tMarking the return of Cadillac production to Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant after a two-year hiatus, the 2014 Cadillac ELR started shipping to dealerships on Tuesday. The vehicle includes one of the most advanced LCD touch screens on the market.
tThe coupe, with a SRP of $75,995, offers the first extended-range electric vehicle technology of its type by a full-line luxury automotive brand. The ELR’s driving range, which combines battery-only electric power with a range-extending gasoline-powered electric generator, exceeds 300 miles. Most daily commutes will require no gasoline and emit no tailpipe emissions, the automaker says.
tCompeting with the Telsa Model S, the ELR offers an 8-inch touch screen integrated into the dashboard that can handle multitouch gestures similar to smartphones — tap, flick, swipe, and spread. What’s more, as a user’s hand approaches the screen, the command icons appear.
tOther offerings include a text-to-speech feature as well as music, addresses, maps, phone numbers, and points of interest. “The ELR represents a new dimension of art and science,” says Mark Adams, Cadillac’s design director.
tIn related news, GM announced today that it is joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Partnership in a bid to drive benchmarking of fuel consumption and reduction of emissions by freight shippers and carriers. The goal is to minimize the automaker’s carbon footprint.
t“Our environmental impact extends from our supply chain to the use of our products,” says Mike Robinson, GM’s vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs. “This EPA SmartWay Partnership provides a useful tool to help our company and carriers — who already share our environmental commitment — to reduce emissions and save fuel and money.”
tGM will collect its shipping activity data, including which carriers the company uses to ship freight, the number of miles traveled, and freight weight. In its 2012 Sustainability Report, GM identified its supply chain as one of 10 material issues facing the company with respect to economic, environmental, and social impacts. That same year, the company engaged its logistics suppliers to make the most of routing, which reduced greenhouse gases by 62,000 tons.
tAccording to the EPA, 28 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the transportation sector. Of that percentage, approximately 30 percent is freight related.
