TriShield

First Cadillac ELR Rolls Off the Line



By Jeffrey N. Ross
Posted May 30th 2013 3:44PM
www.autoblog.com

Gearing up for the Belle Isle Grand Prix this weekend, General Motors invited some of the Chevrolet and Cadillac racecar drivers out to its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. While there, the racers – including IndyCar Driver and Chevrolet Volt owner, Simona De Silvestro – witnessed the very first 2014 Cadillac ELR to roll off the assembly line.

These vehicles are not destined for customers, however, but instead pre-production units will be used by engineers for testing purposes. Actual production of ELR consumer models is expected to commence closer to the end of this year. As a refresher, this range-extended electric Cadillac shares much of its powertrain with the Volt but will have a sportier coupe design inspired by the Converj Concept.

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

I'm still not sold on the technology in these things, but this thing looks a lot better than the Volt. Very nice.

It'llrun

Not feelin' it... Nor will I ever think spending thousands more up front to save pocket change per month will ever be enticing. Just doesn't make sense, no matter which skin it wears.

1CAMWNDR

iTrader: (21)

It depends on how much you drive really. My wife drives an hour 1 way to work and back. Going from a 2004 Grand Prix that was starting to fall apart to a 2012 Prius got us from 22mpg average to now 43.5mpg average. It comes to nearly $160 saved in gas every month. If you only drive 20 minutes to and from work or something it might not have that big of an effect.

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

I like the looks, not the powertrain

badformulaLS1

iTrader: (1)

I don't even like the looks a whole lot. The front of it at least doesn't looks good imo.

fspeedster

iTrader: (6)

You might wanna check out the Volt forums, there's people on there who haven't filled up their gas tank in over a year. The Volt averages 30-5 miles on the winter (colder states) and 45-55 miles on warmer months on a single charge.

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

With my current commute being 3 miles round-trip, I can see a use for a car like this. I'd only want one while under warranty though. With this kinda tech, I see nothing but massive repair bills out of warranty.

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

I remember when the prius was fairly new (the new hybrid one) a replacement battery was $6000 and that wasnt labor etc.

It'llrun

Believe what you want, but ANYONE who hasn't filled their tank in over a year is headed for only 1 thing... TROUBLE...

Aside from the obvious fact they drive very short distances as a rule, they're going to find the fuel system ruined if fuel is left that long.

As if none of that matters, gasoline would need to average literally around $7.00 per gallon for 5 straight years to pay off the additional cost of the battery system as compared to the average non-Hybrid 4cyl, 4dr mid-size or smaller car... Anyone paying $7.00 per gallon around America today? That's about every 5yrs too, as these batteries don't simply last forever. Today, seemingly most Hybrids only need about $2,500 for that battery system... UNinstalled.

Finally, do those same people brag about how low their electricity bill is now that they're using it to fuel their daily commuter joke? Probably not as much as people seeing roughly 40mpg without plugging in, who happened to pay $10-20,000 less on their car.

Seriously, VOLT and other cars like it are really for 1 of 2 kinds of people: Those who really want kudos for their conservation attempt and those really, really bad at math!

fspeedster

iTrader: (6)

Always enjoy reading your comments and the way you lay it down, but on this one, I'm going with actual owners and real world experience. Many Volt owners are previous Prius owners and love the Volt even more. One thing I seem to read often is how fast and sporty the car actually is. This car might not be for you but many people are enjoying the Volt.

The gas issue is very simple to take care of..

fspeedster

iTrader: (6)

That's about the same price of an LS3 crate engine (i know, i know), it's yet to be seen how the aftermaket parts suppliers respond to electric cars.

King's Z

Yeah, looks like a distorted ATS IMO.

nanokpsi

Enjoying a Volt doesn't mean it was a smart investment At the current price of gas, it is cheaper to by any number of 4 cyl compact (or some midsize car) and pay the gas bill, then it would to pay more for these fancy hybrids. I promise neother one will be sporting by any normal persons standards.

NW-99SS

iTrader: (6)

It'll run and nanokpsi post the truth. Loving a car doesn't make it a smart financial move, nor does plugging it in the use up coal burnt electricity make it more environmentally responsible (and that's not touching on battery manufacturing, mining, etc).

If these owners really want to blow cash to save the environment, they should be off the grid electrically, have solar/wind powered houses (it's possible and not difficult), and buy the Leaf since they won't have to worry about a gas engine that's not being used. Even then, the mining process of extracting the metals required for these batteries has more carbon footprint/environmental damage than any Prius/Volt/Leaf owner will ever admit.

It'llrun

When the VOLT owner is comparing it to a PRIUS, what other result would one expect? The PRIUS is a joke compared to nearly any automobile, except in fuel economy. It's slow, far from stylish, generally antiquated by standards today and MANY thousands of dollars less expensive than the VOLT. Like $15,000 less... That's bound to make people who get a VOLT say it's a better car... It's supposed to be better. Compare it, though, with basically any auto without Hybrid power and one is typically left wondering what went wrong. That argument frankly fits for the PRIUS or the VOLT imo.

