Comments on: Happy Holidays – Bob Lutz Spotted in Production Chevy Volt!

By: conversionvansforsale

conversionvansforsale — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:05:36 +0000

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?

By: Myron B

Myron B — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:34:11 +0000

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.

By: Dave G

Dave G — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:40:48 +0000

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.

By: hercule

hercule — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:56:12 +0000

#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.

By: LyleL

LyleL — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:51:37 +0000

“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

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 11:48:52 +0000

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. :/

By: LyleL

LyleL — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:46:29 +0000

[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.

By: Dave G

Dave G — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:26:33 +0000

LyleL,

Thanks for the links!

By: mykallb

mykallb — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:23:57 +0000

# 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.

By: Jim I

Jim I — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:21:54 +0000

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………..