On Saturday, some car radio talk show was transmitting from an auto show. A couple of things I thought interesting: 1. Cadillac ELR is a new hybrid, made from the Volt platform, but will be more luxurious. And, I'm sure, will cost a lot more. I guess there will be a market for this car, but I don't want to think what the price tag will be. Who will spend what I guess will be around $60K (?) for the Volt with comfort? It'll have to weigh more, so less MPG, right? And less range on the charge. 2. The Prius is still the front runner. One issue in the past was because the Honda's battery wouldn't last more than 100K miles. I didn't hear them say what the Prius's batter life is. 3. They like the new Ford Fusion. The radio people thought this might be the biggest competition to the Prius, but nobody will be catching the Prius any time soon. I'll have to take a look at this car. 4. I recall that the Prius sold as many cars as all of the other hybrids, combined. I have a feeling that the numbers might change slightly, solely because of the number of hybrids that are being sold by the various car manufacturers. However, they have a long way to go to catch the Prius. I should have listened longer. Sorry. Mike
I think the Volt should have originally been marketed as a Caddy (with appropriate luxury appointments and styling) at it's current price. Now GM is talking about dropping the price of the Volt and introducing the ELR.
Hi Mike, Was it NPR or a commercial radio station? I knew the Magliozzi brothers were retiring but I had stopped listening to their podcasts (how many 'does it sound like this' jokes can you take?) The other is the Maryland based, "MotorWeek." Again, I'd stopped listening as they suffer from the same 'gear head' mind-set of the automotive press. Autoline Daily and their Weekly podcasts are tolerable and I still listen to them. Thanks, Bob Wilson
The Frod Fusion hybrid may be worth a look. Ford claims 47 mpg but reports are the mileage is actually 37 to 40 mpg and Ford is being sued over this discrepancy.
Bob, It was a commercial radio station. Except, NPR might license some of its programs to air on commercial radio. But I don't recall what station I was listening to. It might have been some car program on ESPN. Sorry. Mike
Good enough. Mr. Google suggests: The Car Show (KPFK, 90.7 FM), podcast available The Car Pro Show (two AM stations), podcast available Car News Radio (KFWB, CBS Los Angeles), podcast but canceled for 2012 I'll check them out later tonight. Bob Wilson
The ELR will undoubtedly cost more than a Volt, but keep in mind, people bought the Cadillac Cimmeron which was a Chevy Cavelier with more comfort. Will the ELR get better mileage than a Prius? Probably not. Toyota has the market in MPG's.
I followed a Ford C-Max Hybrid for a while on the freeway the other day. I must say, the backside is not it's good side.
My prior cars were Caddy's - now that I'm lovin' my Toyota, I will never go back to that "stealership"! Every visit I made to the dealer with my STS was at a minimum $500. Did I mention it was almost every 3 months? Never again no matter how cool they look. Yes, they can make a great style, but under the skin they are problematic.
A family member just traded in a 2003 Honda Civic hybrid with over 250k and the original hybrid battery- they opted to go luxury car this go around. That Civic was a fun ride but her battery was starting to light up the dashboard...
