GRM's new project car. No, really.

Here comes the future:

A couple hours ago I drove away from Tom Gibbs Chevrolet with a brand new Chevy Volt. Going in, I'm gonna say that this is a move I may regret down the road, but I know I'll come out of it better informed.

For once, my curiosity as a journalist and a car enthusiast got the better of my wallet and my intellect. I will be the first to admit that the Volt is still too expensive to be truly competitive in the marketplace.

But I have to know. I have to know if the future sucks. Technology is changing. Gas/electric hybrids may not be the ultimate answer, but right now they're one of the answers, and one of the paths to the future. But is that future any fun? I have to know, and I have to know bad enough I'm parting with a exquisite and beloved Mazdaspeed3 and cracking open my own wallet to find out.

From the MS3 for sale thread, here's a recap of the incident that sent me over the edge:

We had a Volt press car last week. I was driving it to work Thursday morning, and some dude at Burger King told me all about how my piece of "Obama crap" cost more to charge than to put gas in, caught on fire, broke down after 35 miles, and how most of them were being purchased "by Obama so he can guarantee the UAW vote."

It pissed me off. So I started doing some research, and I found out that the only thing worse than the near-conspiratorial misinformation out there about the Volt was Chevy's utter incompetence to properly market it. I kind of came to the realization that if I really wanted to know anything about the car I'd have to go get one of my own. So I did.

And I'll begin the process with a HUGE plug for Tom Gibbs Chevy. In my 42 years I have never had as pleasant an experience at a car dealership. My texts to my wife during my time at the dealer yesterday were basically me paranoidly wondering when they were going to bend me over the table and pull out the mystery charges. I actually got agitated that they were going so far into the transaction without revealing their "gotcha" hand and ultimately wasting my time. Well, it turns out that I was being a douche and there are good car dealers in the world. This one just happens to be five miles from my house. Two big green thumbs up.

Flame on. I'm a big boy. I can take it.

jg

Awesome! I'm very curious about the "project" aspect of it.

Has the SCCA classed it for autocross yet?

I whole heartily support the strange tangent into the unknown.

Not terribly "grassroots" but in the future the entry cost should not be as painful.

Are you guys going to attempt to mess with the power side of the equation? It will be very interesting to see what constitutes "hop up" part for one of these? Might there be some very large capacitors in your future?

I don't have any inherent problem with the Volt. I'd rather drive it than a Leaf, for sure. Or a Prius (at least the Volt looks kind of cool). I think the volt is kind of neat, even though it wouldn't fit my driving lifestyle, so I won't get one.

That said, it doesn't sound like a terribly interesting "project car" for GRM. I'd rather see you guys pick up a cheap, old (insert any 1980s or 1990s car here) and do a big-time track, or autocross, or rallycross build to it.

Volt is neat, and I applaud you wanting to find out about it, but it's neither "Grassroots" not "Motorsports" really.............

Let's have one article on it and then get back to cheap/wierd/beater builds!

I'm actually remotely considering this for "appliance" duties (no puns intended). Could they make a wagon and make the decision really hard for me?

Well, I for one think that saving gas is Grassroots...

Most of us spend - at a guess - 90%+ on the road driving from A to B while rather being somewhere else. Supposedly the Volt is pretty good at that and I am curious how much use is there for weekend warriors.

If you had to be "green", why not the CRZ or a first generation Insight?

Interesting. I personally feel that an all-electric (nee - giant slot car) would be the ultimate autocross machine, and the Volt is an intriguing piece of tech anyway. The only real beef I've heard about it (from a good friend who bought one new) is that the "button by touch" center stack is a complete POS. They love the actual drivetrain and the real-world mileage (city dweller) is actually really good. Doesn't hurt that we live in the Pacific NW where the power is mostly "green" (hydro, wind, and solar) and cheap.

thanks for buying this car so i don't have to.

in the mean time i can enjoy my brand new skyactiv 3wagon i bought last week.

Should have gotten the Leaf, then you could test a true all electric car! I'm interested to hear your opinions on the Volt though, you don't see many of them around!

I guess a Tesla was out of your price range.

I want to like electric cars, I really do. The more of them people buy the cheaper fuel will hopefully become for the rest of us.

