The ELR coupe was Cadillac’s first attempt at a plug-in hybrid — the second being the equally rare CT6 PHEV — and it was a spectacular flop. Only in the marketplace for 3 years, only 2,958 ELRs were ever made. Now, greater than eight years after the last ELR rolled off the production line, they’re starting to point out up for affordable, and I could have found the most cost effective ELR up to now.
Various reasons have been given for the ELR’s failure, from its high price to its platform and powertrain that were shared with the lesser Chevrolet Volt PHEV. Initially, in 2013 (the primary model 12 months) Cadillac slapped a $75,000 MSRP on the ELR, which spooked buyers and sent GM back to the drafting board — it was about $35,000 costlier than a Volt. And who can forget that Super Bowl ad?
There was no 2015 model 12 months ELR. It returned for 2016 with some styling tweaks and an MSRP that was greater than $10,000 cheaper, but that also didn’t help. In early 2016, Cadillac announced that the ELR was going out of production.
Now the ELR has gotten ridiculously low-cost. Because of a tweet (h/t to @mike_m_klotz) I used to be in a position to find the most cost effective ELR I’ve ever seen at a dealership in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The dealer is named Pulse Autos. For those who ignore the standard buy here pay here lot feel and appear of the web site, you’ll see they’ve a silver 2014 ELR with a superb Kona Brown interior in stock for just $13,990. That’s quite a lot of automobile for a price that might otherwise get you into something like a heavily used Honda Fit.
Now granted, this isn’t probably the most perfect example of an ELR, but at this price, you may’t really expect it to be. There are a couple of issues, just like the indisputable fact that it has over 126,000 miles on it, so much for an expensive PHEV. The dealer also hasn’t made its Carfax report available, opting to go for a CarStory report that claims all the pieces and nothing at the identical time.
Probably the most glaring problem are the wheels. A keen-eyed observer on Twitter identified that the wheels on this thing are mismatched. The ELR had an optional luxury package that added chrome wheels — this ELR has wheels from the Luxury Package on the back, and the usual wheels on the front.
But still, this will’t be beat, especially for somebody in search of an affordable, interesting commuter, or perhaps a second automobile for a member of the family. Its 37 miles of all-electric driving range is plenty for around-town jaunts. The one downside to its powertrain are the long charging times, which even with a 240-volt charger can still be so long as five hours.
If this ELR doesn’t be just right for you, there are a couple of others that may be found for under $20,000. They’re even showing up on auction sites. One other 2014 ELR just sold on Bring A Trailer for $15,500.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
