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Detroit, 4:03 PM
Wed Nov 25
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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02/28/09
I'll be outside huffing hydrocarbons.
02/28/09
02/28/09
02/28/09
02/28/09
02/27/09
Obviously, gas is a lot cheaper than that right now, and I don't see gas prices sustaining $4.50 or more anytime soon due to the economy and declining demand.
This doesn't even address my objections to people's mistaken belief that hybrids are better for the environment.
02/28/09
02/28/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
I almost agreed with you until you said "obviously he's a rather educated person and wouldn't publish something totally incoherent."
How collegiate of you.
02/27/09
If its anywhere near the AWESOME quality of any of the past 20 years worth of FWDGMSHITBOXes on the road... hey, its a win/win for everyone..
Wait.. its not..
02/27/09
02/27/09
Same idea, wildly different products. Who wants a Volt poster on their wall?
02/28/09
02/27/09
And as was previously mentioned, those who do buy hybrids now aren't really worried about recouping the cost. And those who buy $40,000 cars aren't really worried about gas prices. They want something "green", something that makes a statement, and something hi-tech. That's what this is about.
02/27/09
"Coming soon, the 2015 AmCar Volt! Government built, taxpayer backed!"
02/27/09
For example, the Playstation 3 is an amazing piece of technology. But when it first launched, it was crazy expensivve. Was it worth it to some people still? Yes. Will it be worth more to the masses once the price comes down? Absolutely.
Anyone out there crowing about how the Volt is too expensive and won't save GM obviously doesn't know anything about the auto industry. This is basically one big experiment, and if it pays off, GM will be far better off in the long run. Looking only a year or two down the line is just plain dumb.
02/27/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
GM didn't do squat to develop the batteries... all they did was work on how to integrate them.
02/27/09
GM and a very large contingent of GM battery engineers have been working closely with suppliers on the composition, thermal characteristics, battery conditioning, environmental capability, and durability the whole way though.
@elwood: Saying the technology exists and applying it to one of the harshest, most regulated, most publicly scrutinized operating environments are two different things. The Volt will be equipped with some of the largest mobile lithium ion batteries every produced, designed to deliver the same range at 100,000 miles as they did at zero. Does your laptop deliver the same charge as it did when you bought it a year ago? The battery, engine and generator, GPS, power control system and charging systems all work together to provide power to the wheels and maximize fuel economy as well as protect the longevity of the actual battery chemistry. Just those problems require a mountain of technical innovation, and we've barely even scratched the surface. What of a fuel system which may never cycle through its fuel? How do you maintain engine bearing surfaces which may see pressurized oil once a year? And on and on.
02/28/09
That sir, isn't "battery research" no matter what GM's PR people say.
It's just integration.
GM engineers didn't develop any new type of battery... they only compared what was available, picked the best option and worked on integrating that solution for their purpose.
It's no different than when I build a computer and choose the appropriate parts for the application I'm building the computer for... and cooling, reliability and environmental factors play into that too!
Merely comparing what's available, picking the best and integrating it doesn't qualify as "cpu research", "hard disk research", "motherboard research" or "computer case research".
02/28/09
Being an IT person who looks after a fleet of laptops and a couple of UPSes among other things, battery life is something of interest to me.
All the battery issues that you have in an Electric car are pretty much the same issues you have in a laptop computer.
And I'm pretty sure that if we had ONLY GM's "battery research" to rely on, we'd all still be using Lead-acid batteries and *maybe* some NiMH batteries that require charging methods incompatible with what you find in a typical home.
So when I see GM talking about their "battery research", anyone who has been really watching what's been going on over the past 10 years is just gonna give GM a cynical groan...
03/01/09
02/27/09
It's a damn shame they couldn't stick with the original Volt looks. They actually were on to something there for about ten seconds but then that old GM suck came back and bit them in the bottom.
I don't see the Volt surviving or GM in its current state of silliness.
02/27/09
First, Honda Insight is just a soft hybrid designed for cheapness and mass consumption. It pushes nothing forward. It relies on now-ubiquitous technology and fancy graphics. Not to mention that it looks like a wannabeprius slug. Will it sell more? Duh. Is it really the future? No way in hell. The FCX is a Honda to be proud of, but no one in the world knows what it is or even that it exists.
And how can they stick with the original Volt's design? It was a flight of fantasy, not designed with aerodynamics or functionality in mind. You couldn't have possibly expected it to look like that with those bling wheels in stow. If GM was being silly, it would've just put that straight into production, but they didn't. They actually thought it through. They have done something many were thinking about but no one had guts to do.
02/27/09
02/27/09
The way I see it, this is the only viable electric car in foreseeable future. All other existing electric cars are cheaply developed and are seemingly dangerous. Not that they can actually register them as "cars" anyway.
Of course, if you believe that none of the electricity driven cars are the future, then I'll understand why the Volt is so unlikeable.
02/27/09
And for what it's worth, I think the future is going to be some sort of electric or hybrid for commuting, and biofuels used to power long haul transportation. And at $40k for a commuter car, unless the Volt is built like a BMW, M-B, or Audi, I don't see how it can be successful.
02/27/09
I'm not belittling the value of $40k, but obviously, this is the first of its kind, like the FCX (which also has a ridiculous rental fee). It can't be helped that GM is a business and it needs to make back the money it spent on development. I'm sure any competitor would do the same. And considering how useless the Tesla Roadster is (and the quality is terrible on that car), I'm thinking the Volt is an extremely good value for trying something novel.
02/27/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
An electric motor is extremely simple, that's one of the reasons car manufacturers don't like the idea of electric; less money to be made after the sale.
02/27/09
02/27/09
No, it is always stupid little electronics that fail. It is always some little sensor, motor, or computer that gets messed up and all of those will be in electric cars. My car all the problems have been electrical like the defroster fan going or traction control randomly turning off.
02/27/09
02/27/09
Then again, I always buy low-end Japanese cars without lots of fiddly electronic bits. No traction control, no automatic transmission, no "sport mode."
The things that have failed on my cars? CV joints. Clutch pads. CV boots. Brake boosters. Brake rotors.
02/27/09
And there's a big difference between "electrics" which is what broke on british cars, and "electronics" which breaks on every other car. See: VW. Now that is a can of worms when it comes to reliability issues.
@sos10: I have to say, it seems kind of preposterous to say that car makers are scared of electric motors, when they're such a new technology that they almost certainly will break down, and almost certainly do so during the warranty period. Unless the current trend keeps going to it's logical conclusion and your warranty is good for 10 hours/5 miles.
02/27/09
02/28/09
02/28/09
The fact is that the electric motor is 1 moving part, compared to many moving parts in a combustion engine. Also an electric car needs a very simple gearbox, if it needs one at all, so that's another plus.
02/28/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
02/27/09
This is a halo car though, so the rules don't necessarily apply. How much free publicity and general goodwill from press and public alike has the Prius generated for Toyota?
02/27/09
03/01/09
Would you mind forwarding your resume to GM's front office? Your nation thanks you.