The Cadillac ELR is no underdog. Really, it’s in a class of one. That class is a range-extender luxury coupe, and one that costs $76,000 at that.
The ELR was previewed by the Converj concept of a few years ago and there have been a few changes. The super narrow headlights have been replaced with wider units while the exaggerated taillights seem to carry over. The ELR powertrain is based on the Volt architecture, so that means you have a battery good for about 40 miles and a gasoline range extender. That means a 300 mile point-to-point journey will happen before all the moving juice is depleted. Take a look. It could only be in America.
The ad for it called “Poolside” features Neal McDonough – the pride of Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood who once played Nicolette Sheridan’s creepy husband onDesperate Housewives – as the typical electric car buyer. Well, the typical Palo Alto electric car buyer with a $3.5 million home. And he’s apparently all about hard work.
“Other countries, they work, they stroll home, they stop by the cafe. They take August off. Off.
We’re crazy, driven hard-working believers. Those other countries think we’re nuts. Whatever.”
They think we’re nuts for other reasons. But hey, they can go eat sheep pancreas, I’ll add more cheese to things and we’ll call it even.
Neal, unfortunately, compares the ELR to Les Paul, Microsoft, landing on the moon and so on. That’s going too far. It’s all so smug-feeling. Smug in a way that makes you feel gross after watching the whole 60-second spot.
Not surprisingly, this ad was on Friday night between the coverage of the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. There was less flag waving when the U.S. team walked out than in this ad.