hyperv6

But at what cost? I don't think they have a cheap easy way to seperate the engine drive system yet. If they did we would already have it. I think if they are to invest in this car they should take the money and make sure the rest of the car is pure Cadillac. Once you get the car right the rest of the driveline may have advance to where they can move things. Besides the people buying this kind of car are not too worried if it is RWD or not.

I agree the buy back should have come if there people coming back and just do it on a case by case base. I really don't think many will take up on this as I have seen most defend the car. They are a very loyal group. As for the battery update it is just one of many running changes we will see. Things are going to happen that no matter how much testing you do, the real world is the real test. If it was easy to build a car like this everyone would have one. The key is for GM and those like us here to keep this in perspective and not over react like the press. GM needs to prevent the media from doing a 60 min hack job on this. GM handled the Truck fuel tank issue the one network was setting them up with. Remember they were using toy rocket engines because they could not get a truck to go up in flames as claimed. GM I think will let them investigate and will publish the facts on this and that will keep them in the clear. It is not like these things are just going off driving down the road. Like I have stated this car has enemies out there and there are other MFG's and media people who would love to make sure it fails. Some other MFG's know this car could kill their investments into their own EV programs they alread have started. It could make them change direction and cost them millions. That is on top of those who would love to see GM fail anyways.

We already have had Electric With Ferrari and Prosche. I would not be concerned with it yet but at some point I see this technology touching most models in some way. THere is still alot of work to do before that. It would be a 7th gen or later before you need to worry. It all comes down to how they build and use the system. If it was a Volt like system no V8 but if they do something new where the electric is more of a hybrid yes you might see a small V8. But you will not see a car like this any time soon. As for RWD on an Electic based Cadillac. I am not sure how easy that would be. I know you can move everything to the back but there would still be a need for a lor of things to be changed. The greatest challange would be a change in the cooling system for the car. Not only the engine would need a Fiero like cooling system but the batteries as well. I am sure the battery would also have to be moved too as the engine would be in front of the rear axle. Then where would you put the gas tank? The Fiero had it in the center of the car where the battery is in the Volt. It would be difficult to put up in the nose. Note the Fiero only has a 10 gallon tank and it was nearly as long as the wheel base. While it would not be impossible it is a lot more difficult to move this powertrain to the rear than just moving the engine and motors. Now with a full electric it could be done much easier but GM is not ready for that yet in anything but a more basic car. Once they have better batteries it could be a much easier deal.

It was not too long ago 17" was exotic and expensive. Today they are average as standard tires and price. I remember when I put 16" on the Fiero and everyone was amazed at the big tire. Today it is the smallest tire I have. In fact the 14' inch stock size is hard to find. I have 4 vheicles 2 with 18" on 17" and the 16". The new Colorado will not come with anything less than a 16". It could even jump to 17" with a 18" option. GM needs to intergrate the larger tires as a factory deal and try to keep the price down. The Dealer Option wheels are just traps for people who don't know better to buy else where. I think tires will stay 18"-22" as once you get past 22" there is little reason to go larger. The handling does not improve and I don't think the rotors will get much bigger. Styling wise would be the only reason and it would have to compenste the wheels ride with better suspensions to deal with it. Most 14" tires are limited and I see the 15" getting less and less common. The key to any new car regardless of tires size is to get the size matched to the wheel well. Also you need to match the size to the style of the car. Too much body and too little wheel can make a good car look silly. Just imagine a Chrysler 300 with large fender gaps and ugly small tires. I saw a Silverado today that had 20" factory wheels in a silver that almost looked tan. It was one fo the best looking new Chevys I have seen. I am not a fan of the new trucks styling but the color and wheels really set this truck off. The 20" wheels and larger tires really made the 18" ones on our Silverado look silly and undersized. His truck has the same tow package but looked lowered. Ours looks like a 4X4 with fender gaps.

