G. David Felt

Would require getting the Gov to get out of telling the Auto companies to include all the stupid nanny devices. Airbags all over, backup cameras, lane warnings, blind spot detection, etc.

It is amazing how many people think driving as well as Internet access, cell phones and TV are rights, not the Privileges they earn. I say we need to make it harder to get a drivers licenses. Way too many idiots out there driving that should not be.

Auto's were plenty safe in the 70's and we could have them as simple as then if it was not for the Gov trying to tell you what to do and when.

Body Snatchers

The Renegade is new, different and so will make a splash and have sales.

Down side, BIG DNA from the Terrible Fiat 500 line. Not sure I would be willing to take a risk on it as they have way to many problems right now on their new auto releases.

Yet to compare external and internal pics while nice, The Chevy does stand on it's own.

Sweet looking ride. I love it that you removed that airdam underneath. It looks way better.

Interesting, they should do well, I am just worried about their DNA connection to the Poorly built 500 World.

BMW may have lost some touch due to the electric steering and bigger vehicles, but they BMW buyers keep coming back.  I seem to remember a Car and Driver comparison and they said the ATS had the best chassis and best handling but the 0-60 time and fuel economy were worse than the BMW, and C/D didn't like the 6-speed automatic transmission or the CUE system.  The ATS doesn't do enough other things well to topple the Germans.

 

Advertising and marketing are a problem, but so is image.  Cadillac still has a lousy image with a lot of buyers.  They could make the ATS out handle the Z06, it still won't help it get sales, the rest of the car needs to exceed what the Germans are doing to get people to look at it.

99% of the ATS out does both MB and BMW. Just too many Badge snobs with their heads buried in the sand like an Ostrich and poor marketing / advertising to get people to check out the superior product.

Cadillac would do well to have MB and BMW identically equipped auto's on hand to allow real comparison to their ATS and CTS and this is where you will see the separation of the Curds from the Whey!

Going up against a stale product line from MB and BMW. The tweaks show they have not done much on their product line and a C refresh is nice but not revolutionary. Cadillac can and I believe will trounce people like you who only want them to fail to justify your NissaBenzeing of MB to be just another also ran of mass produced auto's.

Peas

Very true, people just starting out are not going to be spending on Hybrids or EV's. They need as cheap as possible transportation..

Cherries 

That is good information that I was not aware of. I find it interesting, but also still feel it is a waste of money to try and revive this name plate to the US when they have so many quality problems on product lines already here. It would make better sense to investing in making the existing products top in their market segments than to bring in another name plate.

With the terrible quality of auto's in the larger family, this is a waste of valuable R&D dollars that should be invested in the other product lines to make them solid and grow their already established low Quality  to a higher one. This is truly a waste of money.

Lovely cars, there were truly something special.

This should be interesting.

Personally the more I look at this the more Bland and just plain boring this car is.

So their Models at the auto show will be more reliable than the auto's. Maybe by 2027 is what he meant. 

anybody

This was a car that should have never been. If it was not for the R&D cost, I am sure they would have killed it after year 2.

First 4-year plant model changeover I've heard of.  Do you think it will be long enough to clear out v.1?

What you talking about Ocn?????????

Next Time I take a road trip I will snap some Photo's. The Signage is big and clear about EV stations at all the rest stops here in Washington and Oregon as well as at retail places and normal gas stations that have installed charging stations. Same with Tesla who has their Super Charging stations at the malls here. You see big signs and know where to go.

While not sure about California, I do enough driving that it seems to me that Washington and Oregon used the same type of signs to bring attention to EV stations just as they do for Gas and restaurants which makes it pretty easy to find.

Example is the exit to my house two big signs. One that lists places to eat and one that lists gas stations and those that have Diesel and EV have it listed on their signage where the others are just normal petrol only.

Yes but then the Hype about Volt 2.0 has made many decide to wait. Personally a VOLT 1.0 is still a good auto for everyone. I can see incentives to clear them out and many will end up with a sweet ride that they will love.

Great write up very informative. Who is that in the rear view mirror?

I want to know if a new V8/Northstar engine that is exclusive for Cadillac will come along.

I do not expect an update to the Northstar but I would expect an exclusive new V8 for Cadillac.

Road Runner?

By G. David Felt

Be for or against EV autos one cannot help but acknowledge that they are here to stay. California has long been one to push the industry in one direction or another. With change often came some interesting observations such as Tesla who has been funded and helped by government grants and yet for being in a state that pushed auto companies to build EV autos they lack a solid growing infrastructure for the Electric Highway in comparison to other states.

Electric Highway Map Washington & Oregon

Electric Highway Map California

While Tesla has done wonders for pushing their own charging stations, what about support for non-Tesla EVs? This is where a quick study of the Electric Highway Map shows that Oregon and Washington State has surpassed California for making much of the state and the major highway usable for electric road trips. The map shows an easy to understand network of charge points for going on an EV road trip.

I-5 is essentially the backbone of the EV highway on the west coast with the map showing the various supported state and federal highways with charging locations and type. California, while focused on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego loves to show off that they have an electric system, much of it is still in a planned stage leaving really only Tesla with a solution of getting around long distance.

The focus of the West Coast Green Highway project which is funded by Federal, state, city and business dollars is to give “Range Confidence” to those that choose to purchase an EV auto. This project is an extension of the Federal’s current and long-running EV Project which was funded in August 2009 and covers 9 states with chargers installed in Major cities and Metropolitan areas. The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF are partners in this long running project. Owners of these autos could apply and those that qualify could get a free residential charger at no cost. As of March 11 2013, the EV Project had met it currently funded goal for residential charging units and is no longer accepting applications. EV Drivers can still sign up and join in the monitoring project of the public charging units to help better understand the use, need, and type of chargers.

The layout of charging stations show that most are 20 to 30 miles apart with some being 50 to 60 miles apart which would require one to carefully and efficiently plan their driving. The one item that this map does not show is topography. The Pacific Northwest is a mountainous area that is also home to strong winds of which both can and do affect range of these autos.

Fortunately many will find that the West Coast Green Highway site covers all of North America with alternative Fueling station locators. The Electric Highway is a part of a broader effort by the Department of Transportation for Washington, Oregon, and California to expand the use of Natural Gas, Biodiesel, Ethanol, and Hydrogen options along the 1,350 miles of I-5 from the US border with Canada to the US border with Mexico.

In a drive for those that wish to help reduce greenhouse gas, clean up the air we breathe and give mother earth a break, the West Coast Green Highway project is a solid step in the right direction supporting many alternative transportation fueling options.

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