Comments on: Chevy Volt at the GM Style Event http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/ Real-time news, information, and discussion about the Chevrolet Volt. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:11:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jim http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26880 Jim Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:57:30 +0000 http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26880 Well, as one who works in Aerospace development programs, I can tell you, some schedules are inevitable. I dont understand all the past history, but I appreciate what GM is doing, with ethanol and with electric. We need every chance to be successful in gaining energy independence. The problem with the battery to overcome will be degradation of the battery with use. I am looking forward to the volt, but in case it must be delayed due to battery issues, cheap ethanol is a good alternative. PS, I noticed hydrogen is produced before the ethanol in to process. What is that about! Hmmm.... Well, as one who works in Aerospace development programs, I can tell you, some schedules are inevitable. I dont understand all the past history, but I appreciate what GM is doing, with ethanol and with electric. We need every chance to be successful in gaining energy independence. The problem with the battery to overcome will be degradation of the battery with use. I am looking forward to the volt, but in case it must be delayed due to battery issues, cheap ethanol is a good alternative. PS, I noticed hydrogen is produced before the ethanol in to process. What is that about! Hmmm….

]]> By: Dwayne Scott http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26811 Dwayne Scott Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:58:46 +0000 http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26811 The problem with the AFS Trinity and many other cars like them is that they are only prototypes. Without the extensive testing and engineering that is going into the Volt you can bet the car will not be suitable for mass production. Come on give me a break, don't you think GM has been testing every off the shelf solution out there? GM is more that motivated to get The Volt out as soon as possible. If there was an easier way they would use it. I believe that GM is doing all they can to produce the best vehicle possible as fast as possible. They have the best automotive engineers in the world working it. I have no doubt that they will be the first to produce a quality product. The conspiracy theorists are just plain nuts! One really scary thought, at least to me, is that a less experienced company comes out with an EV with a big splash and then generates a bunch of negative press for EVs in general when their car has major problems of one sort or another. I am all for the Mom and Pop startups that push the edge and show great innovation – they are the heart blood of America – but going from prototype to the mass production of 100,000’s of vehicles is a really, really big step. In most cases, the Mom and Pops don’t even know the right questions to ask - much less the answers it takes to go into mass production. Just ask Telsa Motors how hard it is to go into production. I don’t see any real competitive threats to the Volt except for perhaps Toyota – and only then if they have been working in earnest on a EV in stealth mode for some time. The problem with the AFS Trinity and many other cars like them is that they are only prototypes. Without the extensive testing and engineering that is going into the Volt you can bet the car will not be suitable for mass production.

Come on give me a break, don’t you think GM has been testing every off the shelf solution out there? GM is more that motivated to get The Volt out as soon as possible. If there was an easier way they would use it.

I believe that GM is doing all they can to produce the best vehicle possible as fast as possible. They have the best automotive engineers in the world working it. I have no doubt that they will be the first to produce a quality product. The conspiracy theorists are just plain nuts!

One really scary thought, at least to me, is that a less experienced company comes out with an EV with a big splash and then generates a bunch of negative press for EVs in general when their car has major problems of one sort or another.

I am all for the Mom and Pop startups that push the edge and show great innovation – they are the heart blood of America – but going from prototype to the mass production of 100,000’s of vehicles is a really, really big step. In most cases, the Mom and Pops don’t even know the right questions to ask – much less the answers it takes to go into mass production. Just ask Telsa Motors how hard it is to go into production.

I don’t see any real competitive threats to the Volt except for perhaps Toyota – and only then if they have been working in earnest on a EV in stealth mode for some time.

]]> By: Glenn http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26781 Glenn Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:06:31 +0000 http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26781 off topic: I just found a new website/blog that covers all things phev/ev. There's so much going on in the green transportation world, and so difficult to follow, maybe they'll be able to slice and dice the information and serve it up so that one doesn't have to spend 5 hours a day keeping up on this stuff. Check it out. http://surmonte.wordpress.com/ off topic:

I just found a new website/blog that covers all things phev/ev. There’s so much going on in the green transportation world, and so difficult to follow, maybe they’ll be able to slice and dice the information and serve it up so that one doesn’t have to spend 5 hours a day keeping up on this stuff. Check it out.

http://surmonte.wordpress.com/

]]> By: Tim http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26777 Tim Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:00:07 +0000 http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26777 Here's another report at EVWORLD: AFS Trinity Perfects Plug-in Hybrid Saturn Vue By Bill Moore AFS Trinity president Ed Furia briefs EV World on his firm's breakthrough plug-in hybrid conversion. http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1386 Here’s another report at EVWORLD:

AFS Trinity Perfects Plug-in Hybrid Saturn Vue
By Bill Moore
AFS Trinity president Ed Furia briefs EV World on his firm’s breakthrough plug-in hybrid conversion.

http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1386

]]> By: Tim http://gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26772 Tim Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:17:05 +0000 http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/13/chevy-volt-at-the-gm-style-event/#comment-26772 Now, what if AFS Trinity could use cheap, Firefly deep discharge lead acid batteries in series with ultracapacitors instead of the Volt’s exotic Li-Ion pack! http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/01/firefly-energy.html#more AFS Trinity believes that they can retrofit ANY existing SUV (or pickup) into E-REV-40s for around $8,700.00 (much less with Firefly) including batteries, controllers and electric motors! This SAME system in lighter passenger cars would make them E-REV-80s GM could get priced out of the E-REV-40 market if they stubbornly stick with expensive exotic batteries without ultracapacitors. Now, what if AFS Trinity could use cheap, Firefly deep discharge lead acid batteries in series with ultracapacitors instead of the Volt’s exotic Li-Ion pack!

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/01/firefly-energy.html#more

AFS Trinity believes that they can retrofit ANY existing SUV (or pickup) into E-REV-40s for around $8,700.00 (much less with Firefly) including batteries, controllers and electric motors! This SAME system in lighter passenger cars would make them E-REV-80s

GM could get priced out of the E-REV-40 market if they stubbornly stick with expensive exotic batteries without ultracapacitors.

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