I actually agree with this. Might not be a bad idea to offer a conventional version of the Converj to spread the costs even farther. The bodywork is dead-sexy, so why not? The Styling alone will sell cars and if you can pop un a high MPG Turbo 4 it will appeal to many. The idea and concept of a small Cadillac is not the problem. The issue in the past they just did not do the right car. I think the Cadillac of today could do it right this time. GM of late has proven to be giving people what they want in styling and MPG they only need to earn their trust now with with quality as they keep improving the lines. God know this is better looking than a Aston IQ Martin. If they can sell the ugly little leather interior box GM could move these. Besides more of these they sell the easier it will be to add more power to a flag ship on the other end.

Shocking!

It would be foolish not sell another car based on this driveline. With the needed investment along with the investment already made they need to continue to improve and refine this system. Spreading the cost will only help. This car is not expected to make a profit for a while but at some point it will need to pay off. Cheaper parts and performace will be what help pay this off and only more development will get GM there. As for the Diesel and Hybrids they are coming anyways. It is going to take all of these to keep Luxury cars alive in the future. Selling the Electric Cadillac now will seed a segment that will be needed in the future. If you don't build up the segment the cars will never get the development and funding needed to improve them. There is no silver bullet here to solve the issues facing future regulations. GM will have to work all options to meet the regs and still sell cars people can live with. If you note the one goal of the Volt is to act and feel like a normal car. This is what they want to do with all types of new drivetrain technology and we will see them make attempts to meet this goal with all models.

Cimarron??? Cadillac needs to go up, not down to anything related to Delta II. Again you really need to see what they do before you prejudge. In time if things don't change many of Cadillacs cars will come closer in size to the Delta II. All luxury MFGs are looking for ways to present small cars that they will be able to sell, have little choice. This is not the last small Cadillac you will see as well as more small Benz, BMW or Audi.

I really did not expect that to have changed. I do expect it to ride, handle and may offer more performance. I think it will see the upgrades the Volt will get in time first and then pass them down to Chevy as they get new upgrades for the Cadillac. I expect it will show more power and longer ranges. Who is to say it has to have the same motors and battery? So while it may be based on the Volt it will not just be a Volt with more options. I just wonder with the slow start up and the battery concerns if this car will get pushed back or delayed.

My take is that the sight of even fleet trucks with wheels and tires that don't fit the wheel wells can effect the sale of non fleet trucks. It can turn a customer off before he really even considers it with the proper wheels and tires. As far as I am concerned the cheap trucks should look good too. If GM offered based trucks that did not look base they could pick up a lot of sales. I see many of my customers every day buy base trucks and spend a lot of money adding parts and wheels that GM GM does not offer on the cheaper lines. The money they leave on the table is money in my pocket. I think GM could do even more if they offered many of the bolt on options across the board. The guy who wants the loaded truck will always buy it but the low end guy would love to add a few easy options to his truck to make it more enjoyable and more a better value to him. Add this into the purchase price and it would make it easier for him to pay for it.

The battery will also go below 30% if you run out of gas. It will kick back to electric to get you to a gas station. It is limited but will still work. I think it is something like 7-10 Miles depending on the conditions based on what I have read on those who have tried it. 30% and 40% is the optimum state to preserve longer battery life. You can go below but it will shorten the life of the battery. Also if you store a Litium Ion say in other items they recomend a cool place with 40 % charge will help preserve the battery while in storage. Litium Ions are a good battery but there have things about them that will increase life and durability if used properly. Most rechargable batteries have traits that help or hurt them. Anyone who has raced electric RC cars with Nickel Cadium batteries know that they have to discharge the battery to charge it and keep a longer use life. But they also would heat up under fast discharge of use. With our trick motors they could get down right hot. There is just a lot for all to learn here and with the contiued improvments and changes we will have to keep up on it as what works on this version may not be the same on the next.

I was just passing on what GM has stated for months in several statments. I didn't feel it needed a scientific dissertation to go with it. If you want a scientific breakdown on it you will have to E mail Mark Reuss or dig it up yourself. At least now you know what to look for now.

I also expect some major styling changes to the Cruze in 2014. GM will not let this car get stale. With near 200,000 sold as of Oct they will want to keep it selling in this competitive segment.

