RedEvilRPS13

lol it's all good dude!

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SoSideways

I didn't read through this whole thread, but the Volt that was shown on TV commercials up until the reveal was much sharper looking, and looked more sporty.

The "production" model looks like a Prius with sharp lines, not cool at all.

exitspeed

I agree, the concept and the production are almost two completely different animals.

Concept


Production

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exitspeed

Looks like the tax credit they are trying to get passed is $7500.

So $40, is now $33,000. And consider the Camry Hybrid is about $30k+ and only gets 36mpg, the Volt should look more appealing.

That is if this is what the credit turns out to be.

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ryguy

I think it still looks much better than a Prius. I guess it isnt really a sports car anyways, I'm sure it will achieve it's purpose, getting from A to B without fossil fuels.

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S14DB

Last year the Camry Hybrid MSRP was $25,200, This year is $26,200. I found a nice blue one around me for a Sticker of $30,444. The dealer was going to give me a deal for $35,138...

I can see dealers 'absorbing' the $7500 in a mark up when this thing comes out. If they didn't already in the MSRP.

Dealerships are marking up hybrids and anything fuel efficient. I didn't even ask how much the mark up was on the TDI Jetta after I saw the waiting list. GT-R markups seem like amateur hour compared to how they are working people over MPG.

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exitspeed

Yea, it sucks the manufacturers don't have control over dealers doing that. Even with mark-up, when the car comes out it is going to have so much hype that it should carry it through the initial "mark-up" period it will inevitably see.

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exitspeed

Her's Bob Lutz' reply to the Volt getting some critism in the looks department. Good read.

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

We’ve weathered a lot of skepticism since the Chevrolet Volt concept was introduced at the 2007 Detroit show. The Volt has been called “vaporware” by some members of the media. We’ve heard executives from other manufacturers tell the press that the battery technology won’t work. We’ve even been accused of using the Volt to “greenwash” our image.

Well, as everyone knows now, the Volt is real, and the covers have come off. And it represents nothing less than the first step in the reinvention of the automobile.

The vehicle’s design has come under some criticism, most of it, to me, unwarranted. The challenge to the designers wasn’t to design the most beautiful car imaginable and accept the compromises you have to make to do so. It was, make no compromise to fuel efficiency and electric range, and then do the most beautiful design possible, around those aerodynamic dictates.

When you look at the exterior of the Volt, you might notice certain aerodynamic shapes and design elements of some other cars you might see on the road. But beneath the skin, it shares very little with any other car that’s ever existed. So I submit that while it’s typically design that makes an emotional connection with buyers, in this case, the Volt is going to be bought for emotional reasons, but it will be for the emotion tied to the technology contained therein.

The Volt means a lot to General Motors, and to the industry, on a variety of levels. First of all, this is solid technology that is going to be proven reliable. It’s a practical way that we can electrify the automobile and drastically reduce our dependency on imported petroleum. It’s also important to GM to help reinforce and continue its proud history of technological innovation, and to help restore the image of leadership that accompanied that history.

In terms of the impact of Volt on the automobile industry, I think you’ll see lithium-ion technology filter out to the rest of the industry, even to our competitors who initially said it wouldn’t work. I think they’ve figured out that we may well be onto a winning formula here, with 40 miles of driving powered by electricity from a battery and a small engine — powered by gasoline or E85 — to create additional electricity to power the vehicle for several hundred additional miles. I suspect most of our competitors will have vehicles with technology similar to the Volt within four or five years.

What does that mean for society at large? I think it can have an enormous benefit. Our statistics show that 78 percent of Americans drive 40 miles a day or less. That means that nearly 80 percent of Americans can commute powered by electricity from the grid, never using a drop of gas.

When we achieve substantial production, and if our competitors do as well, and the public takes to this new way of driving — and there’s no doubt in my mind they will — we will drastically reduce gasoline and/or diesel consumption and we will simultaneously be drastically reducing our dependency on oil. This puts the country in a much more comfortable place geopolitically and also helps the environment. So at this point, I think it’s very hard to overestimate the importance of the Volt for GM, for the industry and for society in general.

