Cadillac ’s Converj concept was one of the most stunning of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, but shallow pockets may curtail any of General Motors’ production plans for the sleek two-door. As the embattled automaker tries to turn around its North American operations, the Converj may be left to simmer on the backburner.
The Converj was designed with production in mind, but plummeting sales may force GM to focus on other projects first. Speaking with Automotive News at the Detroit show, GM vice-chair Bob Lutz said of the Converj: “Ready to go? Well, first we have to prove to ourselves that we have the money. And then that it’s a high enough priority to displace something else, and that we can actually make money on the vehicle, and that there is potential customer interest and so forth. We haven’t done any of that work yet.”
While all those factors are still question marks at this time, GM likely wouldn’t have much of a problem making a profit on a production version of the Converj. Unlike the target market for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt – which shares the Converj’s Voltec electric drive system – potential customers for the Converj wouldn’t be as price sensitive, allowing GM to build a profit into the car’s MSRP. With the Volt expected to list from $40,000, it wouldn’t be all that big of a leap to ask customers to pay $50,000 for a Cadillac version.
However, given Cadillac’s limited market share – both here and abroad – the Converj still has a pretty tough business case. In this tough economic climate, GM’s money would be much better spent on volume models rather than niche segments that won’t see sales over 10,000 units for years to come. That being said, we wouldn’t completely rule out the Converj from Cadillac’s future vehicle lineup.
