Featured Cadillac, the latest Tesla killer

GMC exists in order to give Cadillac dealers trucks to sell without being Chevy.

 

The dealers will fight it, but ... In high volume areas some will take the lower fee, and those that don't well, screw them. In rural or low volume plug-in areas who really cares, but some dealers will allow it to help their communities, some will fight it.

GM dealers fought to stay in business far too hard, and ended up closing in the bankrupcy. I can see some dealers focusing on selling trucks, SUVs and cheap cars while allowing the corporation to sell and take the risks of the plug-ins.

 

lol @ this

 

Hey! Hey! I've got something NOT to say!

This is an investor update, not a formal vehicle launch. Also....

That's a lot to NOT be saying.

I still believe we are in the pioneering period and infancy of BEV reality.
Nissan Leaf aside, what appears interesting to me, is that BEV seems to be advancing the most directly in the high end, luxury vehicle segment.
Which kind of makes sense to me, because I think for most people that would actually make the investment at this point, you need a certain level of income. Maybe as simply as owning your own house, and being able to install a charger in a garage.
But if we are talking about the infancy of the evolution of the manufacturing and marketing of BEV's it seems this is going to be a rich baby.

What bothers me to an extent about vehicle ownership, is that it seems to me the gulf is widening. More and more it seems to me we have a segment of vehicle owners and buyers that can afford new vehicles, and within this segment that includes being able to afford nearly anything, whether that's a Prius Prime, Tesla, or a $60,000+ Truck.

Everyone else is stuck with some level of compromise. Entry level vehicles, often so spartan they make 5-6 year old used vehicles much more enticing.
And then those that simply cannot afford vehicle ownership period.

What is the modern day equivalent of the Model T? That is a good, reliable, new vehicle, affordable to the working class, and the hard working poor?
Automakers almost begrudgingly offer entry level vehicles, and even they are becoming increasingly expensive. And Ford and GM are turning away from selling sedans and hatchbacks in any form in North America. Drove past a Ford dealership yesterday and looked out over the parking lot, and saw only trucks and SUV's. From what they had parked out front, and what they visually were promoting, you'd think Ford exclusively made and sold ONLY trucks and SUV's. Which isn't so far from the truth.

I think it's OK that early BEV vehicle evolution seems to be catering to the Country Club set.
But having grown up, in the mass marketed reality of the Model T philosophy, that is a vehicle for the masses, and a vehicle for everyone, I wonder what the long term future of personal transportation will become as a whole.

I idealistically believe that it's unfortunate that I think the people that could most benefit from the fuel efficiency of a Hybrid, or even the benefits of a BEV, are those people that can in no way afford either.

Especially in the USA, I think we use to embrace the idea of the open road, as being nearly an American birthright. Whether reaching that open road was in a Cadillac or a spray painted VW bus.

I now wonder if the distant or not so distant future, has more of the masses becoming "riders" as opposed to drivers.

And I think it's interesting that updates to investors are being leaked as information about product direction and development. Seems today's product development choices are not being catered to the masses as much as to the money.

 

The reality you touch on is that few people will buy a “stripper” car or truck that would be affordable when new.
And further the government via various laws has banned very low cost cars.

So the new car market is optimized for new car buyers
folks that are too cheap to afford a typical new car don’t count as customers.

That said I have found that many lower end econo cars are actually cheaper brand new than most used offerings.
My 50mpg Cobalt XFE was $9999 while used versions of more or less the same car were usually $12000 on up in OK shape.

A brand new Mirage which gets mid 40’s real world is $8998 on up and really isn’t a bad car.

Sadly most used car buyers spend $20k on something that gets terrible FE and is much less reliable, just the nature of the business.

 

The flip side to the lack of selection of cheap new cars is that all the brands are more reliable today than in the past, making a used car a more viable option.

While BEVs are starting as luxury cars, the presence of incentives means a steep depreciation for the used market. Then with the models arriving being over 125 to 200 miles in range, a used one with a degraded pack is still workable for many as a commuter.

 

Priced a used Model 3 recently? I see darn little depreciation with some going for darn near list minus tax credit. A few above.

 

GM is in the process of becoming a Chinese company, it is their biggest market, so in the long run they don't really care that much what Americans think, or buy.

 

You mention a few models of affordable entry level cars but overall can you even buy a "stripped" down version of anything today?

When I was young, one of the first "New" vehicles I bought was a bare bones, basic, stripped down Nissan small pick-up. Unfortunately, including No Airbags, No Back-Bumper, and not even bucket seats, it had a slide around bench seat. It had "heat"...but the rest of it, was pure utilitarian. I loved it.
I added a back bumper, because it just didn't look finished without one. I saved up, and added a Stereo, and later a multi-disk CD player, and I thought I was driving the lap of luxury.
I think brand new, drive off the lot in the early 90's,- this cost less than $8000.

Safety equipment was probably the biggest difference. It had seat belts and little else. I can't even remember if my early 90's one even had anti-lock brakes at the time, they were just then coming into wide spread usage. If I remember right it did NOT have anti-lock brakes.

Advancement in safety equipment and requirements are great.
But nothing now is really stripped down.

A few years back I went to the Auto Show. There really is no "Small Truck" offering like those that Datsun/Nissan, Toyota and Ford use to offer.
I was amazed at how comfortable, "fully loaded, luxury automobile like" trucks had become, but I've personally been priced right out of being able to own anything new that has a truck bed. The prices I saw, and this was a few year back, were anywhere from $35,000-$60,000+. They are beautiful machines but I can't afford those prices.

Even what I'm driving now, is considered Honda's entry level vehicle. A Honda Fit.
And even though Honda will advertise the base price as around $16,000, my experience is once at a dealership, trim level upgrades across the board make finding one near the base level buy in point very difficult.
Just a few bells and whistles, and suddenly that base model, is costing you upwards of $20,000 or more. And you are buying a beautiful machine, but depending on what your income is...not a particularly inexpensive one.

 

What about the Leaf, Ioniq Electric, Focus Electric, Spark EV, 500e, Soul EV, smart ED, or iMiEV?

The Nissan Versa sedan is pretty stripped in base trim; may not have a radio.

But you aren't going to find such today among most models because the cost savings of skipping on power windows, A/C, and radio, is chump change once to the mandatory safety and emission equipment is added in. Then there is the very real possibility that such stripped cars were loss leaders for the manufacturer. They can't afford to keep around large sedans now. Making a few strippers in order to have that low advertising price costs too much now a days. Picking options a la cart is pretty much gone from the industry, because it costs more to do it that way

 

My commuter works just fine for me.

 

I do say Leaf aside...
but the rest of those options?
How many people are familiar with them?
How strongly are they promoted?
I think those options are great, but the fact that I had to be reminded of their very existence, is kind of the problem within itself.

There is a fully electric Honda Fit, but it's so rare as to me, not really be an option.

 

The post was to remind people that the used BEV market is not the Model 3 alone.
Going forward, more BEVs will come to market, which means more used options in time. Using used prices for a current model that has only been out for about a year isn't a good metric.

I left the Fit EV out because it was lease only.