Once upon a time there was a most wondrous electric concept vehicle that captured the imaginations of everyone in the charming car forest known as the Detroit Auto Show.  Heads were indeed turned, and all the townspeople smashed their hands together in a most thunder-like applause as the regally sporty car rolled along the carpeted forest floor toward its magical spinning pedestal.  All members of the appreciative throng looked on with twinkles in their eyes, eyes that made the minds of all present wrap around the enchanted promise of stylishly reducing mean, harmful carbon emissions.  Their minds now could picture the wonderful nexus of science and art, of a Cadillac design commitment to that very idea.

And we all lived happily ever after.  Well, if I got to drive one of these, I certainly would.  This car is darn foxy.  Cadillac has done amazing things with design recently.  I’ve been extraordinarily impressed by the Cadillac SRX and CTS designs this year, but the Converj is by far my favorite Cadillac, and probably my favorite car — ever.

So what makes the Converj more special than the hybrids we know today?  Well, unlike today’s hybrids, which use electric power to assist the internal combustion engine, the Converj uses the combustion engine only as a generator to recharge the battery pack.  Hence, the electric motor is always driving the wheels, no matter the speed.  That’s because the Converj uses Voltec architecture, the very same that will be used in the Chevy Volt.  That system includes a T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack underneath the car, an electric motor as the main propulsion source, and a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder internal combustion engine that (gasp) isn’t even connected to the drive wheels.  The Converj can travel 40 miles on electricity alone, and several hundred miles using its small gasoline generator.

The battery takes a mere three hours to recharge at 240 volts.  Obviously, the idea here is that commuters will plug the vehicle in overnight, giving the car enough electric power for a typical commute without burning any gas.

I think the Converj falls into the Field of Dreams category.  If you build it, Cadillac, people will come.   How could they not?  I can assure you that as soon as a Converj makes it to a Chicago Cadillac dealership, I’ll be there gawking.

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The car is green in other nifty ways as well.  The Converj’s roof incorporates solar panels into its all-glass design that help replenish power drained by the car’s electronics. Low-profile cameras are installed in place of traditional outside mirrors to reduce drag.  Also, the car makes use of renewable materials such as wool-blend carpeting, a silk headliner, and suede manufactured from post-industrial content.

This is a really exciting car for the environment and for drivers.  The Prius has never appealed to me, and some of the new hybrids look a bit too strange for my taste.  But I feel like Cadillac has finally made an eco-friendly car I can get behind.  And hopefully get behind the wheel of.

I believe this car, which promises to be the Cadillac of electric vehicles, will be popular across the range of car buyers as soon as it hits dealerships.  And now if you would please imagine me sounding like James Earl Jones for the next sentence:

Oh… people will come, Ray.  People will most definitely come.