 Original idea. |
 Buick-ized real version. |
For starters, G.M.’s vision turned into a car that costs $41,000 before relevant tax breaks … but after billions of dollars of government loans and grants for the Volt’s development and production. And instead of the sleek coupe of 2007, it looks suspiciously similar to a Toyota Prius. It also requires premium gasoline, seats only four people (the battery runs down the center of the car, preventing a rear bench) and has less head and leg room than the $17,000 Chevrolet Cruze, which is more or less the non-electric version of the Volt.
Let the chiding begin. Personally, I’d like to know why they changed the look from sleek and modern to GM dowdy. I smell a focus group lurking!
Some folks spend way too much time worrying about a car’s styling.
So for the first 40 miles, it uses up battery power provided by burning coal.
Then it starts using gasoline to continue keeping the battery charged.
The battery alone is about $15k last I heard. I also hear China has a monopoly on the Lithium market (due to more lax environmental standards). And what happens to those big bulky batteries when they reach their end of life?
And this car is supposed to be more green? LOL.
thats gm for ya and thats why they are broke… between the thug unions of the 30′ 40’s and the business school types that took over detroit in the 60’s and 70’s detroit have been totally ran into the ground. just plain sad
Guyver==its more or less green depending on how available/cost of gasoline is. Its as LOL as is the notion that we can switch to non-gasoline overnight.
Did you laugh at the Wright Brothers because the first flight was so short?
Per GM, the styling had to change in order to get the most efficient drag reduction possible, which the original concept design didn’t provide. If it did, then I suspect the Prius would look more like the concept design, and not like the Prius…..
#1 – Say what you will but that released version is FUGLY. No wonder GM needed government support. They may be the only one buying this POS. This is what happens when you design on a spreadsheet instead of CAD. Wait, Pedro will probably buy one.
Weight is everything. Lugging a 375lb dead weight battery means extra structural strengthening, beefier antiroll bars, bigger shocks, heavier duty brakes, and with a larger car comes bigger glasshouse area and bigger air-conditioning. So to answer the question, an engineer did it.
And to add to my earlier post, a heavier car needs a more powerful engine. Charged induction and high octane gas is one way to do it in a weight/size restricted design. But what really puzzles me is that the USA is the world leader in biodiesel technology, essentially a closed carbon cycle process with near zero emissions in modern diesel engines.
We’re so pleased all of you professional automotive engineers could take so much time off from your important design work in Detroit to piss and moan and whine for our benefit on this blog.
Obviously, this is ALL the government’s fault and it was ALWAYS the government’s fault, those bastards!
Really, thanks for letting us in on the well-kept secret, guys!
Help the enviorment. Buy a used Hummer.
#6, anyone who avoids buying this car because of its lines or detailing is missing the point, right? But yeah, the roof looks like an oddly bald head.
3, Faustus,
GM’s problems are multi-faceted. Yes the unions and irresponsible management had a hand in its fate as well as cafe standards and Michigan not being a right-to-work state…. a major reason why the international brands build their vehicles in the friendlier South.
4, Bobbo,
It’s “greeness” is a shell game. The end result is that it probably causes more problems than it solves. Time will tell.
But I’m all for taking initiative in trying to develop new ways. But let’s be realistic here and call a spade a spade.
The biggest factor in determining how fuel efficient a vehicle is, is dead weight. Make a vehicle lighter and you improve its fuel efficiency….. but most people don’t want lighter, smaller vehicles.
GM didn’t accidentally sell large SUVs and trucks that nobody supposedly wanted.
I understand where you’re trying to come from but this isn’t a relevant comparison.
7, Sargasso,
Yup.
9, Oh No,
The Volt concept was well into design & testing before the government got involved in bailing GM out.
I kinda like the newer shape better.
Weight is not everything ESPECIALLY when talking cross platforms. Total life cycle energy use is the measure===and again, that all assumes different levels of the cost of gasoline. When the market cost of gas goes to $20/gal, it won’t matter how heavy the electric car is. Can’t you guys juggle more than one variable at a time?
New tech has to start somewhere. Actually bringing battery vehicles to market is a strong incentive to battery tech people to stop making excuses and to get going on innovations.
For all these reasons and more, thats why I still think the compressed air car is actually what we “need.” To radical for the slow change the mass market and Big Business prefers. Its the car I want though. I guess I can just go pound air for all its worth.
Article is a bit out of date. They’ve upped production to 45K units, not 10K.
So where you gonna get electricity for the dang thing? Have you noticed that there is a shortage and brown outs? Do you understand that the overall efficiency of an electric car is very poor once you consider the thermal efficiency of the power generating plant, line losses, and efficiency of conversion of electricity to motion in the car? Can you guess how bad it is overall ?
