Is GM planning an E-Flex Cadillac?
There have been some recent reports citing sources inside GM who propose that GM is planning to produce an E-Flex Cadillac:
It should really not be a surprise that GM hopes to put the E-Flex drivetrain into many future vehicles. By necessity this would include Cadillacs.
I could not confirm an immediate plan with GM officials.
Here is the official GM statement from spokesman Rob Peterson on the matter:
“The beauty of the E-Flex system is that it is flexible enough to incorporate different powertrain propulsion systems, design styles and if necessary brand characteristics. That said, the development team is currently focused on the development of the E-Flex System - fuel cell and range-extended variants - and the Chevrolet Volt only. Discussion about vehicles built on the E-Flex System for other brands is purely speculative.”
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13 Responses to “Is GM planning an E-Flex Cadillac?”
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October 9th, 2007 at 11:35 am
To me this is a no brainer. I don’t need any press release or some insider tip to figure this one out. Eventually all cars will be serial hybrids or all electric simply because they can do everything an ice powered car can do but only better.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Of course I want a family of E-Flex vehicles available, but I understand that GM as a business needs to focus on only the Volt at this time. They have said that they may have to take a lose initially and need to work out the technology and battery cost. So yes, they need to focus on making the best Volt as possible and over time the other brands and sizing will become available.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
GM needs to focus. If they are successful with the Volt, that opens many opportunities for other models. But if they screw it up,
they will lose the battle to Toyota or someone else.
Concentrate on the Volt. Get it right the first time and worry about the other stuff later.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I agree with Rashiid and SteveF. While I look forward to an E-Flex Cadillac and would purchase one, I really encourage GM to concentrate on the Volt and get it right. The other models can come later!
October 9th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I think that expanding this to Cadillac should be the last effort. The E-Flex would be much better off in Pontiacs and Saturns. Why? The series hybrid platform. Cadillac would benefit more from a parallel hybrid, because (for the most part) Cadillac owners are going to be sold more on increased power than mileage. If you want to bring some green to Cadillac, market a two-mode Escalade.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I would say that GM’s big problem is in supplying enough for the demand. And Saturn and Pontiac are more likely candidates for the next batch of E-Flexes than Cadillac. I
don’t see any advantage, however, to not pursuing Pontiac and Saturn variants. We’re talking interior design changes and sheet metal changes, which have nothing to do with mechanicals, which is where the bugs will occur. Look at the history of shared platforms - if one has mechanical bugs, then
all the variants have the same problems. GM can style ten new E-Flex variants and it won’t affect the Chevy version one whit.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Jim if you want to cater to power then electric has more potential than ICE! Fact is we should all be driving serial hybrids right now with just a couple of cheap lead acid batteries. Battery technology make the serial hybrid BETTER but old battery technology is still better than any ICE engine on the road today.
I am not JUST talking about gas milage. Serial hybrids with a 12v lead acid batteries are better in gas milage, better in speed if you want them to be, should be better than ICE in maintenance and up keep cost.
If anyone out there is worried about the volt flopping you are worrying needlessly. It doesn’t matter if the volt flops or not (which it wont). All the car manufactures know that serial hybrids are superior in every way to the cars we have now. The only hold up is going to be the time it takes to convert everything over. Every year more and more will be serial hybrids. It is just a matter of the time it takes to swap everything over which is a huge task and will take a decade or more. But make no mistake, serial hybrids are comeing.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I want a Cadillac XLR with four powerful wheel motors and a generator to keep up with them.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I think that GM producing a Cadillac with the E-Flex would be a good thing. It would not require that much more effort to produce. The technology is the difficult part, not the implementing it in the car.
Also, GM says that the E-Flex might initially loose money, but GM could charge more money for an E-Flex Cadillac than a $25k Chevy because people pay more for Cadillacs.
That being said, I still want the Volt.
October 9th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
[quote comment="10423"]Jim if you want to cater to power then electric has more potential than ICE![/quote]
It seems that in your excitement, you missed my point. I did not argue that Cadillac should never get E-Flex or that ICEs are better. From a marketing standpoint, Cadillac would probably sell more environmentally friendly cars if they were parallel hybrids.
While I have your attention again, Buick has decided to make its main focus reliability, and kudos for their gains. The E-Flex would probably do well there after it has:
1. Proven to be be basically reliable
2. The ICE was replaced with either all electric or at least a diesel engine to stress reliability. (Not hydrogen or anything exotic, since the typical conservative Buick buyer would fear the safety.)
October 9th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Well, obviously they need to focus on the Volt first and get that right. But after that, I don’t see any problem with a Cadillac E-Flex. I think the main attributes of Cadillac are comfort and status.
With American speed limits, gobs of power has been more of a status symbol than anything useful. But I think this is starting to change. There’s a new green kind of status starting to take hold. So in the end, a Cadillac E-Flex probably doesn’t need gobs of power.
Sure, a Cadillac E-Flex would need a little more power. This can be done with a bigger battery pack, electric motor and ICE. But I think the real difference will be an ultra-smooth, quiet, and responsive ride plus plenty of comfort/convenience extras. This will make it a Cadillac.
October 9th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
There’s no reason why the generalized e-flex architecture couldn’t be expanded to Cadillac. And no reason why a hydrogen fuel cell couldn’t be used — the onboard generator would be used more in a larger vehicle, and fuel cells are quiet, a luxury value; fuel cells are also more expensive, and could be mass produced first for the Cadillac brand.
October 9th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
E-Flex will eventually end up in all of GM’s vehicles. ICE-only cars will become antiquated dinosaurs that our grandchildren laugh about. I can see the basic E-Flex designed hanging around for a good 100 years after it debutes in the Volt. It is such a radical departure from the old, outdated, and inefficent design that plagues all of today’s vehicles- it truely is the next generation of technology for the automobile Industry. Whether they realize it or not, the people working on this project are changing the world.