Chevrolet Volt Fatigue Setting In

Business Week ^ | 07/30/2010 | David Welch

[SeekAndFind]

The Chevrolet Volt may be wearing out its welcome. General Motors has been hyping the gasoline-electric car ever since the company showed it off to the public 1,300 days ago. The company has let countless reporters into its battery labs and given interviews with its engineers, all in a very credible attempt to show that GM has smart people with good ideas. And it has worked. GM has picked up some technological credibility and fostered goodwill with the environmental crowd.

Now that GM is finally, after three and a half years, getting close to selling one, the commentariat is taking shots at the Volt. In an editorial in the New York Times today, Truth About Cars Editor Edward Niedermeyer panned the car as “GM’s Electric Lemon.” He criticized the car for, among other things, having bland styling and because it will likely lose GM money. Before that, “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, a well-known car buff, also took a shot at the Volt’s styling, telling the Detroit news that, “if you didn’t know, you might think it’s a Cobalt or a Camry.”

What gives? It could be a case of Volt fatigue. Sure, documenting the tale of the car’s development gave GM a great story to tell. But in the past few months the company has amped up the noise on a car that has been hyped for years. I count 14 press releases on the Volt since June, including an announcement today that GM will boost 2012 production from 30,000 to 45,000. Some of those releases were absolutely necessary, like vital information on pricing, warranty and ordering options.

[GonzoGOP]

If only the gooberment had subsidized the Wright brothers we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’d be out in the stable feeding the horses.

Well in a way they did, in 1906 they bought one plane for experimental purposes. They bought another one a few years later. They didn't buy in quantity until the bugs got worked out during WW I. And they didn't subsidize the Wright Brothers so that everyone could fly an airplane.

If the government wants to buy one car a year for testing purposes, like NASA buys X-planes to test aircraft, I have no problem with that. But subsidizing fleet production of a vehicle that can't sell without massive subsidies doesn't make economic sense.

[TigersEye]

Make sure your extension cord is at least 10ga or you will reduce the voltage severely or even heat the cord enough to start a fire. 10ga electrical cords weigh quite a bit per linear foot too so you will build up some powerful upper body strength wrassling with it every evening and morning.

[truthguy]

Not you again BozoGOP! Your analysis was very flawed. It completely depended static analysis. The price of gas IS going to go up and go up big time. The price of the Volt will go down as economies of scale kick in. The public is going to love driving an electric car with lots of low-end torque. No, GM has shown lots of initiative and guts to come out with this vehicle now. Gen2 Volt is well along and there are substantial improvements and I'll wager it's cheaper. The price will come down. The Volt will easily sell out the first 2 years. When the word gets around about the car, people will be stampeding into Chevy Dealerships to get onto the waiting lists. The I-Phone will be like small potatoes by comparison.

And finally for all the Troglodytes knocking the Volt (without ever taking it for a test drive), I don't work for GM and never have. I've never worked for any Car Manufacturer.

[norraad]

>....sort of like jumper cables, I hate jumper cables!

[GonzoGOP]

God, you’re right...I do have a dryer, so all I have to do is run a long, long, long extension cord from my dryer outlet to my garage and plug it in or out depending if I have to dry some clothes...I’m glad there are experts like you to inform the rest of us!

A long extension cord pulling 220 at high amps. Well you might want to see how hot that cord is going to get.

[TigersEye]

I think you have clearly explained the difference between subsidizing private industry and experimental R&D with national security applications.

[norraad]

That's funny, hey , you wanna buy some jumper cables?

[Cobra64]

That guy looks like a pimp.

Here's his Chicago ride:

.

His current ride:

[GonzoGOP]

Your analysis was very flawed. It completely depended static analysis. The price of gas IS going to go up and go up big time. The price of the Volt will go down as economies of scale kick in.

Love the name calling, so classy:

Weren't you the one earlier criticizing someone for using a crystal ball? Oh I'm so glad your future vision is so great or we would all be doomed. Thank god you don't let consistency get in the way of your fanatical devotion to the socialist economic model.

[TigersEye]

>....sort of like jumper cables, I hate jumper cables!

There will be some serious cursing when the Volt owner forgets to plug in in the evening or the power is out for a while during the night. Discovered at twenty 'til eight in the morning.

[Mom MD]

So charging this puppy would add the equivalent of running my electric dryer 4 hrs/day to my electric bill? Gas would be cheaper. (Not to mention I usually drive more than 40 miles/day)

[GonzoGOP]

There will be some serious cursing when the Volt owner forgets to plug in in the evening or the power is out for a while during the night. Discovered at twenty 'til eight in the morning

No he'll just run on gas that day. Now the guy with the Leaf is in a world of hurt.

[COBOL2Java]

A Dolt driving a Volt...

[Seeking the truth]

Not only that but the dryer is on the second floor........preliminary measurement is 75 - 100 feet, depending on how I snake it along the upstairs hallway, down the first flight of stairs and the second and then across the garage floor to where the Virtuous Volt (as compared to the Pious Prius) would be parked....OTOH, I can snake it along the upstairs hallway through the second story bathroom and drop it to the ground and run it through the front garden to the outside garage door - leaving it open a crack - and then to the garage floor......man, this is proving to be more complicated than I thought.....how long to they make 220 extension cords anyhow?...this may present a “trip & fall” hazard for my 87 year old mom but hey, we must save the world, right?

[truthguy]

I've got two degrees in Electrical Engineering from top notch universities. I think I can figure out the extension cord problem. And it's child's play to figure out how to add a 2-pole Circuit Breaker to protect the extension cord. Even you could do it, maybe! I could do that when I was 15. Be careful when you are handling your jumper cables, you might strangle yourself.

[TigersEye]

So charging this puppy would add the equivalent of running my electric dryer 4 hrs/day to my electric bill?

That depends upon how many amps it draws to charge. It could be less. It could be more. I would expect it to draw as much as possible to keep charging time down.

[TigersEye]

Will the generator suffice if the battery is run completely down? Won’t that be hard on the generator and battery life?

[Brugmansian]

I can’t wait to laugh at friends and family that fall for the voltswagen.

You're comparing Obama to Hilter! You're comparing Obama to Hilter! (that is what libs say on other forums when this pile of taxpayer funded junk is called Obama's Volkswagen. This is great. Obama's crappy Voltswagen could bedevil the left for decades).

[truthguy]

Thank god you don't let consistency get in the way of your fanatical devotion to the socialist economic model.

I've been a Milton Friedman Conservative since the early 1980's. Never voted for a Democrat. Worked for Ronald Reagan in 1980 & 1984 campaigns. Worked for George H.W.Bush in 1988. Never worked for the government in any capacity. So once again you are off base in your analysis.

I just happen to like electric motors and have my whole professional life. That makes me a socialist?

[TigersEye]

And it's child's play to figure out how to add a 2-pole Circuit Breaker to protect the extension cord.

Better run a low-voltage line to some kind of alarm so you can get out of bed and reset the breaker so you get a full 4 hour charge.