Happy Holidays – Bob Lutz Spotted in Production Chevy Volt!

24 Responses to “Happy Holidays – Bob Lutz Spotted in Production Chevy Volt!”

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   Dave G Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 8:58 am

   Fun with Photoshop!  
   
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   Guy Incognito Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 12:37 pm

   I would have ran this article on April 1st rather than christams day.
   Also, I did’nt get the joke.  
   
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   John Spradley Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 4:10 pm

   If the Volt is half as well done as the EV1 it will have a smashing impact on the future of the automobile.

   http://www.mindspring.com/~larry.paul/  
   
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   John Spradley Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 4:22 pm

   Checkout that ‘Ghost of EVs Past’ by the right front wheel!  
   
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   Doug Korthof Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 4:24 pm

   What a crock. Does anyone believe anything GM says??  
   
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   bruce g Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

   Doug,
   Please,
   This is the season to be merry….  
   
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   Guy Incognito Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 5:26 pm

   Hey Doug, did you know that there is some idiot on these forums that thinks you and I are the same person?  
   
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   LyleL Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 5:36 pm

   #5 Doug Korthof Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 4:24 pm Quote

   What a crock. Does anyone believe anything GM says??

   Nope, I don’t but, I have hope that if GM doesn’t come through, another manufacturer will. If they all (auto manufacturers) fail to produce, then I’m all for converting some form of hybrid to almost full time electric so I can stop buying gas which feeds and arms this countries (USA) enemies. That conversion will support the 3rd party battery (lithium, sodium, etc.) makers. The demand will reduce the price, independent garages will be converting cars left and right and small silicon valley car startups will flourish.

   Hang in there Doug. They can decide to lead, participate or hinder. A new age is dawning and GM can’t stop it.

   GM can say anything they want, people are aware of what battery/electric technology exists and what others are doing (thanks to the Internet, {Al Gores greatest invention}). GM would be crazy to assume the people are unaware.

   For example I just stumbled across the Eliica yesterday. This University research car pushes the boundaries of electric technology.

   Video
   http://youtube.com/watch?v=QS8jqmBh4M0

   Text information
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliica

   Happy Holy-days to all.  
   
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   AES Says:
   December 25th, 2007 at 5:51 pm

   Senór Korthoff-

   No rational, scientifically skeptical person buys into everything anyone says.

   But genuine EV advocates shouldn’t turn their noses up at the idea of a GM REEV – you seem to be one of the very few people (if not the only) profiled in “WKTEC” who haven’t been supportive of the Volt project.

   Rather than vitriolically saying “I will never buy anything from GM ever again”, the much more mature thing would be to say “I will buy the best EV no matter who produces it”.  
   
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    Brian M Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 8:35 pm

    Doug doesn’t want practical, affordable EVs to ever exist. He would much rather complain about them forever.

    Doug = Grinch

    Merry Christmas everyone!  
    
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    Matthew Guy Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

    Spewing venom at GM seems a little excessive. A REEV seems to me to be the car that needs to be put into mass production as of about twenty years ago, so if GM is finally getting with the program on this, that’s a good thing. Yes, they dragged their feet on this technology, just like the other majors, but at least they’re doing it now.

    While I wouldn’t want to underestimate their impressive, proven capacity for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the car of the future will be something like this. When the Volt comes out, the way things are looking now, it and the Tesla will be the only cars in production that won’t be obsolete long before the end of their service lives. I will be sadly disappointed if it’s a lemon, because I’ll want one regardless.  
    
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    LyleL Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 10:37 pm

    “Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, (FHI) will start selling electric Subarus in Japan in 2009—a year earlier than initially planned, according to President Ikuo Mori.”

    They claim to have rapid recharge capabilities.

    http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/12/electric-subaru.html  
    
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    LyleL Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 10:41 pm

    “Panasonic EV Energy Co., the battery-making joint venture between Toyota and Matsushita, has begun studies at its Omori factory geared to the mass production of lithium-ion batteries, said Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe in his end-of-year press conference. The Omori factory currently produces NiMH cells.”

    …

    “Watanabe referenced the ongoing testing of the plug-in hybrid prototypes in Japan and the US, saying that the company is making steady progress toward the commercialization of the plug-in vehicles.”

    http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/12/panasonic-ev-en.html  
    
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    Dave G Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

    Doug Korthof #5 Says:
    “What a crock. Does anyone believe anything GM says??”

    GM is a big company. In my experience, big companies don’t lead. They are not proactive. They are mainly motivated by fear, especially fear of their competition. The best you can hope for from a big company in the U.S. is to react quickly to potential threats.

