The company on Tuesday introduced the Cadillac ELR, which has the same battery and gas-powered generator as the Chevy version. Production starts late this year, and the car will hit showrooms early in 2014 in North America. Chevy Volt goes upscale in new electric Cadillac - PostBulletin.com: Regional:
It has almost identical stats to the Volt, how is this 'another upscale guzzler'? I applaud anyone who tries to bring more PEV/PHEV's to the market, competition is good for everyone.
Remember the "too little, too slowly" concern? It's the same problem as in the past. How have things changed? Money from bailouts & tax-credits is suppose to accelerate progress. Upscale alone doesn't provide any sense of that. Rather than getting something for the masses, or even an upgrade to the system itself, we get another trophy vehicle. What's the point of offering a nice vehicle very few people will actually buy? It's not even a midsize. If we also got something that was competitive with offerings coming from other automakers, that would be a different story. But the deafening silence about plans with Volt is reason for concern. More is expected. Faster is expected.
They openly said it is a 4,070 lbs show car. Using electricity to inflate the MPG to showcase the 37 MPG gas engine underneath. Some will bite. Some will see it through. The real question is how efficient is it in the breakdown of both EV and gas mile, compared to other PHEVs or BEVs. Where is the affordable, practical and efficient midsize car? With or without a plug.
Also having an upscale vehicle is fine, but we really do need a genuine competing car... something that gets hybrid MPG after depletion, is large enough to be practical for a family, and is reasonably priced.
If you read Bloomberg this is the lower volume version. It may allow gm to down scale some of the expensive interior in the next version of the volt and bring down costs. I'm not sure if this is a good idea though. How is the new Lexus GSh competing with the prius? Its a strange comment.
Competition means other automakers. Upscale vehicle means other models. They are mutually exclusive. I didn't realize clarification was necessary. Sorry about that... though GM does actually compete with itself at times.
I think this beast competes with things like the Lexus GSh, BMW ActiveHybrid3, etc. All of these things are in rarified air and low volume. They mainly compete for mind space for the manufacturers to say look we have this cool car, and since caddi is the flag ship brand for gm, it wanted voltec in that market. I don't think it operates as well as a halo as the volt though. GM introduced 2 low volume cars at the show this year, the new vette and this new ELR. Now do you know how many Toyota cars don't compete either, or do you need new clarification. I know you like to post the same negative comments on anything having to do with voltec, but please think about the vehicle you are commenting on. How does the ELR compete makes no sense without out context, and I still don't know what you want it to mean and still have it make sense. Cadillac Shows ELR With Powertrain Beloved by Volt Owners - Bloomberg Cadillac has an image problem, I don't know if this will help, but it definitely is not about volume sales.
