Cadillac News: Rumorpile: More Details on The Cadillac ELR

[William Maley]

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

July 2, 2012

General Motors has been quiet on the new Cadillac ELR since announcing it would go into production for the 2014 model year. However, Car & Driver has uncovered some information that shines some light of what we could expect of Cadillac’s new extended-range EV.

It’s been bandied about that ELR would share the same Voltec powertrain used in the Chevrolet Volt, but rumor has it that the ELR will swap the current 1.4L engine and use a naturally aspirated variant of Opel’s newly-developed Ecotec MGE engine. The Ecotec MGE engine is the base for a future family of low-emissions, direct-injection four-cylinder engines that will eventually replace most of GM’s Family 1 engines. For those wondering what a GM Family 1 engine is, the 1.8L four used in the Sonic and Cruze is one of them.

The Ecotec MGE engine block has been engineered to have a max displacement of 2.0L, though Car & Driver says expect the engine in the ELR to a 1.8L or less.

Another problem facing the ELR is weight. Compared to the Volt, the ELR is expected come with a wealth of luxury appointments and refinement, which means added weight and less range on electric power.

For 2013, the Volt gets a larger 16.5 kWh battery pack, which increased its electric range to 38 Miles. That gives us a hint the ELR might be getting a larger battery pack to overcome the added weight.

Source: Car & Driver

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[G. David Felt]

WOW, Talk about Bloat!

I thought the Volt did better than 38 miles on pure electric. Was it not rated at 80?

I would have expected the ELR to drop to about 60 due to weight and the traditional luxury bloat, but this is crazy. 38 miles only?????

So in rereading the C&D story, I can understand the limitations, but I still have to wonder about the battery pack challenges when you have other companies stating 200+ miles on electric. Why can GM only get so little out of the battery pack?

[Robert Hall]

I thought the Volt was rated at 40 or so for pure electric.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Volt was only 40.

Wouldn't losing 2 doors cut weight?

I think the bigger news here is the engines. Those engines will eventually find their way into the Sonic and Cruze, neither of which are currently direct injected. Fuel economy and/or power on both of those models should improve nicely.

[Z-06]

The Volt was only 40.

Wouldn't losing 2 doors cut weight?

I think the bigger news here is the engines. Those engines will eventually find their way into the Sonic and Cruze, neither of which are currently direct injected. Fuel economy and/or power on both of those models should improve nicely.

Minimal weight loss if any. Because the structural components, body panels are still there.

[smk4565]

Unless they build this car out of carbon fiber it is going to be obese, and no one wants a 4,200 lb Delta platform car for $60,000. That makes a Cimarron look good. I think GM is making an error here, unless they can find away to deliver electric drive at ATS level performance. If they can make a performance electric car I am all for it, if this is a Cadillac that drags to 60 in 10 seconds and drains the battery in 30 miles, then no thank you.

[CanadianBacon94]

WOW, Talk about Bloat!

I thought the Volt did better than 38 miles on pure electric. Was it not rated at 80?

I would have expected the ELR to drop to about 60 due to weight and the traditional luxury bloat, but this is crazy. 38 miles only?????

So in rereading the C&D story, I can understand the limitations, but I still have to wonder about the battery pack challenges when you have other companies stating 200+ miles on electric. Why can GM only get so little out of the battery pack?

Volt was 35, goes up to 38 for 2013

[hyperv6]

I hope the styling helps sell this car as I think it may be a challange. I hope I am wrong but I worry this one may not be a big sales hit.

I think GM should have done a small Minivan like the Chevy they showed in China. THat would have appealed to the eviro people much more.

[ocnblu]

This topic affects my keyboard. It makes one of the keys stick for some reason.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... see wut I mean?

[regfootball]

the next step for the volt to evolve is weight loss and high tech materials.

maybe the volt just continues as the first production applications of newest technologies....

volt should shed 500 pounds......

[CreativeVision]

At what point does the Volt and ELR become pointless? With mild hybrid vehicles getting the same or better mileage for less money, who is really going to buy these cars? Am I missing something?

[hyperv6]

I think the key is they plan to keep investing into these kinds of cars till batteries improve. The power cells are key and at some point with enough time and money being invested someone will solve the issue.

Even back in the day they knew how to make a light bulb but few could make one that did not burn out in a short period of time. Edison and others worked on it for a good while till better materials were found to solve the issue. Save idea applies here.

The key to keeping this market going is if they can even sell limited numbers of these cars it will give more companies reason to invest money into development into new materials for these cars. No market no investment it is that simple.

[Drew Dowdell]

At what point does the Volt and ELR become pointless? With mild hybrid vehicles getting the same or better mileage for less money, who is really going to buy these card? Am I missing something?

The point is that the source of the rotational power is now moot. The engine in the volt is about as basic as you can get in a car today. it has not yet benefited from the technology gains other cars have. No direct injection no turbos

[Z-06]

At what point does the Volt and ELR become pointless? With mild hybrid vehicles getting the same or better mileage for less money, who is really going to buy these cars? Am I missing something?

The point of the car is not Fuel Economy, but alternatives to petroleum. You can put an ICE, steam power, or nuclear fusion reactor to run the batteries and it will run just fine. None of the hybrids can make such claim despite boasting bigger fuel economy numbers. So the vehicles are not pointless but of importance from this point on.

[Drew Dowdell]

Want a solar powered, steam wankel with a sterling engine waste heat collector? The Volt could, theoretically, use such a contraption and still operate as an every day car.

My wish for the Volt's next step is this: A very small displacement, turbo charged HCCI gas generator. HCCI can get 15% better fuel economy than a direct injected gas engine of the same displacement, but they don't like to rev. 3,000 RPM is about the limit for HCCI operation and then they have to switch over to spark ignition. This setup could potentially put the Volt into the 70mpg - 80mpg range

[G. David Felt]

Could the VOLT and ELR benefit from a Aluminum/balsa wood tub or better yet Carbon Fiber tub like what BMW is doing for the next M3? This would totally rock as the amount of weight loss would truly help push up the pure electric numbers.

I would think some of the corvette weight saving mechanical ideas would be used in the volt to reduce and increase the electric range.

Before anyone says anything, NO I do not see this taking anything away from the Corvette by using parts from the light car.

Edited July 3, 2012 by dfelt