Chevrolet Volt concept... plug-in hybrid
#21
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From that press release the battery tech doesn't even exist for it yet. That capacity and size LiIon battery wouldn't be ready until 2010-2012... so its going to be a wait.
#22
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See... GM's philosophy is different from Toyota's. GM would rather shut their doors than divert even one penny from Executive Comp into R&D. Toyota, on the other hand, *likes* R&D.
That's why the Prius is an engineering work of art while the Vue is a 1990s engine slapped to a 1980s transmission slapped to three batteries and a rubber band. HSD would have impressed Leonardo DiVinci.
#23
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Ummmm............... no.
#24
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chysler is part of the group working on 2-mode as is bmw.
They come by the 500mpg number by saying a gallon of e85 only contains 15% gasoline therefore 15% gas plus free energy from electric and ethanol = 500mpg. basicly they ignore the 85% ethanol in the equasion and count it as free energy.
Wayne Gerdes is going to do a lot of posting over the next few weeks at cleanmpg with details of his talks with many engineers and VPs at NAIAS and will be going in to great detail about the Volt. He spent a good hour or two talking to GM about the Volt and how it works and what GM plans for the future relating to the Volt, 2-mode and what they are going to be producing in the coming years.
The Volt is kind of cool and I believe Wayne got some good pictures to go with his report.
They come by the 500mpg number by saying a gallon of e85 only contains 15% gasoline therefore 15% gas plus free energy from electric and ethanol = 500mpg. basicly they ignore the 85% ethanol in the equasion and count it as free energy.
Wayne Gerdes is going to do a lot of posting over the next few weeks at cleanmpg with details of his talks with many engineers and VPs at NAIAS and will be going in to great detail about the Volt. He spent a good hour or two talking to GM about the Volt and how it works and what GM plans for the future relating to the Volt, 2-mode and what they are going to be producing in the coming years.
The Volt is kind of cool and I believe Wayne got some good pictures to go with his report.
#25
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A Couple months ago, Pravus Prime was all ticked off because GM waited until the 11th hour to announce that the 2008 redesign of the VUE would include a 2-Mode ("Forward VUE" thread). He obviously would have liked to have seen it announced much earlier.
Now AshenGrey is all nicked off because GM announced the intended production of the Chevrolet Volt and offers his often used "Gonna Maybe" tag. Okay, whatever. I doubt very seriously that AshenGrey can list any programs GM said would be built that were not. (I could but obviously, I won't
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Peace,
Martin
#26
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Frankly I think that the Volt could be one of those 'maybe' concepts, but the maybe is going to depend primarily on the direction of our government over the next two years. In other words, barring huge leaps toward more green behavior with the current congress, the introduction of the Volt or a similar vehicle will be a lock should a democratically controlled congress be met with democratic president elect. In short, GM is hedging a bet. They aren't promising anything right away and privately will reserve the right to dump the project completely if we maintain the status quo environmentally.
I'm going with the hedge at this point.
I'm going with the hedge at this point.
#27
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This is a fascinating car and I hope it, or something close to it, gets built. You realize of course that GM is now on the clock...
#28
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The Volt could be a hit if it makes it to the marketplace and performs close to what is advertised. It could go a long way to improve GM's image in all things green.
If something like the Volt could meet expectations, then people like me would finally have a domestic alternative to the hybrid Civic and Prius.
I view this like sports. The Volt is like a Heisman Trophy winner or hot free agent - potential. The bottom line is scoring and winning. Past projects such as the Saturn VUE have come short - like A-Rod. What GM needs is a project to pan out like Tom Brady.
If something like the Volt could meet expectations, then people like me would finally have a domestic alternative to the hybrid Civic and Prius.
I view this like sports. The Volt is like a Heisman Trophy winner or hot free agent - potential. The bottom line is scoring and winning. Past projects such as the Saturn VUE have come short - like A-Rod. What GM needs is a project to pan out like Tom Brady.
#29
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The Volt could be a hit if it makes it to the marketplace and performs close to what is advertised. It could go a long way to improve GM's image in all things green.
If something like the Volt could meet expectations, then people like me would finally have a domestic alternative to the hybrid Civic and Prius.
I view this like sports. The Volt is like a Heisman Trophy winner or hot free agent - potential. The bottom line is scoring and winning. Past projects such as the Saturn VUE have come short - like A-Rod. What GM needs is a project to pan out like Tom Brady.
If something like the Volt could meet expectations, then people like me would finally have a domestic alternative to the hybrid Civic and Prius.
I view this like sports. The Volt is like a Heisman Trophy winner or hot free agent - potential. The bottom line is scoring and winning. Past projects such as the Saturn VUE have come short - like A-Rod. What GM needs is a project to pan out like Tom Brady.
To use your sports analogy, I view BAS as a solid AA or AAA player, but not quite ready for the Major Leagues. BAS would be a fine hybrid system for a *much smaller* vehicle. You'd get some bang the the dollar in a BAS Aevo or a BAS Cobalt. But it's simply too weak of a system to make a real difference for a Vue, and it's probably going to prove insufficient for the Malibu.
If GM can get the Volt to market, sell it at an affordable price (i.e. Not going the nillion dollar FCV pricing structure), and make it reliable, they will have a major league player.
#30
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Frankly I think that the Volt could be one of those 'maybe' concepts, but the maybe is going to depend primarily on the direction of our government over the next two years. In other words, barring huge leaps toward more green behavior with the current congress, the introduction of the Volt or a similar vehicle will be a lock should a democratically controlled congress be met with democratic president elect. In short, GM is hedging a bet. They aren't promising anything right away and privately will reserve the right to dump the project completely if we maintain the status quo environmentally.
I'm going with the hedge at this point.
I'm going with the hedge at this point.
People continuously bring up the "abandonment" of the EV1 as evidence that GM will never do anything else environmentally friendly and also suggest that all the knowledge gained in developing and building the EV1 got fed into a shredder. The Volt is in part born from technical and practical learnings from the EV1. A major problem with the EV1 was that it required a very specific charging unit. If you wanted to drive an EV1 from California to Texas, you couldn't because the infra-structure to charge it did not exist outside of California and Arizona (and later New York). It was at best, a commuter car. The Volt solves that problem by being able to be charged by plugging in anywhere there is basic 110V power AND by having the ability to use a petrol engine to recharge.
Part of the path to solving the cost problem lies in the further development and reduction in cost of Lithium Ion battery technology. GM is working very aggressively to do that. Companies that are looking to hide behind legislative favor don't go around pouring money into additional technology enabler research just as a bet hedge.
We'll probably continue this "bet they will - bet they won't" debate until the first vehicles roll of the line. Just like with the BAS......and the 2-Mode......and the FCEV.
Peace,
Martin