GM needs to treat any Volt owner like royalty. These people with a high profile car need to be kept happy. With this car there is zero tolerance for a disatisfied customer. It is cheaper to keep them happy with what ever vs trying to repair an image after bad publicity. The damage would not only hurt the Volt but GM as a whole. I suspect there will be some changes to the car soon.

Ah... the Green Book So Memorable That You Don't Remember the Name. Since you apparently have access to this book (I do not), just riddle me this: What is the the procedure for discharging an internally shorted battery pack one the emergency techs have cut all the recommended leads. You stated its as easy as unplugging... then as easy as discharging it. If its so easy, tell us how to do it without damaging the vehicle or battery pack further or endangering personal safety. I'm not too worried about that car... I understand the Volt was cleared as being the direct cause. I'm more concerned with the NHTSA self-immolated Volt. Since you can't find it yourself? The Book Chevrolet Volt Charging into the Future By Larry Edsal. Do you want the copyright date and the ISBN number too? It is not great in details but lays out much of GM's plans and how things were developed. Here is the first repsonders guide https://www.gmstc.co...tResponder.aspx Here is another http://www.evsafetyt.../Chevrolet.aspx Sorry GM has the one they did after the first fire but I have not seen it yet. Someone on the Volt Forum may have it? It is out there but the NHTSA did not know it was available. From what I have read GM has stated that Onstar alerts them to a crash and they will send out people to deal with the battery. Why or how this was not done in the test crash is something that would have to be answered by GM or the NHTSA. GM has been working and stated the safety plans they have in place but there may be a disconnect in getting them out to all the people in need. The info is on line but many rescue departments may not been contacted directly. Note to GM has addressed where to even where to cut open the car as if they would cut in the wrong place it could be an issue. There is a MSD [Manual Service Disconnect] plug that will kill the power to the car. Here is one of the stories that notes GM plans post crash. While not in detail it lets you know what they have or have planned. http://www.huffingto..._n_1117673.html NHTSA wasn't aware of the post-crash procedures at the time of the June fire, GM officials have said. In the U.S., GM is notified of any severe Volt crashes through its OnStar safety system, and it sends a team to the car within a day to drain the battery charge to prevent any fires. In the Volt's system, Lithium-ion battery cells, which essentially are a single battery, are assembled into a pack of cells, and coolant is pumped between the cells to keep them from overheating. In the June fire at a test facility in Burlington, Wis., coolant leaked from the battery and crystallized, and that could have been a factor in the fire, GM has said. The fire came three weeks after a side-impact crash test and was severe enough to cause several other vehicles parked nearby to catch fire as well. Barra said that in all the Volt incidents, the battery cells were not involved in the fires, only the electronics within the battery pack. But she would not be more specific until NHTSA's investigation is over. Reuss said GM won't sell any Volts in other countries until it makes sure emergency responders, salvage yards and dealers have been trained to discharge the batteries after a severe crash. Sorry if I did not memorise every detail since I am neither a first repsonder or Volt owner. I do read many of the tech stories and try to keep up with what they are doing. I am sure they are looking to see if there are anything they can or need to address and will do so soon. I suspect the slow start up was not only for quality but to also address the issues that may come up. This is a whole new game and no matter how much you test something will always arise. If you look around there is a lot of good info out there but you do need to make the effort.

The key with the GM battery is it was designed for a car where the Testla was converted for use in a car. Better packaging, life and cooling were the intent of GM from what I read. Testla had to convert as they just did not have the money to make it from scratch. Not saying it is a bad thing but it is a less developed way of doing it.

Wow quotes your are at it again LOL! Looks like you need to read up on the Volt. There is a good book out on the Volt now It ia bright green and you can't miss it. Also there have been many things GM has done and addressed since since it was published. The book out lines how they were working with safety forces on training them how to deal with the new systems. Sorry they did not give dates and times where it took place. There have also been many stories that have also addressed many of the issues they faced and were dealing with since. As for the discharge statment it came from GM after the one burned in the owner garage, It was not crashed and that Volt was later cleared later from last reports. I think you can find these statements on autoblog.com if you dig for them.

