Cadillac ELR Greenlit For Late 2013, Detroit-Hamtramck Gets $35 Million Investment

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant will get a $35 million investment to build the Cadillac ELR, a luxury coupe that uses the Chevrolet Volt’s gasoline-electric drivetrain.

Automotive News reports that the announcement was made by GM North America President Mark Reuss at an SAE Conference in Detroit. The ELR will bow at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show resemble the Cadillac Converj concept. With the Voltec powertrain in use, performance and range statistics should be similar to the Volt, while providing Cadillac with a reasonable facsimile of a Tesla Model S or Fisker Karma competitor. But hey, plug-in cars count for more than regular cars under CAFE (but not as much as a pure EV) so why the hell not?

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Geozinger Geozinger on Oct 17, 2012

    The more I see this car, the more I like it. It's too bad they can't/won't offer a gasoline-only version of this car. I'd love to see a V-version of this thing as a RWD coupe.

    • Aristurtle Aristurtle on Oct 17, 2012

      Maybe the V-version could swap in that 310 kW electric motor that the Tesla Model S is using.

  • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Oct 17, 2012

    I can't see this selling in any kind of volume. Perhaps a loss leader just to satisfy some CAFE hurtles? The biggest problem I can see with the Volt is the high price. So release a more expensive Volt? I can't imagine what this car could offer that the Volt doesn't.

    • See 1 previous
    • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Oct 18, 2012

      @Dynasty So in other words, not much.

  • GarbageMotorsCo. GarbageMotorsCo. on Oct 17, 2012

    Will the ELR be more "American" than the 40% content Volt?

    • See 4 previous
    • Sunridge place Sunridge place on Oct 18, 2012

      @dolorean You sure the engine hasn't switched to Flint Engine from Austria yet? I also thought the transmission production was moving to Michigan. I know the battery is moving to Michigan as well. You might be working off of old information? For 2013 MY, GM Powertrain is listing the engine and transmission as dual site production http://gmpowertrain.com/Libraries/Product_information/2013_4FRev_Information_Guide_091012.sflb.ashx

  • GarbageMotorsCo. GarbageMotorsCo. on Jan 31, 2013

    http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2012/07/american-made-index-odds-ends.html The Chevrolet Volt has stirred up plenty of political controversy, but President Barack Obama may want to temper his enthusiasm for it: GM's plug-in hatchback has just --- 46% --- domestic parts.

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