Detroit Auto Show 2009: Cadillac Converj Range-Extended Electric Concept
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada 
on 01.12.09
The Volt has a Big Brother
For a car that won't be on the market for quite a while, the Chevy Volt sure is making waves. GM is already raising expectations through the roof by hailing it as the future of automotive transportation, and now at the Detroit Auto Show 2009 it is unveiling a Cadillac concept electric vehicle based on the Volt's powertrain (now called "Voltec").
Read on for more details.
Luxury Greenery?
The Converj concept seems to be kind of GM's Tesla. By that I mean that the goal is partly to make an electric car for the luxury market, but also to make this kind of powertrain desirable to those who only pay attention to design, comfort, and rubber-burning capabilities.
GM is now calling the Volt's drivetrain "Voltec", and that's what is powering the Converj. Bob Lutz said that the Voltec platform can accomodate a variety of sizes of batteries and electric motors, so it can be scaled up or down depending on the vehicle host.
Bob Lutz also said that, in theory, since the Converj has an all-electric range of 40 miles, and since most Americans have a daily commute shorter than 40 miles, you could buy this car and never have to buy gasoline.
Cadillac Converj Technical Specifications
Battery: T-shaped, 16kWh (it would probably be good news for GM if A123 succeeded in mass-producing li-ion in the USA)
Electric Motor: 120kW of power, 273 lb.-ft. (370 Nm) of instant torque
Top speed: 100 MPH
Seats: 2+2
MPG: Unknown so far, but certainly very dependent on how many miles you drive per day on average (we need a standardized way to test plug-in hybrids).
Photos: GM
See also: 23 Electric Cars Driving the Revolution
More GM Articles
Bailout of the Day: Automakers to get $17.4 Billion, Detroit Auto Show Still On
GM Puts the Brakes on $370 Million Chevy Volt Engine Factory
GM Volt Plug-In Hybrid to use Batteries by LG Chem
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Am I the only one that is going out of my mind with GM's smoke and mirrors show with the Volt and now the Voltec Powertrain?
Any of the other EVs or Hybrids I've seen have ACTUAL WORKING VEHICLES yet know one in the media or blogsphere seems to want to call GM on their BS about the Volt.
The ONLY video GM has ever released was one of a "modified" Malibu supposedly running "some" of the Chevy Volt's technology. And not very well I might add because the car was pushed more than it was driven.
Beautiful!
mliving, I guess you missed the Voltec powered Chevy Cruze that the GM execs used to drive in Washington DC for the bail out hearings.
not to be disccouraging, but here's what's going on in the reall auto market:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-autoshow-autonation,0,5207528.story
yes, people have already gone back to buying light trucks, suvs, and the like.
america's consumers have NOT gotten the message-
what will it take????/
more discouraging news re: autos
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/gm-puts-volt-engine-factory-plant-on-hold-plug-in-hybrid.php
and more:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/sales-of-hybrid-cars-for-2008-way-down.php
i really did NOT want to be in the historically predictable environmentalist doom and gloom posture at this point in our journey/work/struggle/whatever it is.
but i am very disappointed that two or three years after Mr, Gore's film, and all that followed, we still have SO far to go to reach people, to get them to change behaviors.
All those 'green' web sites that roll by on the Rotating Blogroll--who is reading them? are we just talking to ourselves/each other?
trying hard not to get discouraged. certainly does make the case stronger for firmer regulation--carbon taxes, much higher CAFE standards, deep Fed. investment in greener tech. including military vehicles, etc.
FWIW, GM does have a working driving Volt drive train being tested in a "mule" which I believe is a Chevy Cobalt.
will they produce the Volt or anything close to it? who knows, but they do have a working model.
@ Brendan: That's why even someone who doesn't believe in global warming, VP Bob Lutz of GM, was suggesting today that the government put a tax on gasoline (link below). Now that the automakers are developing and building all these more efficient vehicles, they themselves recognize that low gas prices would put the kibosh on all this investment.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2009/01/12/business/doc496b231d13606339495327.txt
the gov already taxes gas... you mean increasing the tax... yes, and we see how well they spend our money already.. damn liberals.