Give Your Direct Input to GM’s Volt Engineering Team on Vehicle Data Options!
A post by “Belloc” on our Forum was noticed by one of the actual GM engineers that is building the Chevy Volt. That engineer writes to me “I’m an enthusiastic reader of the gm-volt.com site” and “I’m trying to ensure that it’s (the Volt) got the best features that the customers’ want.
Belloc’s post:
“I would like a built in webserver (like a wireless router) That would allow me to monitor the electricity used/ gas used/ miles traveled etc… I would like to be able to see my day to day usage as well as a week and month breakdown. I would also like to be able to enter in my electricity cost and fill up cost to track all expenses.
I would also like to monitor hours on engine. When the next maintenance is due (oil change etc) also I would like a history of all maintenance that was performed over the history of the vehicle.”
It turns out GM is wondering whether this kind of thing would be a good option for the production car. The GM engineer asked me to throw out the following questions from him to you, the GM-volt.com readership:
1–Would you prefer the tracking information for costs/electrical usage/gas usage, etc. be provided in the vehicle or by a weekly/monthly e-mail?
2–Would you be willing to pay for this option? If so, how much?
3–Would you like other information, such as emissions reduced, CO2 negated, etc.
4–Would you like a calculation of cost savings of electricity over fuel?
5–Would you be willing to pay more for the vehicle to know the rates for electricity and delay charging until the rates are lowest?
Give the GM Volt team your thoughts in the comments section, and vote in the poll below. Witness the importance of this site and your opinions in the development of this revolutionary vehicle!
As for me, I’d like a wireless networking server in the car that provides battery SOC, time and distance to depletion, and the ability to check my car’s charging status from any browser, and of course a GM-Volt.com icon on the dash and screen so that we can all network about our Volts anytime!
While I’m at it, I’d also like to be able to see the depletion of my batteries energy graphically in real-time while driving, and have the dash show me optimum driving velocity for grade so that I may make the charge last the longest. Oh yeah, and of course I want the whole dash to be a programmable LCD screen. I think this geeked out setup should be an option at extra charge of $499.
What say you?
Which version of the Chevy Volt do you prefer the appearance of?
- The Production Version (48%)
- The Concept Version (40%)
- I prefer them both equally (11%)
Total Votes: 2,468
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{UPDATE: COMMENTS Overloaded go to Next Post to answer]
Popularity: 7%
(26 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5) 
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March 16th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I am concerned that such features would be abused and that they coincide nicely with the VII pork barrel program to eventually track the movements of every driver. Not that I blame GM for trying to make quick buck, did anyone notice that two of the questions were directly related to increasing the consumer’s cost? I’m glad the features are suggested as being optional as I have an emphatic NO!. By the way, the pretty graphical display of the battery depletion in real-time while driving would reduce your range. What a waste.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
The most important on-board function is the ability to tell the amount of battery charge left, and the current "miles per gallon" equivalent, however that will be measured. The most important remote function is how much the battery is charged, and the time remaining until full charge is restored.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I will a conditional YES to the 5 questions listed (as well as the wireless server question I’ve already voted for). I’m saying my vote is "conditional" because I don’t really know enough about what the GM engineer is asking to make my answer unequivocal.
BTW, GM’s OnStar is already able to obtain & transmit/receive all kinds of vehicle performance data. It uses satellite links —which are about as "wireless" as you can get.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Aren’t the telemetry features that have been suggested nominally available already via OnStar?
I think that the possibilities are facinating. Why can’t a person simply "call" their Volt on the phone and receive a text message on the vehicle’s State of Charge (SOC) or other operating parameters such as whether the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is charging the batteries? The Volt with OnStar will be able to call the owner’s cell phone or even transmit a message to any designated phone number or e-mail address. Voice synthesis could be used in the messaging from the Volt to anywhere. Pretty exciting stuff.
The OnStar link would be used by GM to monitor the performance of the vehicle systems as a preventitive maintenance and value-added service - for a fee, of course. I’m sure that GM would want to know that all systems are performing well. This information would ensure that the owner is served, as well as GM, when the owner is not effectively supported by a local dealership. GM cannot allow a Volt to fail. The negative publicity will be lethal to the entire program.
