Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Volt Fraud At Government Motors
IBD Editorials ^ | October 19, 2010 | Investors Business Daily staff

Posted on 10/19/2010 4:28:35 PM PDT by Kaslin

Green Technology: Government Motors' all-electric car isn't all-electric and doesn't get near the touted hundreds of miles per gallon. Like "shovel-ready" jobs, maybe there's no such thing as "plug-ready" cars either.

The Chevy Volt, hailed by the Obama administration as the electric savior of the auto industry and the planet, makes its debut in showrooms next month, but it's already being rolled out for test drives by journalists. It appears we're all being taken for a ride.

When President Obama visited a GM plant in Hamtramck near Detroit a few months ago to drive a Chevy Volt 10 feet off an assembly line, we called the car an "electric Edsel." Now that it's about to hit the road, nothing revealed has changed our mind.

Advertised as an all-electric car that could drive 50 miles on its lithium battery, GM addressed concerns about where you plug the thing in en route to grandma's house by adding a small gasoline engine to help maintain the charge on the battery as it starts to run down. It was still an electric car, we were told, and not a hybrid on steroids.

That's not quite true. The gasoline engine has been found to be more than a range-extender for the battery. Volt engineers are now admitting that when the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack runs down and at speeds near or above 70 mph, the Volt's gasoline engine will directly drive the front wheels along with the electric motors. That

(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: chevtvolt; chevy; electriccar; electriccars; electricedsel; generalmotors; gm; governmentmotors; hybrid; hybrids; ibd; ibdchevyvolt; industrialpolicy; obama; obamacar; volt; voltfraud
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last
To: RipSawyer

I noticed that too - decent city mileage, but highway appears to be rather poor. The VW Jetta TDI Diesel are getting around 40-45 real-world combined MPG in a decent-sized car with great driveability.

I suppose that if you wanted a small runabout city car to park next to your larger vehicle, this might fit the bill. But, there are a few present-day conventional gas-powered small cars that can do the same, without the complexity of the hybrid - the Ford Fiesta, for example.

It’s interesting to note that the small, light cars aren’t as small and light as they used to be. This is due to the safety nazis pushing side air bags and all that crap, whether we want them or not. I’d love to see today’s engines in a 10-year-old car that weighs 400-500 pounds less.

The Ford Escape is one example - back in 2003 which was the model year I owned, they weighed around 3200-3300 pounds. A couple of years later, they were in the 3600-3700 pound range, due to required safety gear. That extra weight takes its toll on mileage.


41 posted on 10/20/2010 5:54:14 AM PDT by meyer (Tax the productive to carry the freeloaders - What is it with democrats and slavery?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Antonello

Oh HELL YEAH!

And there is no such thing as “sluggish response” to the throttle, either!


42 posted on 10/20/2010 5:57:13 AM PDT by MortMan (To Obama "Kill them all and let [God] sort them out" is an abortion slogan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: 6SJ7
Now they just have to figure how to get one of these diesel locomotive prime movers inside the car.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger Volt."

43 posted on 10/20/2010 5:57:18 AM PDT by tnlibertarian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: truthguy

Apparently good intentions are plenty in your eyes.

Personally, I don’t care if the Volt is the best car on wheels. It is produced by a company who donated all of its bad debt to the American taxpayer. This same company was then wrapped up as a gift to the labor unions. These same labor unions are now looking to cash out, exchanging my tax dollars for money in their pockets.

GM and Chrysler are dead to me.

You make a good shill, though. I have to give you that.


44 posted on 10/20/2010 6:05:26 AM PDT by MortMan (To Obama "Kill them all and let [God] sort them out" is an abortion slogan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: truthguy

truthguy, are you saying that IBD lied about the true MPG in testing? I don’t care how gee-whiz the technology is; it’s the MPG which matters, and that MPG sucks and is nothing like what was claimed for this car.

You can spin it any way you want, but you can’t change the fact that the car is a fraud.


45 posted on 10/20/2010 7:30:08 AM PDT by dinodino
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: truthguy

How come there is a charger if they went with a small gas engine? Why not just use that to replenish the batteries?


46 posted on 10/20/2010 7:51:12 AM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Democrats are for free speech. Just not for you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Nachum; markomalley; Carlucci; grey_whiskers; meyer; WL-law; Para-Ord.45; 70th Division; ...

Ping


47 posted on 10/20/2010 8:01:36 AM PDT by raptor22 (The truth will set us free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Morpheus2009
Some folks like myself use gas guzzlers, because so many thousands of dollars aren’t worth it for a car in which a primarily travel short commutes.

