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Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
545 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 12:57 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 28, 2007 7:38 am) Yes now GM is promoting the Volt and there seems to be more interest from the market other than from just a small minority with lots of free cash to spend. But IMHO the technology is right now ( and that's the key phrase ) not ready for prime time. The battery technology is still to be prefected..it is not yet no matter what GM says. They haven't even tested it on the roads yet for any length of time. The warranty issue is not resolved. The pricing issue is not resolved. The total number of potential buyers I think is still very very small. It's a small segment of the very small number of hybrid buyers. The infrastructure for powering this technology to the entire population is not there.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Nov 30, 2007 4:57 am) All GM's press releases have stated that their 2010 time frame is predicated on the battery technology being ready by then. Most reasonably intelligent people would see that as an admission by GM that the battery technology is not ready "right now". In case you haven't looked at a calendar in a while it is 2007, not 2010. So what's your point?
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Replying to: tpe (Nov 30, 2007 6:42 am) My whole issue with these right now is that putting a lot of hope into the PHEVs taking the market by storm is a dream. The point about the technology is that this is not something that happens overnight; i.e. 12-31-09 it's unproven and on 1-1-2010 it suddenly proven technology. There is still a lot of validation to be done beginning right now. Are 2 years time enough to make the decision on the supplier, ramp up production and do the necessary validations to put this in widespread usage? I was a direct vehicle maker supplier. We normally had 5-7 years leadtime notice. But even more important to me are the Marketing issues. I think the technology will be well proven by at least 2015 so that's not a long term issue. But all the other considerations may take far longer than that to resolve/overcome. There are some still ( amazingy  ) that don't believe at all in anything related to 'hybrid technology'. I think Lutz is correct to keep the whip cracking every month in order to push his people to hit the 2010 deadline. GM needs this vehicle far more than any of the others do, but widespread success on 1-1-2010 is not guaranteed by any means.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Nov 30, 2007 9:38 am) Yes there are, many are much more influential in the auto world than I am. My skepticism is based on the over complexity of the current hybrids and the poor economics they offer. You want an ICE get a diesel. For in town make em all electric. Hopefully the battery technology evolves faster than the rise in the price of oil. On one side are Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. Both have played down all-electric cars in favor of developing gasoline-electric hybrids, though they disagree on the best technology and how quickly it can be implemented. On the other side are two allied car makers, France's Renault SA and Japan's Nissan Motor Co., as well as Honda Motor Co. The three have expressed skepticism about the economic wisdom of hybrids and are talking up all-electric cars. Renault-Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn and Honda President and CEO Takeo Fukui, in separate interviews yesterday, argued that all-electric vehicles make more sense -- environmentally, politically and economically -- than do hybrids, provided there are advances in lithium-ion-battery technology. In an interview in Tokyo, Mr. Ghosn said the allied French and Japanese companies he leads are working to field significant numbers of all-electric vehicles as early as 2012, in the belief that gasoline-electric hybrids won't satisfy regulators in key markets. "We think in cities -- Paris and London -- we think cars will be forbidden unless they are zero-emission" vehicles, Mr. Ghosn said. He said Renault-Nissan's plans reflect a judgment that lithium-ion-battery technology will soon be mature enough to power purpose-built electric cars in cities. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119316295232868647.html?mod=sphere_ts |
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Both types of vehicles will have a place in our commuting future. The sooner they are both available, the happier we will all be for the option and availability of whichever best suits our particular needs/wants. 
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Replying to: michael2003 (Jan 04, 2008 5:40 am) volt update |
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GM is running TV commercials featuring the Volt. The guy from the Washington Mutual Bank commercials stars. He tells a bunch of kids standing in front of the Volt that it goes 40 miles on pure electricity. So I guess they HAVE to make the thing now. But hyping the car two years (or more) before it's even built is a bit much. Good luck, GM! .
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Replying to: 1stpik (Jan 04, 2008 8:41 am)
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Replying to: rcf8000 (Jan 22, 2008 4:50 pm) |
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Obviously, GM has too much money! So much that they have to waste it on ads promoting a car that doesn't exist yet.
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