GM Pushes Up Production Of Volt Electric Car

[WriteDown]

Source: General Motors

In the wake of an economic downturn, General Motors Corp is hurrying production of its Chevy Volt. It now hopes to unveil a showroom-ready model in September, according to sources close to the project.

GM is expected to complete the production version of the Volt by early August so that it will be ready in time for its 100th anniversary in September. The company hopes the Volt will break its public image of being a gas-guzzling vehicle maker.

"Everyone is waiting for the next steps," Rob Peterson, spokesman for GM's electric vehicle program. GM designers and engineers are "getting very close" to a production-ready version of the Volt, he said.

Peterson declined to comment on the timeline for its next announcements on the Volt, which will include naming a supplier for the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack, the single most expensive element of the vehicle and the component seen as critical to its success.....



Read more: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1468229/gm_pushes_up_production_of_volt_electric_car/

---

Wooooooo-hoooooooo. I will be first in line.

[loveable liberal]

1. Me too!!!

I'm going to drive my '95 jetta into the dirt (it gets 36mpg) then buy a super excellent car that is ultra energy efficient. I refuse to buy otherwise.

[The Croquist]

8. I get 33 from my 2000 Toyota Celica

I get 33 from my 2000 Toyota Celica and it's a fun car to drive. It's small though and putting a third person in it is tough. I understand why some people need big cars or SUVs but most of the people driving them "chose poorly".

At this stage I wouldn't feel comfortable with an all electric car because of the range issue. I figure 33 MPG is doing my share.

[Stevepol]

61. I have a 2001 Celica and by driving around 60-65, I can get even better mileage

I've gotten as high as 42 mpg (highway, with a wind behind), but 35+ is pretty easy (highway) if I don't go above 65 and set the cruise close to 60.

[Fovea]

21. Good for you!

You, and those like you, bring the change.

[LeftHander]

37. 37 MPG city with 95' Infiniti G20t - manual trans...

Keep the RPMS below 3 grand, tires full (42 psi) and short shift at 2K RPM...5th gear gives you 45 mph at 2K RPM. 62 @ 2.7K...

Kinda a shame with this new rev-happy motor I put in a while back...but sure is a big step up from 25-27 MPG....

[TCJ70]

2. Bad link?

It won't open for me.

[Greyskye]

3. Working link here

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1468229/gm_pushes_up_production_of_volt_electric_car/index.html

[WriteDown]

7. Thanks! n/t

[Cerridwen]

4. Link fix

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1468229/gm_pushes_up_production_of_volt_electric_car/index.html

[billyoc]

5. I wish they'd start designing apartment buildings to handle electric cars and plugin hybrids.

I know very few people that live in a house. :shrug:

[WriteDown]

9. This is one of my concerns.

Also, what about the cords? Seems like they will be ripe for theft or vandalism.

[SouthernVoter]

34. Do like they do in ND

When you rent a car in ND or anywhere you have to plug in an engine heater over night, they say to drive over it and leave a tire on the extension cord they give you to keep it from getting stolen.

They have outlets outside hotels and motels there, so it should not be an issue to do it.

[snooper2]

35. Unless you are in NYC or L.A...

you probably shouldn't be forking over the cash to buy a Volt while living in an apartment.





GOBAMA!

[AndyTiedye]

6. GM Needs to Update It's Own Website on the Volt

Their site still says end of 2010!

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

[daleo]

10. I will believe it when I see it

And I might buy it too.

[sudopod]

51. When they do the right thing

give em a carrot.

[harun]

52. It's pure vapor ware until they put one in a showroom for sale (not lease)

and I don't think we will see that for a LONG time.

[NJCher]

54. not really

GM has a history with the electric car. See the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car."

And for those of you who have seen this doc, imagine where GM would be right now if they hadn't killed that car.



Cher

[harun]

55. I have seen the doc, which is why I called it vapor ware. They NEVER

put one of those in a showroom FOR SALE. They were all leases, which is why I said that in my post. In the documentary they talk about how they were all leases.

About where they would be now, that is what is so frustrating. They had a really cool full electric that people loved.

If GM wants to put out an electric car for sale they can do it, and do it quickly. Heck they just had on the local news two guys who turned an old Honda Civic they own in to a full electric and said they will help anyone else do the same for less than 10k.

