1st generation will be the last for Cadillac ELR
02-02-16, 11:40 AM
#1
1st generation will be the last for Cadillac ELR
LOS ANGELES -- The Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid coupe -- head-turning for its stylish sheet metal and lofty sticker price -- won't live to see a second generation.
Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen confirmed last week that the brand plans no successor to the light-selling ELR.
"I plan to continue admiring it as one of the most beautiful cars on four wheels" de Nysschen told reporters during a media drive of the forthcoming CT6 large sedan here. "But we don't plan further investment" in the coupe.
Automotive News reported in July that the ELR's run would end after just one generation, sticking around until at least 2018. De Nysschen said only that the car will stay on the market for as long as people want to buy it.
The ELR shares its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Volt, which was redesigned for the 2016 model year with a new drive unit and chassis. De Nysschen has settled any question about whether the ELR might get the same improvement.
Dealers have said that the sticker price of $75,995, including shipping, affixed to the ELR at its late-2013 launch was exorbitantly high, icing demand early. Cadillac slashed the price by about $10,000 for the 2016 model year.
In an interview published in December in Automobile magazine, Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus called the ELR "a big disappointment" and acknowledged that it was priced too high. ELR sales fell 22 percent last year, to 1,024 cars.
Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen confirmed last week that the brand plans no successor to the light-selling ELR.
"I plan to continue admiring it as one of the most beautiful cars on four wheels" de Nysschen told reporters during a media drive of the forthcoming CT6 large sedan here. "But we don't plan further investment" in the coupe.
Automotive News reported in July that the ELR's run would end after just one generation, sticking around until at least 2018. De Nysschen said only that the car will stay on the market for as long as people want to buy it.
The ELR shares its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Volt, which was redesigned for the 2016 model year with a new drive unit and chassis. De Nysschen has settled any question about whether the ELR might get the same improvement.
Dealers have said that the sticker price of $75,995, including shipping, affixed to the ELR at its late-2013 launch was exorbitantly high, icing demand early. Cadillac slashed the price by about $10,000 for the 2016 model year.
In an interview published in December in Automobile magazine, Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus called the ELR "a big disappointment" and acknowledged that it was priced too high. ELR sales fell 22 percent last year, to 1,024 cars.
02-02-16, 11:48 AM
#2
Lexus Champion
not surprising, highly over priced Chevy Volt.
the materials and overall features were nothing better than the Volt offered, the only advantage it had was being a coupe over a sedan..
Personally I liked the ELR and I really wanted one as my commuter, I loved the CTS coupe and the ELR was essentially the same car except for the hybrid/electric driveline.
but I refused to spend over $35K for it, while with incentives and discounts you could get it down to about $45K, the same incentives and discounts brought the Volt down into the mid 20s.
I had a Volt as a loaner for several weeks while my Camaro was being Lemon Lawed, and the 50+ MPG was great for a daily commuters, but I do not care for Sedans, and the Volt was very difficult for me to get in and out of due to my leg disability, Test drove the ELR and the larger doors made it much easier for me to enter and exit. But couldn't get the Cadillac dealer to come down below $45K.
the materials and overall features were nothing better than the Volt offered, the only advantage it had was being a coupe over a sedan..
Personally I liked the ELR and I really wanted one as my commuter, I loved the CTS coupe and the ELR was essentially the same car except for the hybrid/electric driveline.
but I refused to spend over $35K for it, while with incentives and discounts you could get it down to about $45K, the same incentives and discounts brought the Volt down into the mid 20s.
I had a Volt as a loaner for several weeks while my Camaro was being Lemon Lawed, and the 50+ MPG was great for a daily commuters, but I do not care for Sedans, and the Volt was very difficult for me to get in and out of due to my leg disability, Test drove the ELR and the larger doors made it much easier for me to enter and exit. But couldn't get the Cadillac dealer to come down below $45K.
02-02-16, 12:56 PM
#5
Lexus Champion
no the problem was the initial pricing, set at $75,000 more that double what it's sister car the VOLT was priced at.
because they set that price so high at the beginning they basically killed any potential sales. It really irritated people from the onset.
Add to that the limited production of the vehicle, dealers not having any inventory of it on hand for people to see and requiring them to order one if they wanted it site unseen then taking 3-4 months to get one that was ordered with significant delays in the process, some people complaining that it took north of 8 months from the time of their order and deposit.
Caddy never wanted this vehicle, Johan de Nysschen the CEO of Cadillac had said in 2009 when he was the President of Audi of America that the Volt was a car for morons and idiots and that it would fail because it was over priced and under powered.
In 2015 de Nysschen took the position of CEO of Cadillac and immediately set out to dismantle the ELR program and kill it, because it was twice as over priced as the Volt and he believe tarnished the Cadillac image as it wasn't a stand alone model within the Cadillac family but a rebranded Volt that had an outrageous price tag.
FWIW Caddy is working on hybrid/electric versions of the CT and the AT and they will be releasing the first concepts of such in 2017, so while the ELR is dead, it will be replaced with models from the current lineup that will have the alternative hybrid driveline and they are said to be pricing them as close to their gas counterparts as they can to attract more buyers.
02-02-16, 06:44 PM
#6
Lexus Champion
no the problem was the initial pricing, set at $75,000 more that double what it's sister car the VOLT was priced at.
because they set that price so high at the beginning they basically killed any potential sales. It really irritated people from the onset.
Add to that the limited production of the vehicle, dealers not having any inventory of it on hand for people to see and requiring them to order one if they wanted it site unseen then taking 3-4 months to get one that was ordered with significant delays in the process, some people complaining that it took north of 8 months from the time of their order and deposit.
Caddy never wanted this vehicle, Johan de Nysschen the CEO of Cadillac had said in 2009 when he was the President of Audi of America that the Volt was a car for morons and idiots and that it would fail because it was over priced and under powered.
In 2015 de Nysschen took the position of CEO of Cadillac and immediately set out to dismantle the ELR program and kill it, because it was twice as over priced as the Volt and he believe tarnished the Cadillac image as it wasn't a stand alone model within the Cadillac family but a rebranded Volt that had an outrageous price tag.
FWIW Caddy is working on hybrid/electric versions of the CT and the AT and they will be releasing the first concepts of such in 2017, so while the ELR is dead, it will be replaced with models from the current lineup that will have the alternative hybrid driveline and they are said to be pricing them as close to their gas counterparts as they can to attract more buyers.
because they set that price so high at the beginning they basically killed any potential sales. It really irritated people from the onset.
Add to that the limited production of the vehicle, dealers not having any inventory of it on hand for people to see and requiring them to order one if they wanted it site unseen then taking 3-4 months to get one that was ordered with significant delays in the process, some people complaining that it took north of 8 months from the time of their order and deposit.
Caddy never wanted this vehicle, Johan de Nysschen the CEO of Cadillac had said in 2009 when he was the President of Audi of America that the Volt was a car for morons and idiots and that it would fail because it was over priced and under powered.
In 2015 de Nysschen took the position of CEO of Cadillac and immediately set out to dismantle the ELR program and kill it, because it was twice as over priced as the Volt and he believe tarnished the Cadillac image as it wasn't a stand alone model within the Cadillac family but a rebranded Volt that had an outrageous price tag.
FWIW Caddy is working on hybrid/electric versions of the CT and the AT and they will be releasing the first concepts of such in 2017, so while the ELR is dead, it will be replaced with models from the current lineup that will have the alternative hybrid driveline and they are said to be pricing them as close to their gas counterparts as they can to attract more buyers.
02-02-16, 11:11 PM
#7
Its a shame they totally screwed up the launch of that car.
I'm sure Cadillac saw $75k+ Teslas flying off the shelf so they figured they could rebadge their electric car (the Volt) and sell it for $75k too. Unfortunately they were dumb enough to ignore the fact that a Tesla works for most of your normal everyday transportation needs. It has the space of a large sedan, the driving range of a normal ICE car and the performance of a high-end sports car. There really aren't many compromises so it It can be your primary car.
As a coupe the ELR is out of the question as a primary car for people with families. And if you don't have a family why would you spend $75k for an electric car with so little performance? There are a lot of other options at that price.
I'm sure Cadillac saw $75k+ Teslas flying off the shelf so they figured they could rebadge their electric car (the Volt) and sell it for $75k too. Unfortunately they were dumb enough to ignore the fact that a Tesla works for most of your normal everyday transportation needs. It has the space of a large sedan, the driving range of a normal ICE car and the performance of a high-end sports car. There really aren't many compromises so it It can be your primary car.
As a coupe the ELR is out of the question as a primary car for people with families. And if you don't have a family why would you spend $75k for an electric car with so little performance? There are a lot of other options at that price.
Trending Topics
02-03-16, 05:23 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
The 75k launch price was insane because the ELR didn't offer better range or performance to its Volt sibling. They dropped the price later on but the ELR still couldn't justify its huge premium over the Volt. At 45k it could have been a decent niche seller - nobody else had a plugin hybrid coupe for less than 100k.
