GM Leaks News of Volt-Style Cadillac

January 9, 2009

Several sources inside General Motors told BusinessWeek auto writer David Kiley that the company will show a Cadillac two-door plug-in series hybrid at next week’s Detroit Auto Show. According to Kiley, the concept vehicle—a new model similar to the CTS sedan although “smaller” and “bolder”—suggests that the company plans to use electric-drive technology, to be utilized in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, in other vehicles.

Kiley writes, “One GM executive says the Caddy’s drop-dead dramatic styling will make “‘people want it regardless of the energy source.’”

Kiley’s report is a leak of what might have been one of the biggest surprises of the Detroit Auto Show. GM’s Chevy Volt, a plug-in series hybrid or range-extended electric car, made a big splash at the Detroit Auto Show two years ago, but this year’s show will be dominated by new hybrid and plug-in cars from Honda, Toyota, Ford, Mercedes, Chrysler, and Chinese automaker BYD. The Cadillac concept could bring much-needed attention to the General Motors booth.

General Motors is still approximately two years away from releasing the Chevy Volt, which is due in November 2010. GM’s plans to introduce the Volt, and to introduce any other hybrid or electric vehicles, occur as GM is “reeling from billions in losses and needs government loans to stay afloat,” according to Kiley.


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  • Skeptic

    They’ll be parked over there, right behind the invisible Volts. Don’t you see them? Please give us money.

    So sad – a once proud company.

  • michaelcdoherty

    They could just bring the concept Volt back, call it a Buick, and then find out if people care at all about the aerodynamics/fuel efficiency.

  • Detfan

    Oh, baby!! I knew there were going to be several iterations of the Volt . . . . .

    Can’t wait to see hi def pics on this baby!!!

    GM is certainly on a roll. Have you seen the 30 MPG 2010 Equinox. Watch out CR-V!!

  • Boom Boom

    Oh, baby!! I can’t wait to see the proton accelerator that they’ll be putting in the car that will allow them to bend time and space to return to 1974 and destroy Toyota when all they sold was the Corolla in the US.

    I’m glad that my taxpayer dollars are going to help build these mythical automobiles. Perhaps GM should change its logo to a Unicorn.

  • Bryce

    Well, despite all the ciriticisms, it should be interesting to see a finely styled vehicle slotted under the CTS coupled with an E-rev drivetrain. It will be nice to see a an extravagant, yet efficient vehicle…..better than the supposed fuel efficient Lexus hybrids that get 25 mpg.

    It should be interesting to see the offerings from all the automakers though. Have you guys heard that there will be a track for media people to drive around some of the electrics at the North American Auto show. Should produce lots of interesting videos. (sadly they will not be allowed to drive 10 mph……: ( )

  • Drag

    Aerodynamic drag was clearly not a criteria in this CTS design. Depending on the implementation, I’m guessing that this Cadillac loses 4-10mpg at 65mph based on the area and lack of laminar flow caused by the front end decorations.

  • Shines

    I don’t know, if the Volt drive train is going to cost $30k then why not include leather seats and a Mahogony dash and sell it as a small luxury car for around $40k. It seems GM would have a better chance of making a profit on a Cadillac model over a $35k Chevy that Joe Average coudn’t afford to buy…

  • Bryce

    The vehicle pictured above is not the EREV spoken of in this article, but actually another Cadillac model. The article refered to it saying that the EREV Caddy would likely be slightly smaller than this vehicle.

  • Samie

    Cart before the horse?

    Not good enough for me since we know that the Volt will take years on the market to become profitable and efficient so why hype this up now? Instead why not focus on getting the Chevy Cruze out a year earlier instead of this artificial hype/bs.

  • ex-EV1 driver

    Sounds like they can’t get the Volt cost down low enough so they’re doing a bait-and-switch. We may see the Volt disappear and this Caddy come out at about $60K.
    It doesn’t surprise me and I still believe that once in production, battery costs will come down so they can eventually make an affordable car.
    This is probably more realistic of an approach for GM since initially, it will require a lot less up-front costs for GM to make a $60K car than a $30K car like they promised with the Volt.

  • RUOK2

    Is GM Kidding us !!!!
    The U.S. Government Rescues GM from the Abyss (with taxpayer’s money)…And the only thing that GM can come up with is High End Over Priced Vehicles …While we ( globally) are in the middle of the worst economic recession that most living people have ever experienced.
    Meanwhile, vehicle loans, leases, or any form of Bank Lending….has been “cut off” at the pass….since the Banks & Financial institutions aren’t even sure if they are going to survive…
    Good Going GM !!!!!

    Want to gain credibility, market share, and consumer respect, Make an “affordable” & “reliable” plug-in hybrid for the “masses”, the majority, the people.
    The U.S. consumer controls 2/3 rds of the economy….if the 2/3 rds do not have an affordable option …GM then has no future…

  • Ross Nicholson

    Yeah, forget Chevy, hello Caddie! Somebody woke up, looks like. Maybe…

    Now if they will only make it small enough, close all those absurd open wheel wells, & use flat stickers instead of draggy decorations, they may be getting somewhere. But they won’t do it right, they’ll do it committee. They’ll do it wrong.

  • vcorcl

    May be GM should deliver Volt first before considering the Cadidie version. Another public stunt from GM.

  • AP

    It would have made more sense to come out with the Caddie first, if the business case were all that mattered. But Toyota has given many the impression that hybrids, etc., are somehow “cheap to make,” by subsidizing their Priuses with profits from their Tundras and Sequoias (well, until recently, anyway – funny how their Mississippi Prius plant got canned when trucks became unprofitable). They could have made the Prius a Lexus, but making it a Toyota gives the halo effect to their mainstream brand – and they had the money to burn for the PR.

    Instead of criticizing GM for an irrational response to an irrational market, how about making the market for hybrids and electric cars more viable? See the posts on the hybridcars.com story “Bush Passhes Final CAFE Decision to Obama.”

  • Bryce

    I have to admit….the folks in GM’s pr department must be on crack cocaine 24/7 given the debacles they have gotten the company at large into. However, I have seen Toyota get themselves into a few good ones themselves….such as when they tried removing images of their vehicles from an image holding website because they were not copy righted properly…..even though they were all fn boys………they stopped being fan boys fast after the lawsuit….and the subsequent pictures of burning little Toyotas. lol…..it was hilarious!

  • Shines

    If GM delivers the Chevy Volt and then follows shortly with the Cadillac Converj they are making an intelligent decision. In stead of making the (what is it CTS?) coupe with a 550 HP gas sucking V8, make a quick beautiful gas unneeded sport coupe. If GM can get this concept to market faster than they’ve taken for the new Camaro (is the new Camaro even available yet?) they’ll have a winner.

  • Frank Smith

    Great Move this is going to be amazing

  • Bryce

    The CTS base engine is a V6…..not a V8……

    You are thinking of the CTS-V. Which is, by the way, an amazing driving machine. Just watch Top Gear.

  • Shines

    I was paraphrasing the New York Times article about the Converj in the show…