Talkin' 'Bout Regeneration: Cadillac ELR Lets Driver Harness Power

A new feature set to debut next year on the Cadillac ELR puts control over energy regeneration in the driver's hands. Equipped with the Regen on Demand system, the extended-range electric compact luxury coupe uses paddle shifters that enable the driver to temporarily control the regenerative braking system, which captures and stores braking energy in the battery pack for later use.

To engage Regen on Demand, the driver removes their foot from the accelerator and pulls back on either the left or right steering-wheel paddle, according to Cadillac. That provides greater deceleration than normal coasting and is similar to when a driver downshifts with a manual transmission, Cadillac stated. Releasing the paddle disengages the feature, allowing the vehicle to coast normally; it cannot stop the vehicle.

"Regen on Demand enables ELR drivers to actively recapture energy when slowing down, such as when approaching slower traffic or setting up for a tight turn," said Chris Thomason, ELR chief engineer. "This allows the driver to take a more active role in the electric vehicle driving experience."

Automakers Say EV Noisemakers Too Loud

Two automaker groups are challenging a proposal for hybrids and electric vehicles to make artificial noises at low speeds. Congress authorized the initiative, aimed to keep drivers from pulling an Andy Bernard from "The Office" on nearby pedestrians or bicyclists, with the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in December 2010. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration followed with a slew of proposals, which the Detroit News recapped today. Automakers would have to implement sounds that could be heard amid background noise at speeds up to 18.6 mph; automakers could craft their own noises, and the requirement would phase in beginning with the 2015 model year.

Several cars, including the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, already have their own pedestrian-detection noises. But two groups — the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers — representing virtually the entire auto industry declared the rule "too complicated" and "unnecessarily prescriptive," according to a joint statement via the Detroit News. Current noisemakers in the Leaf and Volt would fail NHTSA requirements.

Association of Global Automakers safety director Michael Cammisa said Friday that automakers support the regulation's intent, but the noise requirements are too loud. The Detroit News reports automakers want the noise-making threshold lowered to 12.4 mph, or the phase-in period delayed to 2018 to give the industry enough time to adapt. They're also concerned about global standardization; rules in Europe and Japan don't prescribe noisemaking at idle while U.S. rules could.

EV Range Info on EPA's Website is Tough to Find

Finding the EPA's official combined city/highway range ratings for electric cars is not as easy as it should be. The EPA's website, FuelEconomy.gov, lists the rating in a comparison tool within its electric-car section, but not on the vehicle's main page alongside the prominently displayed miles per gallon equivalent rating. MPGe is not an estimate of how far a car can drive until it runs out of juice, like the EPA's estimated range.

The EPA defines combined range as "When the vehicle is fully charged, this value represents the approximate number of miles that can be traveled in combined city and highway driving before the vehicle must be recharged." In our testing, the EPA's estimated range has proved accurate with our long-term 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt. When driven until it was intentionally drained of power, our Leaf traveled 72 miles before calling it quits; that's a mile short of its 73-mile combined range rating.

2014 Cadillac ELR: Photo Gallery

The Chevy Volt has company: Cadillac unveiled its version of the extended-range electric vehicle, the ELR, at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

More 2013 Detroit Auto Show Coverage

Like the Volt, the ELR will have an approximate 35-mile EV range before the 1.4-liter four-cylinder range-extending motor kicks in. Cadillac says it'll offer more than 300 miles of total range. The coupe, however, will have a more upscale interior than the Volt as well as a more sophisticated suspension, 20-inch wheels and Cadillac's CUE multimedia system. Check out the gallery below.

2014 Cadillac ELR at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show

GM has produced its second car to use the extended-range hybrid powertrain first introduced in the Chevrolet Volt, wrapping the front-wheel-drive EV system in a striking two-door Cadillac luxury coupe. The ELR is a 2+2 version of the Volt, but features a far more luxurious interior, a more sophisticated suspension, 20-inch wheels and a proprietary Cadillac User Experience system.

More 2013 Detroit Auto Show Coverage

The electric performance should be similar to the Volt. The ELR will have an approximate 35-mile EV range before the 1.4-liter four-cylinder range-extending motor kicks in, allowing more than 300 miles of total range, but the coupe should deliver a more entertaining driving experience, as is befitting Cadillac's image.

