Some good news for a change

Lately, it seems like I’ve been reeling from General Motors announcements and life developments, such as the discontinuation of the Chevy Volt, Bolt EV production vehicles being split with South Korea (making it very difficult for me to get them for my clients), Cadillac getting the first new electric vehicles based on a new platform, the end of my dealership’s “Electric Avenue,” and others.

The Cruise AV is designed to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or other manual controls when it goes on the road in 2019.
Yes, the Cruise EV is a fully-automated driving vehicle, debuting in 2019. No steering wheels or pedals.

Today, I got some good news! The announcement came just after I left home, to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday, and drove from Fort Worth to Houston. That’s why I’m a little late in sharing this with you. General Motors announced that it is investing $300 million in (and adding 400 new jobs to) the Orion Township manufacturing plant. This is where the Bolt EV and its automated driving sibling, the Cruise AV are made.The investment announcement added the great news, that the investment is to: “produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle.” This new EV will be based on “an advanced version” of the Bolt EV architecture. GM had announced their next EV architecture will debut as a Cadillac and that Cadillac will become the flagship brand for GM’s new EV architecture. This left me wondering if I needed to relocate to a Cadillac. In fact, I spoke with the owner of the dealership about possibly moving to one of his Cadillac dealerships. Now, I will have another electric vehicle to share with my clients. The only questions, for now, is when???

About the author

An accidental EVangelist: On my way to work at Apple one morning, my car was rear-ended (and totaled) by an SUV, driven by a guy playing with his smartphone.
This led me to get my first plug-in vehicle.
I started blogging about my experiences immediately.
A year later, in 2013, I was hired by the dealership as their "EVangelist."
I became a board member with the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (www.TxETRA.org) and perform public speaking in the DFW area regarding electric vehicles and environmental issues.
I also teach others how to sell plug-in vehicles or manage EV sales.
I'm on a mission.

Comments

  1. From Steve Hanley on CleanTechnica:

    “This announcement doesn’t amount to a pisshole in the snow. Every company has to invest in new products. $300 million is chump change compared to what the rest of the (now US) industry is doing.

    “I drove a Bolt in Dubai last year and it’s a pretty good car, but it is hopelessly out of date compared to what Tesla is offering customers. This announcement is just ‘happy talk’ that amounts to admission that GM has no realistic plan for how to join the EV revolution.”

  2. Who under 85 views Cadillac as a desirable, high quality, high status, leading-edge brand?

    The first word that comes to my mind is over-priced.

    I don’t understand the choice of Cadillac as the primary badge for GM’s EVs.

      1. Exactly. The ELR might have had a chance if it had been priced lower than the Model S. Tesla is the more desirable, status brand.

  3. Buzz, I too love my ELR, thinking of moving up to a 2016 from my 2014. I will make ya a deal on it 🙂

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