DETROIT — The Cadillac Converj made its world premiere on Sunday at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, giving onlookers a striking luxury touring coupe to check out — and offering up some insight into the progress of the Chevrolet Volt.
Writing in the corporate GM FastLane blog on Sunday, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz explained that the Converj is "powered by a further development of the Chevrolet Volt's electric propulsion technology, which we're now calling Voltec."
"The Voltec system currently consists of a 16-kw lithium-ion battery, an electric drive unit and a range-extending four-cylinder engine-generator," Lutz wrote. "In the future, the battery could be larger or smaller, and the engine could be larger or smaller as well. That won't change the concept or the technology of the Voltec system."
The four-passenger Converj, which is based on the Volt platform but looks dramatically different, can drive up to 40 miles on a charge. If produced, it is expected to be more expensive than the Volt, which is anticipated to carry a $40,000 price.
"As someone who has spent considerable time test-driving this technology recently, I can say that the engagement of the four-cylinder engine is seamless and largely unnoticeable," wrote Lutz.
He added, "The important point to remember when talking about vehicles like Volt and Converj is that electricity serves as the primary power source at all times and all speeds."
The posting, which was titled "Luxury Becomes Electric," emphasized that the Converj was partly created to underscore that the Voltec technology is "flexible," Lutz said.
Inside Line says: Cadillac gets its own version of the Volt, and the Converj promises to be one of the showstoppers in Motown. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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