Cadillac ELR: Cadillac returns to Detroit-Hamtramck

[Bruce Nunnally]

Cadillac ELR: Cadillac returns to Detroit-Hamtramck

Posted on October 16, 2012 by bwnunnally

Cadillac ELR (Electric Luxury Runabout? Can’t be Roadster) will enter production by the end of 2013 — which should get it to the showrooms early or Spring 2014? That seems a long time to market, but in major manufacturer terms it is rapid development.

ELR — the production version of the Cadillac Converj Concept

DETROIT – Preparations will soon be under way at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant to build the Cadillac ELR, a luxury coupe featuring extended-range electric technology, General Motors North America President Mark Reuss said Tuesday

[JohnnyG]

If Cadillac can somehow improve on the Chevy Volt (and I'm sure they can) this will be one OUTSTANDING vehicle!

I've owned a Volt since July 8, 2012 (2000 miles of driving) and have not had to put a drop of fuel in it yet! I've forced the engine to run on several occasions, (just to hear it run) so my lifetime fuel economy is currently at 153 mpg!

The car is surprisingly fast and handles great. It has any Prius beat in every category except price.

The Volt is absolutely silent for the first 50 miles or so, then you can hear a very slight variable buzz from the engine compartment once the engine starts. The Volt tires, being a little hard (38 psi) in order to improve efficiency, do transmit some road noise into the rear of the passenger compartment (like most cars I've ever ridden in, and much better than some). If Caddy can tackle those simple issues and keep the price somewhat reasonable, I will buy one in a heartbeat!

I feel that gasoline will be somewhere north of $5.00/gallon by the time my 3 year lease is up on the Volt.

Off Topic: In case anyone is wondering how you pronounce Hamtramck, just throw an extra vowel in at the end. Any vowel will do, but an "A" seems to work the best. My neighbor used to work there.

[Bruce Nunnally]

I have been excited about the Volt, and I am interested to see how the ELR turns out. I was hoping it would be about a year sooner to market, but here we are.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your Volt.

[joeb]

500 miles each month? a toyota corolla would cost 1/2 and avg 30mpg around town. how does the range change when you use the a/c? i live in mn. does the electric heater work well at -6F temps for defrosting the windows?

[BodybyFisher]

Johnny, Cadillac has Bose active noise reduction available on some models that eliminates road noise, that may be the answer to the hard tires transmitting noise

[JohnnyG]

Joeb, I know that there are a lot of cars out there cheaper than the Volt, but believe me, this thing is as far from a Corolla as it gets. When I say silent, I mean SILENT, not even a vibration anywhere. I also have a sneaky suspicion that that's exactly why these cars aren't flying off the the dealers lots, just too expensive. I'm retired, so I don't drive a lot on a normal day. All of my driving is around town, except for the weekly trip to the rifle range (22 miles each way which can be all accomplished on electricity). All of my driving has been with the A/C running, and the car's computers seem to take all of these things into account when it tells you your expected electric range, including driving style, regenerative braking, etc. The climate control is automatic, just like the DTS and has 3 settings, Comfort (which uses the most electricity) Economy for good temp control, and Fan Only, which provides the most economy. I think the heating system is probably the weakest link in this car as it seems to suck the juice pretty good. Though adequate I'm pretty sure -6 would present a challange, even though it has automatically controlled heated leather seats. The solution to that would be the engine assisted heat option, which I didn't learn about until recently. The 2013 model also has an additional driving mode which is battery saver, this mode uses the engine from the beginning of your trip, and saves the full battery charge for later, like say in the city during stop and go driving, or very hilly areas near the end of your commute. With the engine running, you'd have plenty of heat. The 2012 model has 3 driving modes, Normal, Sport (which is a blast) and Mountain (which saves about 1/2 the battery for climbing steep grades at 60+ mph). You kind of have to relearn a lot in order to fully utilize this cars potential, like planning ahead and heating up the car IN THE GARAGE (no CO output) while it's still plugged into the wall. Easily done with either the cell phone or the remote "start".