Get a clue, it is not the solution.
Sailboat==you charge up during off hours and there is no impact to the grid.
There are charts on the “total energy” efficiency of electric to gas with electric coming out way ahead. Lots of energy is used to get that gas to the pump as well.
I don’t feel like looking for those charts now.
If GM had ANY sense, they would sell a small solar charging station for the Volt.
Something ostentatious that would go in your front yard to demonstrate to all your green moral superiority. Naturally, it would connect to the grid for real power.
Yes, the solar panel (assembled in Mexico with Chinese components) actually wouldn’t produce enough power to charge the Volt within a month or two, but that’s ok, because it’s appearances, not reality that counts.
It should sell for $6 grand. GM could have the taxpayers pick up 1/3 of it, since they are not entitled like the greenies who, of course, are saving the Earth.
If you get a lemon, force the taxpayers to give you sugar and make lemonade. Or just use the sugar to make rum to sell to the unemployed.
I can understand the reshaping. Wind.
I can understand the price. USA unions.
But premium %$#@&!! gas?
I so enjoy topping off my Prius for less than $30 in CA. With premium, every tankful would not be very thankful.
Thanks to nagging from the smelly “green” mob and the subsequent brainwashing of too many of the middle class, we now suffer a market filled with with crappy, cramped, deathtrap cars.
Even better, “green” fools have wasted BILLIONS ON MORE CRAP THAT DOES NOT WORK AND THAT NO ONE WANTS.
The next time you see a “green” jerk with his canvas bag at the checkout, put a plastic bag over his head and hold it tight.
The premium gas is for efficiency (gas mileage).
Something you will be seeing more of as engines get smaller to support higher EPA mileage for CAFE.
I’m assuming the appearance of the production model was changed from the concept version to make it more aerodynamic?
What a sham.
Nice to see built in obsolescence is still alive and thriving. (since 1959-60 is it?)
http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/01/gm-admits-to-a-working-relationship-with-eestor/
Buying an electric or hybrid car is an exercise in futility as well as complete waste of what limited resources we have for the “new electric age” we’ve been waiting on for what..-some half a century now?
Until an electric vehicle that uses UltraCaps (Like EEStor’s) or Searl Effect Generators for it’s power source, i fail see any reason to participate in this sham. (other than to make a fast buck on pre-obsolete technology or get a “I-feel-so-good-cause-I’m-so-green rush”
-that Southpark episode on the Prius was probably the best example of all this BS..
yada yada..
-s
for those with short memories, take a trip down the EV1/Volt memory lane.
16, Bobbo,
It is the single most significant variable in fuel economy.
My mistake, I thought you were concerned about the environment. Green for me is efficiency and minimal consumption.
So price is the driving factor for you. Understood. 🙂
Electric cars were invented in the late 19th century. They were leapfrogged when the internal combustion engine was invented.
There are technical hurdles you have to overcome like price, weight, heat, safety, reliability, environmental impact from used / damaged Lithium ion batteries, etc.
From a technical perspective, I find the Volt interesting. From a practical and green perspective, it’s much ado about nothing. But it’s got flashy lights and qualifies for a tax subsidy. Woo Hoo!
And if it proves to be at least equal in performance then you’ll see more of them. Big business has a tendency to improve efficiencies if not for you then for their greedy selves. If it lives up to the hype, then it will catch on.
Like I said when GM went bankrupt. They need to get back to designing and engineering quality basic reliable and functional cars. Obviously they have learned nothing. The Volt is priced in a range where the buyer who can afford a Volt does not give a crap about saving money on gas.
They could not be bothered plugging in their car and they probably drive a lot further then 40 miles. The buyer of a 40K car wants power luxury and comfort. Sorry but GM has made another expensive Lemon. Go Figure.
Its Obama Motors.
The “intelligence” of selling the Volt really depends on just how stupid the greenies are and how many of them can afford it.
If Volt can out-pious the Prius, it could sell big, at least in really whacked blue states where people fall for anything.
For some reason, the Japanese seem to understand the American market better than Detroit does.
We don’t need an electric Buick or sports car.
We need an electric Model-T or VW Bug, or (early) Honda Civic.
In other words, a practical, utility car that working class Americans can afford.
They could be using the Apple strategy of selling the 1st batch at a premium then going to the real price once the early adopters are used up.
FAIL
See paragraph: Will The Chevy Volt Be Cost Effective?
at:
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Alternate-Energy-Car-Debate
Seems to me most of the battery issues would be solved by electrical induction motors in the cars charged by wires in the major road system. Reduced weight, fewer batteries if even more than one would be needed.
The answers surround us. They’ll be implemented when the will to do so manifests.