Well, damn. General Motors is pulling the plug on the Cadillac Converj extended-range electric vehicle to focus instead on bringing plug-in hybrids to its luxury brand, one of which might be the XTS Platinum concept we saw at the Detroit auto show.
The Cadillac Converj concept was a sexier, more luxurious version of the Chevrolet Volt we’ll see on the road by the end of the year. GM never confirmed the Converj, first seen last year at the Detroit auto show, was anything more than a slick showpiece. Still, everyone figured it was as good as done because GM bigwig and vociferous Volt proponent Bob Lutz (that’s him in the pic) said in January the project was a go.
But Bloomberg, citing “two executives with knowledge of the move,” says the General decided in late January to kill the project after concluding the car wouldn’t have enough amenities and range to be compelling for consumers. GM has decided to focus instead on developing plug-in hybrids for Cadillac because the batteries are smaller and cheaper.
Can you kill a project that was never officially approved?
Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told us the Converj was never more than an idea, and any progress that might have been made toward production was minimal.
“Nothing has happened in reality,” he said. “It’s an idea, and an idea as big as that one is naturally complex. It’s not been green-lighted for production, no. But that doesn’t rule it out either. ‘Dead’ is probably a little too strong a word for Converj — a difficult proposition is perhaps a better view of its prospects”.
That doesn’t really clear things up, but Caldwell says GM has a plug-in hybrid Cadillac called the XTS Platinum making the rounds. The Platinum sports a 3.6-liter V6 engine and a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. GM claims the drivetrain produces 350 horsepower and 295 foot pounds of torque. The car rides on the same platform as the Buick LaCrosse, and it could deliver 40 miles on a charge.
“This has merit and is being actively considered,” Caldwell said. “But that’s because it represents the next phase in hybrid tech, not necessarily at the expense of another tech. Certainly we have a hybrid today (the Escalade hybrid) so moving forward to a PHEV is logical”.
If Converj was, in fact, killed, it appears one reason for it was making a battery capable of powering the car.
“The future lies in plug-in hybrids with smaller electric range,” Eric Noble, president of the automotive industry consultancy CarLab, told Bloomberg. Killing the Converj is, he said, “a tacit admission from GM that they over-batteried the Volt”.
That’s an interesting point. The Volt has a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery, but the car only uses about 8 kilowatts. GM over-built the pack to ensure it provides adequate performance and capacity for the life of the car. GM has never said what the pack, which is being built by GM in Michigan using cells from Korea, costs, but batteries in general are widely said to run $500 to $1,000 or more per kilowatt hour.
Bloomberg says making the Converj luxurious enough to wear a Cadillac badge would have required packing it with features, which would have increased the car’s weight — and cut its range. GM has always said the Volt will get 40 miles on a charge before the gasoline engine kicks on, powering a generator that will keep the electric car rolling.
GM hasn’t said what the Volt will cost, but it is widely believed to be shooting for $40,000. That’s a lot for a Chevrolet, and GM says the price will come down as the technology is applied to other models and brands. But with GM casting doubt on the future of the Converj, it makes you wonder how viable that plan is.
Photo: General Motors
Wired
