, priced at $7,000 (about $64,000 in today’s money) – far more than the struggling actress could afford on her own. One can only imagine the impression that Monroe made while piloting this rare beauty down Sunset Boulevard. While several few photos of Marilyn with her Eldorado have surfaced on the Web, no one appears to know what happened to the car, marking it as one of the great Lost Cadillacs of all time.

Fats Domino’s 1959 Eldorado Biarritz Fats Domino (1928 -2017) was a beloved figure in Rock & Roll, and his prized, hot pink-colored 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was Fats’ most beloved possession. He thought so much of this car that he even had a couch made from the back of another 1959 Cadillac, painted pink, that became the centerpiece of his New Orleans home (now that’s Feng shui!). Fats died in late 2017 so it’s not known what will become of his car. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and/or the Smithsonian would both serve as worthy final destinations.

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Sarant Cadillac is the #1 in the Northeast region-and here’s real-world evidence that this claim is fully justified:

1. A Half-Century of Service on Long Island. This Farmingdale dealership has been a Long Island landmark since 1968. Try to name another Long Island Cadillac dealer who’s been selling great, American-made luxury cars to happy customers for a half century. For more on our deep roots in Long Island, check out Sarant Cadillac and Its Legendary History on Long Island, available on this blog.
2. Public Opinion. Spend a minute reading the glowing reviews posted by satisfied customers on our Reviews Page and you’ll start to notice a pattern: our past and present customers simply love us. This didn’t happen by accident; our philosophy, our mantra, and our reason for getting up in the morning isn’t to sell cars, but to build happy relationships that last for generations. Put another way, when you buy a Cadillac from Sarant Cadillac, you join our family.
3. Our deep and wide selection. Our car lot in Farmingdale is big – big enough to stock and display all of our inventory on it, so that making your selection from among our roughly 450-car selection of new and pre-owned Cadillacs is as easy as pie. Our large lot also lets us offer free unlimited parking to our customers, which makes shopping at our dealership convenient and fun.
4. Our all-Cadillac loaner fleet. We maintain a high-quality, all-Cadillac fleet of loaner vehicles that customers have access to while their Cadillac is being serviced at Sarant Cadillac. These luxurious loaner vehicles are kept in tip-top condition, so you’ll always ride in style, even while your own wheels are being worked on by our skilled mechanics.
5. Our diverse and talented staff. Our staff of sales and service people comes from many backgrounds and age groups, we’re all united in believing that Cadillacs are the best luxury cars out there, and we’re fully dedicated to making the dream of Cadillac ownership a reality for everyone seeking to step up to America’s finest car.
6. Best financing options. Sure, Cadillac is an exclusive brand – the best of the best – but that doesn’t mean that Cadillac ownership should be restricted to the ultra-wealthy. At Sarant Cadillac, we’ll bend over backwards to meet and beat any financing offers you get from banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions. Financing your Cadillac with us is smart and easy – just fill out our pre-qualification form to get started.
7. Amenities! We really want you to be happy when you visit Sarant Cadillac, so we always offer free beverages and Wi-Fi to anybody who walks in and wants to talk Cadillac with us. We also think that you’re going to dig the way that Etta Sarant’s exotic art collection charms our interior.

We really want to get the word out about why, if you’re in the market for a Cadillac, you owe yourself a trip to Sarant Cadillac, the #1 Cadillac dealer in the Northeast region, or, as we like to say, the Cadillac of Cadillac dealers. So give us a call at 877-212-1882 or use our website’s online contact form.

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Soon after Al Capone was promoted to head up “The Chicago Outfit” crime syndicate in 1925, rival gangs organized several assassination attempts from which Al only narrowly escaped. The most spectacular of these attacks – a ten-car drive-by ambush on Al’s favorite hangout in Cicero, Illinois- convinced Al that he needed better protection against the powerful automatic weapons favored by his rivals.

Rolling Fortresses

Al’s first step was to upgrade his transportation security, in the form of two completely unique, armored Cadillacs. The first was a 1928 Cadillac Model 341 Town Sedan, a stylish, four-door, five-passenger car popular with well-heeled Chicagoans. With the help of a local mechanic, Al made modifications that transformed the car into a rolling fortress. These included:

1. 1-inch thick bulletproof glass windows on front, rear, and both sides. The side windows could be cranked up so that a 2-inch air gap appeared at the base of the window, providing enough room for one of Al’s gunmen to laterally sweep a Thompson submachine gun. The rear window opened as well, allowing Al’s gunmen to strafe any pursuing vehicles. 
2. Steel plate armor in all side doors.
3. A standard police siren mounted under the hood, flashing police lights mounted behind the grille, and a regulation police radio hidden in the glove compartment.
4. Modifications to the car’s V8 engine to boost the effective speed of the 3 1/2 ton car to 110 MPH.

The 341 also got a custom paint job that made it indistinguishable from Chicago police cars of the era, many of which were Cadillacs. 

Al was happy with the 341, but wanted to add another Cadillac to his armored fleet. So in 1930 he purchased a top-of-the-line Series 452 Imperial Sedan featuring Cadillac’s powerful 452 cubic inch V-16 engine. Like the 341, the Imperial’s windows were bulletproofed, with small circular cutouts to allow gunfire from within; its side doors included ¼-inch steel armor plate. Other custom accessories were a police radio, smoke screen system, and a slot cut into the floor so that oil or tire-puncturing tacks could be dropped to thwart pursuers.

Al’s custom modifications to the Imperial Sedan reportedly cost $30,000. Unfortunately for Al, he was sent to prison before putting many miles on the car.

What happened to Al Capone’s Cadillacs?

When Al began serving an 11-year federal sentence for tax evasion in 1931, the 341 was left with a Chicago auto dealer, after which it was bought by Harry E. LaBreque, a promoter who shipped it to Europe to serve as an attraction at a London amusement park. Over the next several decades, the car repeatedly changed hands before eventually returning to the U.S.A. in time to promote the 1975 opening of the movie Capone in Chicago. In 2013, the 341 was sold at auction for $341,000, making it one of the priciest, most historically significant classic Cadillacs out there.

Al’s armored Imperial Sedan also survives today in a private collection. Impounded from Al’s Miami vacation home by the FBI, the Imperial Sedan remained in U.S. custody for several years. After several private sales, Al’s armored Imperial Sedan sold at auction for the lofty price of $309,000 in 2009.

We can’t offer you an armored Cadillac, but we can supply the very best cars that Cadillac offers today, including the ATS, CT6 (whose self-driving capabilities are the talk of the automotive press), and Escalade. Give Sarant Cadillac a call at 877-212-1682 or use this website’s online contact form.

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Like Air Force One, the official Presidential limousine is a sophisticated, state-of-the-art transportation machine whose sole purpose is to allow the President to be an effective executive while in motion from place to place. No single U.S. auto maker has ever enjoyed a monopoly on supplying the Presidential limousine. In the past, special, souped-up, armored Lincolns, Chryslers, and Cadillacs have all served as the U.S. President’s limo (officially termed the State Car”). But right now, Cadillac is on a roll, and has provided Presidential Cadillacs to a long line of recent presidents, including Presidents Reagan, Bush (both 41 and 43), Clinton, Obama, and now Trump. Here are some fun facts about this unique machine, known by a number of nicknames, including “The Beast,” “Limousine One,” and (lately), “Cadillac One:” 1. It takes years to make a “beast.” The current Presidential limousine, which tested in late 2016 and is now employed by the current administration, is a Cadillac-branded car that took about four years for GM to design and build. While the specifications within the RFP that won GM the bid are state secrets, it’s speculated that the reason it takes years to build “the beast” is that its many protective features – especially its special proprietary armor — must be extensively tested before they’re fitted to the car.

