Auto Enthusiastic!: A short preview of the Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid

General Motors luxury brand, Cadillac, plans to build a luxury hybrid coupe next year. It will be known as the Cadillac ELR and will be based on the Chevrolet Volt.

The 2+2 car will be available in 2014, probably around the $55,000 mark.

The Bloomberg financial and business news site said that the ELR will be similar in size to the Volt and will be built in the same plant as the Volt. In many respects the vehicle will be quite different from the Volt as we shall see.

Performance/Ride

Like the Volt, electricity will be the primary source of energy. A generator will be powered by a gasoline engine when the battery runs out of power. ?The ELR will use a similar drivetrain to the Volt, but is is expected that Cadillac will use a larger gasoline engine to power the generator ? probably a 1.8 or 2.0 version of the EcoTec MGE. Capacity will likely be around 2.0 liters.

In the Volt, the electric drive generates 149 HP, which can push the car to 100 MPH. The prototype to the ELR, the Converj, could also achieve 100 MPH, and would be reasonable to expect even improved performance from the Cadillac, especially with advancements in technology (the Converj was revealed in 2009).

Cadillac will improve upon the Volt, adding sound deadening materials and possibly active engine mounts, among other modifications, in order to create a vehicle with the quiet smooth ride for which the brand is legendary.

Economy/Energy efficiency

The Chevy Volt gets about 60 MPG on average (when figures for electricity only and gasoline only are combined). Although the Cadillac ELR will be a little heavier, it would not be a stretch to imagine that Cadillac can match or exceed this figure. In EV mode (battery power only) the ELR should match or exceed the Volt?s rating of 93 MPGe*¹.

Range and Charging time

Seeing that the prototype, the Converj, had an all-electric range of 40 miles, and the Volt has an official EPA range of 35, it is likely that the ELR will be 40+.

GM/Cadillac has been struggling to get the balance right between adding the weight needed for luxury and refinement and having a decent range. In fact, it appears that the project was almost abandoned due to this challenge. Now though, it appears that the manufacturers have come up with ways to create a luxury vehicle without adding too much weight, and the battery will be enlarged to over 17 kWh (Volt?s is 16kWh).

No stored charge at all will be required to run the vehicle (the gasoline engine will power a generator if the battery has been depleted), but those who want to use the vehicle primarily in EV mode will be pleased to see that the recharge time is expected to be a relatively short 3 hours (using a 240v outlet).

Safety, Equipment and Comfort

Details are hard to come by right now, but a vehicle bearing the Cadillac badge will be generously equipped, and safety features should be equally extensive.

Pricing

Bloomberg reported that GM plans to price the ELR at less than the cost of the $57,000 Model S by Tesla. It?s probably going to be around the $55,000 mark (about 15k more than the Volt).

Conclusion

The Cadillac ELR is a wonderful looking vehicle and will surely meet the expectations of refinement that come with the Cadillac badge. It is expensive, as all EVs are at the moment, but since all Cadillacs are expensive, this is one electric vehicle that might not be too badly affected by the high price tag. Cadillac fans do not have a huge range of vehicles to choose from at the moment, and this vehicle will give them a chance to own a luxury American brand, while at the same time getting the kudos that comes from driving an environmentally friendly vehicle*². 1. MPGe explained: Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (MPGe) is the energy consumption of hybrid and electric vehicles expressed as miles per US gallon. The EPA calculates the MPGe based on: (a) one gallon of gasoline being equivalent to 33.7 kWh of electricity, (b) the energy consumed by a vehicle during five standard drive cycle tests (the 5 cycle test) which simulates varying driving conditions. (For more info see http://www.epa.gov/otaq/carlabel/felablefaqs.htm). For example, an electric vehicle that uses 33.7 kilowatt-hours to drive 100 miles will use the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline and, therefore, would have an MPGe of 100 miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent. 2. Co2 emissions: (Please bear in mind that the following calculations are based on approximate figures) On average 44 pounds of CO2 is emitted when producing 33.7 kWh of energy at a power plant. In An EV typically will travel about 95 miles on 33.7 kWh of energy, which means than the typical EV is responsible for about 0.463 lbs of CO2 per mile (44 divided by 95). In contrast, gasoline emits about?19.4 pounds of CO2 per gallon consumed. The average MPG of new vehicles in the US in 2012 is 24, so the average car would emit about 0.808 lbs of CO2 (24 divided by 19.4). Therefore, supplying an EV with electricity results in roughly 57% of the emissions of CO2 emitted by a gasoline powered car. Of course, even less CO2 emissions will result if EVs can be charged with electricity sources from wind, hydro, or solar power.

Source: http://www.autoenthusiastic.com/2012/08/a-short-preview-of-cadillac-elr-plug-in.html

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