This is the Cadillac Converj concept car. Yes, the name leaves something to be desired, but it’s a Cadillac using the Chevrolet Volt technology. According to Automobile Magazine:
The Converj concept is the latest rolling showcase for GM’s extended-range electric propulsion system, which the company is now calling Voltec. The Converj features the same 16-kWh, T-shaped battery, electric drive unit, and four-cylinder engine-generator as the Volt. Thus, like the volt, the Converj will go 40 miles on emissions-free electric power. It then switches to the four cylinder engine to provide power to the motor and charge the lithium-ion battery.
Although the Converj is based on the Volt, the design, from GM’s U.K. advanced design studio under the direction of Simon Cox, is pure Cadillac. Unlike the Volt sedan, it sports a coupe body style with seats for four passengers in a 2+2 layout. A small trunk is accessed through an even smaller opening. The overall shape resembles the CTS coupe concept that debuted at last year’s show with a bit of the Cien show car mixed in. The design emphasizes aerodynamics, with minimal grille openings, a fully covered underbody, and slim cameras in place of rearview mirrors. The smallest Cadillac ever made, the Converj is some 10 inches shorter than the CTS coupe. The Converj is about the same length as the Volt but it’s wider, due to the Cadillac’s larger wheels and tires (21-inches up front and 22 inches at the rear).
American auto makers do know how to make interesting cars when they take their heads out of their collective asses. I occasionally reminisce about my last car, a 1999 Chrysler 300M, and how much fun it was to drive really fast.
Am I naive to think that with universal single-payer health care American industry could start to be more competitive again? Is it wrong to think of universal health care as a national security issue? Because in my way of thinking, beyond caring for individuals, providing everyone with free health care is away of making our nation more secure and prosperous.