So M/T has named the Volt as it's 2011 Car of the Year. While it is ground breaking for a GM product, let's hope this award isn't the "kiss of death" it has been in the past for Chevy....as in the Corvair and Vega.
So M/T has named the Volt as it's 2011 Car of the Year. While it is ground breaking for a GM product, let's hope this award isn't the "kiss of death" it has been in the past for Chevy....as in the Corvair and Vega.
Is it wrong if I say I hope it is?
Brian
I still think the stupid thing is vaporware.
In reply to Ranger50: NO. Too much smoke, mirrors and wild claims about this car. And at 40K....and wait until the first person starts "working on it" and frys themselves in the high voltage.....
And in 5 years when the batteries need to be replaced at $4K....
Applaud the idea, but, I see way too much rush to production.
triumph5 wrote: In reply to Ranger50: NO. Too much smoke, mirrors and wild claims about this car. And at 40K....and wait until the first person starts "working on it" and frys themselves in the high voltage..... And in 5 years when the batteries need to be replaced at $4K.... Applaud the idea, but, I see way too much rush to production.
Assembly line worker, technician, or consumer?
4k? COM because of all the oil change $ saved.
Consumer hearing how to "tune up" the batteries.
"Were got this flush machine here for that!"
Run for your lives! I've heard hybrids are contagious and plug in hybrids eat babies! Oh, the horror... 
Bryce
integraguy wrote: So M/T has named the Volt as it's 2011 Car of the Year. While it is ground breaking for a GM product, let's hope this award isn't the "kiss of death" it has been in the past for Chevy....as in the Corvair and Vega.
The Corvette won in 1984 and 1998. It seems to have done ok. 
I don't get the Volt. It just seems way too expensive. Joe Public is going to compare it to a Prius which is nearly half the price.
We know its different but I'm talking about the other 320,000,000 Americans who don't care about cars.
It's disappointing that anyone even thinks an eM/Tee COTY award has any relevance.
NewsWeek has more value, and it sold for a dollar a few weeks ago.
Has Motor Trend done anything to compare it to the Nissan Leaf?
Maybe I am missing something but the Leaf is completely electric and cheaper, I assume it's slower too but who is buying a Volt to go 120 mph?
Kiponator wrote: Has Motor Trend done anything to compare it to the Nissan Leaf? Maybe I am missing something but the Leaf is completely electric and cheaper, I assume it's slower too but who is buying a Volt to go 120 mph?
I'm just happy that there are so many cars that will be cool used purchases in the future. 400hp family sedans, fast diesels, fast hybrids, cool electrics? It will be fun shopping for used cars 5-10 years from now.
triumph5 wrote: And in 5 years when the batteries need to be replaced at $4K....
2 million Priuses (Priora?) have been sold since 1997. That's 13 years. Where is the mass replacement of batteries we're all dreading?
In reply to Osterkraut:
That's the thing. These packs are turning out to be more reliable than was originally stated. These are generally warrantied up to 100,000 miles, and they usually go much longer than that.
In 5 years, these packs will be far cheaper to produce than they are today. You simply have to start selling them now at a high price in order to get economies of scale working in your favor. Until that's done, these packs will be expensive to produce. Let the early adopters and green freaks figure it out in the short term while we wait for cheap packs in the long term.
The Volt and the Leaf have been compared, but they are apples to oranges. The Leaf is pure electric and the Volt is a hybrid. Both require an understanding of their limitations and benefits to be fully exploited. All I know is that the Volt represents a very cutting edge, high-tech vehicle from GM, a car company known mostly for dropping a V8 into everything since 1955. If it helps to change their image, all the better.
A few things about the Volt: 1. It's not vaporware, I've seen a number of them on the road around here, in fact I watched a mom pick up her kid from basketball practice on Monday night in a non-M-plate Volt. 2. It's expensive, yes, but Version 1.0 of new technology always is. Once the costs get amortized, the price will come down. Besides, it's the new eco-fashion accessory, so people will buy it. It's not like the Prius makes much economic sense, either. 3. The Leaf is also a pretty neat technical innovation, and C&D did compare them. Thing about the Leaf, though, is that if it runs out of juice, you're walking. Not so with the Volt because it does have the gas motor. In my mind, that makes the Volt much easier to live with as a day-to-day commuter.
triumph5 wrote: Applaud the idea, but, I see way too much rush to production.
Rush to production? When did they start talking about this thing? Seems like a million years ago. Granted, we're talking about GM, the company that milked that old gas-guzzling jumbo SUV cow until the cow died. But still.
1988RedT2 wrote:triumph5 wrote: Applaud the idea, but, I see way too much rush to production.Rush to production? When did they start talking about this thing? Seems like a million years ago. Granted, we're talking about GM, the company that milked that old gas-guzzling jumbo SUV cow until the cow died. But still.
That cow never died, it just took a nap, trucks and suvs still sell like crazy.
In reply to Cotton:
Correct, GM had to keep it's truck and SUV lines open this past July to meet consumer demand.
Last week, GM's CFO warned that Q4 revenue will be down due to the production shift from trucks to the Volt.
Until they make an electric car which doesn't need to by a hybrid, doesn't need to be charged by a largely coal fired power grid, doesn't need batteries which turn every land fill into a superfund site and can be "refueled" in minutes, count me out.
I like the idea of the Volt, and can't wait to drive one so I can form my own opinion.
GM talked and talked for years about making an electric/hybrid car. Dragging their feet, it seemed. They declare bankrutcy, and wham, in months, "here's the new volt see how we're improving our product line, and going green!" The timing was just so "convenient" for PR purposes. Before the bail out, they were very vague on when it would come out. BR comes, and wham, there it is. That's what I meant by rush to production.
There's a $7500 federal tax credit if you buy a Volt and some states also are offering similar additional credits so it does bring the cost down into the realm of reason.
Nashco wrote: Run for your lives! I've heard hybrids are contagious and plug in hybrids eat babies! Oh, the horror...
true story. anyone that would buy, much less build one of these things should have their head checked 
1988RedT2 wrote:triumph5 wrote: Applaud the idea, but, I see way too much rush to production.Rush to production? When did they start talking about this thing? Seems like a million years ago. Granted, we're talking about GM, the company that milked that old gas-guzzling jumbo SUV cow until the cow died. But still.
Signed, Nissan Armada, Infiniti QX, Toyota Sequoia, Toyota, Land Cruiser, and Lexus LX 570.
Moparman wrote: In reply to Cotton: Correct, GM had to keep it's truck and SUV lines open this past July to meet consumer demand. Last week, GM's CFO warned that Q4 revenue will be down due to the production shift from trucks to the Volt. Until they make an electric car which doesn't need to by a hybrid, doesn't need to be charged by a largely coal fired power grid, doesn't need batteries which turn every land fill into a superfund site and can be "refueled" in minutes, count me out.
will you buy one if they can make one fly, dispense cotton candy from the tailpipe, and run on unicorn farts? A purely 0 carbon footprint car is impossible. Even uber green tech like omfgbicycles pollute when the butyl rubber for the tubes is manufactured or non-recycled steel is used in the drivetrain etc etc etc. GM hatespew is not necessarily surprising from a dodge fanboi.
You'll need to log in to post.
