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Then vs. Now: 1967 Cadillac Eldorado Vs. 2014 Cadillac ELR


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Of the cars featured here, no two are so alike as the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado and the 2014 Cadillac ELR. Each is a personal luxury car, a highly expressive automobile that combines style, comfort, and a spirit of playful travel.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Two big surprises here:

  • The ELR weighs over 4,000 pounds!
  • The ELR significantly outperforms the 500 cid Eldorado except for top speed.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Different strokes... The Escalade doesn't do a thing for me, nor does the Deville. The performance level of the ELR intrigues me, although an 0-60 mph time of 8.8 seconds is not high performance IMHO, although it certainty was in the 1976 time frame. I suspect that the 0-30 mph time of the ELR is a bit more startling than the 0-6-0 mph time.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The ELR doesn't do a thing for me.

That makes two of us...

No desire for one at all...

Even the $45,000 Chevy Volt doesn't interest me. The ELR is $75,000+ and is basically a Chevy Volt. The problem with hybrid/electric vehicles is the battery life. When the main battery goes bad, it exceeds the value of the car. The Chevrolet Cruze is about $18,000 - a LOT of fuel can be purchased for $27,000 price difference!

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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I believe that a Prius battery for a six or seven year old Prius (about the life of the battery) is something like $2700 installed, which comes out to a driving cost for just the battery of $450/year or about $1.25 per day, the cost of about 2.9 gallons of gas a week at $3/gallon. These number will hold regardless of how much you drive the car.

I don't know how long the battery of the Volt or ELR lasts or what the cost of replacement is.

I've always felt that paying a lot of money for good gas mileage, either in changing cars or in buying a more expensive option like a hybrid or plug-in, makes little financial sense for a daily driver that will be driven 10,000 miles a year or more. I've gotten a lot of fine bargains in used cars over the years by looking for price and condition, which tends to present you with fine cars with V8 drivetrains, and the difference in price between these cars and an otherwise comparable four cylinder subcompact more than pays for the difference in gas over the life of the car.

The place that such a car becomes practical is when you are buying a new car with a clean slate and its performance envelope is satisfactory for its intended use, or you have a special circumstance such as a town car or a short commute with plug-in available at work.

I admit that the only way that I have considered the Volt is for my wife's car; she prefers smaller cars because they're easier to drive and park. There is a 220 Volt twist-lock tool outlet in the garage that I would convert to a four-hour charging station.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Here's some information on the Prius batteries http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2727 and http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1077652_replacing-a-2001-toyota-prius-battery-pack-what-it-cost

It appears the MSRP for a battery is in the $2300-$2600 range depending on the model. The prices may have come down in the last few years. One article stated $4400 complete for the installation. Funny how a huge expenditure such as this is perfectly fine but if headgaskets go on a Cadillac, it's a whole different story...

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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$4400 for replacing a Prius battery is highway robbery - the dealer will do it for about half that, as a Toyota policy. I've advised Prius owners that I know to go ahead and get the battery replaced because they are reliable, low-maintenance cars and even at six years old, how else are you going to get a Prius with a new battery for $2700?

Your point about a double standard for American cars is something we all live with. About 15% of Northstars have head gasket problems at 120,000 miles or more, but *all* Prius cars will need a new battery at six years or so because the NiMH technology of the early 2000's has a shelf life of about six years; the amount of charge that it will take declines with time until it becomes unusable. A Prius driver that doesn't make long trips might stretch the replacement time until it runs on the gas engine too much.

What is the life and replacement cost of the Volt and ELR batteries? They may be different because the price point of the ELR may allow AgZn, Lithium Ion, or other higher energy density batteries.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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They seem like they are totally different cars, on different platforms, with similar but different drive trains. The price/value discussion at the end is so subjective that I kind of ignore it. Is the ELR overpriced? I would have to see the costs of design, manufacture and support, including life-cycle support that includes warranty support and parts over the life of the car. What is the battery policy? Does GM front-load some of the battery replacement cost? I understand that the Volt and ELR battery is under full warranty similar to the drivetrain warranty of conventional GM cars.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The Volt and ELR have many different features and are targeted to different customers, but are on the same platform. Both use the GM Voltec powertrain and are built on the Delta II platform, the current GM compact car platform.

Cadillac likely priced the ELR up so that it would be corss-shopped with the Tesla Model S, which starts at $71K ($63,570 with 7,500 tax credit). The ELR comparator shows a comparably equipped Tesla S is $80K, or BMW 4 Series (?!) is $56K.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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