Oh, really? Please explain how you can unplug a battery pack that is internally shorted and going into thermal runaway? You're also making a major assumption that one has to have an accident to have the battery pack damaged. What about the person who runs over a board with some nails in just the right way... or some steel shrapnel on the highway... people run this over and if the car doesn't immediately stop working, they forget about it... or even someone looking for revenge with a screwdriver and a hammer? Sure, gas tanks have been slashed open... and its an immediate, obvious danger... taking a spike or a piece of rebar to the battery pack and the driver may never know. Overall, I still think the danger is fairly low to Volt owners, but its not something that can be simply dismissed as easily as "just unplug it". And I think the dangers to impound yards, bodyshops and junkyards is much greater, since damaged Volts will be parked there awaiting repair, lawsuits and/or dismantling. Junkyard fires are no joke, and I'm sure that GM's program of giving loaner cars will help no junkyard owner sleep at night. What if one gets hit with falling space junk and aliens shoot the battery with a ray gun? Relax GM and the industry are still learning and dealing with issues that they could not or did not cover. Also the many haters and lawyers are looking for ways to hurt or make a profit from any angle they can. I should not have said unplugged as much as discharge the battery as GM already has stated should be done. Like many things in the auto industry many of them have to be done differently anymore. The way we deal with fuel system, change brakes and even rotate tires we not have to reset the pressure sensors. Even jump starting a car much car needs to be taken as you can wipe out a simple fuse for the power steering or even damage the flash memory in the computer. This fire thing is much like the Fiero. Yes some did catch fire but few peope ever understood why. It was a simple fix but even GM tied to ignore it vs dealing with it. While there was an issue there were many other cars with a higher fire rate that we never heard about. Again thanks to the press and their selective attacks over the years on some cars do more damage than good. Few reporters really know the first thing about cars. The Leaf uses nearly the same type of battery but no one has even brought it up. Tesla uses a large number of lap top batteries too that are similar to the one that have caught fire in the past but where is the inquiry? Electric cars are not much different from say a I phone. They learn and update with each new model and year. Even updates will be applied to the Volt in due time. It is almost to the point I would not be suprised if they forgo the year and just call new models Volt 2.0 and 3.0S. Note GM has already been pro active in working with safety and fire crews to train them how to deal with these cars already. As for junk yards I expect GM plans on taking most of the batteries back as they are still useful after the car is done. They plan to use them for storage batteries and I would assume they already have those deals in place to make sure there are none in a junk yard or going to a crusher.

I like the way these two look (bigger rims & tires always make trucks look better ): But truth be told, I'm hoping the GMC is the butchier looking of the two... same as with the Equinox/Terrain offerings. GM really should consider using larger tires on the low end trucks. THey look so silly with the undersized tires. Even my wife who is not a car person says they look silly. Even if they are a less fancy wheel the larger size would make the trucks look so much better. One thing I have learned over the years is a good set of wheels make a bad car look good and a bad set can kill a good looking car. Size color and shape of wheels are one of the most important elements to a vehicle. Lutz helped kill the silly snow chain clearance rule and that has helped a lot of the car with much better tire to wheel well clearence. I expect the American models will get much better wheel and tire choices.

Just another case of a over reactive goverment agency and press. When you have any damaged electical item you unplug it. Same goes for the Volt as GM has stated. Besides odds are unless you hit a tree or pole and some how find a way to get the car home the owner will never see a fire. GM did all they could do in the position they were put into again by a bunch of clueless people.

So, those that "know" Reuss, is he basically telling us what the GMC Canyon-replacement will be like??? Let me take a stab at this. I think he is telling us it is going to be different. LOL! I was expecting it to be more upscale and offer things that the Chevy won't. I expect changes along the lines of the Cruze vs Verano. As for name Colorado has as much equity as Aveo. I think S10 would be fine asstill know more S10 fans vs Colorado. If the truck is good it really does not matter what you call it but with the old name that makes many think cheap it is just one more issue to deal with.

