{"id":158112,"date":"2021-01-12T13:01:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T18:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=158112"},"modified":"2021-01-12T13:01:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T18:01:08","slug":"gm-offers-peek-at-ultra-exclusive-cadillac-celestiq-and-jetsons-like-flying-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2021\/01\/gm-offers-peek-at-ultra-exclusive-cadillac-celestiq-and-jetsons-like-flying-car\/","title":{"rendered":"GM Offers Peek at Ultra-Exclusive Cadillac Celestiq \u2014 and Jetsons-Like Flying Car"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra’s been pushing the company’s all-electric future, she offered a peek as some of that at CES 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra is fond of saying the automaker is \u201con a path to an all-electric future,\u201d something she underscored during a virtual CES webinar focusing on not only the automaker\u2019s battery technology but also showing off some of the many battery and autonomous vehicles in development.<\/p>\n

Along with models the automaker already has unveiled, like the Chevrolet Bolt EUV and GMC Hummer, several other projects were revealed during the hourlong presentation, including an ultra-luxurious new Cadillac dubbed Celestiq, as well as a flying car concept \u201cdesigned for the moment when time is of the essence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key\u201d to just about everything GM has in development is electrification, stressed Barra, who has led a massive shakeup of GM\u2019s traditional approach to the car business since being named CEO in December 2013. Barra recently announced GM will introduce 30 all-electric models by 2025, up from the previous target of 20 by 2023. Meanwhile, spending on EVs and AVs, or autonomous vehicles, will jump to $27 billion by mid-decade.<\/p>\n

(GM wants to revolutionize e-commerce with electric droids and vans.)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
GM’s Crystal Windham talks about Cadillac’s latest product, the Celestiq, during CES 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The automaker introduced its first long-range all-electric model, the Chevrolet Bolt EV, in 2016 and is set to begin expanding the line-up this year with the stretched Bolt EUV and GMC Hummer pickup. The pace will rapidly accelerate in 2022 when Cadillac\u2019s first battery-electric vehicle, the Lyriq SUV, launches, along with an SUV version of the Hummer and other products.<\/p>\n

The Cadillac brand was GM\u2019s first to offer a specific target date, 2030, for going entirely electric, and the new Celestiq will fill a long-opened gap as the luxury division\u2019s new flagship. First shown during a media backgrounder last March as a pure concept exercise, the project was formally confirmed during Tuesday\u2019s CEO keynote.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u201ca designer\u2019s dream,\u201d said Crystal Windham, Cadillac\u2019s director of interior design. While the Celestiq prototype was shown largely concealed by shadows during the webinar, the version seen by reporters last March bore much in common with the over-the-top Cadillac Sixteen concept of 2003 with what Windham described as \u201ca dramatic presence with a low profile and rear-drive proportions.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most distinctive features of the Celestiq will be an all-glass roof divided into four quadrants. It will use electroluminescent technology so that each of the exotic sedan\u2019s passengers will be able to change it from transparent to opaque. The instrument panel, meanwhile, will take things a step beyond what is offered in the latest-generation Caddy Escalade, introducing a video screen running pillar to pillar. There will be additional screens for rear seat passengers and additional touchscreens to operate climate and other vehicle controls.<\/p>\n

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GM didn’t offer an unobscured view of the Celestiq, but instead showed bits and pieces of the luxury EV.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GM officials have been mum about other details but Celestiq will use an all-wheel-drive version of GM\u2019s new Ultium BEV platform and, based on comments made recently by brand boss Steve Carlisle, range of 400 or more miles is likely. Meanwhile, the Ultium platform can deliver up to 1,000 horsepower, though it is not clear if the Cadillac Celestiq will push that high.<\/p>\n

During the Barra-led webinar, GM\u2019s battery lab group manager Mei Cai revealed some of the automaker\u2019s plans for the Ultium batteries that will soon start rolling off a new assembly line in Ohio built as part of a joint venture with Korea\u2019s LG Chem.<\/p>\n

The new cells will deliver 60% more energy than batteries used in today\u2019s Chevy Bolt and deliver as much as 450 miles per charge, depending upon the vehicle and the size of its pack. They\u2019re also about 40% lower in cost, which would mean something at or below $100 a kilowatt-hour.<\/p>\n

(GM rolls out new logo and marketing campaign pitching its corporate transformation.)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In addition to luxury EVs for the road, GM revealed a VTOL flying car.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But GM already is working on second-generation Ultium technology which, said Cai, will yield another 40% reduction in price and double the energy capacity \u2013 meaning a range of as much as 600 miles per charge. Last March, GM President Mark Reuss also noted a longer-term goal of reducing charging times to as little as 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lighter, more energy-dense batteries could prove critical for another project GM revealed during the Barra seminar. While just a concept, for now, it suggests the automaker is ready to join competitors like Hyundai, Toyota and Aston Martin in working on flying cars.<\/p>\n

The four-rotor prototype, dubbed the VTOL (vertical-take-off-and-landing), is \u201cdesigned for the moment when time is of the essence and convenience is everything,\u201d said Michael Simcoe, GM\u2019s vice president of global design.<\/p>\n

Even fewer details were revealed about the VTOL than about Celestiq, though Simcoe did note the concept would use a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.<\/p>\n

The flying car would be targeted at Cadillac customers, as would another prototype revealed during the webinar, this one a sort of living room on wheels that adopts the sort of toaster-on-wheels shape that we\u2019re seeing with many driverless vehicle concepts.<\/p>\n

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Michael Simcoe talks about the Cadillac Halo pod concept at CES 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GM\u2019s \u201cprovides a societal space for a group of friends or family to spend time together on their way to a destination,\u201d said Simcoe. Like Celestiq, it features an all-glass roof, \u201cbut encourages eyes to turn inside to focus on one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other things, the high-tech cruiser uses biometric sensors to constantly control interior temperature and humidity, as well as lighting and ambient noise levels, and even introduces aromatics to influence the \u201cwell-being\u201d of its passengers.<\/p>\n

(CEO Barra wants GM to be\u00a0dominant global EV maker.)<\/a><\/u><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

As with the VTOL flying car, the prototype is envisioned to become part of what Simcoe described as the \u201cCadillac Halo portfolio.\u201d No details were offered on production plans for either model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra’s been hammering a consistent message about the company for a while now: it’s “on a path to an all-electric future.” During a virtual seminar for CES 2021, she offered a look at what that battery-powered future holds, starting with the Cadillac Celestiq and a the VTOL flying car, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8,5,12,9],"tags":[],"make":[43,58],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,286,149,150,151,313,123,185,274,127,287,131,318,319,289,155,299,143,243,316,163,132,130,284,125,124,137,139,148,290,128,291,278,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158112"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=158112"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=158112"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=158112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}