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151 Comments
- 16x9, on 08/13/2008, -2/+31Make that 34,521. I plan to buy one as soon as they're available.
- inactive, on 08/15/2008, -1/+17Yeah, everyone wants it...but who will be able to afford it?
- jlan, on 08/15/2008, -4/+19if you are commuting more than 40miles one way, you are part of the problem...
- weboptimist, on 08/14/2008, -7/+21The car looks hot, BUT, according to a CNBC show I saw the other night, it will cost at least $45,000 AND only the first 40 miles will be electric. After that, a gasoline engine kicks in.
I'd rather they brought the EV1 back - 100 miles per charge, and that was 1990s technology. - XxZtemxX, on 08/14/2008, -2/+16...and where are Ford's masterpieces?
- loobis, on 08/15/2008, -0/+11No, they care about what will sell. Just like every other manufacturer on the planet. When people were buying Hummers, they sold Hummers. When people don't want Hummers, they'll sell something else. It's called "business".
- aimhelix, on 08/15/2008, -0/+11It's not a pure electric car... 40 mi electric then gas? It wont even make my morning commute to work. At $40,000+ this is hardly worth it (so you can save 40mi in gas) a day? Buying a $20k Scion or a Civic would save me more money. But I guess it's a good thing to see there are lots of people willing to adopt this new technology.
- InJectaH, on 08/15/2008, -2/+12I spend like 2,500 a year on gas. if not a bit more. That car costs $35,000-40,000,
$35,000 or around 14 years of gas for me, If you can afford to spend 40,000 on a car, I don't see why gas is an issue for you to begin with. Or unless you just like the design of the car and wanna save the planet, thats fine, unfortunately I can't afford to save the planet. So i'll stick to gas. - nullx42, on 08/15/2008, -1/+11Count me out. I still want a DeLorean
- vbullinger, on 08/15/2008, -1/+9Watch it for free:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-720274006 ...
I put it on my web channel of documentaries and lectures that are reeeeeeally important for everyone to watch:
http://worldtv.com/therealworld - se1zure, on 08/15/2008, -0/+8Add me to that list assuming it's around the $20,000-$25,000 price range! I wouldn't pay more than $30,000, for sure.
- diggmaddy, on 08/15/2008, -1/+8Obviously you're going to get dugg down, but not because of the "american car manufacturer" hating digg bias (as you so positively think), but because of the meaninglessness of your post. Everybody has a right to form whatever opinion they want to, but just blankly expressing your opinion in such a discussion forum without giving any rational explanation behind that is just plain redundant. And burial is what happens to redundant posts.
- rdoger6424, on 08/15/2008, -0/+7PROTIP: THE DIRTY COAL IS CLEANER THAN AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
PROTIP: IT'S EASIER TO REDUCE A POWER PLANT'S EMISSIONS THAN A CARS
PROTIP: NOT ALL POWER PLANTS ARE COAL - sathishcj, on 08/15/2008, -0/+7Also, most normal commutes are around that range. So your everyday typical commute could run entirely on the battery, provided it gets charged in the night.
Long distance trips, will of course, use the gasoline engine to charge the batteries. - Blandyman, on 08/15/2008, -0/+6William, Shatner, please tell, me, where do I, refill, those hydrogen, cells, in, my city, without, driving all over the ***** place, for nothing?
Also, what's the cost on refilling a hydrogen car? And how much will the car cost me? - Dylson, on 08/15/2008, -2/+8Yeah, Chevy is a damn good car company.
- skojec, on 08/15/2008, -1/+7Seriously, do some research. The EV-1 was a non-viable program. It was heavily subsidized, and they didn't have the economy of scale to produce them affordably. They couldn't find enough people willing to buy them, and GM was footing most of the bill for the lease. When it came time to end the program, they couldn't guarantee that the cars could be kept safe. They weren't exactly stock.
The bright side is everything they learned from EV-1 went into the Volt program. Gas isn't dirt cheap now like it was then, and that gives buyers an impetus to go electric. That and the fact that lithium-ion batteries have a lot more potential than lead-acid.