END
March 16th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
If it’s done through OnStar, then it should be easy to implement.
However, I would very much like for this to be an OPTIONAL feature, since it would add a lot of money to the base cost.
That, plus the obvious privacy concerns about having personal information wirelessly transmitted.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
That said, the vehicle should have a SIMPLE average mpg/distance traveled readout on the dash, similar to on the Malibu hybrid that I test drove a few months ago. Simple, non-obtrusive, cost-effective. Oh, and it should tell the truth! (my ex-boss’s Prius mpg counter lied constantly about getting 100mpg while going 80mph).
March 16th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
The key in the car is how much charge is left and expected mileage (just like my Aura that tells me how many miles my tank of gas should get me). The rest is interesting, but not necessary and should be available via email/text/online. This is NOT worth paying for but GM should do it as a huge marketing strategy. "The Volt fleet this year saved X gallons of gas, X tons of carbon, etc. Join the Volt fleet and save the planet."
March 16th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I think a webserver or remote access is a bad idea, especially wireless. I personally don’t like the idea of anyone being able to hack into my vehicle and get any type of information. It is opening a hole to the vehicle that is unnecessary and irresponsible. The only possible way I can see this not being hacked is if there is some security at the hardware level. IE, I would want to be able to secure it externally, at least through a MAC filter list and WPA-PSK TKIP encryption, it should be required. Also, at the vehicle level, if the webserver would provide interactive access and any ability to change settings of the vehicle, it must have hardware encryption, the modules for the server and the vehicle must be separated by a hardware and software firewall on both sides. There should be a hardware based authentication mechansim that is tamper proof as possible. This is going to take time and money, so I think any wireless/webserver option should be at an extra cost and not included in the price of the vehicle. I could see something along the lines of a special attachment that could be added to the plugin that would provide ethernet access to the vehicle but would contain the same kind of protections described above.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
The price of Volt seems to be moving towards the $40,000 range. I’m really only going to be interested in a version of this car that sells for $30,000. You can include whatever you want, but if it costs $40,000… it won’t matter what the features are; I won’t buy it. The problem today is the 5 to 10 year pay back on saving gas $ vs. increased cost of the car. If these cars are going to really hit mass market success (millions of cars), then the payback timeframe needs to be in 1 to 3 years range. Otherwise, I’ll just buy whatever car has the features I want…. there is no financial reason to buy the product. The question you need to ask yourself is "what does the average person need?". I need to know how much range I have left on my battery. I need to know how much longer before my car is fully charged. I need to know how much total range I have left (battery + gas engine). I WANT the car to charge itself at the cheapest time of day (if time allows) and this needs to be user selectable/programmed — otherwise, someone will be selling an aftermarket timer to the owners. I’d prefer the car is smart enough to be able to figure out the cheapest time to charge without me having to do anything to tell it when the cheapest time is. It would be nice if the car could tell me what it cost to charge my battery each week or month .
March 16th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I agree with RB re needing info on charge remaining and any data that help "instruct me" on efficient driving habits. I don’t think that the "pretty LCD screen" would draw enough current to significantly reduce driving range, but I could be wrong. Surely there will be a navigation system option, so the screen would be there anyway (g).
Rather than a wireless connection, I’d prefer removeable storage like a usb port or SD card slot. Then I could take the info into the house and keep my own records. Cost effective charging times should be handled by my utility company (if they ever get that capability in Penna).
March 16th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I would assume if wireless that encryption and authentication would be used.
I don’t think it should cost anything if the list price for the Volt is above $30k.
Instead of wireless however, and to keep it at no additional cost, just have a USB port in every Volt (or include an USB to OBD2 adapter)… and provide software for the PC (laptop) to be able to read the data and display the stats/graphs folks are looking for. One should also be able to access all data normally available to the techs via the ODB2 port (including fault codes, etc) via this PC app.
If someone wants wireless access they could plug in a wireless transceiver into the USB port (or a different USB port if the same USB port can’t both be a slave and a master)….