[Ichingcarpenter]

56. The thing is this 'news' release is bullcrap

It makes it sound like GM is making the car for the fall whereas
its the production model that will be release and not before 2010
also the price has jumped $10,000 to the price of $40-$45 thousand.

[penndragon69]

11. I'd love to buy one.

But the expected price of $40,000 + and a range of only 40 miles makes this car a joke.

The much maligned GEO Metro got 50+ MPG on only 3 cylinders
and cost only a fraction of the price of a volt.

I'll wait for a new 3 cylinder compact car and save the rest of the money.

[WriteDown]

28. Its range is not limited to 40 miles.

That is the battery's range. It will also have a standard engine on board for longer trips. 40 miles on electrical power will go a very long way for most people though.

[TommyO]

31. Not only that, but the gas engine is used solely to charge the batteries

It is not used to provide any propulsive force for the car - it can run at its peak efficiency all the time.

[tabasco]

64. I drove a 3-cyl. Ford Fiesta in Germany for about a month.

I thought it was a fine little car and got super gas mileage.

I don't believe they ever sold the same car in the USA.

I drive a Toyota Echo that gets 45 mpg. I drive easy and the needle goes down slow.

[Truth4Justice]

65. The Geo Metro is a three cylinder car.

[Sgent]

12. GM's history

of rushing introduction of autos is miserable. I hope this does better, but given their past I wouldn't bet on it.

[Demeter]

15. They've Had 35 YEARS of Lead Time on This

It's only rushing if they've been ignoring facts (as it seems they were).

[WriteDown]

27. I love the GM pre-bashing

Check out Toyota quality in the 70's and early 80's for some real garbage. Some on DU choose to believe that anything that GM builds, cannot be a quality product. I will give it a try if for nothing else, but to help the UAW.

[Fumesucker]

70. My wife's first car was a 72 Corolla

Which was a fantastic little car and got far better mileage than anything the big three were making at the time.

I also had a 70's Toyota pickup, I can't remember what year any more but it was a great truck, paid $500 for it, drove it for about 70k miles without doing a damn thing and then sold it for $750..

[Demeter]

13. Amazing What A Corporation Can Do, With the Right Incentives

Like--compete, or die!

[high density]

14. So electric cars help us how?

Our electricity currently comes mostly from coal (49%), followed by natural gas and nuclear.

Would people be celebrating a car that you dump coal into?

[Demeter]

16. First You Break the Oil Dependency Which Is Killing the Economy

While breaking the big power plant fixation with decentralized, renewable electricity generation.

In other words, all those things that should have been done since 1973, and which Carter did start, and Reagan shut down.

[high density]

17. Sure, but you're talking about decades of development

I agree we do need to get started somewhere. But right now half of our electricity comes from coal. If we're serious about global warming then turning immediately to our electricity grid to break our oil dependency doesn't seem all that wise given where we are at this moment.

[Demeter]

20. I'm Willing To Listen to Your Alternatives

What else have we got to do in the coming decades, anyway?

[Fovea]

22. RE Denmark.

Check out what they are doing.

It doesn't look like rocket science to them.

[DCKit]

60. When it takes ~ the same energy to produce a gallon of gasoline...

as it takes to propel an electric car the same distance (as a gallon of gasoline), there is no threat of overloading the existing grid.

If we had the choice, the Oil Companies would very quickly run out of excuses for $135/barrel oil as well as the insane profit taking.

But remember, just because at least one oil company has suppressed battery technology and the electric car programs (paid for, in large part, by the taxpayer) were canceled the second Big Oil, the car companies and the malAdministration had their way with CA's zero emissions laws, doesn't mean there's a conspiracy.

[daleo]

18. It's a good question

There are some possible advantages that I can think of:
- electricity can be produced from renewable sources, while gasoline type fuels can't (leaving aside the ethanol question for the moment), so converting to electrical transportation makes sense in the long run.
- I believed that the combination of electric generators and electric motors is now more efficient at energy conversion than internal combustion engines alone, so this may have some slight advantage.
- It may be possible to sequester CO2 at a coal generating facility in the future (though I am not convinced that the technology is feasible yet).

You are right, though. Coal produces a lot of CO2 per energy unit, so relying on coal + electric cars is not a sustainable solution. Ultimately, electrical power has to be generated from renewable sources.