Even Chris Payne, the Director of Who Killed The Electric Car, is supportive of the Volt. According to a Newsweek story last December:
"When General Motors was fingered as the prime suspect in the 2006 documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Bob Lutz's inbox filled with hate mail. "I hope you rot in hell," read one missive to the GM vice chairman, known for his love of gas-guzzling sports cars. But now the movie's director wants Lutz to star in a possible sequel, "Who Saved the Electric Car?" "Now that they've done their mea culpa, I'm bullish on GM," says director Chris Paine. "I'd like to include Lutz in my next film." - skojec, on 08/15/2008, -0/+5Not 40 mile electric then gas - 40 mile electric, then gas generator kicks in. The combustion engine never powers the wheels. Even on a long trip, to the full range of the vehicle, you're getting over 50 MPG. On trips over 40 miles but under 60 or so, I think the rating is over 100 MPG.
- se1zure, on 08/15/2008, -3/+8they didn't kill it due to low demand. you obviously missed the whole point of the movie. They had huge demand, but it is hard to sell your other vehicles when you claim the EV1 is better in almost every way.
- rezonq3, on 08/15/2008, -0/+5aimhelix, this is by no means a disagreement with your position. You have a valid reason to not adopt this car. It is not economically viable for you. However, you and many others commenting on this article are failing to see three things:
First, a large majority of Americans do not drive more than 15 miles to work one way, giving a total distance driven of 30 miles in a day to and from work. That puts this 40 mile range on one charge right in line with what the public needs. (I and the majority of my coworkers fit the bill)
Second, regardless of how much or little you travel with this vehicle, if you get the first 40 miles every day for nearly no money spent (aside from a slightly increased electric bill), you offset ~120$ of car payment right off the bat in fuel savings (assuming a combined fuel economy of 30mpg for the car you drive now. face it, how many of you have a car that fuel efficient now?). Add to that the fact that the car gets far better fuel economy when the ICE does actually kick in, and truly your car payment would likely be half or less than half of a standard 40K car.
Third, you could, if you are conservative with how much you drive, wipe out your monthly contribution to the Oil Charities. I know you all love to donate each month, but let's face it, they are getting a little needy, don't you think?
I have to add something about the EV1. Few of you realize that the EV1 was an experiment by GM. They weren't making money with the cars. Quite the opposite. The complaints people received about the car were exactly what GM was looking for when they created the vehicle in the first place. Most of those complaints were addressed with the building of the Chevy Volt. This car is a marvel of human ingenuity and innovation. I would purchase one for no other reason than the principle. However, the car does everything else I need it to do so it becomes a no-brainer for me.
Roomy - Utility (typical utility like room to put groceries or other cargo items), and room for 4 (3 things the EV1 was lacking)
Fuel Efficient - First 40 miles on a charge with an ICE that gets, at the WORST, 80 mpg after driving more than 150 miles without a recharge. Oh yeah and it won't leave me stranded because it lacks an ICE. (try making a long distance trip with the EV1)
Style - Show me an electric car that has half the style of the Volt (and please leave Tesla motors out of this unless you have 100k to spend on a car that lacks the first two qualities of the Volt)
I have been reading about the Volt and all of the arguments for and against for a long while now. I agree the car is not for everyone. I do feel, however, that the car will be a success if the gas prices stay where they are now. And any car that moves us closer to independance from the oil companies is a good thing. - InfiniteNothing, on 08/15/2008, -2/+7I want GM to bring out the EV1 again
- manstein01, on 08/15/2008, -0/+5I think you mean "Japanese" not Asian.
- bearcat8543, on 08/15/2008, -0/+4*the gas engine kicks in to charge the battery
- mywhitenoise, on 08/15/2008, -0/+4How is spending $30,000 - $40,000 for the current best fuel efficient mass-produced car dumber than spending $30,000 - $40,000 on an SUV?
Also, I don't get what you mean about early iPhone/PS3 adopters being "screwed"...because they paid $100 more to have something 6 months earlier? Big deal. - jlan, on 08/15/2008, -0/+4i just reported you by accident. I wanted to click on show comments.
- FutureGuy, on 08/15/2008, -0/+4Actually I think that number is a gross underestimation.
- kero552, on 08/15/2008, -0/+4Sarcasm is dead.
- apeweek, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3Every new car is subsidized. The Ford Mondeo had a $6 billion development cost. You never recover your development cost in the first few years. The difference with the EV is that GM management did not believe in it, and killed it, despite considerable evidence of demand for the car.
There were also no safety issues with the car. It passed crash testing just fine. - TrojanGuy, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3I'm sure the MSRP of the Volt won't go DOWN from year to year, but by waiting you'll probably be avoiding the ***** price gouging that dealers love to do with a hot new car. Like how at first you couldn't buy a Prius for anything less than $5,000 OVER the MSRP. Total *****.