March 16th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I agree that some sort of mileage/usage/estimated miles to go should be display as even my Hyundai has it today, and included by default.
All the other features should be part of an OnStar package.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I believe this option should be there and i would subscribe to providing data to GM. However users should have an option to turn it off, if he/she have a privacy concern.
Additionally GM should be clear about usage of these data as well as what would be shared with Vendors (i.e, A123 et al).
March 16th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I think the car should have a fancy display set-up. Indicating everything from amount of charge remaining to distance travelled/estimated available to travel on battery and blended MPG on board INCLUDED in the price. It is assumed a electric car will have these things…it’s kinda like a gas gauge.
We are buying a electric car, it better have some twirlly information readouts that differ it from your mom’s Buick. I think it is kind of expected if you buy this car.
Myself personally I don’t need my car to email me what I can see onboard…if somebody else wants to pay for this service, and if you want to build it…go for it, but it’ll be niche.
As for "Would you be willing to pay more for the vehicle to know the rates for electricity and delay charging until the rates are lowest?" No, lol. It only takes about 2 minutes to go online and see what the prime billing times are, and then it takes about $10 to buy a plug timer. So I guess I would be willing to pay $10 as a one time shot.
So I guess my answer is, give me the basics we expect. Some guys want ‘webservers’ and ‘CO2 savings graphs’ so charge them for that. Don’t pull stunts like having no RPM gauge on the base model standard transmission, but then say for a $700 option you can have it..give me a break. (I owned a Grand Am with such a ‘non-feature’ in the early 90s when I was poor–a little yellow light came on when GM thought it was a good place to shift).
March 16th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Any information worth knowing needs to be in real time. This means the car needs to provide essential data while driving not when I am watching TV in the family room. Essential data would include miles/charge left on battery vs. mile left on battery with generator in use. Plus will the generator charge the battery while the car in not in use? That way the battery will be at full charge when I leave work by using the generator. Better yet, will there be a solar panel option to charge the battery when not in use? That would be an option worth consideration.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Question #1: I don’t see the need to track costs on a weekly or monthly basis for fuel, but maybe some businesses may.
Question #2: No, I wouldn’t pay for it.
Question #3: I’m not sure why I would want to know the emissions reduced, except for conversation at parties. The CO2 abated would seem to depend on where your electricity comes from i.e. hydro, coal, nuclear, etc. My guess is that the software assumes the negated CO2 from the reduction of gasoline, without any charge for the source of electricity. Again, conversational piece only.
Question #4: Although a calculation of the costs savings for electricity versus fuel is nice, I think it is somewhat elementary. At 5 miles per kwh of electricity, with 10 cent per kwh, your energy cost for driving 1 mile is 2 cents. With gasoline at $3.00 per gallon, and 50 mpg with the ICE in operation, energy cost is 6 cents per mile. Do we need anything more sophisticated? I don’t.
Question #5: (To Nasaman, I think this question revolves around the fact that Electric Utilities have excess capacity at night when the power demand decreases, and in some instances will sell power for less money during these time periods. Some people with electric hot water take advantage of these rates and install large hot water tanks that store a lot of hot water, but they only operate (provide heat) during "off-peak" or nighttime hours). This, I believe, would be a "smart" control in the Volt that would wait until these low rates were available before beginning the charging process. This could be quite valuable (versus installing a timer in your garage), however, I’m not sure what it is worth. If the average electric rate is 10 cents per kwh, the "off-peak" rate might be 8 cents per kwh. For a full charge (8 kwh), 365 days per year, the annual savings are about $58 per year, so the option shouldn’t cost more than 2 or 3 years worth of savings, IMHO. With the advent of electric cars, however, the Electric Utilities may become more aggressive with their "off-peak" pricing. Only time will tell.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I would prefer to keep the costs down on the Volt as much as possible. I only need to know how much energy is in the battery, similar to what the gas gauge tells us now.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I don’t think data about something I can’t do anything about is of any value - the battery’s state of charge, cost of electricity used, etc. I would have absolutely no use for.
