The industry is abuzz with electric-car plans and General Motors won’t be left out of the news cycle. CEO Mary Barra recently gave a presentation at the Barclay Global Automotive Conference where she detailed the automaker’s electric future in greater detail.
CarScoops reported on Thursday that the presentation also included a better descriptor buried in the slideshow presentation. A slide shows the nine derivatives GM’s new electric-car architecture will support between 2021 and 2023. From the slide, here’s what’s coming from GM in the near future.
- A compact five-passenger SUV
- A luxury five-passenger SUV
- A “shared” self-driving vehicle
- A light-commercial vehicle
- An “expressive” luxurious “low-roof” car
- A “low-roof” car
- A small SUV
- A compact crossover
- A luxury compact crossover
- A seven-passenger SUV
- A luxury seven-passenger SUV
Where the future product will slot into various brands is unknown. The “luxury” descriptor could mean either Cadillac or Buick, while the more general descriptions could apply to Chevrolet or GMC. What’s clear is that GM will scale this new platform to suit multiple vehicle types. And, of course, we’re most excited to hear more about this “expressive” low-roof car, which could be a sporty electric vehicle for Cadillac or Buick.
Comments
what is a “low roof” car?
Juke, Toyota C-HR, Opel Crossland X
One will be Cadillac supercar, one will be a buick coupe.
Think Audi coupe vs Cadillac coupe for low roof. Cadillac is tall and proud while Audi, Benz and BMW have lower hight. Mustang even fits.
We see, even with Honda, that low slung, wide track cars are gaining popularity among producers.
I dare say, while a poor example, that Chrysler 200 aimed for this.
Such total BS, the heights on every single car in every single competitive class are within half an inch of each other, and an inch tops. There are no “low slung” Audis or “tall and proud” Cadillacs, no matter how many empty descriptors you use to type anything.
Look it up yourself, STEPHEN.
If Cadillac gets the “low roof” lux car, and does it right, GM could once again out-do Tesla, If done fast enough, this would put a serious hurt on the future roadster sales.
low roof car and expressive luxury are one of these same things, it’s going to be Cadillac.
Such a waste. Electric cars are fine, but the reality is that almost all readily available electricity comes from fossil fuels. The electrification of the automobile is just a pipe dream built upon greenie ignorance. Unless we go to nuclear power, it will always make more sense to cut out the middle man and refuel cars with gas or diesel directly. Besides, no battery has the energy density of good old refined dino oil.
Studies have shown that even in the worst case scenario for electricity generation — i.e., from coal — it’s still a win for the environment.
Coal is on the down slide now — no matter what Trump says — in terms of energy production. Natural gas is abundant, cheap and cleaner.
“Such a waste. Electric cars are fine, but the reality is that almost all readily available electricity comes from fossil fuels. ”
The only fossil fuels that are used for power production are oil, natural gas, and coal.
With those exceptions, nuclear, hydro, solar, biomass, wind, and tidal which actually ARE readily available. Where I am, the least reliable non-fossil fuel on that list is tidal.
And before you complain, nuclear power isn’t a fossil fuel as it’s not carbon that’s being consumed during production and nuclear power doesn’t produce CO2.
+1
We are entering a transformative evolutionary period. Bolt and Tesla Model S are far from the final destination and not even Bob Lutz really knows where both the automotive and utility industries will be in 50 years. The one gaurente is the way we acquire and use energy will dramatically change.
Hydrogen fuel cell? Electric? PSA/Bosch Air Compressed propulsion? Solar parallel bodied pods? A combination of these methods plus tidal as well as massive wind and solar farms on the ground like in China? Or maybe something else entirely?
This period will gut the automakers and big oil provided they don’t find a means to collude and stop progress. GM is a leader in change but my worry is that the company is overly married to EVs. A less invested yet healthy company like Honda may be better positioned to adapt to the technologies that emerge the day after the propulsion systems of tommorow begin to fade.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said GM plans to introduce 20 EV, Hybrid and Fuel Cell vehicles by 2023 meaning just looking at the current Chevrolet CUV lineup as you’ve got the Trax, the Equinox, the Traverse with the Tahoe and Suburban being the full size SUV; thus, you’ve got to think whatever this chart says, General Motors will be building either a EV, Hybrid or Fuel Cell variant of the 5 vehicles (and fuel cell does not naturally mean hydrogen given it’s difficult to source as GM could build a gasoline or diesel fuel cell full size SUV which would be very practical for the US military).
These chassis is design for BEV plug in and Hydrogen fuel cells cars.
low roof car efficient= buick, expressive luxurious low roof= Cadillac flagship/supercar. 11 models will be on this new electric chassis.
There will be more than 20 models on this new architecture.
There are at least two Cadillacs: XT3 and a wagon.
There is at least one Buick: electric crossover.
There is at least one Chevrolet: G2 Bolt.
My guess is, Cadillac reaps their top tier products from this: CT7, CT8, XT7/8. I suspect this is NOT an architecture itself so much as a propulsion architecture that their VSS programs have been and will be engineered to support as easily as your typical platform supports different powertrains.
For our family, I am most interested in the “seven-passenger SUV”. Since there is a luxury version shown as well which will be a Cadillac, hopefully this is a Buick, and I’m hoping it will be somewhere around 193-195″ in overall length similar to a current Acadia. I think the bet on that is pretty safe, as size/weight is tough on range so I doubt they will shoot for a 203″ Traverse as the target. That will come a couple years later if the market dictates.
Yes these will be a buick version