excell Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Picked this up this morning: http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/production-chevy-volt-interior-and-exterior-spy-shots-leaked/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPLN SUX Posted August 30, 2008 Report Share Posted August 30, 2008 My thoughts exactly.. Oil prices will eventually go down once the demand is down from everyone going the, "green" electric vehicle route... good news for me But what you have to understand is that some "3rd World" countries are in the development stages that the US was back in the 50's, but the technology has evolved making the growth almost exponential. India for example, not exactly 3rd World, but never thought of as an industrial nation, is spreading faster than a rash from a college campus whore. The rate of increase in thier oil demands went from less than one percent to almost five in only 3yrs. If the rate continues, its not all that far out of possiblity that it could match the US's current rate of 24%, in about 15yrs... not that far off. As it was explained to me by actual Indians, the middle class of India, up untill a couple of years ago, did not own a single car. Now, there are over 10 million cars on thier streets... mostly cheap chinese death traps. Fact of the matter is, there are loads of countries that are 20-50yrs behind us in development, and even if the super powers like the US, France, England, Germany (who already creates 25% of thier power strictly solar), Russia, etc. move out of the way in the oil consumption, within a decade, there will will be a dozen new countries right ibehind us to take our place and consume the same fossil fuels that we no longer use. Its a never ending cycle... like sharks teeth. One falls out, another moves up to take its place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mischief Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 hmm looks like if everyone hops on this bandwagon i wont have to pay so much for gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPLN SUX Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 hmm looks like if everyone hops on this bandwagon i wont have to pay so much for gas You know the big problem with that statment? This already happend less than 10yrs ago. Here watch this... youll be amazed at what you dont already know. I have the DVD but on Youtube, there are 9 parts... you may need to search a bit, but heres part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbeylQN8PAc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2008 I may be losing faith quickly... Word I heard this weekend on CNN is the car will sell for $40-50k??? Do not want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted September 3, 2008 Report Share Posted September 3, 2008 I may be losing faith quickly... Word I heard this weekend on CNN is the car will sell for $40-50k??? Do not want. +1 At that price point it's an absolutely pointless car. If they bring it to market at that price, then GM must be banking on "Green" being the new prestige thing. If GM can't find a way to get this into the hands of people who really NEED the gas savings, then they are doomed. The Volt is GM's chance to take the "green" crown from Toyota and have a car that people will line up to buy. Unless they use their sway with the government to get the cost down, the Volt will flop. And if the Volt flops, it's possible that GM will follow it. The good news is that all the clamor for a plug-in hybrid will grab the attention of a company that CAN sell it to the tax brackets that need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 The good news is the Volt will spawn lots of new technology that will find its was into more and more vehicles over time. Lithium Ion batteries are expensive. Think of it this way: the Volt is less than half the price of a Tesla Roadster, it's a larger car, and your range is unlimited (if you don't mind running the gas engine to charge the batteries). The Volt is a giant test/development-bed for new tech that can extend the range/improve mpg of vehicles. That tech will be assimilated into over GM vehicles over time, but the Volt is the 'extreme.' Look up info on the GM Precept if you want to see another high MPG hybrid development vehicle. It got 90 mpg in real world testing...but it also had something like 14 micro-processors and a lot of heat exchangers to manage everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Picked this up this morning: http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/29/production-chevy-volt-interior-and-exterior-spy-shots-leaked/ honestly, I kind of want one... they look pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 You know the big problem with that statment? This already happend less than 10yrs ago. Here watch this... youll be amazed at what you dont already know. I have the DVD but on Youtube, there are 9 parts... you may need to search a bit, but heres part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbeylQN8PAc interesting video... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPLN SUX Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 Honestly, they need to develope a transport vehical, or a commuting vehical on a mass scale and make them as cheap as a Kia or a Hyundia. Let people keep thier turcks vans and SUVs for the weekend and what not, and put aout the 150 mile electrics for the work week. If you make a car that gets 25mpg get 40mpg... you have solved the over all problem... you just slowed its progress. If you take that Tahoe or Silverado and take it to 25-30mpg, youre still doding the same thing. Remove one part of the eqaution all together. Get rid of the commuter cars that just waste fuel that could still be used in the big trucks. What does a commuter really need? A radio and A/C right? Why cant me make a 1800lb car that has those things... light weight is going to increase the distance and decrease the current draw at the same time... The concepts and needs arent rocket science... I dont know why manufactures like GM pretend it is. Fact is, any of the garage engineers on this board could build a ground up or kit car style, Austin Cooper sized vehical in thier garage that had a radio and AC in it, and met thier daily commuting requirements for probably 10,000-12,000. Theres no reason why a productive mass producer like GM cant do it for less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 Honestly, they need to develope a transport vehical, or a commuting vehical on a mass scale and make them as cheap as a Kia or a Hyundia. Let people keep thier turcks vans and SUVs for the weekend and what not, and put aout the 150 mile electrics for the work week. If you make a car that gets 25mpg get 40mpg... you have solved the over all problem... you just slowed its progress. If you take that Tahoe or Silverado and take it to 25-30mpg, youre still doding the same thing. Remove one part of the eqaution all together. Get rid of the commuter cars that just waste fuel that could still be used in the big trucks. What does a commuter really need? A radio and A/C right? Why cant me make a 1800lb car that has those things... light weight is going to increase the distance and decrease the current draw at the same time... The concepts and needs arent rocket science... I dont know why manufactures like GM pretend it is. Fact is, any of the garage engineers on this board could build a ground up or kit car style, Austin Cooper sized vehical in thier garage that had a radio and AC in it, and met thier daily commuting requirements for probably 10,000-12,000. Theres no reason why a productive mass producer like GM cant do it for less. The simpe answer is government regulations. That's what drives the minimum weight of a vehicle of a given size. Crash test standards and mandated safety equipment add a lot of weight that can't be stripped off for production. Sure, Joe Blow could build a P.O.S. in his garage that gets him to work and back, but mass markets would never buy it because it's a giant death trap. The Volt may only be rated to 40 mpg OVERALL, but for that first 40 miles it's not using any gas (which is good enough for most people). Batteries are both heavy and expensive. So if you want to increase the electric range of the vehicle you're going to make it a lot heavier. The Volt is more like a full electric vehicle than any of the hybrids on the market today. That will make the jump to full EV's a small one, but also allows the technology developed for the Volt to filter through the rest of the product line-up. The Chevy Cruize (Future Cobalt replacement) isn't a hybrid and it should be getting mid-40 mpg. Now you just have to convince everyone in America that they only need a commuter vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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