Smart charging for low rate periods would be useful, assuming I can find out what those periods are and if they exist on my grid. Gasoline engines already tell the driver when to change the oil, so that wouldn’t be anything new.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I thing like most cars sold now, anything you want to pay extra for should be available. Myself, I would just like to know condition of batteries while driving. The only other things I would pay extra for on the first version, is air, and cruise control. The rest doesn’t really bother me. Getting good cost effectiveness is the most important thing first. I guess I am old school and don’t mind rolling up the windows or using a key to open a door.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
To optimize battery usage you should be able to tell the car your destination. From this it can use GPS to figure your energy requirements needed to complete your trip. This way the car can determine the amount of range extending energy (Gas Engine) to produce for the trip.
Also it would be great to include wifi. Download music to the car. Track your car functioning ect.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Don’t send my info anywhere (HATE ON-STAR), just download on cars info hard drive than make sure it was bluetooth so my i-phone can get wireless down load Plus give me a check engine page so I can accesses trouble codes without a Hand OBDII scanner . All so It would be nice if after you get CODE like P0300 it would be nice to add a small description i.e. multi eng. miss fire or cylinder 1 miss , Please leave off the GPS , My wife doesn’t need any more help hunting me down!!!! LOL
March 16th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Lutz has already eaten crow on "comfortably less than $30,000", and on "60,000 produced in first year", and now on his promise of "mules by Easter, or egg will be on my face". I would love a trend setting Volt, but that doesn’t matter as much as Chevy building a car that can go 40 miles, or so, on a charge. Just build an electric car that has EREV capability, and I will buy it. But I think GM is over-promising and under-delivering, again.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
These should all be standard features in this car and should not cost additional. Wireless feature should be that of a client not a router and be able to connect to your personal wireless network when in range. Last thing we need is a bunch of wireless routers driving around.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Statik, I think you may be in for a surprise if you think you can buy a basic $10 plug timer to plug your Volt into…. 1st those basic do-dads aren’t grounded, and 2nd, are for low amp devices, not the current the Volt’s charger will be drawing.
In any case, the Volt’s computer should be able to be told when to start charging anyway manually. In my neck of the woods we don’t even have dual rates, ie. it doesn’t matter if it’s day time or night time
March 16th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Wireless access is expensive and unnecessary.
What would be nice is if the stereo had a regular USB connector so you could plug in a memory stick with MP3s. Some stereos already let you do this.
Once you plug the stick in, the car could write a text file with all your statistics to the stick so the next time you plug it into a computer, you can look at all this information. Presto, no wireless, and ridiculously easy to use.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Need a hard drive that we can push songs to from inside the house. SO the car would, once plugged in to a power source, would join the wireless network and share its drive with a password. Does Microsoft Sync include this?
March 16th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
All five questions are trying to make the car do something a car does not need to do. And as a result they will make it more complex than it needs to be and more expensive.
The utilities are very good at working out how much electricity you use. My bill even has a graph of CO2 emisions that says none (because I pay a premium price for Solar Power). They can send you a clever thing called an itemised bill. If they can organise a hot water heater to use off-peak electricity they can certainly organise for your car to charge at the best possible rate.
Would I like my toaster to send me an email when the toast pops up? Simple answer is no!
Your customers do bring up some good points which are important. You can’t do an oil change every so many miles because the driving conditions might mean that the gas engine has barely run in that time. Boat engines have mechnical counters for hours-run that would solve this.
A fuel gauge for batteries as well as gas would be important but you could live without it.
What everyone wants/needs (if they know it or not) is an electric car that is a real car not a skateboard and as quickly as possible (please). Fancy options risk slowing down the development.
I want to know when I can buy one in Australia - can anyone answer that?
March 16th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Ok, the question sucks. NO it shouldn’t be optional…yes it should be included…ie. mandatoy.
There should be no extra charge, it should be simple enough to link to your wireless network and download the data or access it onboard or both…no reason to charge for that, the car has the data and other than the ability to connect wirelessly there’s no cost to GM.