02-03-16, 08:53 AM
#9
My main beef is that it looked way too much like the CTS coupe on sale at the same time. Or the new ATS coupe. Both of which could be had for 40-50k. Or you could get the insane 556hp supercharged CTS-V for about 60-65k.
Plus Cadillac is the wrong brand to sell an environmentally concious car. None of the hippie types would even look at it. Your instant association with Cadillac is gas guzzling Escalade or gas guzzling land yatch grandma drives to the early bird special at the Country Kitchen Buffet
Plus Cadillac is the wrong brand to sell an environmentally concious car. None of the hippie types would even look at it. Your instant association with Cadillac is gas guzzling Escalade or gas guzzling land yatch grandma drives to the early bird special at the Country Kitchen Buffet
02-03-16, 09:09 AM
#10
Driver
The problem with this car is that they launched AFTER they launched the Chevrolet Volt. This is the problem that plagues Cadillac and Lincoln for that matter. I mean, look at Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Audi, they never showcase a technology in say a Jetta, Cooper, Smart or Camry and then launch in an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Lexus. The point being is that Cadillac and Lincoln should be showcases of the absolute best that GM and Ford can do and yet they exactly the opposite expecting unsuspecting customers to pay 70-100k for what in essence is a Chevy Volt dressed to kill. How on earth can they expect to be successful like this? It will be a miracle if they stick around until 2020.
02-03-16, 10:42 AM
#11
Lexus Champion
Its a shame they totally screwed up the launch of that car.
I'm sure Cadillac saw $75k+ Teslas flying off the shelf so they figured they could rebadge their electric car (the Volt) and sell it for $75k too. Unfortunately they were dumb enough to ignore the fact that a Tesla works for most of your normal everyday transportation needs. It has the space of a large sedan, the driving range of a normal ICE car and the performance of a high-end sports car. There really aren't many compromises so it It can be your primary car.
As a coupe the ELR is out of the question as a primary car for people with families. And if you don't have a family why would you spend $75k for an electric car with so little performance? There are a lot of other options at that price.
I'm sure Cadillac saw $75k+ Teslas flying off the shelf so they figured they could rebadge their electric car (the Volt) and sell it for $75k too. Unfortunately they were dumb enough to ignore the fact that a Tesla works for most of your normal everyday transportation needs. It has the space of a large sedan, the driving range of a normal ICE car and the performance of a high-end sports car. There really aren't many compromises so it It can be your primary car.
As a coupe the ELR is out of the question as a primary car for people with families. And if you don't have a family why would you spend $75k for an electric car with so little performance? There are a lot of other options at that price.
pretty much, the ELR is at best a second/third commuter car, the family would still need something bigger like a full size auto or SUV, where the Tesla Models S fills that need at its entry level price which is the same as the ELR price.
My main beef is that it looked way too much like the CTS coupe on sale at the same time. Or the new ATS coupe. Both of which could be had for 40-50k. Or you could get the insane 556hp supercharged CTS-V for about 60-65k.
Plus Cadillac is the wrong brand to sell an environmentally concious car. None of the hippie types would even look at it. Your instant association with Cadillac is gas guzzling Escalade or gas guzzling land yatch grandma drives to the early bird special at the Country Kitchen Buffet
Plus Cadillac is the wrong brand to sell an environmentally concious car. None of the hippie types would even look at it. Your instant association with Cadillac is gas guzzling Escalade or gas guzzling land yatch grandma drives to the early bird special at the Country Kitchen Buffet
this is typical GM, rebadge what they have and add one or two features you can't get on the other badge and jack the price beyond reason.
The problem with this car is that they launched AFTER they launched the Chevrolet Volt. This is the problem that plagues Cadillac and Lincoln for that matter. I mean, look at Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Audi, they never showcase a technology in say a Jetta, Cooper, Smart or Camry and then launch in an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Lexus. The point being is that Cadillac and Lincoln should be showcases of the absolute best that GM and Ford can do and yet they exactly the opposite expecting unsuspecting customers to pay 70-100k for what in essence is a Chevy Volt dressed to kill. How on earth can they expect to be successful like this? It will be a miracle if they stick around until 2020.
I completely agree, GM has done this many times,
Tahoe/Suburban -> Yukon Denali -> Escalade for example.
they should be going top down, not bottom up with their line-ups.
the Caddy gets the new tech, new design, new features, and those eventually make their way down to the lower models of the Buick, GMC, Chevy lines.
but this behavior is classic GM, and they learned nothing from their bankruptcy and Government take over, their mentality and behaviors are the same.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post