You can read the Wired online story about it if you want to,
but they’re not that positive about the car either. For one thing, the $75,000
GM is asking for the Cadillac ELR is high enough that you could purchase a
number of highly-regarded competitors for the same money, including the Tesla
Model S, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Hybrid, the BMW 5-Series Hybrid, the Acura
NSX and the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid instead. For another, the ELR has a number
of optional features that remain unreliable, even apart from the power plant,
like the CUE entertainment system. But mainly what they are questioning is
whether adding the Cadillac nameplate and logo will be enough to double the
price people are willing to pay for the vehicle – and there is historical
justification for questioning that…
Some of our older readers (assuming I have readers) may
remember a product called the Cadillac Cimarron from the 1980s’ – it was the
compact car in the Cadillac line at that time, and the company had difficulty
selling them because the Cimarron looked almost exactly like the Chevy Cavalier
of the same period, only with some chrome bolted on and double the purchase
price. This was, of course, because that’s exactly what the Cimarron was; the
majority of the car’s parts were interchangeable with the Chevy and Pontiac
versions (the Sunbird, in the later case), only at twice the price or higher.
The ELR has all of the same problems, including the legacy of cars like the
Cimarron to muddy the waters, but from where I’m sitting it has at least one
problem that is even worse…
Consider the traditional customer demographic for the
Cadillac line. Developed by GM specifically to create an up-market product for
people who had grown too successful to drive Pontiacs or Buicks, the Cadillac
has always appealed primarily to older customers from higher income categories,
both as a demonstration of wealth and because they can afford the extra comfort
of the car’s optional amenities. In recent years the brand has met with increasing
popularity in several other segments, notably including the rap music
community, because in addition to the established prestige associated with
Cadillac, the vehicles can be easily customized to conform to the owner’s
vision of status, showmanship and visibility. What I question is whether either
of these groups will be interested in a small, cramped, under-powered and very
expensive vehicle whose primary selling points are high gas mileage and low
environmental impact…
There are environmentalists in both of these communities, of
course. And we can easily imagine that at least some Cadillac buyers might find
the idea of lowering their gas bill by as much as 75% to be intriguing. But
such individuals have had access to other hybrid models for nearly a decade
now, including the highly successful and relatively prestigious Toyota Prius;
it’s difficult to imagine that anyone who is motivated by either lower
emissions or higher gas mileage wouldn’t already have migrated into the hybrid
market. If the ELR proves to be the equal of the Tesla, Mercedes or BMW
offerings from a mechanical and efficiency standpoint it might be able to
complete on value, but the company as a whole has been having difficulty
competing for the luxury sedan market for some years now, and the questions
about whether the bugs have been worked out of its systems will not help.
Unless Cadillac can reach a new customer demographic with this product, or
somehow convince their existing customers to start accepting the ELR’s strong
points as being worth switching to, it’s difficult to imagine this ending well
for GM…
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