Cadillac to Unveil 2014 ELR at 2013 Detroit Auto Show

Although Cadillac still hasn't released specifics on the 2014 ELR, the automaker announced today that the production version of the extended-range electric coupe will debut Jan. 15 at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Kicking Tires reported earlier that the four-seat ELR will borrow powertrain components from the Chevrolet Volt and will also be produced at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. Cadillac said that the ELR will feature a T-shaped lithium battery, electric power and four-cylinder engine generator. Like the Volt, the coupe's engine will kick in when the car reaches the end of its electric-only range.

While its powertrain is similar to that of the Volt, GM expects that one of ELR's strong selling points will be its exterior design. "Based on the Converj concept, ELR combines dramatic design with industry-leading extended-range electric vehicle technology in a luxury coupe," the automaker said in a news release.

The Converj concept, which we last saw at the 2009 Detroit auto show, shared the Volt's 40-mile electric-only range but differentiated itself with its luxury styling, which harkened the Cadillac CTS coupe.

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Selling Our Nissan Leaf Was, Well, Weird

After 19 months of testing, Cars.com has sold its 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car. In my original review, I questioned how much a used EV would be worth once the second generation came out. Would it be as undesirable as a previous-generation smartphone?

Well, the Leaf, along with all other EVs, remains in its first generation, and still our long-term test car's resale proved to be a complex affair.

Sticker-priced at $35,665 as equipped when new, our loaded 2011 Nissan Leaf SL with 11,000 miles sold for $19,000 last week after 48 days of tepid interest. This represents depreciation of 47% ... but that doesn't tell the whole story.

GM Aims for 500,000 Vehicles With Electrification by 2017

Call it a power play in the electric-car market: GM projects that by 2017 it will have as many as half a million vehicles on the road with some form of electrification. Its next plug-in vehicle will be the Chevrolet Spark EV.

The focus will be on plug-in technology; GM's introduction of the extended-range Chevrolet Volt has energized the automaker to focus on the electric-vehicle market.

"What started out as a technology proof point … has turned into a real-world starting point to push EV technology further and faster than we thought possible five years ago," Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of Global Product Development, said in a statement. "The unique propulsion technology pioneered in the Volt … will be a core piece of our electrification strategy going forward."

Not all of that experience has been positive, though. A report released by Reuters in September alleged that GM loses tens of thousands of dollars on every Volt due to development costs. Although the automaker disputed that figure, it acknowledged that Volt profits would not be immediate, but insisted that startup costs would be spread over future models.

GM Sends Volt Owners to Dealership for Fix

The Detroit News is reporting that GM told 4,000 owners of the 2013 Chevy Volt to head to the dealership to fix a charging glitch that could shut down the electric motor. It's not an official recall, however; GM is calling it a customer satisfaction issue.

According to the newspaper, the problem only affects drivers who use the Volt’s delayed charging function, which allows you to set up charge times. The affected vehicles could have a software glitch that causes the Volt to stall.

"We have received a few reports from owners that their electric motor has temporarily stopped working, resulting from a software anomaly when their vehicle is in the delayed time and rate charge mode. We're asking owners to bring their vehicles into their local Chevy dealer for a re-flash of the vehicle's control system, which should take less than an hour," GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho told the Detroit News.

No accidents or injuries have been reported. GM contacted all affected Volt owners on Friday.

Related
GM upgrading 2013 Volt software to address glitch (Detroit News)
Research the 2013 Chevrolet Volt
More Volt News on Cars.com

Regular Cars that Take Premium Gasoline

It's common to see "requires 91 octane gasoline for best performance" on the fuel door of sports or luxury cars. So, we scratch our heads when we see the same premium recommendation on a family car, hybrid or non-performance car. According to AAA's FuelGauge Report, the price difference between regular and premium gas is 32 cents nationally. Spending an additional $4.80 on a 15-gallon refuel isn't an insignificant amount of money, and you could save it if you buy a similarly efficient car at a similar price that runs on regular gasoline. 
 
Below is a list of cars that you may not guess recommend or require premium fuel. The manufacturer's fuel recommendation from the owner's manual or consumer website is listed alongside each vehicle.