GM Chevy Volt

[vfx]

GM Volt Cost May Limit Value to Drivers, Study Finds

A rechargeable auto with the Volt’s target range of 40 miles on electricity is “not cost effective in any scenario,” a study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found. Plug- in cars with smaller batteries may be a better value, according to the study, which doesn’t cite the Volt by name.

 

[vfx]

GM Volt Cost May Limit Value to Drivers, Study Finds

GM fights back

GM Defends Chevy Volt; Calls Critical Study Faulty - Auto Observer

The mistake in the study that "jumps of the page," Lauckner told AutoObserver, is the assumed baseline cost of the lithium-ion batteries used by the Volt and, most likely, other future PHEVs: $1,000 per kilowatt-hour.

 

[vfx]

My gosh, it's been a whole week since GM rattled the PR tree.

Could the Volt Jump-Start GM?

 

[graham]

Interesting sort of validation of Tesla's business plan. Admitting they may have been better off starting with the Volt as a Cadillac...

 

[vfx]

"We're Electric" and "Here to Stay."

lol

California automakers Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive are speeding exactly in the opposite direction. Both sell electric sports coupes priced above $88,000 -- targeting well-off, environmentally minded buyers such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.

So we know Will has a Tesla (what ever happened at that customization shop?) but is Colin Powell a Tesla or Fisker buyer?

edit add:
will.i.am brought his ride to Platinum Motorsport -nothing on their site I could find.

 

[graham]

Colin likes the Fisker

Doug posted about this a while back:

[post]20690[/post]

 

[stopcrazypp]

An interesting video showing how it is to use the Volt every day.

[youtube]YXD30uA1th0[/youtube]

 

[vfx]

An interesting video showing how it is to use the Volt every day.

Except for the use of the word "radical" I thought this video was made to softly educate my parents.

 

[Kevin Harney]

Except for the use of the word "radical" I thought this video was made to softly educate my parents.

I am sure that it was ....

 

[stopcrazypp]

Except for the use of the word "radical" I thought this video was made to softly educate my parents.

I wasn't too sure how to describe it, I was about to say it's similar to those educational videos they forced you to watch in high school, but I decided to be nice.

 

[doug]

GM: Chevy Volt battery tech on track | Green Tech - CNET News

 

[malcolm]

Is it really necessary to include the word "Forward" on this diagram? Aren't the seats enough of a hint?

 

[vfx]

Is it really necessary to include the word "Forward" on this diagram? Aren't the seats enough of a hint?

Maybe they mean the seat move forward.

BTW, That pink tray in the back keeps flipping in an out for me.

 

[dpeilow]

Clearly out to ride on the coattails:

First Genuine Chevy Volt Integration Vehicle to be Completed on June 1, 2009 | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

 

[TEG]

Clearly out to ride on the coattails:

First Genuine Chevy Volt Integration Vehicle to be Completed on June 1, 2009 | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

No kidding!

...By the fall, it could be argued that GMs Volt fleet will surpass the size of the fleets of many of the start-up electric car manufacturers...

 

[vfx]

Plug in America says 10 year warranty too much for EVs.

 

[vfx]

=http://www.treehugger.com/files/20...s GM Volt's Commercial Potential : TreeHugger

Here are the relevant excerpts about the Volt:

Product mix: GM earns a large share of its profits from high-margin trucks and SUVs, which are vulnerable to a continuing shift in consumer preference to smaller vehicles. Additionally, while the Chevy Volt holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short-term. [...]

More on the whole Presidential Auto Task Force assessment

 

[vfx]

The battle lines are being drawn.

Chevy Volt -- 100 mpg, or 48 mpg? - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

GM considers the Chevy Volt an electric car. The EPA wants to classify it as a hybrid.

I'm sure Fisker is watching very carefully.

 

[Kevin Harney]

I do not see why it can not be done by miles/ energy unit. Say a jewel or something. Convert gas and electric and hybrid to all the same measurement. Hybrids use x amount of gas and y amounts of electricity so x + y = total energy used. Is this unfair in some way ?!?!!?!

 

[vfx]

Chevy Volt -- 100 mpg, or 48 mpg? - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

Had to read it twice. They keep saying "charged" but not where the charge comes from. Of course they mean from the onboard generator but what about the fully charged battery in the morning. Or not.

If GM's claims about the car are true, the 100mpg number would be closer to most people's actual experience of driving the car

Brings up the question..What about people who just get lazy or live/move to a place without charging access. That means they are always running the ICE motor.