GM Chevy Volt - Page 10

vfx · 08-23-2009, 12:30 PM

Met a guy last night who works at JD Powers. As you can imagine, they are car guys with a great perspective of what people like and buy.

He said he thinks the Volt will be a disaster and that he is not the only one there that feels that way.

DaveD · 08-23-2009, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfx

He said he thinks the Volt will be a disaster and that he is not the only one there that feels that way.

What were his thoughts about Tesla?

malcolm · 08-24-2009, 07:18 AM

Any reasons given for the (apparent?) impending disaster? Admittedly GM aren't helping themselves with this 230 campaign, but where would they be without the Volt?

vfx · 08-24-2009, 09:42 AM

He did not elaborate on why they were not bullish on the Volt (cause I didn't ask) but I got the impression at least part of it was about price point.

As for the Tesla, he had the grin...

dpeilow · 10-01-2009, 09:53 AM

GM's Hybrid/EV engineering director Bob Kruse resigns — Autoblog Green

I wonder if the same doomsday crowd as last week will be all over the blogs...

Brent · 11-20-2009, 08:30 AM

The NY Times has some nice things to say about a preproduction Volt.

Quote:

Unlike many electrics, including the Tesla Roadster, the Volt’s electric drive has no whine. The car feels solid and planted on the road. Clicking the Sport button on the dashboard releases a bit more oomph than when in Normal mode; in terms of efficiency, there isn’t much difference between the two except at peak power.

Arnold Panz · 11-20-2009, 08:34 AM

Volt’s No. 1 Question: How’s Life After 40?

The NY Times gets the first test drive of the Volt prototype where the gas engine kicks in. An interesting review -- very favorable to the Volt, but clearly some kinks still need to be worked out. An interesting dig taken at the Roadster. Clearly, someone needs to come up with a better word than "whine" to describe the noise by the electric motor.

vfx · 11-20-2009, 12:28 PM

This writing smells fishy.

Iz · 11-20-2009, 01:51 PM

Not only fishy but the fact they continue to compare extended range to BEV is daunting.

Volt was featured on NBC's Today Show. The follow-up video after Volt discusses Roadster.

Today Show Video Player

stopcrazypp · 11-20-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iz

Not only fishy but the fact they continue to compare extended range to BEV is daunting.

Volt was featured on NBC's Today Show. The follow-up video after Volt discusses Roadster.

Today Show Video Player

GM is deliberately doing that. They are focusing on "range anxiety" to hold back competitors like the Leaf. GM wants the benefits of both sides, they want to be called a legit "electric car" (for example the insistence that their car not be called a PHEV and inventing the term EREV), but they want to step on the pure BEVs that competitors are making.

For a company making a plug-in, they are the only ones focusing heavily on this point; even the hydrogen backers (Honda, Toyota) don't emphasize "range anxiety".