[kristopher]

19. The difference in efficiency is huge, that's why.

The average Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) in an automobile only uses (on average) 12% of the fuel it consumes for propulsion. The rest is wasted. Battery electric drive is better than 90% efficient. Even though coal is 50% of the electric energy mix, powering a car with grid electric is vastly superior regarding greenhouse emissions than is powering one with an ICE.

Also, battery electric cars equipped with Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology can help stabilize the grid allowing the use of greater amounts of energy from wind and solar. Eventually, an all electric fleet would perfectly complement a grid powered exclusively by renewables.

[LeftyMom]

23. Depends on your local power mix, too.

Ours is mostly hydro, and they just put in a new PV farm (due online any day now) which I'm thinking of buying a share in. AFAIK, the closest coal plant is way the hell out in the desert in Nevada. So depending where you live, coal plants may not be a factor in whether to buy an electric car.

Also, electric cars would mostly be charged at night, and most systems have a lot of waste then, so the spike in power needed would be minimal unless many people adopted them.

[Lifetimedem]

25. There is always the solar panel option.

Solar is getting cheaper to install .

Locally our hydro power (Niagara Falls) all goes to NY city, so we have VERY expensive rates in spite of our location .

So locally wind farms are popping up to cut the use of the coal plants we are stuck with .

[LeftyMom]

26. I rent, but our local utility is doing this:

http://www.smud.org/community-environment/solar/solarshares.html

[Lifetimedem]

24. Do you mind

running your computer on electricity? Your refrigerator?

Lets face it we all use electricity daily... this is just one more option.

[high density]

29. Everybody is talking as if switching to our electricity grid for transportation is a magic solution

While some people forget where our current electricity comes from, and most of it isn't from a renewable source. That's all I'm saying.

[harun]

53. I don't think anyone thinks this is the magic solution but it would be

the best first step. You get diversity of energy sources in to the market so consumers will at least have choice. Oil, hydrogen, electric, hybrid, etc.

Then you can start looking at step two, how one powers it. Solar panels at home, wind mill at home, wind from power station, nuclear from power station, hydro-electric from power station, etc. Again adding some diversity in to the market. Keeping EVERYTHING pure oil for vehicles and adding just a bit of corn ethanol just won't work any way we look at it.

[excess_3]

68. close enough to magic, for me

the electric car
cuts the middle east out of the deal

[harun]

69. The Middle East will never be cut out of the deal nor should it be

it isn't like all oil comes from there. Look at the amount we get from Mexico, Canada, Nigeria and Venezuela.

(http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html)

Big trucks, work vehicles, etc. will all still be gasoline and electric. The point is having a significant amount of commuter class vehicles full electric the demand will decrease for oil, thus lowering the price. It also gives consumers a choice at the dealership.

[lumberjack_jeff]

36. An electric car *can* be powered by windmills, hydro or solar.

A gasoline car can only be powered by gasoline or food.

Because of its size, the emissions of a coal plant can be reduced beyond that possible on an individual car. Besides, an electric car will, of necessity, be light and require little power to move, and thus require comparatively small amounts of energy.

And where do you get the idea that Nuclear power is #3 in the US? In my area, hydropower over half of the energy we use, and nuclear less than 1%.

[Javaman]

39. Solar panels should be included in the price. now that would be forward thinking. nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

58. $4/gallon gas

[rayofreason]

30. Been following this...

...for a while.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=119088

I'll buy one. If I lived in California, I'd buy one of these (only available in CA).

http://www.aptera.com/

Bring it on!

[wpelb]

32. Electricity for electric cars

Where will the electricity for electric cars come from? I assume it would be from the general electricity supply. Unless someone can market affordable home-based wind and/or solar generators to "fuel" electric cars, the environmental benefit of them will be questionable. Providing electricity for them will have to come from the same sources that we use today: coal- and oil-fired plants, nuclear, hydro-power, etc. Coal and oil pollute the air (though newer plants are much better than the older ones), nuclear doesn't pollute the air but does create waste that has to be disposed of somehow, and hydro-power is often seen as a threat to fish runs and other river life.

[dysfunctional press]

42. so- what's YOUR solution for the masses...?

some people are always ready to crap on developing alternatives, without ever offering up any ideas of their own.

one thing that could be done would be to outlaw appliance "vampires"- (products that draw power even when turned off- 'instant on' tv's for example) that little step would save a LOT of electricity. and most cars would probably be being charged overnight, when there is less demand on the power grid anyway.

