Rumorpile: GM Resurrects The Cadillac Converj

William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

August 11, 2011

The Cadillac Converj concept received many acclaims when it was shown at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, which caused GM to pursue development a few months later. However the Converj project was given the ax in 2010 due to two reasons: GM couldn't make a profit on the small volume of Converjs being built and the worry of the of enginners the range and performance of the electric powertrain.

However, a source close to project at GM says the project has been revived. The source says executives at GM gave the project a green light. Why? Apparently the fears GM had before are now being washed away. If GM could price the production Converj at a starting price of $60,000, they could actually make some money or more realisticly, lose less money on the technology.

The source says the production version will get the Volt's current powertrain and possibly have a name change (pick any three letters). The production model is expected to come out in 2013 as a 2014 model.

Source: GreenCarReports.com

Mostly like, though give it just a bit more pep to help diminish the whiners (along with a switch to shut off the extra pep & get good range/economy).

Good move.

Keep the name - or at least give it a real one rather than 3 letters.

+1 on the name

Bad move if it has the Volt powertrain. Cadillac doesn't need a slow, FWD, overweight compact that costs 60 grand. Great move if they get 0-60 times down to 7 seconds and make it handle like a CTS (read RWD).

This goes to show Cadillac's poor product planning though. Why dress up a Chevy (the strategy that killed Lincoln) when you could electrify the ATS and make something fun, with performance cred and green cred.

I don't think it's necessary to have this thing make record laps around the 'Ring. If it comes to market as is, it's already by far the best looking electric car, ever. If meets or exceeds what the Volt can currently do, and looks this good, they'll sell very one of them.

AFA the ATS, I'm sure it's easy enough to drop eAssist into it.

I don't think it's necessary to have this thing make record laps around the 'Ring. If it comes to market as is, it's already by far the best looking electric car, ever. If meets or exceeds what the Volt can currently do, and looks this good, they'll sell very one of them.

AFA the ATS, I'm sure it's easy enough to drop eAssist into it.

Amen to that.

This is the car that proves electric doesn't have to be ugly.

The Volt could have if it looked like the concept, and I get why it doesn't, but this one should come to market with its style intact.

That is what will sell it.

Bad move if it has the Volt powertrain. Cadillac doesn't need a slow, FWD, overweight compact that costs 60 grand. Great move if they get 0-60 times down to 7 seconds and make it handle like a CTS (read RWD).

This goes to show Cadillac's poor product planning though. Why dress up a Chevy (the strategy that killed Lincoln) when you could electrify the ATS and make something fun, with performance cred and green cred.

Case in point BMW i brand. Vehicles which are going to have all the attributes mentioned above. And you love that brand, don't you?

Do people not remember what happened the last time Cadillac tried to sell a Chevrolet compact with no change to the powertrain? I think we all know what we got, let's not go down that road again.

The other thing that is a bit worrying is SRX, XTS, Converj all FWD, and Escalade maybe joining them. That is a whole lot of FWD, and the big FWD luxury brands Acura and Lincoln are have one wheel in the grave. People don't want to pay $40k for a fancy Fusion or Accord, they won't want to pay $60k for a Volt. Sure a few people will buy it, but a few people bought the Allante and XLR, even the VW Phaeton. An plug-in hybrid or range extended electric or whatever you want to call it should be built on Alpha platform.

>>"People don't want to pay $40k for a fancy Fusion or Accord"<<

Really? They pay $40K for a fancy camry all day....

Well first off I don't expect this to be just a rebody of a Volt. I expect different tuning and the drive will be a much different experience.

GM can afford to do things with this car that they could not do with the Volt since they were holding price down. Also this will be on a 2nd or even third gen drivetrain so it should have more range and better performance.

Hell the styling alone if they can keep it as it is will make the best looking eco car if not one of the best looking any kind of a car on the road. I had hoped they would save the styling if they did not save the car as this would make a great edition to the GM line just on style alone.

Before some here go off half cocked it is best to let GM lay out the plan as there is a lot more to this than just a rebodied Volt.

Bad move if it has the Volt powertrain. Cadillac doesn't need a slow, FWD, overweight compact that costs 60 grand. Great move if they get 0-60 times down to 7 seconds and make it handle like a CTS (read RWD).

This goes to show Cadillac's poor product planning though. Why dress up a Chevy (the strategy that killed Lincoln) when you could electrify the ATS and make something fun, with performance cred and green cred.

Case in point BMW i brand. Vehicles which are going to have all the attributes mentioned above. And you love that brand, don't you?

The BMW i3 is RWD and the i8 is AWD. The i3 city car does 0-60 in 8 seconds, which is better than a Smart For2 or Aveo/Fit/Yaris type car. The i8 does 0-60 in 5 seconds, thanks to the electric motor up front and the 220 hp turbo 3-cylinder in back. It also has 50/50 weigh distribution, gets 94 mpg Imperial, and top speed of 155 mph.

And I don't love that brand, Jaguar is my favorite luxury brand, and I prefer Mercedes to BMW. BMWs have great driving dynamics and mechanical bits, but I never cared much for the styling (especially during the Bangle era). Although I think the new 5 and 7 series look better than the old ones.

While it would be a lot more fun if GM would make it RWD, I'm not sure that the market for plug-in electrics is really demanding that at this point. At the very least, I'm glad Cadillac gets a plug-in. I'm positive about this news, but I'd be ecstatic if it were RWD instead.

With an electric car, all you need is a larger, more powerful motor, and voila, you've got performance. And the best thing is, if you drive it like a normal Volt, you'll end up using no more energy than a Volt. There's no real penalty for a more powerful motor the way there is with a larger engine. Much simpler to engineer and modify than an ICE.