- apeweek, on 08/16/2008, -0/+3So don't buy one until you're ready to replace your current car. You'll be spending only about $20k more than you would for your next gas vehicle.
It sounds like you drive about 15,000 miles/year. If gas stays at $4/gallon (hint, it won't), you've spent the equivalent of 8 years worth of gas to upgrade to your EV instead of getting another gas vehicle. After that, the gasoline savings go into your pocket (driving on electricity costs about 1 to 2 cents/mile.)
If gasoline continues to go up, you may have saved enough to justify the additional $20k in 5 years or less. And it's a good bet that it will play out this way. - apeweek, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3Fast recharge batteries are a better solution than hydrogen. This car, for example, charges in 10 minutes:
http://phoenixmotorcars.com - JaseFace, on 08/13/2008, -4/+7Ok. Will do, chief! Dugg down.
- wsuvtx, on 08/15/2008, -1/+4100% Electric is the way to go.
- Hangingtree, on 11/04/2008, -0/+3I signed up, dont know if I would actually buy it, but I do know I am interested in seeing it roll off the assembly line.
- aimhelix, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3Agree with you whole fully - and I admit there was a misunderstanding of the actual capabilities of the car. And yes, this car is a great move up to becoming less and less dependent from the oil companies.
- buba1243, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3The numbers inflated since I know I am on it 3 times now, but I really want that car :)
- inactive, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3so what. i want a lot of things and i doubt i'll ever buy them.
- TrentSteel590, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3I moved out to the burbs a little over a year ago and primarily commute by motorcycle (60mpgs+). I would imagine myself and the majority of commuters round trip could be somewhere between 30-50 miles per day. While this might not appear ideal for you but if you were to read this article http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1 ...
you would notice, "The Volt will be able to travel 40 miles on a full charge, and a small gasoline engine will recharge the batteries to keep it rolling on longer trips. GM says the vehicle will get the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon." - bevans, on 08/15/2008, -1/+4awesome. That is going to be my new response every time someone brings up gas prices(14 times a week).
- bmalnad, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3Yeah, like Pontiac or GMC. They're way better than Chevy. Oh, wait... never mind.
- inactive, on 08/15/2008, -2/+5digg me down, but i don't have that much confidence in a Chevrolet, especially since they haven't had experience in mass producing hybrids like Toyota has.
- whoreable, on 08/15/2008, -0/+3Putting your name on a list is one thing. Actually buying the car is another.
- muckb777, on 08/15/2008, -1/+4I moved abroad and bought a Chevy Spark. Not sold in the US because it's so bared bones, but it's only 3 cylinders and gets 60+mpg. Spark > Imaginary Volt
- rheaume, on 08/15/2008, -1/+3Ex-*****-actly
- schoate09, on 08/15/2008, -3/+5What? Chevrolet (and all GM models, for that matter), have ranked at the bottom of consumer reports reliability for the last decade. How is that good? Because it's American? You keep thinking like John McCain, being proud and boasting that everything American is good because we make it.
And before I get attacked. I drive "boring" Japanese cars for reliability, and I really wish American cars were better, and I could support GM/Ford/Chrysler once again, without getting my wallet screwed for repairs. - InfiniteNothing, on 08/15/2008, -0/+2The biggest problem with fuel cells is the inefficiency of compressing the hydrogen to usable densities. That makes them electrically inefficient and thus more expensive than electric cars.
- AgmLauncher, on 08/15/2008, -0/+2At 40 miles a day, I would quite literally NEVER buy gasoline again. The Volt won't be for everyone the same way a minivan or a pickup truck isn't for everyone. But it actually does make sense for a VERY, VERY large market who rarely exceed the need to travel very far.
Besides, the way the system works, means that even if the gasoline engine is being used, you're still getting 100+ MPG.
Price point is a little high. If Toyota's PEHV version of their Prius comes out around the same time and it costs $10k less, the Volt won't stand a chance :/ - ZiggyILM, on 08/15/2008, -0/+2Prius's $22,000 (and change) price tag versus Volt's $30-40,000? I don't see the competition...
- sully213, on 08/15/2008, -0/+2They will be including a Mr. Fusion option by 2015. Back to the Future 2 told me so.
- Konrad9, on 08/16/2008, -0/+2It's going to be at least $30k... estimates put it as high as $40k.
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