Cadillac

Just when you were getting used to the idea of a Cadillac truck, a two-seat roadster and a 400-horsepower CTS-V sedan, along comes the company with another surprise: a mid-sized sport-utility vehicle. The Caddy of today is hardly the Caddy you knew. The new-for-2004 SRX is a vehicle that defies definition and invites interpretation. As one of first of the S-series of models, the SRX foreshadows and shares the automotive DNA of future Cadillac vehicles, such as the 2005 STS sedan that will replace the current Seville.

By MARLO BARNHART and BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writers Hagerstown City Police Wednesday investigated reports that four people in a blue Cadillac displayed an automatic gun in the area where a man was found shot to death on Monday. Police said they received a call that the people in the car had a gun, possibly an Uzi, in the 900 block of Lanvale Street at about 2:25 p.m. About 30 minutes later, police stopped a car in the H.L. Mills parking lot on Baltimore Street.

The DeVille name is out and the DTS is in as Cadillac's luxury king, but, unlike the company's other new-age, cutting-edge vehicles, this is one big sedan that doesn't rock the engineering boat. Over the past few years, nearly every vehicle in Cadillac's lineup has been newly invented, completely changed or significantly altered. In fact a few years ago, Cadillac never had an XLR roadster, an SRX sport-utility vehicle or an EXT pickup truck. For 2006, however, the race to be new and different has been dialed back to a much more stately pace with the arrival of the flagship DTS. OK, so the car isn't exactly a full-blown makeover, but the changes align Cadillac's premium model, at least in name, with the entry-luxury CTS and sporty STS sedans.

pepperb@herald-mail.com It was a priest who first asked Nancy Gordon to get behind the wheel of a school bus. It was the taxi service she was already providing to her five school-aged children that persuaded her to look back through the wide rearview mirror of an empty church bus for the first time. "I thought, 'what am I doing here?'" the 62-year-old woman reflected, while perched behind the wheel of a Washington County Public Schools bus. Gordon wears rose-colored prescription sunglasses and has her ear pierced by a stud with a dangly gold star.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A high-speed chase that began in northern Virginia ended early Friday in Martinsburg when the driver crashed into two parked cars and a utility pole, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office. Kenneth E. Hite, 37, of Front Royal, Va., was taken to Eastern Regional Jail and arraigned Firday morning by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to police and court records. Hite was wanted in Warren County, Va., on a felony assault charge, the sheriff's department said in a news release.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- West Virginia State Police said Sunday that they were still investigating a three-car crash at the Opequon bridge on Charles Town Road on Saturday that killed a Crofton, Md., man. Charles Adams, no age given, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a West Virginia State Police news release. Trooper Clay Ellwanger was dispatched to the eastern edge of the bridge about noon Saturday and discovered that a Cadillac, a Honda Accord and a Mercedes sport utility vehicle had been involved in the crash, the release said.

What started out as a youth retreat at a Christian camp almost ended in disaster on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, 16 students and six adult counselors from Cumberland Valley Christian School of Chambersburg, Pa., boarded a yellow school bus bound for Men-o-Lan camp in Quakertown, Pa., police said. They didn’t even get out of Franklin County when the unthinkable happened. Upon approaching exit 17 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81, the yellow bus collided with another vehicle and flipped on its roof.

Five people were treated at Washington County Hospital on Saturday for injuries they suffered in a two-car accident at U.S. 40 and Md. 63, according to a press release from the Maryland State Police. Joseph Lawrence McGinley Jr. of Middletown, Md., was turning south onto Md. 63 from the westbound lane of U.S. 40 when he struck an oncoming 1999 Cadillac at about 4:45 p.m., police said. As of Monday, McGinley was listed in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Safety seat checkups scheduled Safe Kids of Washington County plans to offer free child safety seat checkups: The Volunteer Fire Co. of Halfway, 11114 Lincoln Ave., will host a two-hour checkup from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Hamilton Pontiac/Cadillac, 261 Frederick St., will host the second checkup from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. For details, call 301-790-8950.

What started out as a youth retreat at a Christian camp almost ended in disaster on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, 16 students and six adult counselors from Cumberland Valley Christian School of Chambersburg, Pa., boarded a yellow school bus bound for Men-o-Lan camp in Quakertown, Pa., police said. They didn’t even get out of Franklin County when the unthinkable happened. Upon approaching exit 17 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81, the yellow bus collided with another vehicle and flipped on its roof.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A high-speed chase that began in northern Virginia ended early Friday in Martinsburg when the driver crashed into two parked cars and a utility pole, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office. Kenneth E. Hite, 37, of Front Royal, Va., was taken to Eastern Regional Jail and arraigned Firday morning by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to police and court records. Hite was wanted in Warren County, Va., on a felony assault charge, the sheriff's department said in a news release.

At least two remain in hospitals after Saturday crash west of Hagerstown At least two people of the five people injured Saturday in a two-car accident at U.S. 40 and Md. 63 remained hospitalized today. Joseph Lawrence McGinley Jr. of Middletown, Md., was turning south onto Md. 63 from the westbound lane of U.S. 40 when he struck an oncoming 1999 Cadillac at about 4:45 p.m., Maryland State Police said. As of this morning, McGinley was listed in serious condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Five people were treated at Washington County Hospital on Saturday for injuries they suffered in a two-car accident at U.S. 40 and Md. 63, according to a press release from the Maryland State Police. Joseph Lawrence McGinley Jr. of Middletown, Md., was turning south onto Md. 63 from the westbound lane of U.S. 40 when he struck an oncoming 1999 Cadillac at about 4:45 p.m., police said. As of Monday, McGinley was listed in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

HUYETTS - A two-vehicle accident Saturday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. 40 and Md. 63 sent four people to Washington County Hospital, Maryland State Police said. The accident occurred at 4:45 p.m. when a Geo Prizm driven by Joseph Lawrence McGinley Jr. of Middletown, Md., attempted to make a left turn onto Md. 63 from U.S. 40 failed to yield to a 1999 Cadillac, which was eastbound on U.S. 40, Trooper 1st Class W.R. Herman Jr. said. The two occupants of the Cadillac, who both are from Pennsylvania, sustained minor injuries mainly caused by the vehicle's air bags and their seat belts, Herman said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Martinsburg man was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol while an 8-year-old girl was riding in the car with him, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Albert Bernard Pearson, 47, of 2452 Martins Landing Court, Apt. 831, was released from Eastern Regional Jail after posting bail on a $10,000 bond, according to jail and court records. Pearson was stopped Tuesday by Martinsburg Police Department Patrolman D.L. English, who said he was patrolling Maple Avenue and Martin Street when he saw a blue Cadillac fail to stop at a stop sign.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- West Virginia State Police said Sunday that they were still investigating a three-car crash at the Opequon bridge on Charles Town Road on Saturday that killed a Crofton, Md., man. Charles Adams, no age given, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a West Virginia State Police news release. Trooper Clay Ellwanger was dispatched to the eastern edge of the bridge about noon Saturday and discovered that a Cadillac, a Honda Accord and a Mercedes sport utility vehicle had been involved in the crash, the release said.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Many of the 125 vehicles shown in Sunday's Old Home Week Antique Car Show had ties to the Greencastle area. Most of the owners were from Franklin County. Many cars were purchased from Greencastle dealerships. And every last one of them, it seemed, had a story. Take LeErin Plasterer's firemist red 1965 Cadillac convertible, for example. The Greencastle man had a Cadillac in the early 1970s that was the same color but a different body type. Then, one day, he saw "Doc" Edward Carl's wife driving the convertible.

The car that singlehandedly helped revive the once-floundering Cadillac marque will arrive, redesigned, in a few months with even more ground-breaking content beneath its svelte skin. The launch of the original CTS back in 2002 as a 2003 model was a just-in-time idea for General Motors' premium brand. The car it replaced, the German-influenced Catera, simply failed to create much buzz with buyers who instead chose entry-luxury cars from Europe and Japan. In truth, the entire Cadillac lineup was in need of resuscitation, especially since its aging fanbase was dwindling.

Hoffman Automotive Dennis Baker of Hoffman Automotive passed the 2007 GM division exam and was awarded the GM Mark of Excellence for his expertise and specialized knowledge of the 2007 Cadillac models. Baker, who was the top producing Cadillac sales consultant in Washington County for the third quarter of 2006, sold more than $5 million in retail within 12 months and ranked in the top 1 percent nationwide out of 35,200 GM certified sales consultants. Baker joined the Hoffman Auto Sales team in 1990.