Anyone who thinks the Chevy Volt is expensive is not going to like this news. In fact, anyone who wants plug-in vehicles to succeed is probably not going to like how the just-announced base price for the 2014 Cadillac ELR electric luxury coupe will give ammunition to anyone who says these kinds of cars are too expensive. We'll cut to the chase: the ELR starts at $75,000, way more than previously predicted.
Sure, that's before any possible government incentives (from the feds, that can be up to $7,500) but it's also *before the $995 destination charge and other fees. GM highlights the fact that, when you add everything up, you could get an ELR for "as low as $68,495," but that's also roughly where a Tesla Model S starts. Given that Tesla has sold a lot of those EVs, maybe the ELR price point is what GM CEO Dan Akerson meant when he recently said, "If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac." We know GM has been watching the California start-up closely. Even if GM has Tesla in its sights, the powertrain in the ELR is basically the same as what's in the $34,995 Volt, a 16.5-kWh lithium-ion battery that offers up to 35 all-electric highway miles and 82 MPGe.
The ELR certainly looks very different – and premium – and we're expecting a drop-dead gorgeous interior, but that's still a boatload of cash, especially considering how well the Volt has(n't) sold. We shall see how the buying public responds when the Cadillac ELR goes on sale in January "in all major US metropolitan areas." One special feature? ELR buyers can call a special phone number – 855 4 CAD ELR - for "white-glove customer care."
What the fuck were they thinking???