GM Reveals 2016 Cadillac ELR

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by snizzle

I always thought the Volt should have been a Cadillac first. I guess I was wrong. Barely any market for a brilliant vehicle platform, sad......

Oil is still flowing from the pipes and the price at the pump isn't steep enough.

[PYROLYSIS]

I saw an article today that says the new Malibu Hybrid will get better MPG than the new Volt.

[FenwickHockey65]

It will. Malibu does 48 MPG city.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by stoopid

Looks fine to me, but it under performs against the Tesla and the hybrid tech isn't particular exciting either. Full luxury electric like this would be much sweeter, for the same price. Tesla's going to be coming out with some blue collar model(s) soon so if GM wants in on the electric thing they better get moving.

Odd, I find electric cars boring. Take battery, add motor, drive wheels. Its not that complicated. On the other hand, integrating substantial electric range and a gasoline engine so that you can use each powersource to its maximum benefit? That is very impressive. Especially when you consider how well they pulled the system off. Its a wonderful technological achievement within the automotive industry. But GM seems insistent on calling the Volt & ELR 'electric vehicles', despite the fact that they aren't EVs: they're a cross between an EV and a gas powered car, which everyone (besides GM) would makes it a hybrid a hybrid. And so since they're EVs, they get treated like EVs by the public, and then get criticized for their poor electric range

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by PYROLYSIS

I saw an article today that says the new Malibu Hybrid will get better MPG than the new Volt.

That'll depend on how far you drive it. With a 50 mile head start, its going to take a while for the Malibu to use less gas than the Volt.

50 mile electric range, plus 41 mpg afterward vs 47 mpg

That works out to 392 miles before the Malibu actually uses less gas than the Volt. And this is why I keep insisting on how the Voltec powertrain makes for awesome hybrids. 47 mpg is good, very good. And yet you'd need to go through pretty much an entire tank of gas before it out does the Volt on a single charge.

Oh, and before I forget ... the Malibu Hybrid itself is derived from the new Volt's powertrain.

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Odd, I find electric cars boring. Take battery, add motor, drive wheels. Its not that complicated. On the other hand, integrating substantial electric range and a gasoline engine so that you can use each powersource to its maximum benefit? That is very impressive. Especially when you consider how well they pulled the system off. Its a wonderful technological achievement within the automotive industry. But GM seems insistent on calling the Volt & ELR 'electric vehicles', despite the fact that they aren't EVs: they're a cross between an EV and a gas powered car, which everyone (besides GM) would makes it a hybrid a hybrid. And so since they're EVs, they get treated like EVs by the public, and then get criticized for their poor electric range

Exactly my point, they need a true electric vehicle if they want to compete with the actual, all electric vehicles. The goal is to be rid of the gas powered engine. Someday there won't be any oil, it's a finite resource. We must move on. Someone is going to be the Henry Ford of that new era (making efficient, lightweight batteries and sturdy but lightweight vehicles). Tesla's got a jump start and the other guys better get moving.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by stoopid

Exactly my point, they need a true electric vehicle if they want to compete with the actual, all electric vehicles. The goal is to be rid of the gas powered engine.

I had essentially written a small book to reply to your post ... but I'll leave it at this:

I fail to see how expounding on how interesting the hybrid technology is reinforces your point that particular hybrid technology being boring.

[King T]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Odd, I find electric cars boring. Take battery, add motor, drive wheels. Its not that complicated. On the other hand, integrating substantial electric range and a gasoline engine so that you can use each powersource to its maximum benefit? That is very impressive. Especially when you consider how well they pulled the system off. Its a wonderful technological achievement within the automotive industry. But GM seems insistent on calling the Volt & ELR 'electric vehicles', despite the fact that they aren't EVs: they're a cross between an EV and a gas powered car, which everyone (besides GM) would makes it a hybrid a hybrid. And so since they're EVs, they get treated like EVs by the public, and then get criticized for their poor electric range

I totally agree. I don't know why GM kept on advertising/stating the ELR as a EV at the beginning. Even they had to come back and say it wasn't.

GM admits Cadillac ELR no real competition for Tesla Model S

Last year, then-CEO of General Motors, Dan Akerson, made it clear that the company lookouts at the Ren Cen had California automaker Tesla in their sights. "If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac," he said.

So, given the fact that the Cadillac ELR has a plug and sells for roughly the same price at the Tesla Model S ($75,000 vs $69,900, before incentives) and that Cadillac doesn't have any other electric vehicle on the horizon, you'd be forgiven if you thought that the way that Akerson wanted to challenge Tesla's EV success was with the ELR. Well, you'd apparently be wrong.

Speaking yesterday in Detroit, GM's head of global product development, Mark Reuss, admitted that the ELR is not the Tesla competitor that Akerson promised. "People like to say the ELR is [competition for the Model S], but it's really not. It's a different car, it's a different price point. It's way-different technology." So, if we follow that logic to conclusion with Akerson's quote from last year, then the only way that Cadillac can eventually compete with Tesla is with a pure electric car, and that seems an outside chance, at best, for the foreseeable future.

Through the end of July, Cadillac has sold 578 ELRs since it went on sale earlier this year. Tesla doesn't break out monthly US sales, but has sold 15,114 Model S EVs around the world in the first six months of 2014.

For his part, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has already said that GM is headed down the wrong path with plug-in hybrids like the ELR or the Chevy Volt. Speaking about the Volt last year, Musk said, Chevy "sort of created something that's a bit of amphibian," which resulted in a car that's, "Okay but not great."

I never looked at the ELR as a Tesla competitor. I thought any Tesla competitor would have to be full EV like the S to be directly compared.

I did want the ELR to be more like the BMW i8







The ELR looks great to me, just wish it was more performance oriented.

I do think the price drop is where the ELR should have been in the first place. It should help move more ELR's. 1,310 ELR were sold in 2014

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I had essentially written a small book to reply to your post ... but I'll leave it at this:

I fail to see how expounding on how interesting the hybrid technology is reinforces your point that particular hybrid technology being boring.

I was agreeing that the marketing is off on this model, and what people really want are EVs when they're sold something called an 'electric' vehicle. Otherwise, like you indicated, call it a hybrid. You can like the hybrid all day, but it's going to quickly become an outdated tech once someone gets the right formula for battery capacity and car weight figured out. No one in their right mind will be buying hybrids then, and we may not be that far away from EVs hitting the market that everyone will want and can afford. I simply see hybrids as a placeholder, not an end state.

[shaffe]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

It won't be replaced in the lineup.

I'm over Teslas. They aren't exciting in the least bit to me anymore. Especially with their owners still thinking they're hot sh*t at car meets.

agreed about the owners.

The thing that still excites me about Tesla's is they don't look like EVs or hybrids. THAT IMO is the biggest selling point of the Tesla. It is an EV that doesnt look like one. It doesn't look like an econobox, it has style it looks cool, it has a presence.

[TastyBake]

Originally Posted by MEDISIN

...with what I consider one of the best interiors I've seen on any GM vehicle.

+1

I believe it has the best interior GM ever made.

[TastyBake]

Originally Posted by King T

Wow, the rear looks amazing... <Joke> Place Joke here </Joke>

Jeremy Clarkson chose this over the M3 in a comparison. But later in the show he changed his mind because the range they advertise is much less and he stated i8 forums stated this as well.

But range, smange. I'd drive around in that anytime.

[tpower]

We just picked up a GM Executive ELR the wife loves the car and with her driving less to 2 miles each way she hasnt even used a drop a gas yet.

[Denis]

theres a guy that comes onto base with one. And every so often I get to ask him how he likes it and he always says hes still loving it. I think it a really good looking car.