Chevy Volt goes upscale in new electric Cadillac

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

General Motors is trying to find more buyers for the Chevrolet Volt's electric technology. So it's putting it inside a new Cadillac.

The company on Tuesday introduced the Cadillac ELR, which has the same battery and gas-powered generator as the Chevy version.

GM promises that the car will have an aerodynamic, forward-leaning design and an all-new interior that sets the tone for future Cadillacs.

Production starts late this year, and the car will hit showrooms early in 2014 in North America. GM promises to produce a limited number to make the car unique on the roads, although it wouldn't say how many. The car also will be exported to China and Europe:

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130115/DA3QN1F03.html

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The Cadillac ELR debuts at media previews for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

[Robb]

1. Ha! Hey, why not?

[bluedigger]

2. I think they are onto something, here.

Put the technology on as many platforms as possible to bring costs down.

The car looks pretty good, too!

[plethoro]

3. There goes Cadillac.........nft

dddddd

[MADem]

12. I am an old fart--of the sort that Caddy targets--and I like the idea.

If I had the spare scratch, I'd trade in my half-century plus car and get one of those.

[plethoro]

14. Me too. I used to buy them every couple of years

when my uncle owned Feldner Cadillac in Hackensack, NJ. I don't buy American cars anymore, and I for sure do not want a Cadillac with Chevy Volt parts installed in it. But if you buy one, I hope you have okay luck with it. I have a 2006 SLK 280 I just bought that had only 15,000 miles on it. The only reason I was able to buy it is because it was still in the detail shop. This will be my last car. The wife has a Lexis which now a few years old, and has had not problems at all. We never bought a foreign car until 2006 when American cars started getting real iffy.

[MADem]

16. I am getting around in a Pontiac that is over a quarter century old.

I don't drive enough to bother with a fancy car these days, so I'm just gonna run this low-mileage baby into the ground. It runs well thus far....and costs me nothing. Who knows, though--down the line I might start travelling by car more instead of flying.

I'll probably have to buy at least one more car and I'll buy an American car. I'm betting I'll find one that is sturdy and will last. I think the Caddy would be a bit above my price point, but maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket one day and win...who knows?

I have had great luck with most cars I've owned--foreign, domestic, you name it. I know people have gotten lemons, but not me--not so far, anyway.

[AverageJoe90]

25. What's the Pontiac you speak of, btw?

Grand Prix, Bonneville, what? (If it's a low mileage model, I suspect the latter. )

[MADem]

26. Nothing so fancy.

A five speed Sunbird with not quite 90K miles on it.

[amandabeech]

18. U.S. cars went down hill in the '70s, 80s and early '90s.

Really, by 2006 US cars were getting better. There are some very good US cars out there. Even Consumer Reports says so. You may be a little behind in your data.

[plethoro]

22. Maybe. I am behind in everything. I am

67 and still working over 100 hours a week because of an uneasy feeling of terror ahead. I'll take my outside calipers and message door thicknesses on the new American cars and compare them to some foreign cars. Thanks.

[amandabeech]

24. Perhaps what you really want is a fully armored vehicle

like the ones used by the President. My memory may be faulty, but I think that the Secret Service uses beefed up Escalades.

You might want to consider taking a chill pill while you're at it. Really, it sounds like your worries will send you to an early grave.

[plethoro]

28. Or to Australia or New Zealand, which is what I'm hoping for. This

country will never be even remotely what it was. It is now going through what is known as a cycle of country and has roughly three decades left before the reversion to the mean coupled with the total absorption of wealth by the rich will render it unlivable. Thank for you post, but I'm not real interested in conversing with those who view life through Alice's looking glass. Even my 103 Alzheimer's residents have more of a bearing of what lies ahead. Good luck to you. Beware the ides of March.

[albear]

4. It somehow reminds me of the

Chevrolet Cavalier/Cadillac Cimarron of the 1980's GM tried to sell a gussied-up Chevrolet Cavalier as a high-end Cadillac.

[onehandle]

6. I remember that. GM cars have come a Long Way since those dark days. nt

[onehandle]

5. Whatever moves electric forward and sells American cars. nt

[The Wizard]

7. This will be cause

for much derisive talk and hand wringing by America's subversive internal enemies. Especially the ones who've taken up space here recently (AKA Republican trolls).

[still_one]

8. They should, the volt is too expensive most consumers, and people who buy Cadillac are most likely

more affluent

[RebelOne]

9. If I could afford it, I would buy that car.

I have always loved Cadillacs. I owned one Cadillac in my life, a Cadillac Cimarron. I called it my baby Cadillac. But a couple of my former boyfriends had new Cqdillacs. Maybe that's why I dated them for so long. And my mother always owned Cadillacs. My driving test was in a big 1959 Cadillac with the huge fins.

[Brigid]

13. Cool! At least you got to take your driving test in style!

[MADem]

17. I loved those Caddies w/fins--I'd love to drive around in a big yellow one!

They're gas hogs, but damn--they're like living rooms on wheels!

[amandabeech]

20. Me, too!!!!

Love that sheet metal, and the yellow ones were clearly the best.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. Next thing we will see is electric cars with bikini models sprawled on them...

It's just the way the old men in boardrooms think.

[Ash_F]

11. No reason why luxury cars can not be electric. /nt

[Stringfellow Hawke]

15. I just might *convince* my mom to buy that...

My parents are a huge Cadillac people (my mom drives the CTS and Dad drives the SRV) and my mom just recently paid off her car and now may be looking to trade it in (I hope soon - the car's damaged on the passenger side due to a misjudgement by my dad)

[amandabeech]

21. A really good autobody repairman should be able to make that CTS look like new.

My Dad could.

Just ask a good mechanic where he would send his car.

Expect to pay more than any insurance company would pay, and don't limit yourself to their shops.

[amandabeech]

19. Maybe someone from the President's automotive rescue team will buy one.

All those guys, and only one domestic automobile among them--a Ford Explorer.

GM put on a real dog and pony show for them at the beginning. GM tried to highlight the Volt and other fuel efficient vehicles, but the big draw for the bailout team was a bright red Caddy CTS with the 8 cylinder engine. The guys didn't want to look at anything else. Too bad their friends would have laughed in their faces if they bought one, but all the time those friends probably would have been wondering whether they could get one, too. That CTS is hot.

Maybe the electric Caddy will make buying a US car ok for the trendsetters.

Mr. Rattner, this means you.

[Union Scribe]

23. Sweet. I need to see that up close.

That is one badass looking car.

[rightsideout]

27. The original Volt was going to be a Caddy

Years ago when the idea for the Volt was conceived by Bob Lutz and GM it was originally going to be a Caddy. I can't recall all the details but I believe it was decided it would share the same platform as the Chevy Cruz and for marketing reasons it was decided to be a Chevy to appeal to the larger masses. The ELR looks strikingly similar to the first concept drawings of the Volt, especially the front when it was originally going to be a Cadillac although the concept car was silver.

There are 6 Volt owners in our local EV Club now. And 2 guys just took delivery of their Tesla Model S. We have a club meeting tonight and we'll have to see what interest there is in the Caddy version.

[global1]

29. Wouldn't It Make More Sense To Put This EV Technology In More Affordable Cars....

so that this technology would catch on faster? Make it so when anyone goes out to replace their current gas guzzler that they could afford to buy a car that provides them savings on gas. Begin to turn the market around to EV technology and minimize gas usage. Putting this technology in upscale cars in my opinion just slows down the transition.