In December, 2010 there were reports that a Cadillac SRX plug-in hybrid electric vehicle was in some pipeline somewhere, and that it would eventually plop into some sort of consumer reality. The same outlet that reported that story, Reuters, now cites six GM Deep Throats as saying General Motors has killed the SRX PHEV program.
Overlapping timetables were apparently the problem – by the time the vehicle was ready, the Theta platform that supports it would be at the end of its life. And it didn’t help that the SRX PHEV was expected to lose money. That made GM’s decision to cancel it, in spite of having spent money to develop the powertrain for three different vehicles so far, a little easier. On top of that, the program was never officially made public, so it’s not like GM has anything to apologize for.
The suggestion in the Reuters report, though, is that GM isn’t walking away from it altogether. A spokesman said, “I’m not going to comment on specific products or timing for applications, but we still see promise in the technology,” and it is known that GM CEO Dan Akerson wants to get Chevrolet Volt range-extending tech into other models, pronto. But after Saturn, Buick and Cadillac haven’t made the cut, what’s next?