    Today, many things are different than they were when GM killed the EV1. Thanks to Toyota, GM is no longer the #1 automaker. Thanks to Al Gore, there is a strong movement for clean energy. Thanks to soaring oil prices from terrorist nations, the Hawks are also joining the fight against oil. Thanks to Chris Paine, everyone is blaming GM for killing the electric car. Thanks to the Prius, all other car companies look like gas-guzzlers. Thanks to Tesla, everyone knows an electric car is not only possible, but extremely desireable.

    So GM now has plenty to be afraid of. If they just make a GM version of the Prius, they will look like followers. If they don’t do something to counteract “Who Killed The Electric Car”, their public opinion will continue to plummet. They have to do something.

    So when GM talks about the Volt, I believe them.  
    
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    Jim I Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 11:21 pm

    Electric Subarus in 2009 – 100 units – wow! Tesla will do better than that!!!

    And Mr. Watanabe changes his position with regard to plug-in vehicles, litium ion batteries, and now ethanol more than the presidential candidates………..

      
    
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    mykallb Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 11:23 pm

    # Doug Korthof Says:
    “December 25th, 2007 at 4:24 pm Quote

    What a crock. Does anyone believe anything GM says??”

    =====

    Maybe your problem was the small print EVERYONE should read when they LEASE a vehicle. Might have spared you your plight with GM and your credit rating. It’s basically the same regardless of who you LEASE a vehicle from.

    It might also interest you that large companies exist to make money, not to serve your purposes.

    M.  
    
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    Dave G Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 11:26 pm

    LyleL,

    Thanks for the links!  
    
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    LyleL Says:
    December 25th, 2007 at 11:46 pm

    [quote comment="21888"]LyleL,

    Thanks for the links![/quote]

    Thanks Dave G, gotta do something to satiate the desire for a Volt ( or whatever).

    Thanks to John Spradley for the link to the 3-D pictures of the EV1. I agree, GM has the ability. If only the executives would give the Volt team a budget then get out of the way and let the engineers produce a fantastic car. I fear management meddling will dumb down the result.  
    
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    Jake Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 6:48 am

    My brother in law is an engineer for this product and said there’s NO WAY it will work as designed. The battery will never be perfected, gets way too hot (much like a laptop) and they have NO effective solution for this. Sorry, better have a back up plan. :/  
    
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    LyleL Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 7:51 am

    “Chevrolet Volt generates surge of traffic on Web
    GM’s eco-friendly concept car draws a cult following”

    Hmmm…cult??

    http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/AUTO01/712260365  
    
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    hercule Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 7:56 am

    #18 Jake,

    What kind of engineer, a railroad operator? Cooling hot things is the kind of problem that GM would have a tiny bit of experience with, given that every GM car I have ever seen has a “coolant” system to “cool” the engine. I bet that if the ICE has a cooling system, it could be used with the battery too.  
    
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    Dave G Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 8:40 am

    Jake #18,
    The batteries are Lithium Ion, but they are not like laptop batteries. For example, when that guy crashed the Killacycle into a mini-van, the battery pack was cut open. If that was a laptop type battery, it would have burst into flames. It’s a new type of battery.

    Hercule #20,
    Yes, the battery pack and the ICE are both liquid cooled, but I’m pretty sure these are separate cooling systems. In fact, I believe the sub-contractor that is integrating the battery cells into the pack is engineering this cooling system. I do know that GM specified liquid cooling for the batteries.

    Note that the battery pack is also specified to never charge more than 80% or less than 30%. It never fully charges or discharges. This not only helps with heat, but extends the life of the pack as well.  
    
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    Myron B Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 1:34 pm

    I agree with Doug! If it wasn’t for GM leading to the demise of the EV1 they would still be around and still on the roads. GM is reactive not proactive and that is why Toyota and Honda have lead the hybrid market for so long now GM is plating catch up. And I dont think very well at that.  
    
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    conversionvansforsale Says:
    October 15th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    Another disadvantage to van leasing is that it can be difficult to calculate the annual mileage and other charges. A leased van has a set number of miles that can be accumulated on it. If the number of miles exceeds this number, the charges can be quite costly. To avoid this, it is important to accurately calculate the mileage that one does in a year. Miscalculating this can lead to heavy charges that the individual or company leasing the van was not expecting. Other charges that may be included in a lease is that the individual will have to pay for any damages to the vehicle. Although this would probably be the case should the person own the van outright, there may be some minor damages that the individual would not bother in fixing if the van were their own property?  
    
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