2. It’s a Cadillac, but it’s also not a Cadillac. While the headlights, taillights, and certain grille elements of the current Presidential limousine are identical to those used by stock Cadillac vehicles, just about everything else is proprietary, secret, and custom-built by GM. Still, it’s quite likely that many of the high-end luxury features available in today’s Cadillac models, for example hand-cut-and-sewn leather seats, individualized climate control, a state-of-art edutainment system, and other interior finery is also present in “Cadillac One.”

3. Don’t look for these on the used-car market. After a Presidential car has been retired, it’s completely destroyed by the Secret Service. Doing so prevents the bad guys from finding out how to defeat its safety and communications equipment, and also has the side benefit of letting the Secret Service test out how well its armor fares when subjected to real-life bullets, bombs, and other violent assaults. But one notable Presidential limo – Bill Clinton’s 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham – managed to escape this ignominious fate, and now resides in the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. Although visitors are allowed to gawk at the car’s sleek exterior, its interior remains locked and inaccessible to the public. 4. If you see it in a movie, it’s not the real thing. Hollywood has made many thrillers involving fictional U.S. Presidents and his/her official car is often a featured actor. But because the Secret Service won’t reveal any details, filmmakers have had to use creativity and imagination replicating the Presidential limo. Particularly convincing facsimiles were recently featured in the 2013 thriller White House Down, and Road and Track actually went so far as to go for a test drive in this faux prez-mobile. Although the resultant film wasn’t a box office smash, the faux Cadillac is a stylish, credible looking fake that wouldn’t look out of place in an official motorcade.

5. No, you can’t buy one. A San Francisco based firm called Limousine World is selling an “Obama Style Presidential Armored Limousine” wrapped in “High-Powered Rifle Protection Armoring T6” that looks a whole lot like President Obama’s State Car, but it’s not the real deal. Sorry, but the only way to properly experience the actual “beast” is to get properly elected.

While Sarant can’t get you elected President, the same luxury features, quality, and superior performance exhibited in “Cadillac One” can be yours by selecting one of the fine Cadillacs on our Farmingdale lot. Call us at 877-212-1682 or use our website’s online contact form.

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Cadillac’s long-standing leadership in bringing the best, most up-to-date technology to buyers continues unabated in 2018. Let’s look at some of the coolest tech features available in Cadillac’s 2018 line.

Hands-Free Highway Driving Cadillac’s Super Cruise is a major breakthrough in self-driving technology that Cadillac announced in April of 2017 and made available as an option in its top-of-line 2018 CT6, available now at Sarant Cadillac. While Super Cruise is not a fully-autonomous self-driving system, it allows drivers to remove their hands from the wheel (but not their eyes from the road), when Super-Cruise determines it’s travelling on a fully geo-mapped stretch of limited access roadway. Currently, about 160,000 miles of the U.S. road system have been geo-mapped by GM subsidiary GeoDigital, making them Super Cruise-ready.

Super Cruise has been getting rave reviews from those who’ve tested it, and the first coast-to-coast hands-free road trips were accomplished in late 2017. If you’re interested in Cadillac’s Super Cruise, you can either elect for the CT6 Platinum trim level or add the Super Cruise Package to a non-Platinum 2018 CT6. This package includes Super Cruise, Night Vision, Forward/Reverse Automatic Braking, 20-inch all-season tires, active rear steering and Magnetic Ride Control.

Cadillac Improves CUE Cadillac’s CUE (Cadillac User Experience) software gives drivers full and convenient control of a wide range of important vehicle functions, including navigation, climate, and entertainment options. CUE got a major upgrade in 2017 that made its way into all Cadillac models built after March 2017. Notable features in the upgrade include an improved touchscreen, faster and higher-quality graphics, the ability to “pinch to zoom” familiar to mobile phone users, and the ability to store preferences in the cloud. All of these improvements increase the usability and functionality of CUE, making it easier than ever to automate a myriad of car functions, from setting one’s favorite radio station to controlling the temperature.