[IDemo]

66. The environmental benefit of them will be unquestionable.

One of the most common issues surrounding EVs today is their status as ZEVs. Critics proclaim that EVs are simply “elsewhere emission vehicles” because they transfer emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack. Although there are emissions associated with coal and oil-fired power plants, smokestack emissions associated with charging EVs are extremely low..

[Occulus]

72. The Polywell, perhaps?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

It's a fusion reactor being tested out in Santa Fe. Unlike many other such projects, this one has a pedigree attached to it: the original designer, now deceased, was none other than Dr. Robert Bussard, formerly of what was previously known as the Atomic Energy Commission, and cofounder of the mainline US fusion project, the Tokamak. By the end of his life, Bussard had become convinced that the Tokamak couldn't ever possibly be used to generate net power, and was equally convinced he had found the way to do so. The lab's work, being continued under Dr. Rick Nebel (who is on leave from the Los Alamos National Lab to work on this) is expected to be peer-reviewed by the end of the summer.

Dr. Nebel is, by all accounts, very pleased with their results thus far, but is under contract with the Navy and is thus unable to discuss precisely what has him so pleased. He has said, however, that "we might as well build the next (full-size) one", and the Navy did recently throw some more money at the project.

According to Bussard, the scaling laws state that the power output scales as the seventh power of the device's radius, and energy gain as the fifth power. Given that is true- we don't know for certain yet- a device only ten times larger than their current test device could be a useful fusion power plant. A full-size Polywell reactor is estimated to cost around $200M to build.

[nwliberalkiwi]

33. 36 miles to the gallon

97 Saturn wagon getting 36 miles to the gallon. Over 200,000 miles and will drive it until it dies then replace the engine. Will not buy another new car.

[Javaman]

38. another of the auto industries carrot on a stick for the uninformed masses...

sure go buy a volt, knock yourself out. But do you realize that it takes between 15 and 50 barrels of oil to manufacture a single new car?

buy a used one and convert it to electric. It will cost you the same and save resources and not release more CO2 and heavy metals into the air the way producing a new car would.

[bigworld]

40. I wish it wouldn't look like the batmobile

... how about putting the innards in a more practical body like a Vibe?

[Ichingcarpenter]

41. $40,000 for a two seater is a start but 2010 will be the earliest you see it

Its a great start for GM and I hope they succeed but
what they are talking about is 'the final design' of the Volt that
is ready for production. If you can afford a $40,000 car then gasoline prices
shouldn't be much of a problem for you either, definitely not a car for
the masses but it looks cool.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/19/chevy-volt-plug-in-hybrid-priced-at-40-000/

[Ichingcarpenter]

43. General Motors "Greenwashes" its Image with half truths, lies and misdirection

Although it continues to lag behind other automakers, GM has started to design and produce vehicles with improved efficiency. This is certainly a positive development. But, what is misleading about GM's efforts is the extent to which the company has advertised the green technologies, while still engaging very heavily in production of gas-guzzling vehicles. What is worse, the company claimed to be a fuel solutions leader, while working behind the scenes to derail attempts to increase fuel economy standards.
Ad bluster

GM used its best selling brand and largest advertising budget - $750 million in 2006 - to promote a new green image . Yet, the technologies that GM advertises in its Gas-Friendly to Gas-Free ads remain mostly prospective. Super-efficient vehicles represent a small percentage of the 9.3 million cars GM produced in 2007. The company is only now introducing real hybrid vehicles, and its electric and fuel cell technologies are not yet production-ready.


At the same time that it was extolling its "green" credentials, GM also was working behind the scenes to undermine efforts to improve CAFE fuel economy standards.

GM sought to use its new "green" reputation to demonstrate that changes in existing CAFE standards were unnecessary. It argued that it and other automakers already were doing everything that they could to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions and that additional federal mandates would only cut into revenues and thus limit the funds available for innovation. As part of its campaign, GM brought its Chevy Volt concept car to Capitol Hill.

In an effort to stop increases to CAFE standards, GM spent $14.56 million on lobbying in 2007, more than any other automotive company or industry group - and significantly more than it had spent in any other recent year. It targeted Congress, as well as the White House, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Transportation.

