The ELR Is On It's Way...

They have silver, black, red, and grey. No White??? Why have beige interior if you're not going to have WHITE for an exterior color!!!

 

No white is puzzling since it's been pointed out to me in a parking lot that my Prius' Blizzard Pearl color was obviously copied from Cadillac. Interesting car, I might stop by a dealer to check one out.

 

That is bizarre about the no white. The Volt has a choice of 2 whites.

 

Seeing that new plug-in hybrid is an interesting topic. Rather than attempting to reach ordinary consumers (which clearly didn't go well for either Two-Mode or Volt), this time, GM intentionally created a niche vehicle. Sightings on the road will be few and far between.

Being a Cadillac, what will those visiting the dealer think? Others cars available there, like ATS and CTS, have a far lower base price. It seems that will be the "halo" vehicle Prius was claimed to be... the difference being lots of people actually purchased Prius. GM's expectation for ELR is only 300 per month.

What would compel a salesperson to sell it? The sales pitch would somehow have to address Tesla offerings. With an estimated range of 208 miles for $5,000 less, what would you say? For $5,000 more, the estimated range increases to 265 miles. Why bother with an engine when you can get kWh capacity like that for a similar price?

It makes you wonder what comes next.

 

So GM didn't get rid of all the pre-bankruptcy financial and marketing planners? Probably the same ones mentored by the wise ones who killed the EV1.

Bob Wilson

 

Beautiful car, and I hope it does well. Anyone who's a hybrid/EV fan wants more technology, options, and range. Still, more EV range is paramount to me.

 

ELR shares the same FE "short" Volt ICE.
Anyone who's a hybrid/EV fan should cool down the enthusiasm, and adress a concern to this major flaw!

 

That's were the word "options" applies.

 

I sadly miss the word "good" before "options"...

 

I duno John, when the Lexus hybrid (RX-400h) 1st came out in late 2005, there were waiting lists ... despite its high cost. We had to wait over 6months before an early lease return showed up. Here in So Cal, we seem to almost see as many of the hybrid models as the standard RX, despite their high cost.
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As the EV range of a PHV increases, the impact of the ICE on overall vehicle efficiency decreases. Of course that depends on the end user's usage pattern. Which is why choice of models is good.

The current Volt ICE was chosen to meet deadlines and costs at the time of development. There is no reason not expect an improvement of some type in the ICE with the next generation.

 

Can it be put another way? ... as the massive weight/cubic inch displacement of a PHV's ICE increaces, the impact on the overall vehicle efficiency decreases?
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We'd have to have a PHV that has increased their ICE size to find out, right?

I should have said fuel use since my response was to a comment about the Volt's ICE poorer fuel economy to certain other PHVs. In order not to drag this thread down, let's use some hypothetical examples. PHV A has 10 mile EV range and 50mpg fuel economy. PHV B has 40 mile and 25mpg.

Up to 10 miles they both use zero gasoline.
Up to 40 A has used up to 0.6 gallons of gas, and B still zero.
60 miles, A has used 1 gallon, and B 0.4 gal.
100 miles, A used 1.8 gal, and B used 2.4 gal.

It comes down to the actual daily trip length and whether recharging is possible during the day to which will use less gas. Best would be long EV range and high efficiency ICE to reduce gas use. Barring that option, the longer the car can be operated in EV, the longer it is using zero gas. The less time the ICE is running, the less gas per trip it is using, regardless of its efficiency.

 

I look forward to test driving one, but I would never buy one with such limited EV range.
GM is only planning to sell about 3000 annually, so it is not going to have a huge direct effect.

I suspect they are marketing towards Cadillac drivers that want to use less gas, but are loyal to Cadillac.
If they can 24mpg drivers with 50% electric and 50% 32mpg drivers I would consider it a good thing.

 

That clarity would represent a major approach improvement. In the past, we had no clue who the market was.

 

Thank you. High efficiency ICE should be a concern when under the hood of a PHEV.
Any hybrid/EV fan will agree on that.

QED

 

And when the Volt came out it was actually fuel efficient in comparison to all hybrids except the Prius. Everything paled in comparison to the Prius back then.
Fuel Economy
The next most efficient hybrid available was still 8 mpg below the Prius in rating.

Since then, new models and redesigns have meant the Volt's ICE fuel efficiency rating fell in comparison. Its EV range and efficiency did rise a bit with the refresh. The ELR went for performance over efficiency, but if its 35 miles of EV means a person burns no gas during the week, why would they care if it burns a little more fuel on the occasional trip? Over the week, month, and year they will likely use less fuel than a more gasoline efficient hybrid or PHV with shorter EV range.

It would be better with a more efficient ICE. For most, the PPI would be better with more EV range. But reality forces compromises. So you can choose the one that best fits needs, wait for improvements, or continue to let the perfect be the enemy of the good and drive a petrol guzzling hybrid.

 

IIRC, one of the biggest reasons volt mpg suffered in CS mode when it was introduced , was because GM didn't have the time or pre-bankruptcy cash to developed/install a highly eficient ice. Let's not forget that after 80 years of manufacturing, GM never set a goal for efficiency in smaller sided autos. So invariably they would farm those kinds of cars out to Mitsubishi - then simply slap their chrome label on the front and rear of the car. I suspect the Volt could easily get an additional 10 mpg if GM simply slapped on an Atkinson type ice and lighter / narrower rims on it.
But that's not really what a Cadillac owner is looking for ... Like other lemming buyers - the caddy purchaser will expect trendy ridiculously oversized wheels ... because they think other people think that that's cool/powerful/macho/status blingy etc. I'd expect the caddy plugin to yield mpg in the realm of Lexus hybrids, minus at least 5%.
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