2014 Cadillac ELR: Would you pay $75k for a two-door Chevrolet Volt?

By John LeBlanc With production of the 2014 Cadillac ELR set to go for later this year, the General Motors’ luxury brand has announced the price for its new, gas-electric plug-in hybrid will start at a $75,995 U.S. price — nearly twice the cost of the similarly-engineered Chevrolet Volt. While the 2014 Cadillac ELR’s lofty price may seem a bit ambitious, what with sales of electrified vehicles in general tanking, Cadillac is hoping that despite using the mainstream Volt’s extended-hybrid powertrain underneath, the ELR’s styling, exclusivity and upscale dealer service will justify its Tesla-like price. Based on the same, front-wheel-drive platform as the four-passenger, four-door, hatchback Chevy, the two-door Cadillac plug-in hybrid’s exterior styling (the coupe is wider, has 20-inch wheels and Cadillac's signature vertical, horizontal headlamps and taillamps) comes directly from the 2009 Detroit auto show’s Cadillac Converj show car. Inside, the ELR differs from the Volt via luxury fittings like “cut-and-sewn accented leather incorporating seeded microfibre, chrome, wood and available carbon fibre finishes throughout”, Cadillac’s CUE infotainment system and a host of active safety features, including Safety Alert Seat, Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning, and optional Side Blind Zone Alert with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and full-speed-range adaptive cruise control. Cadillac ELR buyers will also get better treatment at their dealer than Chevy Volt buyers with their own "ELR Concierge Representative" that will apparently “help with information on battery care, home charging, service scheduling and other issues.” While one could argue the slow-selling Volt is already a fairly exclusive vehicle, Cadillac is planning on limiting the number of ELRs for sale. The luxury hybrid will only be sold in about half the U.S. Cadillac dealers. And U.S.-based automotive industry research group IHS Automotive expects U.S. sales of just 2,100 ELRs next year and 2,700 in 2015 — about one-tenth the number of Volts sold in 2012. "We're only going to make so many," said Bob Ferguson, the brand's senior vice president responsible for marketing, brand management and advertising for Cadillac. "I actually think you're going to see a scramble for that vehicle.” What do you MSN Autos Canada readers think? If GM is having a hard time selling $40,000 Chevy Volts, how do you think a two-door version (admittedly, a model with more luxurious bits) will do? Or can the Cadillac brand demand that type of premium pricing? Source: Automotive News

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