This is also not a small car, it's as roomy in the driver's seat as my DTS, but does lack rear legroom. This car is truly a masterpiece of automotive engineering and too far ahead of its time. I honestly wish everyone would go to a Chevy dealer and just test drive one, just be prepared for the shock of your motoring life!

BBF, thanks for the info on the active noise reduction, I've NEVER heard of that option before, except on Lexus vehicles. I think that should be standard on all DTS/XTS type vehicles. The Volt has an exceptional Bose stereo system.The speakers were reengineered for the Volt to save as much electric power as possible, but they had to draw the line somewhere in terms of cost. As battery technology improves, (the 2013 already gets 4 more miles on electric) there may be room someday for active noise cancellation. And don't get me wrong, the noise level is on par with any other car on the road, including my DTS. Its just that I'm picky about that particular noise, and it's a much bigger contrast to the ABSOLUTE SILENCE at low speeds on this car.

Mileage update: 154 mpg as of today. (lifetime) Also blew the doors off a Ford Taurus today, but that's another story!

[BodybyFisher]

Hey Johnny, here is an article on the Bose active noise reduction in the new Cadillac ATS

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2012/01/11/020766-bosea-active-sound-management-technology-minimizes-powertrain-noise-all-new.html

[JohnnyG]

Thanks for the article BBF, good info. I also see that active noise reduction has recently been offered in the XTS. When the time comes, I'm really going to have a tough time deciding between an XTS or an ELR, or even possibly just leasing another Volt. One other strange quirk on the Volt is that you can never turn the radio off! You can turn the volume down completely, or turn the touchscreen off, but the radio is always on. Maybe there's more to this than I thought, but I just figured the radio is an integral part of the computer or display system for this vehicle. The displays are certainly unique with the active dash being a rear projection laser display. Pretty much everything about this car is different.

BTW, I saw a TV commercial for the ELR this evening and it looks like Caddy is headed in the wrong direction on it. Instead of making it more quiet and somewhat affordable, they seem to have picked the Tesla as their target. To me that says $100,000.00 car and a really bad idea.

[joeb]

i base my buying decision on its meeting my needs. it costs 40k and i save $40 a week on gas. or whatever. i sell it in 2 yrs for 20k. or whatever. you loose a ton of value on ANY car after 2-3 yrs. do you want to drive a corolla or mercedes benz? depends on your income i suppose and attitude towards spending a lot of money on cars. ok thats the value issue. now throw in the practical issues. like heat and a/c. a motor produces heat. thats great for keeping warm. the big deal on electric hybrids is not making the gas engine run. but it does run in most situations. i can see inching along in our typical rush hour mess during a december snow storm and wondering if/how the heat will work on battery power? a test drive today is not the same as january 4th?

[Bruce Nunnally]

I love the idea of the Volt or ELR -- it would suit my commute very well and only run electric 90% of the time. I am interested to see how ELR will be priced. I am guessing 2L turbo engine as the gas side, and start at 60K, but may be marketed even higher end.

I do love the over the top V performance tho, so have to pick extended electric or V I suppose

[Cadillac Customer Service]

Thanks for the general discussion and feedback on the ELR. This is a very exciting addition to the Cadillac Line. When it does reach the market, I would suggest checking it out if you're interested. In addition to the press release mentioned, this link below is the official GM release about product information. Specifics, such as price point have not been released. You can also sign up to hear the latest news on ELR development. Thank you again and I hope everyone is having a good week.

Matt,

Cadillac Customer Service

http://www.cadillac.com/elr-electric-car.html

[JohnnyG]

but it does run in most situations. i can see inching along in our typical rush hour mess during a december snow storm and wondering if/how the heat will work on battery power? a test drive today is not the same as january 4th?

Not exactly true. In my case, the engine has not run unless I forced it to by various means. And I'm sure GM has made certain during its exhaustive testing, that you won't freeze to death driving their car under any circumstances. Yes, in order to extend battery range you can choose to be slightly uncomfortable, and they have provided a way for you to do that. Just remember, if during that Jan. commute, the battery does run down, the gas engine starts and not only do you have plenty of heat, but an additional 300 miles of driving on that 9 gallon tank.

