Green Recycling the ELR
February 10th, 2016
by MonaroSS
Buick could get a modern GNX
Will Buick get the Avista? My money says no. Even when I used to discuss with Bob Lutz why GM did not do more coupes his answer was that if you are lucky you could sell 30,000 units of a new coupe - trouble is you need all 30,000 in the dealers on day one.
But an opportunity does exist for a Buick Coupe and the dollars make a lot of sense. That is because Cadillac is pulling the plug on ELR and writing it off as a loss. Why did ELR fail? Here is my take...
$70,000 was just too much for a bespoke 2-door version of Volt. People who are into fuel sipping and long range electric tend to be "practical" and thus think 4-doors hatch aka Prius. Flash swoopy coupes are not so important to them. And yet people who do like hot coupes tend to want a lot more power and don't really fuss about fuel economy and electric range. So ELR had no real target audience. Add to that to me it always looked like it's wheels were too small. They were of course 20 inch and were not small - but when we see exotic shaped cars like ELR they are usually badged Ferrari or Lamborghini or MacLaren and have huge wheels. So by comparison the ELR didn't quite pass the exotic test.
Take 2.
In hindsight Cadillac stuffed up marketing ELR and really can't have a second bite of the cherry as dropping the price to $50K fights against Cadillac's marketing strategy. But not against Buick's. Buick can start fresh with it's pricing and marketing.
However, the cost of the car is already written off. So the following is a very cheap way to bring a very different car to market.
Do an MCE on the ELR with new front/rear taken off of Buick Avista. Add bigger 22 inch wheels with flared fenders that further enhance the appearance of wheel size and thus add to it's exotic-ness, which ELR had - but not quite.
Add power by using the 1.4 turbo engine. Add rear suspension from the AWD Orlando and add 2x150hp electric motors driving each rear wheel. Re-write the algorithms for much more performance and add an Elon Musk style "Insane" button to access the full 450hp of the 3x150hp motors (600hp with overclocking). But equally retain an "e-Mode" button that runs it like the old ELR energy saving for rare times when fuel prices might rise to crazy levels or the owners just wants to cut their commuter costs.
But the final change in re-birthing the ELR as a Buick Electra Coupe would be to not market it as "green" - market it as "hot".
Electric hybrid drive just happens to be how it makes it's power - but should not be what defines it. It should be defined as a hot looking, fast and luxurious 2+2 coupe for the modern times. And when sold in places like Europe, where city centers are restricted, it will have access as it can switch to zero emissions with the press of a button.
Also with the emphasis taken off frugal a half battery pack version for less weight and thus an all electric range of say only 20 miles could be offered at a cheaper price point.
But it can also, with the push of an overclocking button, leave even modified older GNX's in it's tire smoke.
What do you think, tell us and come back to comment on what others thought as well...
February 10th, 2016
by MonaroSS
Buick could get a modern GNX
Will Buick get the Avista? My money says no. Even when I used to discuss with Bob Lutz why GM did not do more coupes his answer was that if you are lucky you could sell 30,000 units of a new coupe - trouble is you need all 30,000 in the dealers on day one.
But an opportunity does exist for a Buick Coupe and the dollars make a lot of sense. That is because Cadillac is pulling the plug on ELR and writing it off as a loss. Why did ELR fail? Here is my take...
$70,000 was just too much for a bespoke 2-door version of Volt. People who are into fuel sipping and long range electric tend to be "practical" and thus think 4-doors hatch aka Prius. Flash swoopy coupes are not so important to them. And yet people who do like hot coupes tend to want a lot more power and don't really fuss about fuel economy and electric range. So ELR had no real target audience. Add to that to me it always looked like it's wheels were too small. They were of course 20 inch and were not small - but when we see exotic shaped cars like ELR they are usually badged Ferrari or Lamborghini or MacLaren and have huge wheels. So by comparison the ELR didn't quite pass the exotic test.
Take 2.
In hindsight Cadillac stuffed up marketing ELR and really can't have a second bite of the cherry as dropping the price to $50K fights against Cadillac's marketing strategy. But not against Buick's. Buick can start fresh with it's pricing and marketing.
However, the cost of the car is already written off. So the following is a very cheap way to bring a very different car to market.
Do an MCE on the ELR with new front/rear taken off of Buick Avista. Add bigger 22 inch wheels with flared fenders that further enhance the appearance of wheel size and thus add to it's exotic-ness, which ELR had - but not quite.
Add power by using the 1.4 turbo engine. Add rear suspension from the AWD Orlando and add 2x150hp electric motors driving each rear wheel. Re-write the algorithms for much more performance and add an Elon Musk style "Insane" button to access the full 450hp of the 3x150hp motors (600hp with overclocking). But equally retain an "e-Mode" button that runs it like the old ELR energy saving for rare times when fuel prices might rise to crazy levels or the owners just wants to cut their commuter costs.
But the final change in re-birthing the ELR as a Buick Electra Coupe would be to not market it as "green" - market it as "hot".
Electric hybrid drive just happens to be how it makes it's power - but should not be what defines it. It should be defined as a hot looking, fast and luxurious 2+2 coupe for the modern times. And when sold in places like Europe, where city centers are restricted, it will have access as it can switch to zero emissions with the press of a button.
Also with the emphasis taken off frugal a half battery pack version for less weight and thus an all electric range of say only 20 miles could be offered at a cheaper price point.
But it can also, with the push of an overclocking button, leave even modified older GNX's in it's tire smoke.
What do you think, tell us and come back to comment on what others thought as well...