Production Volt

[Leviathan]

..Oh yeah of TOO MUCHFAITH........................... ..a$60K( that was the initial quote) car that goes 80KM if yer lucky ...IN WARM KALIFORNIA..... predicated on some as yer unknown BATTERY breakthru......yeah give Us a break er  BREAKER....electricity fritzed in Mr Volts house...............

Yep, gonna be expensive and not for everyone - especially coming out of the gate. $60K though? Hopefully not as they are talking $40K US and under. The batteries are apparently looking good already so no break through is required although they are saying there is a lot more testing to do for longevity. Re: cold temperatures - One of the potential battery providers says in this interview:

What about warming, say if you have the battery out in the freezing cold of North Dakota?
There’s a couple of things. First its a self correcting problem. At cold temperatures, the internal resistance of the battery goes up and that means it generates more heat internally which this warms it up. It will warm itself up and bring itself to optimal operating temperatures. Unlike hot temperatures, because extended exposure to high temperatures shortens the battery life, cold temperatures don’t have that kind of an effect.

In cold temperatures you have top make sure the batteries will have an adequate level of performance to run the vehicle.

Is there a problem with charging the battery at extremely cold temperatures?
It will work fine. An issue that has been raised in lithium ion batteries whether you can get into lithium plating. That happens if the battery can not discharge itself at a fast enough rate, and if the anode gets coated with lithium thats an irreversible loss of capacity. We don’t have that issue.

GM is saying the Volt will go 40miles/~60KMs city on a charge before the generator has to start up. The car doesn't stop dead like an all-electric one would. For a lot of people that means daily driving without using a drop of gas yet they are not tethered to the grid if they choose to go on a trip. Even so, it won't be "the answer" for everyone just like any other car on the market isn't.

Heh, sounds like I'm cheer leading but I guess I don't get why people are quick to be negative(sic). It's still 2 years away so GM still has time to fowl(sic) things up and deliver a turkey 

[safristi]

Not gonna be in many a Families THANKSGIVINGPlatters.............more like a "stuffing" fer GM.........GETTIN REAL might be an "IDEA!!!"..... ........sorry ta be so RE_VOLT_ING like but c'mon...take yer rose KOLORED "SPECS" off and see the future and it ain't RE _VOLTING tha EV1

[EV Dan]

Two things in favour:
1. GM is trying to push a 7500USD rebate bill through the congress, so we are talking about 32.500, not 40.000.
2. Volt may be the first car in a long while that you wont really need to change every 200.000 clicks or so. In 5 or so years when the battery needs replacing we'll be talking 2-3x the current capacity so the engine can be thrown out making for extra beer space. 

[safristi]

why PUSH 7,500 bucks thru CONGRESS....better to PUSH 7,500 VOLTS THRU that LOTTA LOSERS......we tried $1,000 Freebies in ONTARIO fer Yarii....nuff said ..project "SNUFFED"...why the hell watch more Snuff Moves....(sic) yeah a little at this "JOKE_A_PALOOZA"....

[rrocket]

Funny thing...today there was a front page story in the Windsor Star about the Volt.   Also, Enwin utilities here in Windsor is the first city in Ontario (and one of five in the country) that will offer infrastructure for electric vehicles, in addition to marketing and advertising for EVs.  The only thing that was questionable, again, was price.  GM said "they hope" to keep the price at $40,000 USD.  So that means with the current way we get doinked for car prices...that could be anywhere from $50,000-$60,000 CDN. Also, the numbers will be low.  GM "intends" to have it on the road by the end of 2010 with production increasing to 10,000 units by 2011.  Not very many cars to go around IMO...so prices will stay high.  With the high prices and limited availability...I don't see much point in this car, or it revolutionizing the auto industry (or revitalizing GM).

You can read the 1st page of the article here:  http://digital.windsorstar.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

[Zoo]

I am looking forward to this car. For my commuting needs a Prius, Volt or whatever else that is fuel efficient is fine by me. If the volt proves to reliable and they can get me to an under $30000 price point I am interested.

Of course this will not happen overnight. Just like Hybrid tech there is a learning curve and the early adopters pay a premium.

Heck, my wife would probably love this car for her local commuting needs.

[rrocket]

If the volt proves to reliable and they can get me to an under $30000 price point I am interested.

I don't see how that can happen...especially when GM is "hoping" to keep it at $40,000 (USD)....

[Snowman]

You can buy a lot of fuel with the $30k you save buying a current compact car.

[rrocket]

You can buy a lot of fuel with the $30k you save buying a current compact car.

Yea, that was my thought...but I thought I'd let someone else say it...this time....

But I do see the appeal of not having to ever buy fuel again for commuting to work. But at that price point??  Forget it..

[airbalancer]

Is not the point to reduced your carbon footprint and not mileage

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I wonder if the Chevy Cruze and the Chevy Volt share a platform.  While the powertrain and the surface detailing is completely different, the silhouette looks remarkably similar to me (save for the Volt's Kammback).

