RSS Cadillac confident attitude will attract the elite to ELR plug-in hybrid [w/video]

[Ringo64]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Cadillac

Cadillac is not going to pull any punches when it comes to promoting its plug-in hybrid ELR. In the real world, the company is showing off the Wreath And Crest's coupe with Chevy Volt technology at exclusive events with "groups whose members are affluent, green-minded and have an appreciation for design and innovation," says Automotive News. That evidently means young Hollywood celebrities and other well-to-do demographics. As Cadillac global chief Bob Ferguson recently told the industry publication, "If you live on the West Coast and you're an architect and you've given to environmental causes, you're probably going to hear about the ELR. We have sliced and diced who is likely to buy this vehicle."

"We have sliced and diced who is likely to buy this vehicle" - Cadillac's Bob Ferguson

In the realm of advertising, Cadillac evidently thinks a fast-talking, USA-USA-USA! Type-A personality is just the kind of guy who will convince those celebrities and architects to buy one. For proof, look no further than the star of this new ELR ad called Poolside that Cadillac is airing during the Olympics. There are almost no details about the ELR in this ad, just a whole lot of attitude mixed with humor (the "We got bored" line is funny).

In fact, there's almost no indication that the ELR is an extended-range hybrid at all. Short of a brief moment where our hero, actor Neil McDonough, unplugs his car from its charging station, you'd probably never know it's got an EV mode at all. That's undoubtedly a calculated bet by Cadillac, whose ad execs have undoubtedly noted that most electric cars are not selling well with an eco-first message, so they appear to be going with style and swagger instead. Scroll below to see what we mean.

The ELR has a starting MSRP of $75,000, and at that price, it's already out of reach for most Americans. Automotive News suggests that annual ELR production is likely to be just shy of 5,000 units, so Cadillac could be on stable ground trying to appeal to such a limited number of buyers. What type of buyers? Well, that remains to be seen.

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Cadillac confident attitude will attract the elite to ELR plug-in hybrid [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 10 Feb 2014 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Frosty]

I will never understand the nouveau riche thinking and I probably never will. This says I am willing to pay double for something that is a Cadillac badged Volt simply because I am rich and environmentally conscience at the same time, in order to impress my other artsy fartsy friends. It clearly means your not economically challenged like the rest of us - yet.

I was wrong about how successful the Escalade would be too. Just goes to show that common sense and common cents don't necessarily go together, especially when you have a ton of the latter, you don't have to worry about the former.

[Ringo64]

I will never understand the nouveau riche thinking and I probably never will. This says I am willing to pay double for something that is a Cadillac badged Volt simply because I am rich and environmentally conscience at the same time, in order to impress my other artsy fartsy friends. It clearly means your not economically challenged like the rest of us - yet.

I was wrong about how successful the Escalade would be too. Just goes to show that common sense and common cents don't necessarily go together, especially when you have a ton of the latter, you don't have to worry about the former.

Yeah, I don't understand it either. Then again, I could careless what other people think of me and my cars, I buy what I want.

Despite that there is a HUGE market for slight changes and badges (look at Lexus), people will pay top-dollar for a badge plus some leather and chrome.