I don’t want this by e-mail, I want the ability to look at specific trip data, specific commute data, etc. immediately to get immediate feeback as to whether a change in driving style or route or whatever had a significant impact on my energy use.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Regarding the option to monitor gas/electricity consumption: I think the Volt should be providing this information to the driver as a built-in option, not remotely by e-mail. This kind of information is available from the on-board computer even in today’s cars.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I’m sure the car’s costs are going to be difficult enough to keep down without adding superfluous options.
And let’s not forget, additional electronics suck battery power!!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I would like to be able to get the raw data out of the car, but that’s *not* the place to be doing all the analysis — that should be on the desktop. It doesn’t need to be wireless either — put a usb port in the dash you can stick a thumbdrive in. When you do, the car uploads and/or updates the current data log, and the builtin mp3 player scans it for mp3’s to make available for listening. Plug it into the pc when I get home, fire up the analyzer, point it at the data and go to town with it. Simple and inexpensive…
March 16th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
>Wireless access is expensive and unnecessary.
Say wha? Its called an option, if you dont want it dont buy it.
Either way, a PC with wireless running linux would do this, the software to do it would be cake. I could build one for 150 bucks.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
PS: electronics like this are *nothing* compared to the cost of moving the vehicle, energy consumption is the least factor in whether or not to include them!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Most of this is much ado about nothing. Let’s keep this thing on track and not get into tributaries. A simple calculator built into the dash could solve all this w/o the need for complication.
Let’s get this thing on the road!!!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
With respect to the Informational Display Center; I would like to see a display signifying that: "Electric AC Compressor Running." The vehicle does have Electric AC Right??? This is very important info for drivers in Hot Climates. Furthermore, this function will significantly tax batteries hence range of the vehicle.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
>>Either way, a PC with wireless running linux would do this, the software to do it would be cake. I could build one for 150 bucks.
You have obviously never worked on a mass-market product. Sure, $150 sounds pretty cheap, right? Actually you can get wifi adapters for under $10 on sale sometimes. But let’s talk about a rollout of 30,000 cars. Now your super-cheap wifi radio is costing GM almost a third of a million dollars to include, for one year. That’s like 6 peoples’ salaries. A lot of the engineering of a car is trying to save 5 cents on one part, 10 cents on another part, etc. It’s not just GM being cheap; all car companies do this, because if they don’t, it’s money walking out the door unnecessarily.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
>>I would like to see a display signifying that: "Electric AC Compressor Running."
I have an idea. What if the display was a jet of cool air coming out of the vents?
March 16th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
These are the features that I think are most important: Five seat-belts ( I am married and have three kids ) . Prioritize aerodynamics & internal space in the production body design ( especially given the Cadillac-esqe angularity of early versions ). Prioritize fuel & battery efficiency performance over crotch-rocket type acceleration. Make the vehicle at least as reliable as a Toyota ( there are lots of "patriotic" Americans who buy Japanese cars on reliability alone: we’d all prefer to buy American, just give us a quality product ). Support will be tantamount for such a revolutionary new type of product; if there are problems ( as should reasonably be expected with what is effectively first-generation technology ), proactively correct them at GM’s cost . Create an aggressive and complete training program for dealership repair shops. I notice a remarkable disparity between today’s GM/Chevy and Toyota/Honda Dealership shops. Put speakers on the outside of the car and run an engine sound while car is going under 35 mph; otherwise we’ll have lots more dead cyclists. Let us load the engine sound of our choice ( e.g glasspack, chitty-chitty-bang-bang, vette, etc. ) via the built-in ipod dock. Keep the cost under $30K . Make batteries easily swappable so that people will ultimately be able to upgrade to better battery packs and go on longer trips sans liquid fuel ( perhaps on later versions ) Release a tier 2 bin 5 diesel range extender. Use a standard charging mechanism (i.e. one that will be able to plug in to standard domestic 110 and 220 outlets ). Produce an adaptor ( between car and outlet ) if safety necessitates a special connection. Here are some additional points which relate more directly to the thread thus far: No wireless ( potential security issue, unnecessary complexity and source of problems, energy drain ) . No Microsoft software whatsoever; only secure & well-written firmware & software. Make On-star an option ONLY ( I don’t want to be tracked without permission ) There are other items but my wife is calling so I have to go.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Awesome idea Tom, Air coming out of vents would be, should I say "Cool." This could be done right inside the vehicle diagram displaying which power mode the vehicle was currently in. (GM are you listening,)
March 16th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
1–Would you prefer the tracking information for costs/electrical usage/gas usage, etc. be provided in the vehicle or by a weekly/monthly e-mail?