And after paying a premium of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, you're stuck with a car where replacing the batteries when they wear out will cost thousands or tens of thousands. Here in AZ, conventional lead-acid batteries fail in about 2 years, and I know they're trying to develop more durable battery technology, so it's not entirely apples to apples, but any battery will wear out eventually. I don't want to have to in effect replace the engine on my car every few years. My truck is 15 years old, has 200K miles, and is showing no sign of slowing down.

48 posted on 10/20/2010 8:26:12 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: raptor22

Everything associated with the Imam’s Regime and this thug Congress is fraud, don’t ya think? Proven fact!


49 posted on 10/20/2010 8:28:58 AM PDT by ExTexasRedhead (Take back our country on November 2, 2010. Let's Roll!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: laxcoach
It’s like they think we can wave a magic wand and make cars move.

Don't know if it's an urban legend or not, but I heard a story about a group of very young government weenies meeting with car execs and engineers about car design. Well, the car guys told the goobers that what they wanted to do was "against the laws of physics". The goobs immediately started scratching in notebooks to research whatever law this was and get it repealed!

50 posted on 10/20/2010 8:29:22 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Still Thinking
Here in AZ, conventional lead-acid batteries fail in about 2 years, and I know they're trying to develop more durable battery technology, so it's not entirely apples to apples, but any battery will wear out eventually. I don't want to have to in effect replace the engine on my car every few years.

You should be happy to learn that GM is using the test track at Yuma for their Volt testing and is confident that AZ drivers will get at least 10 years from their Volt battery.

51 posted on 10/20/2010 8:33:38 AM PDT by SeeSac
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: truthguy

The primary benefit that I can see of electric cars is that it will reduce the American demand for Saudi oil. Let’s burn American coal dug by American workers to supply the electricity needed for these cars!


52 posted on 10/20/2010 8:36:02 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Conflict is inevitable; Combat is an option. Train for the fight.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: VeniVidiVici
How come there is a charger if they went with a small gas engine? Why not just use that to replenish the batteries?

The battery is good for about 40 miles. The engine will get you further. There goal is for the commuter that can recharge overnight and not need the engine on a normal basis.

53 posted on 10/20/2010 8:36:13 AM PDT by SeeSac
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: B4Ranch
Let’s burn American coal dug by American workers to supply the electricity needed for these cars!

Don't foget nuclear.

54 posted on 10/20/2010 8:37:23 AM PDT by SeeSac
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: SeeSac
You should be happy to learn that GM is using the test track at Yuma for their Volt testing and is confident that AZ drivers will get at least 10 years from their Volt battery.

That IS better than I expected. Still not good enough for me to want one.

55 posted on 10/20/2010 8:44:18 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: SeeSac

Ahh! Nothing like the feeling of feeding liberal cars nuclear electricity!


56 posted on 10/20/2010 8:45:08 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: B4Ranch
The primary benefit that I can see of electric cars is that it will reduce the American demand for Saudi oil. Let’s burn American coal dug by American workers to supply the electricity needed for these cars!

And gasify coal! That's what the Seffricans did when the rest of the world was trying to tell THEM what to do.

South Africa: If the rest of the world is unhappy with you, employ a shitload of engineers, compete with technological innovation, and tell everyone to mind their own damn business.

USA: If [you imagine] the rest of the world is unhappy with you, elect Barack Obama, flip over on your back, and bow to every tin pot dictator you can find.

57 posted on 10/20/2010 8:50:43 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: truthguy; Grizzled Bear
GM was making the painful steps to be competitive before it got clobbered by this recession. If not for this recession, it would not have needed the bailout.

now youre sounding like a gubmint motors shill...FoMoCo was slashing and reorganizing and has turned it around the hard way...gm and chrysler were runnin along dumpin millions on green while probing for bailouts...

the tech will come when the market needs it...IF we were producing our oil, we wouldnt even be talkin about golf carts for commuter vehichles...

58 posted on 10/20/2010 9:16:25 AM PDT by Gilbo_3 (Gov is not reason; not eloquent; its force.Like fire,a dangerous servant & master. George Washington)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: Still Thinking

You do well to mention the battery wearing down, and that’s why I am fully for going into capacitor development, capacitors, as you may have experienced with a self-charging LED flashlight or hopefully were able to save a life with portable defibrilators, are different from batteries in being able to accumulate charge (Coloumbs) faster than batteries, as well as wearing down quite gradually over time. EStorr’s (Texas-based battery producer)promise may not have come true, but capacitors could be promising in many ways. Overall, I believe that that capacitors may be something worth pursuing right now, given how much we’ve spent on developing just the chemical batteries.


59 posted on 10/20/2010 9:19:18 AM PDT by Morpheus2009
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Still Thinking
Ahh! Nothing like the feeling of feeding liberal cars nuclear electricity!

Ahh! Nothing like the feeling of feeding liberal's cars nuclear electricity!

60 posted on 10/20/2010 9:20:15 AM PDT by SeeSac
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson