Details on the new +Cadillac PHEV are limited but the battery has the same cell count and capacity as the second generation +Chevrolet Volt so I do a bit of speculating.
As we saw so clearly at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, any brand that wants to stay competitive in the premium vehicle segments needs to aggressively adopt electrified powertrains. At the Shanghai Motor Show today, Cadillac joined the crowd that already includes Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. GM’s top brand already revealed the full-size CT6 luxury sedan with conventional gasoline powertrains a few weeks ago at its new hometown show in New York. In China, Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen is highlighting a new plug-in hybrid powertrain that will in all likelihood find a home throughout most of the brand’s lineup.
For the 2016 model year, +Cadillac is giving the +Chevrolet Volt-based extended range EV coupe some updates and $9,000 price cut that will hopefully spur some sales. Despite it's stunning looks, the excessively high price and so-so performance of the ELR have severely hampered sales. A revised sport mode enables more of a hybrid style of control with the engine and electric drive to provide more power and cut the 0-60 time by 1.5 seconds to 6.4 seconds.
Ever since the the Volt launched in late 2010 followed a few years later by the ELR, the powertrain control has consisted of four modes. When the battery has sufficient charge, the car runs electrically using either one or both motors depending on the speed. Once the battery runs down, at speeds up to about 70 mph, the engine would start up to maintain the battery charge while the main electric motor provided drive. At higher speeds, some torque from the engine would also be blended in along with the second motor. This whole setup provided greater efficiency at high speeds.
The sport mode now enables that blended driving control at lower speeds for more aggressive acceleration. We'll see if this is enough to spur sales until the ELR is discontinued entirely.
The last two generations of the Malibu featured lackluster mild hybrid systems, but this time around +Chevrolet is going all the way with projected combined mileage of more than 45 mpg.
It goes without saying that the current-generation Chevrolet Malibu has been something of a disappointment. Almost as soon as the Malibu hit the streets in late 2011, Chevrolet engineers began work on an all-new next-generation model that goes on sale this fall. While full details of the Chevy’s new midsize sedan will have to wait until next week’s New York Auto Show, I can now tell you about the all-new hybrid powertrain that will be available.
Now it turns out that GM has effectively acknowledged that Toyota was actually right back in 2007 when they said a power-split hybrid like they use would be more efficient than the series hybrid originally intended for the Volt.
In a somewhat ironic twist on the original and short-lived advertising tagline for the Chevrolet Volt, when the all-new second-generation Volt goes on sale this summer, it will be both more hybrid …
Performance Dominates Detroit Auto Show, Even for Hybrids
With gasoline prices hitting near inflation-adjusted all-time lows, performance and design once again came to the forefront at the January 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit – e…
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*This past Monday +Chevrolet unveiled the second-gen Volt at #NAIAS2015 *
#TBT After I first wrote about the original concept eight years ago this week, I followed the car all the way to production. Along the way, in November 2009, I was fortunate enough to be among the first group other than GM engineers to get behind the wheel of the Volt with chief engineer Andrew Farah riding shotgun.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/30/2011-chevrolet-volt-quick-spin/?
#TBT After I first wrote about the original concept eight years ago this week, I followed the car all the way to production. Along the way, in November 2009, I was fortunate enough to be among the first group other than GM engineers to get behind the wheel of the Volt with chief engineer Andrew Farah riding shotgun.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/30/2011-chevrolet-volt-quick-spin/?
Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.
The second-generation Chevrolet Volt has arrived
Here's all we know so far about what's changed
#naias2015 #nextgenvolt ?
