It’s something you have brought up more than a few times since the reveal of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV: how about a premium version of the vehicle for Cadillac or Buick?
Well, we’re going to take a stab at a subcompact, 200-mile EV for Cadillac in today’s community question.
Foremost, Cadillac has gone on the record to state it will most likely not do a standalone electric vehicle following the fiasco that has been the Cadillac ELR. Instead, the brand has stated it foresees electrification as an “option” to check alongside other features, and nearly every future Cadillac will have said option.
But, could a premium EV do good things for the brand? The last thing Cadillac wants is to be compared to Tesla but, in a search for branding and image, maybe it would be a good thing.
Tesla has become somewhat of a status symbol. It’s a luxurious vehicle with all of the eco-cred in the world, something Cadillac would no doubt not be opposed to garnering. We think the 2017 Bolt EV will really help test the waters as to where the public stands on a true, mass-market EV. If the price is right, and the marketing does its job, it could be a success. And, it may coax other GM brands into sharing the technology.
So, would a premium subcompact based on the 2017 Bolt EV work? That’s for you to decide in our poll and in the comment section.
Comments
As a buick yes, as a cadillac no.
Agreed. If Cadillac wants an EV, use the CT6 or something. That would be a far better plan.
The Bolt technology would be a good Cadillac fit but not a badge engineered excercise like the ELR.
Engineer a version of it that is larger but as still a CUV and give it more range than the Bolt say around 250 miles and I think they would have a successful model.
Buick should get a crossover EV or EREV. Price it $6-8k more than the Bolt, similar to the same pricing structure difference between Buicks and their Chevy platform mate
I think Cadillac should focus on building products that more directly compete with BMW. Most importantly a 6 Series fighter, some convertibles and the rumored large flagship CT8. Leave the small subcompacts for Chevrolet.
Cadillac could definitely use more two-door offerings like an S-Class Coupe/LC 500 fighter, E-Class Coupe/6 Series fighter, AMG-GT/911, and other “Gold Space” products. After they finish rolling out their CUV/SUV lineup of course.
Agree that there are more pressing holes to fill in their lineup such as crossovers and a subcompact sedan/coupe/crossover offering.
I agree, the Bolt should compete well enough with the BMW i3 due to its novelty… Building a Cadillac Bolt will be as successful as building a Cadillac Corvette was
I guess there is some use for hybrids but not sure Cadillac is the right venue. Too much stigma attached to hybrids as being “cheap” since the car leading the way is the dreadful Pryus. I look at hybrids as cars for “other people”.
Don’t believe the Bolt is classified as a hybrid. It is a pure EV.
With that being said, would hardly consider the Tesla being considered cheap! Yep is an “other people” car–the very wealthy!
Cadillac needs to cover the bases for the future and an EV should be included. Gas prices will not be cheap forever and an automobile like the Tesla is definitely a status symbol. Don’t want Cadillac to not be in the market like they are now with a dearth of SUV/CUVs.
Perhaps a 200 mile EV would work as a Cadillac, but only as long as it shares nothing with the economy car shape or subcompact size of the Bolt, and looks low and sleek like a Tesla Model S… and it has to be fast too. I feel that either option would be better positioned as a Buick though.
That’s how it HAS to be. I’m confident the ELR would’ve performed better if it was RWD and offered better performance. It definitely has the looks.
If Cadillac were to build an ELR successor it MUST have:
RWD/AWD torque distribution
RWD proportions
Quality luxury materials
P90D-fighting performance
It could do well if it is a real Cadillac and not a rebodied Bolt.
Cadillac needs to keep its goal and vision on building premium cars and SUV’s .
I would hope they learned their lesson with the ELR .
I think we might have to see the take rate for the BMW I3 and I8 then we can see if Cadillac needs one
Cadillac should consider building an all-electric vehicle if they were willing to do the work to make it more than a leather clad Chevy and is why the ELR has been a failure because it made people think of the Cimarron. Cadillac’s ELR could have been successful if they treated it like other Cadillac models.. give it a high performance engine for sports car acceleration and magnetic ride control for world class handling.
Cadillac’s ELR could accelerate to sixty in 5 seconds and had the handling characteristics of a ATS.
We must remember premium in the future will hold no allegiance to size.
The old Bigger the more expensive will no longer be in play. Luxury will come with many different sizes, shapes and motivation.
It is ok to build a small Cadillac as long as it is a Cadillac. Do not take A Gamma Chevy and expect to make a Cadillac out of it as we already know that does not work.
The folks there already know this and I do not expect a repeat of past sins.
If Cadillac should do well in the EV market, I think they should be a leader in some way rather than a follower. 300 mile Escalade EV.. (or some CT6 based sub-Escalade crossover) as long as it’s old-school SUV size and doesn’t appear to follow after the Model X, so Fergie and all those Celebs who sold their Hummers can live large again “guilt free”
As forgetful as a large segment of the population are prone to be a EV only vehicle won’t be the big winner most believe it will be as they will forget to charge. Most of those “Tesla” owners have a stable of vehicles, so the EV never will be their daily driver. I’m a hybrid driver, an still firmly believe that hybrids for the large part are the fuel economy answer. Now, why not set down with a generator manufacturer like *Honda who excels in excellent generators with zero sine wave variances an almost no noise to build a single cylinder unit that can start/stop as needed while on the road, this could bring the EV’s battery back to say 60% to 70% of a charge, then plug it in when you get back home. Fuel use I’d imagine would be less than 6 gallons month. This idea too could work for a segment of the boating public that used party/pontoon boats where a fast speed isn’t an issue.
Has anyone taken into consideration, that Tesla is losing money on every car they produce? Something like the Dot com bubble on wall street a few years back.
The word is that they are not actually not losing money on the vehicles they sell but rather that the overall operation is not currently profitable because they are expanding rapidly and aggressively by building a gigafactory and expanding their recharging network. Not to mention their expansion activities in China.
I do think they will hit the wall soon as they will need an ever increasing amount of capital and they can only keep borrowing for so long while not showing an operating profit.
Here is the deal. EV just 15 years ago was inconceivable.
But with pending legislation, regulations and future standards it has become a real player in the market.
While this is a slow growth segment it is only going to continue to grow and advance as spending continues to improve the product.
What should be noted it that there are people inside the industry now that are predicting that the ICE could go away due to regulations and cost in the future. That to me is unthinkable but from the people I have heard this from I know it is a possibility now.
There are still a lot of ifs and buts to the future and who knows there could be massive claims we are going into an Ice Age in the future like they predicted in the 70’s. It is for sure that those fighting out the global warming debate still have much to debate as neither side can without s shadow of a doubt predict where this is all going. Hell they can’t tell me what the weather is going to be in 5 days beyond a 35% probability.
I can see why the car companies like EV. Once they get viable systems on the market and the infrastructure to support it I can see it being much cheaper to make, build and sell these cars vs. a gas powered car. Just look at the parts to make it. Building a Electric motor is cheaper and easier than a cast aluminum block and all the parts and electronics it needs to meet regulations. Also the car would be free of emssions testing and fuel mileage regulations.
I can see why automakers hold an interest but the trasition is going to be much like HD TV. There is that tough expensive climb till things get cheaper and easier.
The fact is you either get in now or get left behind as any relevant company will be investing in these altunitive products. I could give two turkeys about carbon foot prints but I can see where this is going and GM and even Cadillac need to be a part of it.
The key for Cadillac is to make sure all their cars are Cadillac not upgraded Chevys. It is ok to build a Cadillac and dumb it down to a Camaro. But you can not take a Caprice and build it up to a Fleetwood.