Maybe you were thinking of the Prius when you said the engine runs in most situations, on the Volt it does not unless you choose to run it. I'm sure the ELR will be even better.

[JohnnyG]

I am guessing 2L turbo engine as the gas side, and start at 60K,

The turbo was considered for the Volt extended range (generator) motor. Just remember that this type of car changes EVERYTHING about how you think about cars. For example, since the engine only runs the generator, it only needs so many horsepower, more than required for that task is totally wasted. The throttle only controls how fast you want the electric motor(s) to go, the battery controls how fast the engine runs, so there are maybe 4 or 5 throttle positions for the engine all of which are computer controlled. The requirements for the engine should be efficiency above all else, and quietness/smoothness. Forget about torque curve, pretty much meaningless when you're only turning a generator. So I think they should be considering a direct injection I4. In other words, since there is never a direct connection between the engine and the drive wheels, you don't even need a transmission, so you don't get any shift lag, gear noise, rear differential hum, driveshaft vibration, NOTHING. Just ample, smooth, seamless power and immediate torque, all in silence.

For me 60K would be too high to be a seller at all. If they hit 50 or 52 with NAV, heated leather, Cue, (or whatever they call the next iteration) backup camera, 3 years Onstar, and a year of XM, it will work. All of these things are currently on my Volt at 46K sticker. Not that I paid anywhere near that for my lease.

One more thing I need to throw in here, the engine oil doesn't get changed for two years or when the OLM tells you to. Another change in thinking due to a computer controlled throttle (and lack of turbo) only turning a generator. GM really did a terrific job on this.

[joeb]

500 miles each month or 6000 per year. ultra low mileage lease. we are getting rid of our 2010 camry lease this month. it was 250/month with nothing down and no end of lease payment so it really was 250 per month or 3k per year or 9k total. what is your total out of pocket cost for the volt? how long is lease? u say sticker was 46k which is one thing. do you get a tax deduction or credit for leasing a volt or do you have to buy it to get the credit?

[JohnnyG]

500 miles each month or 6000 per year. ultra low mileage lease. we are getting rid of our 2010 camry lease this month. it was 250/month with nothing down and no end of lease payment so it really was 250 per month or 3k per year or 9k total. what is your total out of pocket cost for the volt? how long is lease? u say sticker was 46k which is one thing. do you get a tax deduction or credit for leasing a volt or do you have to buy it to get the credit?

I looked at an ultra low mileage lease, and the value was not there, so my terms permit 12,000 miles per year. Lease is 39 months, and I did have a down-payment that included first month's payment, lease "insurance" for excess damage, taxes, license, etc...total $1715.00, all of which came from my trade-in of 2010 Jeep. Lease is drop and go so no cost at end. Lease company gets the tax credit, which I wouldn't have been able to take full advantage of anyway, so you need to purchase to get the credit. Payments are $355.00 per mo. which brings total cost to $15,205.00. So $6200 more for this car over the life of the lease, but no fuel costs, one oil change total maintenance cost, and three years of Onstar Directions and Connections and automatic Crash Response included which is a couple hundred a year at least. Car is completely loaded, so leather heated seats, Nav, Premium Bose w/Hard Disc and USB port, XM, Bluetooth for phone, Universal Home remote, backup camera, ultrasonic parking assist, 8 Air Bags, Stabilitrak, Keyless remote entry, remote start, HID lamps, heated mirrors, auto dimming inside mirror, T&T steering wheel leather wrapped, lighted vanity mirrors, and a $995.00 paint job. Onstar also includes the satellite phone for emergency use. Sticker Price $46165.00.

Base price for a standard 2012 is $39,145.00 so you could end up around $300/mo., the 2013 seats 5 instead of 4 and gets a few miles per charge more on the Samsung battery pack, which is warranted for 8 years. I really think you should at least test drive one and see what they tell you on a lease deal. I think the finance rate on the lease through Ally was right at 1%.