ELR half price in 2 years......

[Caddyjack]

Talk about depreciation. This car listed at $76,000 2 years ago....now here's one for $38K.......
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cadillac-ELR-Base-Coupe-2-Door-/111850286995?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1a0acbef93:g:DVIAAOSwCQNWb1Mj&item=111850286995

What a bummer. I bet the ELR is a great car. Anyone have one?

[chrisntam]

It's a Volt, right?  Similar to the Cimarron / Cavalier back in the '80s?

Maybe bit more sleek.

[Rich S]

Pricing for the 2016 model ELR has been reduced by about ten thousand dollars or more. However, this one shows tremendous depreciation--likely because the new 2014's could not sell-out. There were no 2015 ELR's. The example at that link even has the extra-cost "Kona Brown" semi-aniline leather interior. I like the look of the ELR. It's interesting that a recent article of the "ten fastest depreciating vehicles" listed the third generation CTS Sedans as one of the vehicles. Hopefully, the new CT6 model can reverse this trend for our favorite marque. If only they would build a model based on the El Miraj concept car!

[Caddyjack]

Mercedes, BMW, and Audi all have convertible models at an abundance. Full size, two seaters.....they all have several models to choose from. Yet, Cadillac has NONE since 2009, and no full size convertible since 1976. (1985 if you count the Eldorado convertibles made by coach companies)

SO...HEY, how about a FULL SIZE convertible. The Allante and XLR were cool, but lets compete with Mercedes, BMW, Audi.......etc.......they ALL have current convertibles. And always will.

[Scot Minesinger]

I was just reading that all the expensive high fuel mileage car prices are down.  One of my friends bought one of these new and it was problematic since knew.  He took it back to the dealer within 3 months and purchased another Cadillac.  Cadillac treated him well and was fair on this issue.

For me it does nothing, and I would never buy one.  You don't buy a little car spending past 70k for a main feature being fuel economy. 

Yes Cadillac needs to start making a RWD V-8 convertible with a back seat.  The two seat convertible market is very crowded with pricing all over the range.  The convertible market with back seat is more forgiving, and if it was a retractible hard top that would be so cool.  I would buy a Cadillac convertible that seats five.

This could happen.  The new Camaro for 2016 is based upon the ATS platform.  The Camaro will be offered as a convertible in 2016 on this vary platform.  Maybe Cadillac will re-skin a Camaro in convertible form?  People would accuse me of a mid life chrisiss if I buy the Camaro convertible, but not if it was a Cadillac.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Talk about depreciation. This car listed at $76,000 2 years ago....now here's one for $38K.......

There are several things in play here.

1.  New technologies, like plug-in hybrids, tend to have more volatile pricing in the market.  The base price of the Chevrolet Volt has dropped about 15% since 2011 despite updates and improvements to the 2016 model.  The base price of the ELR dropped almost as much percentage-wise between 2014 and 2016.
2.  Relatively large factory incentives on new ELRs, even the 2016.
3.  There are significant potential federal and state tax credits and incentives which ONLY apply to new vehicles.  Depending on circumstances and the state one lives in, the credits/incentives could total well over $10,000.  Credits/incentives that are not available on used.
4.  While this may appear worse, for reasons mentioned above and others, heavy depreciation on luxury brands are nothing new.

[Big Apple Caddy]

It's a Volt, right?  Similar to the Cimarron / Cavalier back in the '80s?

This is not really a Cimarron issue.  Many, many Cadillac models over the decades have successfully shared platforms and other components with lower level GM models.  The ELR is not a Volt look-alike in the way that the Cimarron was similar to the Cavalier.

[patton6606@gmail.com]

Hello Langley

I enjoyed your analysis.  What is your opinion of the 1976-79 Seville compared to the Chevrolet Nova?

[Big Apple Caddy]

What is your opinion of the 1976-79 Seville compared to the Chevrolet Nova?

GM did a better job disguising the first gen Seville's Nova connection than they did with the Cimarron/Cavalier.  They also did a much better job than Ford did with the Versailles, Lincoln's answer to the Seville, and its obvious Granada/Monarch connection.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Not surprised in the slightest.

Were it not for government interference, all hybrids, electric cars, etc would be dead in the hole, never would have made it out of the laboratory, let alone production.

Battery technology is woefully underdeveloped for the application at hand, costs of manufacture, replacement and disposal, the cost of the vehicles and depreciation utterly annihilate the fuel consumption benefit benefits by a factor that is incalcuable. A fleet of '59 Limousines do less "harm" to the environment than a single electric car does after all is said and done: The "cleanest" car is the one that had already been built!

Same goes for the ethanol program which is another complete & unmitigated failure.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Battery technology is woefully underdeveloped for the application at hand, costs of manufacture, replacement and disposal, the cost of the vehicles and depreciation utterly annihilate the fuel consumption benefit benefits by a factor that is incalcuable. A fleet of '59 Limousines do less "harm" to the environment than a single electric car does after all is said and done: The "cleanest" car is the one that had already been built!