The several suggestions for doing this with a thumb drive seem valid to me.
2–Would you be willing to pay for this option? If so, how much? Personally, no.
3–Would you like other information, such as emissions reduced, CO2 negated, etc. This info is of no value.
4–Would you like a calculation of cost savings of electricity over fuel? No. I can do the calculation.
5–Would you be willing to pay more for the vehicle to know the rates for electricity and delay charging until the rates are lowest? We don’t have time of day billing. A timer on the charger would be useful. At some point, the capability of responding to info from the power company will be important. They should be able to turn off the charger when they encounter peak load conditions. An emergency override so you can charge if you need to would be necessary, but generally delaying charging for an hour would be no inconvenience and a useful way to do grid load balancing. They used to be able to control my water heater for this purpose. (And gave me a discount for the privilege.)
On board display should be info useful for maximizing operating economy. Amps being used, battery capacity remaining.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
1–Would you prefer the tracking information for costs/electrical usage/gas usage, etc. be provided in the vehicle or by a weekly/monthly e-mail?
onstar already has this in an email, which is fine
2–Would you be willing to pay for this option? If so, how much?
probably, a few bucks a year
3–Would you like other information, such as emissions reduced, CO2 negated, etc.
no
4–Would you like a calculation of cost savings of electricity over fuel?
no
5–Would you be willing to pay more for the vehicle to know the rates for electricity and delay charging until the rates are lowest?
yes
March 16th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I’ve been on solar power at home for 5 years and monitored the weather, power produced daily…haven’t paid a penny for power. Have stantions on the roof for additional power solar panels for my electric cars. I need to monitor the car power usage to determine whether I need to add panels as it evolves to remain no cost for oil, by me or the local Power Plant.
March 16th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I think all of the features described should be available, but should be free. I suspect that pretty much all the information necessary to make such computations is already available (that is, I doubt you’ll need to install more sensors or any extra hardware), so it’s just a matter to write a little bit of firmware/software. And I have a feeling that such software has already been written, if anything to tell GM’s engineer how the Volt prototype work.
So give them to me, and give them to me for free.
Thanks !
March 16th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Sound like those fuel economy gages some cars have, one only looked at them when the car was new. After awhile they are just ignored and the person just drives how they usually do.
Having the car know when is the cheapest time to charge would be good. That way one would not have to set some kind of timer to accomplish the same thing.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Firstly, I would like to commend the GM engineer (or department) for trying to get feedback from hard-core customers. Nice job.Next, I would like to say that because we are moving to the electrification of the automobile there are many things that can be done that were not done before. This will provide added value to the customer (with little added hardware cost). I’m all for wireless capability. Integrated with both OnStar and standard wireless Internet. Wireless and cellular capability is not that expensive (many handheld devices have this capability -iPhone is just one). The OnStar use will probably require an extra fee but the use of Internet via a standard wireless connection should be free. Here are some of my recommendations:1) Make the system user configurable. Allow the customer to use a standard setup or configure whatever information they want. Allow the paranoid (doesn’t mean people are not watching them) to turn off any tracking or remote access. Of course use the latest security measures.2) Allow customers to access information via the internet. This opens all kinds of interesting functionality, "Hey, I wonder what charge my Volt has right now." or, "I’m about to leave the office I would like my Volt to start venting the interior." or, "I just got a message from my Volt that the security system just went off. I need to go check it out.", the list goes on and on.3) Ok, I have to mention that these are the types of functions that would go hand-in-hand with solar-on-the-surface (SOTS) technology. Perfect fit.4) Make the whole system an option because we need to have a really inexpensive model for the price sensitive customer. However, I want OnStar, Wireless, SOTS, Extended range batteries, Big sexy rims, two-tone paint, etc. Hey, if I wanted to go cheap I would just buy a tiny micro car. I want to drive in responsible luxury. Sustainable luxury. Green Luxury. You get the point. 5) Finally, If any of this will delay the release date than wait till the following year to implement. The release date is the most important thing.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Remember to K.I.S.S. It needs an accurate battery gauge and gas gauge. Doesn’t need wireless or email or extra cost gadgets.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
1. The on-screen display should function at least as well as does that of the Toyota Prius in the sense that some form of feedback to the driver should be given to indicate energy utilization, say, in Watt-hours per mile.
2. The Volt must come with regenerative braking to maximize miles driven in all-electric mode.
3. And, please, PLEASE do not hold release of the Volt hostage until the “perfect” Li Ion battery pack is developed. The Volt could be in service to today, as are Toyota’s RAV4 EV’s, if they were to use the Panasonic EV-95 NiMH batteries that have kept most of the greater than 300 privately owned RAV4 EV’s running, most of them for more than 100,000 total service miles, on charges that last more than 120 miles.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I’m an IT guy by day (and an engineering enthusiast by night), and having any kind of wireless access to the car scares me. My employer pays for training from SANS every year, and the IT staff spends a week in a big room learning how computer networks can be abused and fraud can be committed against our business-processes.
OnStar will never be installed any vehicle I buy. When I’m driving, I want to be in my car — I want to be able to leave my computer-security (tinfoil) hat by the computers that I manage. I just want the car to take me where I’m going — I don’t want it to inform a multinational conglomerate and member of the military industrial complex (GM) about my whereabouts, even if they built me a beautiful car. I do understand that some people may rightfully trade this in exchange for the automatic 911 call that OnStar provides — but I don’t need, don’t want, and will rebel against that capability. If I were to ever acquire a car with OnStar, my first task after taking possession of the car would be to remove or cripple the OnStar transciever. I may very well add data-link capabilities to a vehicle that I own, but it’s absolutely critical that I control it. Otherwise, I’ll be worrying about IT security while I drive…
So, this brings us to the real question: what does a potential-customer like myself want? I want full and unfettered to the car’s computer, especially it’s data-logging and diagnostic capabilities. I own it, it’s mine, I should control it. As the owner of a Ford Ranger, I was quite disappointed by how much of a black box the ECU / power-train computer happens to be. I had to buy a $150 box (that appeared to contain about $30 worth of electronics) just to be able to read the check-engine light. For my Volkswagen, I was able to buy a 3rd party product called VAG-COM for $250 that allowed my pretty-good access to the car’s sensors and settings. For me, the ideal car would have an RS-232 or USB port where I could attach my laptop and chat with the engine-computer. Furthermore, the protocol on that port should be open enough that one could reasonably chat with it with just a terminal program — and that a motivated geek could write an open-source GUI for it. This would allow a huge number of very smart accessories.
Now, if GM is concerned about owners tinkering with the ECU too much and costing warranty money, there are a number of techniques from the computer-security community that could be applied. My first thought is to log every change to a read-only memory module that contains a clock (like a syslog server on Unix). That way, if an owner makes a potentially harmful change, there’s no disputing it. Furthermore, GM could utilize a public-key cryptography system to authenticate teh changes made by the dealer. This stuff is tried-and-true everyday tools in the IT world, and could easily be used to solve disputes over warranty issues. When I’m hacking around with a car, I realize that I take responsibility for the results of my changes — and up until now, I’ve only purchased cars that have passed out of warranty so that I can play without worrying what the dealer will think. Plus, I can review what the dealer and any 3rd party mechanics do to my car, both for the purposes of my education (always good!) and also to make sure that they’re conducting their business ethically.