Car as Ecommerce Platform

According to Cadillac, the average American spends about 46 minutes on the road each day, providing an opportunity to use some of those minutes to execute some time-saving purchase decisions. So in late 2017 GM rolled out Marketplace, a digital service that allows drivers to make hotel/motel reservations, order food and fuel, and locate other merchants along their routes. 12 brands are part of Marketplace’s launch, including Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Priceline.com, IHOP, and TGI Fridays. Marketplace leverages new-model (2017 and 2018) Cadillacs’ embedded 4G LTE connectivity (but does not require purchasing a data plan).

XT4: A CUV for 2019 (available in 2018)

It’s no big secret that cross-over SUVs (CUVs) have become America’s fastest-selling automobile type, and that Cadillac is planning to introduce a new CUV in the next year or so called the XT4. The exact form that the XT4 will take hasn’t been revealed yet, but “auto spies” have been leaking news about the car, and speculation is that the car will debut at the 2018 NY Auto Show in March. Word is that the XT4 will include a full suite of state-of-art technology features, including Super-Cruise, plus a hybrid option. Style-wise, the XT4 will likely represent a major departure for Cadillac: according to Johan de Nysschen, the Executive Vice President of General Motors and President of Cadillac Division, the XT4’s look will be “more curvaceous and sculpted” than current-line models, taking design cues from Cadillac’s Escala concept car.

If you’re looking for a luxury car with the newest, most up-to-date technology available today, check out the latest Cadillac models at Sarant Cadillac. We’d love to put you in the driver’s seat of one of these high-tech marvels, so call us at 877-212-1682 or use our website’s online contact form.

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Cadillac’s Escalade SUV is a popular, powerful, luxurious car that’s become iconic in American culture. Here are some facts that even hardcore Escalade fans might not be aware of:

1. The Actual Meaning of “Escalade.” “Escalade,” according to Dictionary.com, means “a scaling or mounting by means of ladders, especially in an assault upon a fortified place.” Escalade, when launched in 1999, was intended as a direct assault on the market segment then commanded by the Lincoln Navigator.

2. Escalade Police Cars. Several enterprising local U.S. police forces, including the campus PD of Northern Arizona University and the Sheriff of Sandy Springs, Georgia, are now using Escalades as official police vehicles. These Escalades are seized vehicles that are given a chance to again travel a righteous path with some new paint and official decals.

3. Hurricane Hero Escalades. Escalades aren’t ordinarily thought of as monster truck platforms, but one of the most memorable videos to emerge in the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Harvey depicted an Escalade – suspension-lifted and equipped with gigantic tires – hauling a military vehicle out of deep floodwater. This kind of portrayal reveals the gumption you’ll find in Cadillac’s best-selling model.

4. Racing Escalades? The Escalade is a premier luxury SUV, not a car built for the track, but it’s true that an engine available for its 2006-2014 Escalades -a 6.2 Liter V8 Vortec- is the very same engine which, with a few modifications, forms the backbone of Cadillac’s very successful racing team.

5. Hey Mr. Escalade Man. Folksinger, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and Nobel Prize Winner Bob Dylan is no stranger to controversy, and Bob generated plenty of it after appearing in a 2007 TV spot for Escalade, asking “what’s life without the occasional detour?”

6. Rapper’s Delight. Cadillac has a long and glorious history of having its cars mentioned in pop songs, and Escalade revived and amplified this tradition shortly after its 1999 launch. With an unprecedented 178 mentions in hip-hop recordings, the Escalade has inspired more explosive urban sound poetry than any car in history.

7. Virtual Escalades. The Escalade’s cultural cache has spilled over into video games, specifically the best-selling Grand Theft Auto series, where it plays a starring role. Because the game developers didn’t secure a license to feature Escalade, they were forced to create a phony brand (“The Albany Cavalcade”) for the game. But that hasn’t stopped an army of game modifiers from offering GTA’s vast user base the chance to get behind the wheel of a “genuine” Escalade by laying a few real dollars down.

8. The Texas-New York Connection. Texans and New Yorkers may not think they have much in common, but they actually do. According to Popular Mechanics, the Cadillac Escalade EXT dominates luxury car sales in both states.

9. Most Popular Escalade color. Although not a scientific survey, an online poll of 804 members of CadillacForums.com revealed that the most popular Escalade color is White Diamond (34.83%), followed closely by Black (33.83%), Silver (9.08%), and Blue (7.21%).

10. Escalade Golf Carts. LSV Golf Carts, a California-based provider of small electric vehicles, produces a number of custom carts featuring legendary car brands, so naturally it fields a Cadillac Escalade model. While only about half the length, and less than 1/10th the weight of an actual Escalade, these carts are designed to make the occupant “the envy of everyone on the golf course.”

If you’d like to learn more about all the great things owning an Escalade can do for your life, please come on by to Sarant Cadillac’s Farmingdale dealership, where we’ve got a great selection of these terrific luxurious cars. Call us at 877-212-1682 or use our website’s online contact form.

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Cars are sturdier and safer than ever, but U.S. road fatality rates have been climbing over the past several years. In 2016, 42,000 Americans died on the roads, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is a 6 percent increase over 2014 and a 14 percent increase over 2014. That’s the biggest two-year increase since 1964.

Safety authorities attribute this troubling rise to reckless driver behavior, specifically speeding, the use of alcohol, failure to buckle up, and the increased use of smartphones and mobile apps while driving. Obviously, you need to avoid these behaviors in your own driving. But you’ll also need to take additional steps to keep you and your loved ones safe on the road. Here are 7 safety tips to do so:

1. Maintain enough space around you. 40 percent of car crashes involve rear-end collisions, according to the NY DMV. To avoid following the car too closely ahead of you, adhere to the “three-second rule.” This safety tip holds that you should give the vehicle ahead of you at least three seconds of headway, irrespective of the speed at which you’re traveling. In poor road conditions, increase it to four or more seconds of headway. Modern cars, including many new Cadillac vehicles, make keeping a space cushion around your car much easier with features, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Following Distance Indicator, and Lane Keep Assist/Departure Warning. Cadillac’s new 2018 CT6 goes even further; on restricted access highways, it will automatically maintain a safe space buffer around your car using its semi-autonomous Super Cruise hands-free driving system.
2. Put your mobile device away. 10 percent of fatal car crashes and 15 percent of crashes involving an injury are attributable to one or more drivers being distracted prior to an accident. Smartphone usage, via voice or text, appears to be the big culprit here-7 percent of drivers use them while driving, according to the National Safety Council. While keeping one’s cell phone on and accessible while driving is often justified because one must “be available in an emergency,” even a cursory glance at the device will take your eyes from the road, and, at 65 MPH, this glance translates into many dozen of yards of travel. Take this safety tip from NASCAR expert driver Brad Keselowski: “Keep distractions to a minimum when driving. And don’t even think about texting or glancing at smartphone apps.”
3. Keep your eyes moving. Scanning is a defensive safe driving technique that involves periodically cycling your visual focus from the road ahead to one’s rear view/side mirrors, dashboard, and then back to the road ahead. Its purpose is to continually build awareness of the total traffic scene to allow drivers to better anticipate unexpected events in order to evade them. Cadillac’s Rear Camera Mirror – available in the CT6 and XT5 crossover – makes scanning easier and more effective than ever.
4. Keep your lights on. Numerous studies have shown that keeping one’s headlights-or if available, daylight running lights-illuminated during daylight hours reduces the chance of crashes by up to 10 percent. With today’s generation of cars offering energy-efficient LED DLRs (Daylight Running Lights), the impact on fuel consumption will be minimal.
5. Remember: Green doesn’t actually mean “go.” Distracted/impaired drivers are especially dangerous when approaching intersections. If you’ve paused at an intersection, never proceed immediately after the light turns green. Slowly pull out far enough to scan the roadway you’re crossing, first left, then right. Only then proceed through the intersection. This safety tip will ensure that a distracted, speeding, red light-running driver doesn’t barrel into your vehicle’s driver or passenger side.
6. Respect your body. We’re a hard-driving, work-loving culture where it’s routine for some to brag about how little sleep they get each night. But sleep deficits are both damaging to your health and potentially fatal on the roads. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 21 percent of fatal crashes involve driver drowsiness, and drivers who had slept less than 4 hours in the 24 hours prior to the accident had 11.5 times the crash rate of drivers who’d slept for 7 hours or more. As a safety tip, if you’re drowsy, under slept, or fatigued, you don’t belong behind the wheel.
7. Take a Defensive Driving Course. Whether you’ve just gotten your license, or are logging your millionth mile on the road, you can benefit from taking a Defensive Driving Course. Doing so can also lower your insurance rates by 10 percent for the next three years. The NY DMV has a list of approved in-class or online courses that will provide an excellent refresher on what’s required to safely navigate New York’s busy roads.

The latest generation of Cadillacs offer some of the most advanced safety features in the automotive world. If you’re interested in test-driving one, please visit us at Sarant Cadillac in Farmingdale. Call us at 877-212-1682 or use our website’s online contact form. 

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October and November mean the return of cool weather, lovely fall foliage, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday. But don’t forget to stop by Sarant Cadillac’s dealership in Farmingdale during this busy time, because we’re offering some truly great deals that you won’t want to miss. They include:

Zero Percent Financing on all 2017 Cadillacs We’re happy to offer – for a limited time – zero financing on the fantastic 2017 Cadillacs we have on our lot. We’re doing this because we know that not everybody has the upfront cash to buy a Cadillac, and not everybody wants to deal with a middleman (such as a bank) to finance their car purchase. We also know you’re not going to find a better rate anywhere! If you’d like to learn more about this great offer, please get in touch with us by calling 877-212-1682 or by using our website’s online contact form.

Sarant Cadillac Teams Up with Costco We’re proud to announce that we’ve teamed up with Costco’s Auto Buying Program. This innovative program offers Costco members low-prearranged Costco member pricing, and provides a smooth, hassle-free buying experience. The Costco program runs until December 17th. (You’ll need to be a Costco member to participate.)

Special Deals on our CTA Fleet Because we enjoy giving our customers the ultimate in comfort and convenience, Sarant Cadillac maintains a small CTA (Courtesy Transportation Alternative) fleet of Cadillac vehicles. A number of these gorgeous, well maintained Caddys are nearing the end of their CTA cycle, making them available for purchase by the public at advantageous prices. Please contact us soon because supplies are limited.

Sarant Cadillac’s 2017 Coat Drive is Now Underway Fall might be a lovely time, but it also means that cold weather is approaching, and that’s bad news for families lacking the means to properly clothe themselves. So Sarant Cadillac is working with our local Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Division to help out with our 2017 Coat Drive. Please bring your gently used adult and child coats to our dealership in Farmingdale. Together, we can keep those less fortunate warm this winter!

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Sarant Cadillac’s deep roots on Long Island extend back many decades. Our family-owned Cadillac dealership launched in 1968 – a tumultuous year when Apollo 8 orbited the moon, the mini-skirt scandalized fashion, and Jimi Hendrix rocked the crowd at Stony Brook University.

But Sarant Cadillac’s roots on Long Island run deeper than that – stretching back to the years immediately following the end of World War II, when a young couple – George and Etta Sarant – set forth to claim their share of the American Dream.

Hydroplaning with Guy Lombardo In the late 1940s, George and Etta lived in Freeport, a village proudly billing itself as the “Boating and Fishing Capital of the East.” Freeport’s most notable citizen was bandleader Guy Lombardo, whose hobby was high-speed hydroplane racing.