Compare either to the CRUZE and see what you think. The VOLT is the overall winner there, except that it goes for a cool $15,000 more than a well equipped CRUZE. Now we're about to see the CRUZE on the roads in diesel form and I'll go out on a limb and say, slow sales and all, it will handily outsell VOLT and this ELR combined. I mean, only the diesel version. People will be talking about it's 60+mpg capability on the highway and noting that it's only about $25,000.

Once the economy is factored against actual cost of ownership, the only real value not found is the VOLT(ELR). The PRIUS isn't nearly as expensive, but it will fall well short of the CRUZE diesel overall, except that the diesel fuel still(oddly) costs more.

While considering a newer vehicle, nothing "Hybrid" is on my radar in the least. They're too expensive for the end result and if/when a battery pack bites the dust, cost of ownership simply sky-rockets. The batteries are still not available through many sources and even if they were, I understand the labor to replace one is typically about the same as the cost of the part... I recently sold a set of "Hybrid gloves" to a serious technician who's about to work on a PRIUS... $63.50... GLOVES!

Anyway, that's enough about the downfalls of "technology" the masses have little or no interest in owning. Make it fully SOLAR powered and you'll have them buying in droves DI-RECTLY!

PS I am convinced this Cadillac will prove nicer than the VOLT... However, I'm still not feelin' it...

BanditTA

iTrader: (3)

Two things you clearly don't know or understand.

1. The Volt has a mandatory burn when the fuel gets old; GM has already thought of this and did so years ago.

2. Do you understand how cheap it is to charge? There are a lot of people who buy .07kwh electricity, which means you can charge your car for 48 cents on the low side or to $1.34 when it's over 10cents. You can have your meter set up to run night rate - which I do - and you can buy it for less significantly less than the day rate; this is what GM recommends.

I don't own a Volt, but I do like everything it has to offer for a DD. I personally like it because I can use 100% domestic energy. Think of how we make electricity in the County....? Hydro, coal, solar, wind, nuclear and NG with small amounts of petroleum (less than 3%). Unless you buy a NG car/truck there is no other way to buy 100% US energy, that alone is a reason to drive an electric car to me.

FYI, I don't fall into either of your categories either, I like the Volt and I also drive a big Tahoe too.

People who buy the Volt don't buy it to "save money" per-say, they buy it because of what it has to offer and a personal responsibility they feel. People who think they can go out and buy a Volt, like yourself, are obviously confused with what consumer the car was intended for.

NW-99SS

iTrader: (6)

Good info Bandit. What do you think of this Caddy version?

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

Some people just gonna hate.

It'llrun

Seems obvious to me that you have no idea what I'm talking about and I'm really not here to prove anything I haven't already proved about VOLT and the whole "green car" scam... Do what you like and have all the fun you can stand while you're at it, but don't bother wasting your time trying to explain to the rest of us why we don't buy the cars we don't buy, by telling us how great they are... YOU don't have 1 either, so you have no credibility on the point of making the purchase!

Simple point: Camaro sold 7,929 units for May 2013... That's nearly 1,000 more than ALL "green" cars in America for the same month! Volt has sold 7,157... for the YEAR! That's less than Camaro for last month and Camaro DROPPED 12% vs last May... VOLT sales rose 100 cars vs this time last year... Not exactly indicative of a "HOT" seller!

A burn off system for the VOLT makes perfect sense, except the part about NOT using the gasoline portion of the vehicle, which clearly many VOLT owners are claiming... If they're not adding any gasoline, the system must sit completely empty. That's about as useful as **** on a boar hog...

Perhaps I'm as confused as you think... Then again, I'm not the one arguing that it's cheap to charge the VOLT and therefore, it's a great DD. Unlike you(all too obviously), I've taken into consideration a few things. For example: There ARE other vehicles from which to choose. Or: Some Hybrid vehicles don't need an outlet. Or: For the price difference of VOLT versus, say, PRIUS, one could drive(at gasoline prices today) about 200 THOUSAND MILES... PRIOR to reaching the INITIAL COST of said VOLT! Yeah, but it's so CHEAP to charge! All the while, the PRIUS owner has no need for an outlet OR the added electricity bill!

As for the TARGET market of VOLT... WHERE IS IT????? WHY HASN'T IT SHOWN UP AND MADE ITS VOLT PURCHASE??? Heh...

BOTTOM LINE: Cars like VOLT are absolutely for 1 of 2 kinds of people, generally speaking. Typically, they're TERRIBLY BAD at math or they have some wonderful thought about how conservative they're being in the fuel department! A 3rd possibility can be added: Those who WANT to waste their money! Either way(or both (or all 3), in the end the joke is on them.