GM also funds an industry lobby group, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM). Last summer, the group launched a misleading radio and print ad campaign in several Midwest states arguing that increased fuel economy standards would decrease the safety and functionality of automobiles. The radio ads (targeting soccer moms and pickup drivers) encouraged listeners to call or write their legislators to voice concern over proposed fuel economy increases.

GM's efforts also went beyond lobbying. The company, along with other automakers, filed lawsuits against states that attempted to limit vehicle carbon emissions. Although the courts have so far ruled against the auto companies, the Environmental Protection Agency has refused to grant states the permission they need to regulate CO2 emissions. Congress is currently looking into the EPA's decision.

Last year, GM joined the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of businesses and environmental groups that have come together to call on the federal government to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. GM's lawsuits against states trying to enact carbon caps are at odds with the mission of USCAP. In fact, USCAP has been criticized recently for the many discrepancies between its mission and the actions of its members in Washington.

Perhaps the most damning evidence of the distance between the company's green rhetoric and its actual thinking can be found in recent statements by one GM executive. In January 2008, Robert A. Lutz, GM's Vice Chairman for Global Product Development told reporters that hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius "make no economic sense" because their price will never come down . He then went on to describe global warming as "a total crock...I'm a skeptic, not a denier...I'm motivated more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2 argument."

http://stopgreenwash.org/casestudy_gm

[WriteDown]

44. interesting article...

but how does Toyota, Honda, Hyundai etc stack up. Seems like this is more GM/UAW bashing.

[Ichingcarpenter]

45. Ford has a good record as does toyota

I will not equate UAW = GM management I think that is a cheap shot
and dishonest.

[WriteDown]

46. My only point

was that when an article bashes GM, but doesn't show how the other manufacturers stand up, it has the effect of bashing GM. Like it our not, GM is the UAW and bashing one affects the other. GM makes some fine cars, but it seems that people have their minds made up. If people had done the same thing in the 70's and early eighties concerning Toyota, they wouldn't even be around the U.S. anymore.

[Ichingcarpenter]

47. So the UAW is General Motors Management that makes all the decisions?

Thank you for rewriting history and reality.

[WriteDown]

48. This isn't about GM management

This is about the Volt and its prospects. We should be supporting their efforts now and not dwelling on the past. I know there are those on DU who will never drive a GM car regardless of the quality.

[Ichingcarpenter]

49. I'm supporting Telsa Motors

General Motors' management is a greenwashing the release of the Volt
by implying it will be out in the fall.

[WriteDown]

50. That's cool.....

Is Tesla union manufactured?

[Fumesucker]

71. The reason so many people prefer Toyotas today

Is that Toytotas were far superior to big three cars back in the seventies and eighties. My wife and I both had Japanese cars from the seventies and eighties and they were excellent and very efficient vehicles.

The big three screwed their customers back then and a lot of us remember that.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

[Psephos]

59. They also pay medical, retirement, and a good wage to half my family

But who cares about actual people when it's time to tar and feather our own Axis of Evil?

I thought that Manichean stuff was tres passe on the left of the spectrum, but I guess not.

[PatGund]

57. Yeah sure......

Is volt another word for "EV-2" ??

I'll be surprised if they actually sell these. I suspect more they'll lease them just in case they decide to claim again there's no market and therefore can EV-1 them.

[hatrack]

62. I'll wait until there's one in the showroom I can test-drive and another dozen on the lot . . .

Before breaking out in a hot sweat of nervous anticipation. I've heard this song and dance from Detroit too many times already to get goosebumps.

[workinclasszero]

63. So people with 40 grand to burn

will escape the obscene cost of gas. Meanwhile the rest of us will be riding scooters to work.

Gotta love those blood-sucking american capitalists! :sarcasm:

They put us in this hole and they will make sure poor working class families never get out of it!

[OnionPatch]

67. $40,000??!!

Yeah, this car will really help out our global warming problem since so many people will be able to switch over. Heck, anyone can afford a 40 thousand dollar car!

:sarcasm:

[WriteDown]

73. How much should the car cost....

I remember when everyone in the world was running out to buy the 1st iphone for 500$ because they "had to have it." Something unneeded by 99.9% of people. Prius' cost about 29K and are still dependent on gasoline. This is brand new technology and like the iphone will greatly come down in price as refinements are made and initial design and production costs are paid. You're basically paying 3-4 cents per mile. I'm willing to save my pennys to buy a Volt and try it out.