George Sarant – in the scarce free hours spent away from his busy auto dealership job – began to experiment with hydroplane design, and by the summer of 1949 was test-racing his creation: a custom pickle fork cabover hydroplane powered by a war surplus Allison 1710 engine. He named his unique, powerful racing boat the Etta, and set his sights on winning the Harwood Trophy – an annual, grueling 28-mile around-Manhattan motorboat race.

To claim the Harwood Trophy, George had to win against two veteran Freeport-based motorboat champion racers: Guy Lombardo and Joseph Van Blerck Jr., plus a seasoned pack of 17 others. After blasting off the 72nd Street starting line, George led the pack down to and around the Battery, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and past the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Speeding past Welfare Island, Guy Lombardo overtook George, showering the Etta with wake. But a few minutes later – at the very northern tip of Manhattan – disaster lay just around the bend for the pair, as recounted in the September 12, 1949 issue of the New York Times (reprinted on the Hydroplane History website):

Sarant was 25 yards astern as they came up to the frightening sight of a closed railroad bridge at Spuyten Duyvil, where the Harlem opens up into the Hudson. They couldn’t whistle for the draw tender to open the span so they took a chance, skimming underneath with scarcely two inches between the top of their helmets and the under-girders of the bridge. But a miss is as good as a mile and they were safe.

Turning south, George – near the GW Bridge – again nudged ahead of Lombardo, and never gave up his lead, clinching the Harwood Trophy with a record-breaking time of 27 minutes, 14 seconds and a speed of 64.4 MPH.

In 1950, George raced a new boat, again named the Etta, in the Harwood competition, winning it (and defeating Guy Lombardo) again with a time of 27 minutes, 44 seconds.

Steel from the World’s Fair If you visit the site of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair today, you’ll find it very difficult to locate any architectural traces of the many pavilions, exhibits, and amusements that once graced the area, many of which were demolished in the first six months following the Fair’s closing.

But some notable monuments of the Fair – including the Skyway cable car, the U.S. Royal tire-shaped Ferris Wheel, and the Belgian Village carousel – survive today, albeit in places far removed from Flushing Meadows Park (the Skyway cable car is in Georgia, the Ferris Wheel in Michigan, and the carousel in Quebec).

You can add Farmingdale, Long Island, to the list of places where vintage artifacts from the 1964-65 World’s Fair live on, in the form of structural steel supporting Sarant Cadillac’s main building. The credit for this unique installation belongs to George Sarant, who was able to acquire this high-quality steel at an advantageous price.

Antiquing with Etta Sarant If you’ve visited Sarant Cadillac, you’ll probably have noticed that it’s a bit different from other Cadillac dealerships. We’re not talking about the amenities we offer, or the friendly people who work here, or our pet-friendly stance: we’re talking about our interior décor, which is decidedly Asian, exotic, and unabashedly Zen like.

You can thank Etta Sarant for these unique design flourishes and treasures, including the hand-painted interior walls depicting dreamlike Oriental vistas. Etta had a tremendous passion for all things Asian and enjoyed sharing her delightful acquisitions with visitors by sprinkling them freely throughout our space.

And yes, we’ve got a Pagoda (and you can thank Etta for that too!).

Community Roots We dearly love Long Island, and quite a few of the folks who work here have been here for 25 years or more. Dozens of Sarant Cadillac’s customers have been with us for years as well (and we like nothing more than when a customer walks in and says, “You sold me my first Cadillac. Now it’s time for my daughter to have one.”).

We also do our best to help needy people on the Island by helping good charities and community groups, including Island Harvest (we’re an official drop off point), Barbara’s Team of Hope for breast cancer awareness, Toys for Tots, and the Sons of American Legion Post 1082.

Sarant Cadillac would like to be known as your “local Cadillac dealer,” and we’d welcome a visit from you to inspect Cadillac’s latest generation of cars, which we believe to be the finest ever made. Call us at 877-212-1682 or use this website’s online contact form.

And thanks for reading our story!

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