The $75,000 Question: Will Cadillac's ELR Big A BIGGER Flop Than The Chevrolet Volt?

The $75,000 Question: Will Cadillac's ELR Big A BIGGER Flop Than The Chevrolet Volt?
I would say that if there were a Top 5 list of the most controversial cars of 2014, the Cadillac ELR would be jockeying for first place. That's because many folks in the press have looked through the new body and fancy interior to call it out for what it really is. A prettied up Chevrolet Volt.

And that's not such a bad thing. The Volt is a decent car that could be considered ahead of its time. It looked too much like a Honda Civic and priced at over $40,000 made it a bit of a tough sell. The problem it had was it didn't fit that "new, cool kid on the block" mold. Tesla did.

So now when we see that the Cadillac ELR is on its way to showrooms, we have to wonder a bit cynically if this thing is going to perform even worse as it does cost a hefty $75,000.

According to a recent story, Cadillac is sure it will be able to move 5,000 units of the ELR and it will be targeting its will-be buyers heavily.

The problem I see is simple: Though Cadillac is hosting events and putting itself in front of Long Island's elitist Hampton-ite crowd and the wiz kids of Silicon Valley, I can't imagine and forward-thinking individual saying "Sure, let me have the Cadillac over the Tesla."

A part of it is a branding problem and another part is the ELR doesn't have a lust factor. It's weird to say but the Tesla does.

Think: When you see the ELR, does it stand out or does it seemingly look like just any other Cadillac? When you see a Tesla, you know you're looking at a Tesla.

That said, with 5,000 units to be moved we want to know: will the ELR will be a BIGGER flop than the Volt?

...

"If you live on the West Coast and you're an architect and you've given to environmental causes, you're probably going to hear about the ELR," Cadillac global chief Bob Ferguson told Automotive News. "We have sliced and diced who is likely to buy this vehicle."

...

Cadillac became the official automotive partner for IvyConnect, a members-only social network of entrepreneurs and trendsetters who meet at cocktail party settings on the East Coast. Cadillac stationed an ELR at an outing in the Hamptons for members to ogle and test drive. It hosted a similar event with Girls in Tech, a network in Silicon Valley.



Introducing the first ever Cadillac ELR. You work hard, you create your own luck and just gotta believe, that ANYTHING is possible.



scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 2/13/2014 9:05:39 PM
+1 Boost
Meet the new Cadillac Allante.


vdivvdiv - 2/13/2014 9:19:21 PM
0 Boost
It is not a zero sum game and it shouldn't be looked as an either/or proposition. People that can really afford an $80k car can afford more than one.


republicrepublic - 2/13/2014 9:35:03 PM
+4 Boost
Most people who can afford an $80k car can only afford one $80k car. Says this Tesla owner.


vdivvdiv - 2/13/2014 10:11:17 PM
0 Boost
Perhaps if it wasn't a Tesla you wouldn't be driving an $80k car ;)
I did use the word "really".


republicrepublic - 2/13/2014 10:38:14 PM
+4 Boost
Touché. Many Tesla owners stretched their budgets to help support innovation. Case in point, my last car was a Toyota.


Jordo107Jordo107 - 2/13/2014 11:28:16 PM
+4 Boost
Caddy is going to have to subsidize leases to get these off the lot. Tesla customers are buying their cars. Caddy will lease these out a lot cheaper than what people are spending to buy a Tesla so in reality they won't really be competing against each other.


TheSteveTheSteve - 2/14/2014 12:44:17 AM
+3 Boost
Volt II. Solution without a problem. Call it what you will, but you won't be calling it a brisk seller.


leroykleroyk - 2/14/2014 8:12:30 AM
+2 Boost
Not to take anything away from Telsa, The Volt outsold the Telsa, So the Tesla is a flop too. Correct ? With only one model how could you not identify it it as a Tesla. What else would it be ???


Agent00RAgent00R - 2/14/2014 10:37:40 PM
+1 Boost
You're comparing a $40k vehicle to an $80k one.

The Model S moved more units than a lot of its large luxury sedan peers. That's what you have to realize and look at.


xjug1987axjug1987a - 2/14/2014 9:42:32 AM
+1 Boost
The Tesla is simply stunning to look at, and clearly the rich, liberal, greenies love it. Its pure electric and even with the superchargers, I just don't see it as mainstream. I mean the one I priced on the Tesla site was $124K. The ELR is probably going to appeal to similar buyers, though the Coupe will reduce your candidate pool. Still the flexibility of the dual systems will ensure you can literally go N->S->E->W with zero issues. Purists will go for electric (though its benefit to the "Eco-system" is more than questionable, but pragmatists would go mainstream for the ELR. Either way its a luxury purchase and buyers of both will need to have cash. I wonder what the Tesla resale will be like and how much it'll fetch at Barrett-Jackson in 15 yrs after they've either gone under or been purchased? I love Musks brash entrepreneurial spirit, it screams "AMERICAN Innovation" to me, but I can't see how he can go it alone for the foreseeable future? Are there THAT many electric car buyers? Perhaps we need a Henry Ford of electrics, a Tesla Model T to bring it to the masses? I don't see it anytime in the near future. ELR probably is the better long term prospect. I'm buying neither.


JDMUSMuscleJDMUSMuscle - 2/14/2014 3:01:53 PM
-1 Boost
Anyone who is smart would not buy any of those. Tesla is pretty ugly, and it fails to be an automaker that really "matters".

And this ELR is nothing but a bad joke. Here are the issues:

- It doesn't look like a Cadillac.
- No one really wants Cadillac these days.
- American luxury = Dead

Thus, ELR, is a massive fail.


ScirosSciros - 2/14/2014 9:48:27 AM
+4 Boost
Wow, you guys. You're all so freaking smart. The ELR is not intended to be a volume seller. This is not a cash cow for GM. This is effectively a design and technical 'halo car' to keep the company in the eyes of consumers who are interested in emerging and evolving tech in their cars. Cadillac wants to maintain its reputation as being forward-thinking. Others are going more green and more efficient and more high-tech and Caddy wants to match that. Maybe they didn't go far enough with the design and price; maybe it should have been twice as sleek and cost $110k to undercut the BMW i8. But in any case the ELR will end up a predecessor to some good stuff down the road. Those of you who think this car is intended to somehow propel Cadillac to the top of the EV game are wrong. It'll take more than this and GM has known that all along, but it's a stepping stone to try and get there.


Agent00RAgent00R - 2/14/2014 10:40:05 PM
-1 Boost
No kidding it's not supposed to be a volume seller as I noted only 5k units are to be produced.

If this is a halo car it's supposed to be groundbreaking and have a completely innovative design — it lacks both.


xjug1987axjug1987a - 2/14/2014 10:20:53 AM
0 Boost
Sciros - great comments!


SSP350SSP350 - 2/14/2014 11:17:00 AM
+1 Boost
The range between the ELR and Tesla is comparable. The biggest difference is the Tesla has two doors more. Imagine what kind of range Tesla would have if it didn't have all that extra weight. That being said, even if this is suppose to be a Halo car for Cadillac, it doesn't stand out enough to look like one. It looks like any other Cadillac in its lineup.


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