GM may pull the plug on the Volt

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/01/electric-cars-off-to-a-slow-start/

Electric car sale is slow in Aus as well. Only 49 sold last year. It's downright depressing.

At least Nissan Leaf is somewhat affordable in USA at $33000 and there is a tax credit of $7500. In Australia, the "censored" car dealership here are just plain greedy and selling them for a nowhere near affordable price of $52000. To make thing worse, there is no tax credit or subsidy.
 


The car has been selling quite well recently. Npr had something on recently that electric + hybrids are hitting record sales and I know the 2013 volt is on the way.

Why so hesitant about the volt?
 

Define quite well. We are talking about the Volt. Will the 2013 be offered in the non crispy option? I actually like the looks but not worth the price. I just read it takes like 20 years to recoup the extra cost. Not me.
 


A quick google search will show you that the volt has been selling, and GM doesn't plan on pulling the car. I believe the original post was about how well the car was selling and if GM planned on pulling it.

The battery tech is getting better, and the cost isnt really that bad (Out of my price range but most things are), about 35,000, about the cost of most mid range sedans. So why the animosity towards "greener" cars?
 
How many has it sold? That is the question, not that it is selling. Does selling mean one a month for example. The tech is getting better but not so much when the government has to pay you $7500 to buy it. You can get a comparable mpg car around the same size waaaaay cheaper. So cost is still high, but that is a matter of opinion.
 
Lets just say it exists in the market.
I would have thought all the people who are so concerned about green things would have all the infos broken down, a consensus of experts agreeing and overseeing it all, with more government help and support as to exactly how much this saves in emissions by now.

And, as usual, until its been done convincingly, it dont mean squat, and could possibly show just what this could mean to this GW and greener movement.
Would be a shame if its worse, wouldnt it?
 
If you live in Washington state, most electricity is made by hydroelectric power so having an EV or plug-in hybrid is a clear win for the environment. As the grid becomes cleaner throughout the USA over the years, EVs will automatically become cleaner as well. A crystal red metallic Chevy Volt looks awesome and plan on buying 1 used when it gets to $15K or so.
 
I want an electric powered car that runs on dolphin or whale oil.

I think the Japanese would snap these suckers up by the thousands ... provided it had 24/7 anime on the HUD ... and electric pink vibrating seats.

The deal clincher would be If it came with a years supply of face masks ... and a dosimeter.
 
Electric cars are really expensive and I do not think they are worth all that money the car manufacturers are asking. Volt is a big failure in the automotive field.

 
I had a Prius for 2 years ... it was very good on juice.

In the wet it was not a great stopper.

Fule economy was around 5.2l per 100km when driven carefully.

Hybrids are good on fuel.

I am not so sure on the long term environmental sustainability agle with these due to the massive Li Ion Batteries ... how long do they last and are they dumped into the sea for the baby dolphins to play with?
 
The pricing ,performance and interior space balance of Volt isn't good. Maybe when they find a less fussy, more utilitarian package, GM will have a winner.
 
High costs and the fact that you have to plug it in might be reasons why this car is not a success. The car doesn't fit into our current system. There are better ways of designing electric cars without needing to plug it in. But most likely those methods might be costly as well. We got ourselves into a conundrum where we made it near impossible to put cleaner, renewable energy cars on the road. It's not that people don't want cars that get better gas mileage or want electric cars it's just that there is no where to plug these cars in or performance is degraded while the price is higher.
 
For me to embrace electric cars, I'd like to see this:
- Small gasoline powered generator that kicks in while you are parked outdoors, so you'll have a fresh battery
- Good electronics: GPS, digital radio, bluetooth, learn habits for recharge strategy
- More recharge outlets at places of employment, incentives for solar panels on their roofs
- A small two-seater, slightly smaller than the Prius
- Solar panels on the rooftop to trickle charge while parked outdoors
- All wheel drive, one motor per wheel (eliminates transmission), with software to control traction and slip
- Has to perform well in the snow
- At least 7 year warranty on the battery
- Priced around $20k max
 
^ those are all good reasons to interest people into getting electric cars. I will add that i would like to have some kind of individual look to them as well like the modern cars we already have, though they are restrictive because of the way the technology is designed. Putting some ideas for recharging habits and being able to have different forms of charging would be good.

If i need to replace my car i don't want another 20-30mpg one i want something that is upwards of 100+ there's even a 300mpg car from Volkswagen. I had my car for 12 years, i haven't seen many sports car try to take advantage of the newer technology, but unfortunately some individuals don't want a more economical sports car.
 
Take a closer look at habits. If you park at work Monday through Friday, then the car should learn this and plan on getting enough charge to get you to where you go after work. So if for example every Tuesday you have to pick up your son after work, the car should learn that and give you enough charge to make that trip. Likewise, if you put a calendar event on your smartphone, and that event requires additional travel, the car should be aware of that in real time and go into the necessary charging mode. Your smartphone's calendar could even have a "tag" that says you'll be using the vehicle for an event so it knows to be prepared for that.

Also consider the possibility that car manufacturers might not want to to get too excited about electric cars. If you consider the number of systems, assemblies and parts in the modern car, those represents multiple revenue streams. Your engine's fuel system, for example, contains sensors, valves, computers, tubing, canisters, a pump, a filter, a float, relays, fuses, wiring harnesses, etc...that represents a lot of suppliers and points of failure for garage mechanics and parts suppliers to stay employed. That whole system could very well be eliminated, as could a host of others.

So it is not completely out of the realm of possibility that there is resistance to go electric by those who depend on conventional cars for their livelihood.
 

And what if the owner should have to make an unplanned/unscheduled/emergency trip of 50mi or more that the car hasn't made allowances for? Bad idea to let the car decide how far you can go. Just plug it in when you get home and you'll have a full charge by morning. No muss, no fuss.
 


Good point. It should be the case that the car always tries to keep the battery fully charged. It might "assume" that during your regular shift, it has 9 hours to trickle charge from solar, since that is more economical than tapping the grid via a plug. But if something unexpected comes up, it might need to run the onboard gas engine to power the electric motors directly and change the batteries.
 

You might want to research a little on the efficiency of solar cells. Even if the entire exposed surface of a car is covered in solar cells it would take weeks, even months to get a significant charge. Also, if you're going to run an internal combustion engine you might as well get some work out of it by also connecting it to the drive train. Look up the Prius, it already does this.
 
I have been reading that solar cells had a few breakthroughs making the solar energy more dense/efficiency. It's been awhile since i heard about that though, guess you could google it if your interested.

But basically we just have to utilize what technology we have to make things better, reducing gas consumption is a start as the Prius and Honda hybrids have done. Cars cannot look at habits nor prepare the car for an emergency. Car manufacture companies are the ones that need to focus on that and build the car to meet the habits and needs. Batteries should be charging however they can based on the technology that we have. If there are no plugs nearby then there needs to be a power source capable of recharging the battery within minutes if it is drained. However, the battery also needs to be designed so it can handle a high enough current and charging amps to put back the energy it lost without having to replace the battery every year or sooner than what they normally would last. Also batteries are not 100% eco friendly and plugging them into an outlet that uses fossil fuels is kinda defeating the purpose of going eco friendly. Car companies are struggling with this due to the cost to manufacture and the demand for them. They could probably build the perfect car, no fossil fuel usage, no emissions and completely eco friendly but then it would cost more money than a mansion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom