Cadillac Vistiq So Wide It Now Requires Two German Lanes and a Moving Permit
Germany's new electric colossus, the Cadillac Vistiq, has been reclassified as a two-lane vehicle after testers discovered it cannot pass another car without a municipal escort. Owners must now rehearse lane changes at official driving ranges before receiving plates.
The Cadillac Vistiq has been officially reclassified as a two-lane vehicle by German transport authorities after test drivers discovered the electric SUV cannot overtake a bicycle without occupying both directions of traffic and a municipal escort vehicle.
Under the new rules, every Vistiq owner must complete a mandatory lane-change rehearsal at one of eleven purpose-built driving ranges, where instructors use painted lines and traffic cones to simulate the experience of sharing a road. «We are not banning the vehicle,» said a transport ministry official. «We are simply requiring its drivers to practise the manoeuvre until they can perform it without causing oncoming traffic to reverse into a field.»
The rehearsals take place at night, when the ranges are lit by floodlights and the Vistiq's own headlamps, which are powerful enough to be seen from the next district. Participants must complete a slalom between two parked tractors before they are issued temporary plates. The course was designed after a test driver reported that the vehicle's turning circle is measured not in metres but in postcodes.
Dealerships have begun delivering the Vistiq with a second steering wheel for a passenger whose sole job is to shout «clear» at junctions. A waiting list for the rehearsal ranges now stretches to the spring, and local mayors have asked for advance notice whenever a Vistiq plans to visit their town, so that residents can move their cars and, in one case, a small bridge.
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