Cadillac needs to do what some truck owners are doing. Show the performance at the track. How many You Tube Video's do we see modified full size 4x4 pickups driving past a Viper or other perfromance car in the quarter mile. If Cadillac can build a AWD car with lots of Torque and power and show what it can do it will define in the minds of buyers this is not just some smokey economy package. People in this class will pay for performance and performance sells. Let Chevy sell the towing package trucks and the econo high MPG cars. I agree that the Cruze would be the best jumping off point. I also would offer it in the Verano as some folks who want high MPG and want some more quiet would like this car. Cadillac with their intent to sell them overseas is a no brainer to sell them here. I too agree this is a limited market for the near term. People can warm and change their minds on these cars if they could price them closer to the gas powered cars. Till them limit it to just a few cars and I would add it as an option to the Colorado and the Trailblazer once they anounce the will be sold here. GM will have to build the diesel market as right now it is still a limited market. It will be interesting to see how well the Cruze does since it is the corner stone to the future.

Cadillac needs to do what some truck owners are doing. Show the performance at the track. How many You Tube Video's do we see modified full size 4x4 pickups driving past a Viper or other perfromance car in the quarter mile. If Cadillac can build a AWD car with lots of Torque and power and show what it can do it will define in the minds of buyers this is not just some smokey economy package. People in this class will pay for performance and performance sells. Let Chevy sell the towing package trucks and the econo high MPG cars.

Higher MPG in this class is less a factor than in say a Cruze. Less maintenance is not as great as it used to be with the gains gas engines have made. Same with engine life. Besides most of these buyers don't keep a car that long as they move on to newer and better models. I agree they need to promote it but they can not do so in the same way as they would trucks or the Cruze. I think the key here is performance and match the torque with AWD. Also we have to consider people in Europe buy Diesels for reasons not important to Americans. Also they have Diesel on every street corner where as here in the states we still have large areas where it is not as easy to find. I also think there is a limited market here for it till you can grow it. Keep expectations low and build on this to create the market for them. The more you sell the more the fuel will become available everywhere. The real key is to get the present buyers who now buy the Euro Diesels to move to Cadillac. they are your prime buyers. While the die hard owners may not be in play those who are not loyal may give them a try. Selling a Cadillac Diesel in the American market is much more involved than it appears. It will take time and investment. Also it will take some creativity. The key here is to get people to spend the extra money and convince them they need this car as most right not really don't have a lot of interest. Overseas sales will help off set the cost if they can get them up to speed. That will be the important key. It will buy them time to let the American market grow.

Diesels are a mystery to most Americans. They all have their own ideas on what Diesel is and mean. Doe the most the average buyer does not know what Torque is. With the Cruze the key it to sell a car with 50 MPG or more as the average buyer gets this. The Truck guys understand Torque so they understand pulling power. The key will be to put Diesel into terms that a Cadillac buyer in this country will understand what it will do for him or her and why. MPG is not going to do it alone nor is torque as most of them are not pulling trailers with the CTS. Audi tried to do the racing and performace thing that worked to a limited degree here and I see VW now is pushing performance. I see if Cadillac does a Diesel for this country they need to push performance. Cars like Audi's ALMS cars made a great impression at the track with the great power they had and how quiet and clean that they ran. GM needs to sell this car differently than any other diesel they have or will have. For the most the Diesel will not be a cheaper option and you need to give them a reason they understand why they need it. Economy is not a great factor in this class nor is towing power. Now if they could price the Diesel at the price of a gas engine it would make it a much easier sell and people would be more inclined to give it a try. But with extra cost of the engine and higher Diesel prices it will make it a challange here in the states. It is kind of like the Volt issue where you pay more and it will take a while to see any savings so what is in it for me if I buy one? With the Volt they push the green thing. GM has nothing to lose to try as they already plan this engine package for Europe. If they have it there they may as well try here.