The production version of the Volt represents our progress, and our commitment to seeing that all become a reality in short order. We’d like nothing more than to see everyone drive a Volt and stop going to the gas pump so often to fill up on ever-more-expensive fuel imported from an ever-more-unstable part of the world.

With the Volt, you go home, you plug it in, and you’re done. And for roughly 80 cents’ worth of electricity, you’ve got a fully-charged battery, ready to take on another forty miles of gas-free and tailpipe-emission-free driving. If that’s greenwashing, then come on in — the water’s fine.

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OptionZero

I just read it weighs 1800kg or just under 4000lbs...is that right? Why the fuck is it that heavy?

Guess there'll be a market for dry carbon body panels then...where's kognition?

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exitspeed

Because it's carrying a shit ton of lithium-ion batties on board. Obviously it the weight isn't making much of a difference if it's getting 100mpg.

GM is deep into developing mass produced CF for their cars.

One step at a time.

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OptionZero

It's great they got the mileage despite the weight, but weight affects other shit like wear on brakes, tires, driving feel, etc. Just seems odd that they'd go thru all that trouble but didn't keep the weight around 3000lbs.

it's heavier than a 350z, for example

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S14DB

So, he's saying it takes 8 kilowatthour's to charge a night?

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98s14inaz

Nucking futs Not for $40k. GM needs to go back to it's roots, cheap cars/trucks for the working class man.

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ryguy

I wonder if it will use some kind of regenerative braking. I would bet that would help out the pad wear. Then again, SUVs weigh that much and don't seem to have a problem. I dont think people are going to be driving this car at the limit, so I won't worry about it.

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exitspeed

The gov set the tax at $5000. So now the car is $35k. Roughly.

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Yuri

Almost all that added weight is from the batteries as Exitspeed said.
I'm sure if you removed them, the Volt would be incredibly lightweight.

The overall weight is because the technology available for lithium ion batteries in an automotive application is still in its infancy.
Expect the battery packs to lighten up as time goes on, and batteries become more efficient.
Usually, I too would be making a deal about a cars weight. However, in this case it's easily explained, and I am thrilled that GM is releasing this car, even if I think it's rather bland looking.

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johngriff

Dumb.

"open your eyes" AYFK? Prius did every thing the volt does, almost a decade ago.

The EV1 Did more, 200 mile + range on 1 charge. and that was OVER A DECADE AGO.

Slow to market failures of technology is why GM is going to fail. And my GF just bought their stock this morning.

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exitspeed

The EV1 ailed because they didn't stick with it.

GM is 100% behind the Volt because it HAS to.

A LOT of the technology in the Volt has never been on the market.

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JapanImportsInc.

100 mpg i need one of these!~~~~

johngriff

Where is 100mpg at? I don't see it anywhere.

And they could just re-release an updated EV1, that doesn't run on petrol. If they could get 200 miles per charge in the 90's what could they get now? This is just furthering the American addiction to oil.

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exitspeed

Here John.

GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site » Blog Archive » Calculating the Volts EPA Rating, More than 100 mpg?

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johngriff

The car should be 100% battery powered. Or have more range (ie 200 miles like the ev1). 40 is just the sweet spot to keep the oil companies in business.

Which isnt a bad thing, I own exonn/mobile stock.

In Reality, it will get 50mpg, which is worse than allot of new TDI's.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJAlrYjGz8

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exitspeed

Statistics show that like 85% of Americans drive less then 40 miles a day. THEREFORE the people that buy this car will hardly ever even use the the gas. so it will just cost them the electricity.

I for one drive exactly (like EXACTLY) 20 miles a day with my 240. If I bought a Volt i would almost never have to buy gas.

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S14DB

I guess I should buy stock in stabil before 2010...

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