I've wondered why it took so long for some luxury car makers to start making EVs–especially Rolls-Royce.
An ultra-luxurious barge that silently and effortlessly wafts you along at 100 mph in mere seconds? Yeah, electric cars can do that.
Why is October so important? Federal tax credits on new and used EVs expire on September 30.
That means that, in just a few days, the $7500 tax credit on this Cadillac Vistiq disappears–assuming that our test car lost an option, though, as the credit applies to vehicles with an MSRP up to $80,000 and ours had a final sticker price of $80,520. Maybe just drop the black roof and save $600.
Will shoppers of a luxury EV notice the loss of the discount? Maybe? Above the fold on Cadillac’s page for the Vistiq: lease deals as low as $749 per month. (The details, of course: 24 months, $7479 due at signing and 25 cents per mile over 20,000 miles.)
Tax credits aside, how’s the car? As expected: quiet, comfortable and fast–just like every other luxury EV sold today. Cadillac boasts a 305-mile range, zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds and 23 speakers.
Never got tired behind the wheel. Easy to get in and out of.
Exterior looks are more traditional that other offerings. Not sure if the wraparound display is for everyone, though.
I really miss CarPlay, however, as GM no longer offers it on its EVs. For me, it’s a one-button solution for calling up directions, music and communication. In a crowded luxury SUV segment, that could be my deal-breaker because, let’s be honest, all of today’s offerings are quiet, comfortable and fast.
I've wondered why it took so long for some luxury car makers to start making EVs–especially Rolls-Royce.
An ultra-luxurious barge that silently and effortlessly wafts you along at 100 mph in mere seconds? Yeah, electric cars can do that.
Colin Wood said:I've wondered why it took so long for some luxury car makers to start making EVs–especially Rolls-Royce.
An ultra-luxurious barge that silently and effortlessly wafts you along at 100 mph in mere seconds? Yeah, electric cars can do that.
You would think so, but the hypercar market has flatly rejected EVs. Turns out that rich people want power in a way that is exclusive. A v12 is exclusive. You can get essentially the same powertrain smoothness out of a $30k EV.
After an overnight drive home from Pitt Race with Tom in the F-150 Lightning, I think I'm starting to understand the EV hype. Charging stops often didn't take longer than it took for us to use the bathroom / grab a meal, which was not what I expected. Definitely could see myself in one, sometime down the road.
In reply to theruleslawyer :
And that also went through my head: Is the Vistiq any smoother than an Ioniq 5, for example? If the answer is no, then what are you buying here? Prestige and features? (And, really, it’s whatever makes the customer happy.)
From what I read earlier today, EV numbers have been up the past two months. What will happen to those figures once the tax credits disappear on October 1? Will price cuts become necessary? And what will happen to nameplates like Cadillac that have so much invested in an EV lineup?
Guess we’ll all know more shortly.
This is going to be an interesting time because I could see myself getting an EV years from now. I test drove a 2026 BMW I5 (with the updates) and I sort of thought EVs make the perfect luxury barge for just driving around the streets. But as for now, my money will go towards supporting the weird choices that no one likes or cares about (manual sports cars/sporty cars in colors that aren't black, silver, white or grey).
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I think the used market will stay depressed for a while. I think MFR will try to boost EV sales in the states with incentives still on the table from the state level.
The lease loophole rebate deals will be DOA of course and residuals will be bad for a while, so I expect EV leases will be crappy for a while.
I think at the end of the year a few MFR might try to clear out some old EV models.
Toyota and Subaru are rolling out revised versions of their EV SUVs, at fairly competitive price points.. so those will find homes.. just not many of them.
theruleslawyer said:Colin Wood said:I've wondered why it took so long for some luxury car makers to start making EVs–especially Rolls-Royce.
An ultra-luxurious barge that silently and effortlessly wafts you along at 100 mph in mere seconds? Yeah, electric cars can do that.
You would think so, but the hypercar market has flatly rejected EVs. Turns out that rich people want power in a way that is exclusive. A v12 is exclusive. You can get essentially the same powertrain smoothness out of a $30k EV.
Hypercars are about drama. That's the purpose of V12s with exhausts that spit flames. You don't want that in your luxobarge. If the engineers at Cadillac had access to silent, smooth, high torque electric propulsion when they made my 1966, they would have definitely used it.
Note that some EV makers have had to sell cars without tax incentives in the past. When we bought our Model 3, it was sunsetting for Tesla so it was only 50%. GM also ran out of incentives on the Bolt and I suspect Nissan did as well. We'll definitely see a sales dip but I don't think it's going to totally crater the market because people are starting to understand what they do and don't bring to the table. We would definitely buy another as our primary vehicle.
23 speakers? Well, that's the Cadillac way, right? More is more.
Just looking at the list of cars eligible for the tax credit, and I forgot that the Dodge Charger was built in Canada.
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