It’s like that quote from The Godfather, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me right back in!” GM has shown a lot of promise recently, Cadillac in particular with the new CTS and its turbocharged V6. Of course, in true GM fashion, such applaudable brilliance must be subsequently balanced out by some action of unfathomable idiocy. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the $76,000 Chevy Volt, which Cadillac refers to as the ELR.

Lets get this straight, the whole entire reason that the Chevy Volt hasn’t sold well is because it is too damn expensive. Like $40,000 in a world where its competition cost $25,000. So naturally GM’s brilliant marketing people had a meeting and said, “I know what will really sell well. Let’s make a Volt with a Cadillac body on it and make it double the price!”

The whole entire point of a hybrid/electric car is to save people money. Such a car, with an entry price of $80 grand, entirely negates that purpose. And whats more, the ELR is not going to be a practical car. It is a two-door coupe with four seats. By comparison, you can buy yourself the much-hailed Tesla Model S for the same, or slightly less, money, and the Tesla will seat seven people.

Also, when I say the ELR is just a Chevy Volt in a Cadillac suit, I mean it literally. It uses the same 1.4L engine as a generator, and while it does net a tad more power at 207hp, it has the same 35mile electric/ 300 mile total range as the Volt. Frankly, these figures just don’t cut it for the price range when the Tesla comes with no less than 302hp and will match the ELR’s range. Now also factor in that the Model S will not use even one drop of gasoline, and also that it’s battery can be swapped out in less time than it takes to fill a tank of gas.

I’m sorry, but you would have to be completely brain-dead to purchase an ELR over a Model S. No matter what angle you choose, the Tesla is faster, more efficient, more practical, and arguably cheaper overall. The Cadillac has absolutely nothing going for it, nothing. It is a complete waste of money, and a total idiotic failure of Cadillac’s marketing department. Rest assured, the ELR will be a sales flop to be remembered…. like an expensive, electric Cimarron. We should all just try to forget it exists because the rest of what Cadillac is doing is actually pretty darn good. Instead of one ELR, go buy yourself a new CTS and a used Volt. Those two will give you the everything the ELR will, and more, but without branding you as the village idiot.

-Nick Walker