A Volt is not Grassroots. A Citicar is.

I think that means they sold 31 of them now

The Volt is selling better than the Leaf and Prius Plug in combined, and not just to fleets (in the neighborhood of 1800 a month or so). As a lease proposition, it's quite average priced ($349/month, and I've seen $299/mo out in cali). For that kind of money, it compares quite well with the Accord and Camry, and is well equipped. And both of those cars need more gasoline to run.

I priced out running costs on a Volt for me on my commute and it came out to less than $2 a week in electricity, which was about a fifth of what the best gas or diesel fuel costs would be. Plus, unlike a pure EV you CAN use it to make a longer road trip without range anxiety cropping up. The nerd in me loves the techiness of it and loves that it's seriously bleeding edge and actually looks pretty decent too.

I want one in the dark red...

Can't wait to see what you guys do with it.

Okay. I see your plan to be on the leading edge of technology and your plan to push the modification window.

I am too old school.

BoxheadTim wrote: Well, I for one think that saving gas is Grassroots...

except "saving gas" and "motorsports" are diametrically-opposed concepts......

new magazine idea: Grassroots Commuting Magazine

Issue 1:

• Prius vs. Volt vs. Insight DC Beltway Fuel Economy Comparo.

• Citicar vs. ForTwo Parking Comparo

• "Save the CVT"

• GRM Staff Compeition: Who can maintain green leaves on the Prius Dashboard for the longest?

• GRM Economy Challenge: Drag and Autocross Compeitions, all without going over 2500 rpms or 50% throttle.

• Wittiest Personalized Hybrid License Plate Messages

• Feature: How to Hypermile in the Left Lane Without Getting Shot, Beaten, or Cursed At.

I like the red, too, but they want like $1500 extra for that color so no thanks. I'm already buying an overpriced car so they don't have to rub it in.

What's interesting is my wife and I looked at our driving habits and we're both right in the wheelhouse for doing what this thing is good at. Margie said I could plug in at the office, so my commutes should be gas-free (unless I have a breakfast burrito).

Also, Daytona currently has one free charging station... at a Buffalo Wild Wings. Any project car that encourages wings gets a couple of Begley points in my book.

jg

Sir, please drop the crack pipe and put your hands in the air!

In all reality I am very interested to see what you guys are able to do with that thing, although I do think you are crazy to spend any of your money at all....

irish44j wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote: Well, I for one think that saving gas is Grassroots...

except "saving gas" and "motorsports" are diametrically-opposed concepts......

There are some Audi diesel and KERS engineers who would disagree with you.

It's all about getting the most use of a specific volume of dead dinosaurs. Whether you're making something go faster, or go farther are just semantic details.

jg

irish44j wrote:

Please tell me you have a high-res version of this. jg@grassrootsmotorsports.com

jg

If I had a city commute instead of a 60 mile highway commute, I would REALLYREALLY want a volt. as it is, I want one, but couldn't see paying that for it.
Get back to us on if Florida cuts you any huge tax breaks or anything awesome like that, I know some big cities cut you huge tax breaks if you have a super econo car like that.

Well good for you. My light for Obama has dimmed considerably, but the "derangement syndrome" is in full swing. Do these mouth breathers realize that the Volt was well through the development process when Bush was still in office?

It's sad. I actually endured a pained rant where a motorhead aquaintance's daughter was killed in a collision in her Smart Car. The father was convinced that she wouldn't have been driving it if Obama hadn't pushed cars like that on us.

So give us the unvarnished truth. Let the chips fall where they may.

except "saving gas" and "motorsports" are diametrically-opposed concepts......

I beg to differ. Or haven't you been paying attention as various fantastically performing diesels and hybrids have been making their presence known.

A friend - Jack McCormack took his sevenesque and dropped a Kubota turbo diesel in it to get 60+ MPG. Then he added a elevenesque body and it hits 100 mpg! While remaining fun to drive (If not especially fast)

JG Pasterjak wrote:

irish44j wrote:

Please tell me you have a high-res version of this. jg@grassrootsmotorsports.com jg

I'll make a hi-res version. Need to figure out how to make better leaves, lol.

I have mixed feelings about this....please dont let your write up suck.....no glossy product overviews...modify it and run it hard. details and howtos are essential