Yesterday reports surfaced that Cadillac is working on a new small 4-cylinder powered sedan and now rumors are circulating that Cadillac may also receive a version of the highly anticipated Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid.
Cadillac doesn't currently have much of a green image since its only "green" vehicle is the new Escalade Hybrid, but this could all change if Cadillac does receive a version of the new Chevy Volt. This could also give GM something to compete with Lexus upcoming version of the next-gen Toyota Prius.
Full Story: Autoblog
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Cadillac is Working on a New 4-Cylinder Sedan for 2011
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Comments (21)
More wasted money that will do nothing for the division.
Posted by JoePDX | August 26, 2008 2:02 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 14:02
Lexus is getting a version of the Prius? I can't see a Lexus customer buying it.
Posted by Tim | August 26, 2008 2:40 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 14:40
A Volt type Cadillac is another great leap on the part of GM. That, and a 4 cyl. Cadillac shows the committment GM has on improving quality and value. Where I live, the traffic is so slow that even a 4 cyl. is too much. It would be fun to say I've got 350 hp, but it's totally impractical on the roads I drive. I am continually behind people who drive 5 mph below the speed limit. I now own my first ever 4 cyl. car. IMHO, a great car, solidly built, with a 4 cyl or electric engine would be a big seller.
Posted by Mike | August 26, 2008 2:57 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 14:57
A Volt type Cadillac is another great leap on the part of GM. That, and a 4 cyl. Cadillac shows the committment GM has on improving quality and value. Where I live, the traffic is so slow that even a 4 cyl. is too much. It would be fun to say I've got 350 hp, but it's totally impractical on the roads I drive. I am continually behind people who drive 5 mph below the speed limit. I now own my first ever 4 cyl. car. IMHO, a great car, solidly built, with a 4 cyl or electric engine would be a big seller.
Posted by Mike | August 26, 2008 2:58 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 14:58
This is just a move for GM to make as much $$$$ as possible from this platform.
Reports are that production is limited to about 10,000 Volt's annually (a drop in the bucket when the Camry sells 250k +), so if GM spiffs up a portion of them and throws on the Cadillac badge, they'll charge $50k+ instead of the reported $30-40k for the Volt badged version. Making them a lot more profit and giving Cadillac a "halo" car that no other luxury brand has.
Posted by Noya | August 26, 2008 5:38 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 17:38
Can't believe I am saying this, but Noya is actually right and I agree with him.
Posted by Avatar | August 26, 2008 6:14 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 18:14
Noya and Avatar are right on this, no need to look too deeply into the topic, luxury badges typically share the same platform as the entry level products. Given the change in powertrain, I wonder if cadillac can improve the driving experience with beefed up electrics, might assist with diferentiating the two cars.
Posted by thetruth | August 26, 2008 6:23 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 18:23
This is an interesting move for GM.
While I don't normally pay much attention to this market segment, it is still rather interesting to see what these divisions plan.
The concept of the Volt itself was an interesting one...
If they can actually get it to work as intended.
Posted by GT Fan | August 26, 2008 7:25 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 19:25
I don't see a problem with this. GM is attempting to capture as much people as possible when this car comes out. Some people however will not consider the Volt because it has a Chevy name plate (executives, etc).
Lexus attempted to do something similar with their "h" series Lexus Models but it was more nameplate than function.
I wouldn't knock GM's attempt to fight, it is better than Honda's and Toyota's method of sitting on their butts and churing out horrid designs knowing people will buy anything with thier name on it....
Posted by Andrew | August 26, 2008 7:37 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 19:37
That is for the first year, second year is 100k. Most of it is because of battery constraints.
I still want to know what this thing will do to your electric bill. I guess I'm just skeptical that a 40 mile charge will be cheaper than a gallon of gas.
Posted by RX-7 Guy | August 26, 2008 7:59 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 19:59
the only issue i see with this is that GM makes terrible cars and probably always will
Posted by cobaltssman | August 26, 2008 8:23 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 20:23
cobaltssman:
True that, cobaltssman...true that.
Posted by Jung | August 26, 2008 10:13 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 22:13
Well Cadillacs resale value sucks for the most part so if some guy gets one of these for say 50 grand, he shouldn't expect to think he will get the same type of resale value like you do with a Prius. Maybe this cadillac could be an exception, but I wouldn't place all my chips on it.
Posted by SteelCity1981 | August 26, 2008 11:32 PM
Posted on August 26, 2008 23:32
If the Volt is 40k what's the point? You can get a Prius, mod it to a wall conversion, and hacked firmware to do whatever you want.
And it's a lot cheaper to charge vs. mpg. It works out to a few cents per mile I believe.
The Volt has to be somewhat competitive with the Prius. Look at the Insight, they don't sell around here at all. And it gets somewhat better mileage than the Prius....
Posted by Brian | August 27, 2008 12:17 AM
Posted on August 27, 2008 00:17
Of course there must be a Cadillac hybrid. Lexus, Mercedes all sell them. But with 6-Cyl if Cadillac is ever going to mean something.
And if i was Cadillac, i'd go one step up in tech sophistication over the Chevy. Cadillac needs to be the exclusive Luxury-Tech flagship brand for GM.
Don't know what the old Boca Raton farts will drive...
Posted by lowest iq | August 27, 2008 1:35 AM
Posted on August 27, 2008 01:35
Cost per mile is interesting. I hear numbers like EV's cost $.04 per mile to charge, and that sounds astoundingly cheap.
But then, if you put $4.00 gas into a car that gets 30 mpg, that's only about $.13 a mile.
So, assuming $4.00 gas, charging an EV costs about the same as fueling a car that gets 100 mpg. That's still great, but it's not nearly so radical sounding.
Posted by kw | August 27, 2008 7:43 AM
Posted on August 27, 2008 07:43
Im not going to talk shit its not a bad idea, i might like the volt im still not sure about it, but i think a new platform for every diffrent car takes too much $$$ to engeneer and patent and test and.... so why dont they just unify and improve on one good platform , like the new cts?
Posted by Dennisil | August 27, 2008 9:35 AM
Posted on August 27, 2008 09:35
The Volt if it delivers as stated will be in a class of it's own. It's better in every possible category aside from price. It's quick 0-60 ~8 seconds, looks much better, works with or without gas. When fueled goes a lot further. Also the price is expected to drop in the 2nd year of production to around $30k or less.
Posted by RX-7 Guy | August 27, 2008 1:33 PM
Posted on August 27, 2008 13:33
im just waitin for the camaro, screw he haters
Posted by stevecamaro | October 3, 2008 4:14 PM
Posted on October 3, 2008 16:14
im just waitin for the camaro, screw he haters
Posted by stevecamaro | October 3, 2008 4:15 PM
Posted on October 3, 2008 16:15
im just waitin for the camaro, screw he haters
Posted by stevecamaro | October 3, 2008 4:15 PM
Posted on October 3, 2008 16:15