Here comes the Chevy Volt!

Lil'Abbey

Not quite what was advertised. http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/550957/201010191855/Volt-Fraud-At-Government-Motors.htm

kevhed72

Another buster car from GM. Thank goodness we bailed them out!!!

Ron-P

This country, and it's automakers need to stop with this stupid electric car idea, it's never going to go anywhere, at least, until the worlds oil supple has been depleted.

tonyb

Ron-P wrote: »

This country, and it's automakers need to stop with this stupid electric car idea, it's never going to go anywhere, at least, until the worlds oil supple has been depleted.

...or another alternative energy is discovered. I think of the money, our money,being wasted on this green crap blows my mind esspecially when we are faced with 13 trillion dollar deficits. But the fun's not over yet. Remember the "electricity rates need to skyrocket",and gas needs to "get above 5 bucks a gallon" statements ?

I still saw no reviews of this car in colder climates. I would imagine the distance on an electric charge would be halfed in below freezing temps. Plus,how does this car generate heat in colder climates ? How does running the air conditioner affect the charge ? Oh,the little details government motors leaves out. I remember the long debates on this car when first announced. The devil is in the details folks, and those are kept closely guarded.

bobman1235

Ron-P wrote: »

This country, and it's automakers need to stop with this stupid electric car idea, it's never going to go anywhere, at least, until the worlds oil supple has been depleted.

What about other countries, who are really driving the electric car stuff? Should they also give up, or is it just stubborn Americans who won't adopt new tech?

tonyb

bobman1235 wrote: »

What about other countries, who are really driving the electric car stuff? Should they also give up, or is it just stubborn Americans who won't adopt new tech?

You call electric cars new tech?
Other countries are not the USA. Yes, we stubborn americans like things that actually work. Where is the benefit from a car that is limited in range,limited in climate,gets no better gas milage than some gas counterparts, and costs more to boot ? Sorry if we stubborn americans don't sign on to electric cars because some third world country has been forced to. Give americans a product that will benefit them,and they'll buy it at a reasonable cost. The Volt isn't it.

sucks2beme

The gas prices in those other counties is very high. That's what
makes some say $5 a gallon here would be good. Then a POS
like the volt would be viable.
How about creating a plant that uses bacterial hydrogen production
on a big scale? Then you can power your car from a source that
really works. Our other choice is to give up our current urban
layouts for one that supports the really good deployment of
electric power. I'm talking subway, or the "EL".
Either way, the car as we know it isn't going to make it to the next century.
We better have a plan. Or really comfy walking shoes.

obieone

I wonder how many of these ship anchors, er....cars, we'll be forced to buy, thanks to Hollywood mandates

carpenter

It's all about battery range and charging duration. The magic numbers are a 200 Miles (yup, with AC or heating on..) range, fully charged at home/work in under 30 minutes.
Fast charging at a "gas" station would seal the deal.
The most optimistic estimations puts us a minimum of 10 - 15 years from there.
Till then we'll manage with smaller cars (very few families can pull two "decent" cars at over 6$ per gal ).

tonyb

carpenter wrote: »

It's all about battery range and charging duration. The magic numbers are a 200 Miles (yup, with AC or heating on..) range, fully charged at home/work in under 30 minutes.
Fast charging at a "gas" station would seal the deal.
The most optimistic estimations puts us a minimum of 10 - 15 years from there.
Till then we'll manage with smaller cars (very few families can pull two "decent" cars at over 6$ per gal ).

...and once everyone,or a good portion of people,buy electric cars,how much do you think a station will charge for a quick charge ? Besides, gas doesn't need to be 6 bucks a gallon, only if politicians want it to be.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1323012/Top-scientist-killed-G-Wiz-electric-car-horror-smash.html

I posted this for Bobman who wants us to be like other countries. Which by the way,has anyone seen crash tests for the Volt ? Given it's a bigger car it may hold up well, but I still haven't seen anyone commenting on what a safe vehicle it is. Either way,owning an electric car is fine for those who lifestyle it fits. But it should be their choice,not one forced on you.

bigaudiofanatic

I agree about the stupid electric cars, honda has the right idea with their FCX Clarity.

cokewithvanilla

I don't think electric is the way to go. People somehow think that because it is electric, there are no emissions. What about the coal burning plant that has to provide the power for the damn thing? True, we have a crap ton of coal, and it would be nice to use it, but electric cars, at this point, suck.

I liked the hydrogen idea better.

nooshinjohn

We tried Electric cars 100 years ago, and the range today is no better than it was then, and that Danielsan, is why they failed.

brettw22

Any article referring to GM as Government Motors has a slant and should be taken with a grain of salt IMO......you'd think that people lacked the ability to do their jobs any more......

thuffman03

IMO, that car sucks!

orrb_05

Screw the Volt, I want a stainless steel DeLorean with a flux-capacitor! zoom-zoom...

bobman1235

Some of you people are just batshit crazy. All about freedom of choice unless it's a product you don't like, and then the government's on its way to forcing us to buy it. What a crock. Gas-powered cars aren't going anywhere.

The Volt's a piece of crap but that doesn't mean the technology is hopeless. It's called progress. If you drove a Model A Ford you'd probably think car technology was hopeless too, but look where we've come.

Bunch of short-sighted neanderthals.

shack

There is not greater car nut on this forum. I have been a hot rodder and muscle car fan since I started driving them in the late 60s. I currently own 3 V8 Mustangs and a 66 Ford Galaxie with a big block.

That said I am a huge proponent of electric powered vehicles with the electricity of charge them coming from nuclear fusion plants. Anyone who has followed the R&D for electric cars understands the potential for performance is tremendous. 0-60 times that would put exotics to shame. Minimal maintenance and minimal carbon emissions. Add producing electricity with a source that creates more energy than it consumes and you have a winner IMO. The weak link for the car is the battery and the weak link for nuclear fusion is controlling the reaction in a closed space. I believe both can be achieved in my lifetime (which ain't that much longer).

Super fast, super reliable "green" cars powered by a nearly endless energy source sounds like a winner to me.

carpenter

Much to nobody's surprise (at least nobody who hasn't been in a coma since the '70s), the Japanese are already making em' better. :rolleyes:

Danny Tse

carpenter wrote: »

Much to nobody's surprise (at least nobody who hasn't been in a coma since the '70s), the Japanese are already making em' better. :rolleyes:

Looks like the Volt won't qualify for the carpool lane either due to higher CO emission that the Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf.

cnh

I have to go with shack on this one. The fact is that NO ONE is thinking about HOW we generate electricity...as a number of you point out above. Hey, we're burning coal...and we have to do something about that? Also just where is the info on HOW much it costs to charge an electric car for so many miles of driving?

Cold weather....good one. My wife drives a Prius...and it's about as good as a small 4 cylinder in super cold weather when you're only driving it about 1.5 miles to work and 1.5 back, or 4-5 miles a day. Don't really get much of a battery charge there?? You average about 32-35 mpg local driving, maybe?

While we were in China. We left it with friends who killed two (not rechargeable) but regular batteries during our N.E. winter! Of course part of the problem is that they were NOT driving every day.

The point of an electric car for commuters is to be able to run on pure electrical charge for that first 20-40 miles (the commute). IT's also important that that charging be competitively priced and that the electricity used to charge be 'cleaner'.

My Chevy gets about 16 city in that winter...but it's battery does not die if it's not driven almost every day.

Oh well...

cnh