Ok but people aren't going to stop buying brand new cars.  If new vehicles are going to continue to be built, the idea is to advance the "green" technologies as quickly as possible so they do become better and more practical/desirable quicker.  It's definitely an evolving area and incentives and the like are in place now to more rapidly accelerate research and development as well as more rapidly encourage the buying, use, acceptance, etc. of efficient/cleaner vehicles.  I think the "payoff" so to speak is less about the immediate and more about the long term.

[57eldoking]

The future of automobilism is electric wether we like it or not. I'm the biggest petrolhead you'll find and will continue to drive a gasoline V8 for a daily driver as long as I possibly can. I do however have no problem admitting and even championing the development of electric vehicle technology. Tesla Motors has been a game changer in this field and their Model S has impressed & excited me like no other production car has in the last 20 years. The birth and development is Tesla would have been impossible without substantial government incentives. Sure as of today it is far from pollution free but we need to look beyond where we stand today. Production and recycling technologies will vastly improve and become cleaner and cheaper  in the years and decades to come. As will clean power! This technology doesn't devolop on its own, it is driven by consumer demand over time.

A comprehensive report on cradle to grave and well to wheel emissions comparing BEVs and internal combustion vehicles just came out last month. Today, even on dirty coal power , a Tesla S is twice as clean as a comparable conventional vehicle over their lifetimes.

http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/11/Cleaner-Cars-from-Cradle-to-Grave-full-report.pdf

[J.C.]

I'm a life-long Cadillac lover and I've had several Cadillacs, including two classics.  I have a 2013 Tesla Model S and I think it's the coolest car (no pun intended) on the planet - some have said t's the finest car ever made.  So, if Cadillac wants to be "The Standard of the World," why isn't IT building an all-electric?  Given that Model S sales far outpace ELR sales, why is GM so reluctant to conclude that there really is a business case for Cadillac to make a true EV? 

Now, the ELR is a truly beautiful car - why not dump its fuel tank and combustion engine all together and build the longest-range, two-door luxury EV possible?  I'd be first in line to buy it!  Going the plug-in hybrid route, though, means Cadillac has to charge a price for the ELR that's similar to the price of a new Model S - now, for the same money, why wouldn't a buyer choose the more exciting, trendy product?  It's no wonder ELR sales are sluggish.  Why not kick the car market in the behind and build an EV convertible with a back seat that would recall the '68 to '70 DeVille Convertibles or the '71 to '76 Eldorados?

I don't think the Volt and the ELR are the same car dressed differently.  I had a Volt and thought it was cool.  But Volts and ELRs aren't Cimarrons.  Cimarron's were simply just not too pretty.  Volts and ELRs are moving in the right direction and the problem with them is that they're half-steps - again, why not go all the way and make them electrics?  Why stand in the way of history?  Or progress?  Don't get me wrong - I love the brand and I'm shopping for my next classic Cadillac project right now.  But for the future, I'd love to see a bold conceptual seriously beautiful car that's super cutting-edge.  Leaders have to lead.  More Steve Jobs.  Less Henry Ford.  It's a new era.   

[57eldoking]

I agree John, and I think anyone who test drives a Model S will too. It baffles me how a car company founded 10 years ago now makes the most advanced luxury car in the world. I would dare to say the Model S is as innovative and game changing as the Eldorado Brougham was in 1957!

GM was on a very good track with the EV1 & EV2 in the late 90s. Those cars were the best electric vehicles produced up u til that point. They should have been developed further instead of scrapping the entire program. This was perhaps the greatest mistake made by Rick Wagoner in my opinion which is saying a lot!

[Big Apple Caddy]

So, if Cadillac wants to be "The Standard of the World," why isn't IT building an all-electric?

It appears that Cadillac's focus, as far as EVs, will continue to be on PHEVs in the near term.  The CT6 will be offered as a plug-in hybrid as will other Cadillac models.  EVs in general only account for a very very very very small part of overall vehicle sales so I think there's going to be plenty of time for Cadillac to be a player wherever that segment of the market ends up going.

The following Automotive News article from last month explains why Cadillac isn’t rushing into the "all electric" game yet.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20151123/OEM04/311239998/cadillacs-plug-in-play-hybrids-first-then-ev

[57eldoking]

Interesting article, Cadillac uses its place under the GM umbrella as an excuse for not developing a pure EV. Sounds like a lead from behind strategy! A far cry from the Cadillac of the past which was always pushing the envelope and living by its slogan Standard of the World.

[Big Apple Caddy]

I’m sure Cadillac is developing/researching behind the scenes but the technology, infrastructure, etc. isn't there yet for Cadillac to need to jump in quite so soon.  BEVs are not really on the radar for most buyers (they’re barely even on new vehicle sales numbers radar) and there's still more than enough time for Cadillac to do well in the "alternative fuels" market, wherever that market goes.

While "green" government regulations, incentives, etc. are allowing things to move along quicker than without, we are still so very early in this game.  Tesla is to BEVs what Netscape was to internet browsers 20 years ago and we all know where Netscape is today.  Obviously there's a lot more competition in the automobile industry and I'm not necessarily saying Tesla will suffer the same fate as Netscape but I expect Cadillac will become as relevant in the alternative fuels market, when appropriate, as they are in the ICE market.  Perhaps even more so.