Chevy Cruze gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-chevy-cruze/993244/

Chevy Volt gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-chevy-volt-live-reveal/1039797/

I read somewhere that they do. Can't remember where though.

[Snowman]

Is not the point to reduced your carbon footprint and not mileage

You must ask yourself where does that electricity come from.

[airbalancer]

Is not the point to reduced your carbon footprint and not mileage

You must ask yourself where does that electricity come from.

Of course I do 

[gta_driver]

I'm fairly certain the production version will be like the version unveiled. GM is no longer interested in having a "show" version and a production version. Lately everything GM has in production has been identical to the "show" or "press" version.

[rrocket]

Is not the point to reduced your carbon footprint and not mileage

Oh I agree.  But everyone's "green envy" is spoken with their wallet...and at that price point...well you know...

[kevlar]

am i the only person  who thinks electric cars are a big waste of time?

Ah...YES  Oh, wait, and the other two playing with the Hadron Collider who now are waiting for the wheel to be invented 

see, even if today all the gas we burn in ICEs instead we used to make electricity locally and then charge EVs we would likely be saving millions of barrels of oil a day around the world. Thats due to the efficiency of an electric motor plus lower losses on motor-to-wheels transmission.
 There are alternative ways to make electricity - vote green and you'll see 
 Making batteries (as well as pretty much anything else in the modern world) is not good for nature, BUT if the batteries dont contain heavy metals, like cadmium , and last each for 5 and more years it is way better than having to deal with 120+ grams of CO2 per km driven in a regular car..

please do tell.  how will we create the electricity for all of these battery powered cars?  which alternative sources of energy are we talking about?   talk about pie in the sky idiocy.  we don't need more nuclear plants and we don't need a massive increase in pit mining, heavy metals and other battery waste.  we don't have the "alternative ennergy" technology to support the energy requirements for such a shift.  europe went to diesel a long time ago because it is the easiest next step.   simply by going to clean diesels will almost double our mpg and substantially reduce our co2 output.  gm should be producing the first clean bio diesel engine that gets 80 mpg.

[rrocket]

^^^^I think we'll be fine.  GM intends only 10,000 a year of these (which means what?  1,500 a year for Canada??).  I'm sure we can support that rather easily...

[PMREdmonton]

^^^^I think we'll be fine.  GM intends only 10,000 a year of these (which means what?  1,500 a year for Canada??).  I'm sure we can support that rather easily...

We'll get nothing and like it.

[IceAndFire]

am i the only person  who thinks electric cars are a big waste of time?

Ah...YES  Oh, wait, and the other two playing with the Hadron Collider who now are waiting for the wheel to be invented 

see, even if today all the gas we burn in ICEs instead we used to make electricity locally and then charge EVs we would likely be saving millions of barrels of oil a day around the world. Thats due to the efficiency of an electric motor plus lower losses on motor-to-wheels transmission.
 There are alternative ways to make electricity - vote green and you'll see 
 Making batteries (as well as pretty much anything else in the modern world) is not good for nature, BUT if the batteries dont contain heavy metals, like cadmium , and last each for 5 and more years it is way better than having to deal with 120+ grams of CO2 per km driven in a regular car..

please do tell.  how will we create the electricity for all of these battery powered cars?  which alternative sources of energy are we talking about?   talk about pie in the sky idiocy.  we don't need more nuclear plants and we don't need a massive increase in pit mining, heavy metals and other battery waste.  we don't have the "alternative ennergy" technology to support the energy requirements for such a shift.  europe went to diesel a long time ago because it is the easiest next step.   simply by going to clean diesels will almost double our mpg and substantially reduce our co2 output.  gm should be producing the first clean bio diesel engine that gets 80 mpg.

If we assume that all of the electric cars are going to be plugged in during the evening when people arrive home from work, plug in their car, and let it charge overnight...then there isn't going to be a huge problem.  The power plants are producing power 24/7 but demand only really creeps up during the day when people want heating/cooling/lights, etc.

[Mitlov]

please do tell.  how will we create the electricity for all of these battery powered cars?  which alternative sources of energy are we talking about?   talk about pie in the sky idiocy.  we don't need more nuclear plants and we don't need a massive increase in pit mining, heavy metals and other battery waste.  we don't have the "alternative ennergy" technology to support the energy requirements for such a shift.  europe went to diesel a long time ago because it is the easiest next step.   simply by going to clean diesels will almost double our mpg and substantially reduce our co2 output.  gm should be producing the first clean bio diesel engine that gets 80 mpg.

Not to mention I'd much rather have a bunch of algae farms around (to create biodiesel) instead of a bunch of nuclear plants around.  When done in tubes instead of ponds, it's space-efficient.  I suspect it's also very cost-efficient when compared to solar and wind power creating electricity to power electric cars.: