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Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
544 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 1:11 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Who would pay $40k for a small car that looks like a Civic. I don't have a degree in marketing, but it makes much more sense to me that GM should aim for lower profit / higher volume so that more cars can be produced to keep the workers employed.
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Replying to: 9394 (Mar 09, 2009 12:14 pm) GM isn't in business to keep the workers employed, though. Right now the only thing keeping GM in business is the hope of a multi-year federal bailout. Politically speaking, they have to be able to demonstrate the capability for innovation. The Volt shows that capability much more effectively than, say, the Malibu or Cobalt, no matter how excellent (or how profitable) those cars may be. |
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This one is for those who doubt (ahem, Gary) that GM or Toyota can put a safe, well-tested Li Ion battery on the road, read this: link title As the company completes work on the battery for the first-generation Volt, it's also developing batteries for the second and third generation of the vehicle, which involves evaluating different battery materials and cells to find ones that store more energy, making it possible to use fewer of them. The lab has two main sections: one for evaluating battery cells from various suppliers, and one for evaluating the performance of battery packs--cells packaged with electronics and systems for cooling and heating the cells to keep them at an optimal temperature range. The battery packs contain a type of lithium-ion cell that can be degraded by extreme temperatures. Inside the lab, the packs are charged and discharged while being subjected to high and low temperatures as well as extremes of humidity. Engineers can also simulate different altitudes by placing the packs in barometric chambers. So the engineers can simulate conditions along a humid, hot coastline at sea level, or atop an arid and cold mountain. They can also mimic road conditions with a machine that shakes the battery packs. Elevated temperatures, which speed up the aging process of battery materials, are being used to confirm a ten-year lifetime for the batteries with about two years' worth of tests. In addition to being tested in the battery lab, the packs are being subjected to tests in actual vehicles both on the road and in a climate-controlled wind tunnel. So far, more than 100 battery packs have been built for testing.
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Replying to: larsb (Jun 10, 2009 8:46 am) |
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While it's not surprising that the lights in the Volt group have basically been switched off while GM reinvents itself (could resist the pun  ), I think it illustrates that the Volt, or any other EV with limited range and a high price tag for that matter, is NOT the answer for what ails the North American auto market. The Volt seems to be an answer to a question that nobody is asking.
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 14, 2009 4:21 pm)
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Replying to: dmathews3 (Jul 15, 2009 4:29 am)
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Replying to: michael2003 (Jul 15, 2009 6:00 am) |
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Replying to: michael2003 (Jul 15, 2009 6:00 am)
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Replying to: gfr1 (Jul 15, 2009 7:41 pm) |
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