So, in summary: Absolutely no wireless capability whatsoever of any kind for me. Others may opt-in, but that’s their business. Unfettered access to the car’s computer. Logging and accountability as per IT industry’s standard practices would be fine - this way, the dealer and I must both be reasonably open and honest about what we do to my car during the warranty period.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
1. In the vehicle data. 2. Make it an option for those who want another monthly bill. 3. I don’t need to know the possible gas analysis of my emmissions. 4. It seems cost savings data of electric vs. gas would help sell more cars and should be standard. 5. Make a timer function standard, my kitchen range has one.
What I would like to see is ergonomic charging locations and receptacles. An idicator that your still plugged in might help before backing out of the driveway.
Let’s keep this car simple, functional, and efficient. If the price is closer to $30k a lot more people will be able to drive one. For those who like all the extras, offer options, we are all used to options. Most cars today have base models and options packages.
We all want to feel good about driving a greener car. Driving 40+ miles on electric rates is what will really sell this car. It’s the #1 reason I would buy one. #2 reason, it’s American.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Build a nice in-dash interface to the on-board computer with the ability to store and retrieve vehicle metrics but keep it all within the vehicle. I don’t want vehicle telemetry broadcasting information to the internet. Nor am I likely to pay a monthly fee for wireless internet. I think it will be important to know the status of the batery, charge information and efficiency while driving. If I’m loosing cells I want to know about it. I don’t need anything else.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I have 3 solar inverters and never look at the CO2 readout.
The data that I am interested in is:
1) KWh used for charging.
2) Gasoline used.
3) Miles driven.
Ideally I would like this to be available as historic information, daily or monthly for the lifetime of the vehicle.
Yes to ability to select charging times. My utility is too stupid to have time of use metering yet, but they are thinking about it. Potentially On Star could help with this, it knows your location, and thus can guess the utility, but this will not cover all since some utilities make time of use optional.
I would like to be able to pre-heat the car a few minutes before I go somewhere in winter, this could be done by wireless and/or key fob.
I voted for wireless, but I am unsure about it. If available, I think that it should be possible to disable. Keep it simple is also good, and cost is an issue. Downloading data to a USB disk would be enough for me. I would not pay much for wireless just for viewing historic data and state of charge, maybe $150 However, it depends on what it was capable of doing via wireless. Potentially it could email stats to GM if OnStar is not used. As someone else said — great marketing for GM — XXX gallons saved.
Should we be more concerned about hacking via wireless than via OnStar?
This data should definitely be available in some form, USB disk copy, OnStar (but not exclusively via OnStar), wireless, or on screen display.
I would also like to be able to use it as a whole house emergency generator, that’s something I would pay real money for, at least make the firmware such that this could be an after market option.
Don’t forget to provide tire pressure in the display, if not too costly (or as cost option).
March 16th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I like the idea of tracking electricity used/fuel saved. I could care less about emissions reduced/CO2 negated. Deliver the information via onboard display readouts similar to the DIC on my ‘06 Silverado as part of the base vehicle AND via wireless web as part of an optional electronic upfit. GPS navigation, MP3s on a memory stick, DVD screens in the back seat, and a whole lot of other gee-whiz could make a nice $1200 option package, but DON’T make me pay for features that aren’t useful to me.
Time-smart charging would be nice for some, but not me. My electric rate is the same 24/7. The other guys with time-of-day electric meters can buy a $12 timer to charge at the correct time, so I really don’t think it’s worth building into the vehicle.
"Don’t let PERFECT become the enemy of GOOD!" We need the basic car far more than we need gee-whiz gizmos. I’d take one with manual widows, manual seats, manual steering, no airbags, no ABS, basic 2-speaker AM/FM radio, no trip computer, no On-Star, no cruise control, no rear window defroster, manual adjust mirrors, stamped steel wheels, boring grill trim, and even no "washer fluid low" idiot light. I know such a stripped down model would never make it in today’s market, but the point of my comment remains valid: Just make the car, and make lots of them! 10,000 just ain’t gonna cut it…
March 16th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
This sounds like a fine feature to be added to OnStar, which I currently subscribe to. However, expecting the Volt to be a WIFI hotspot and run its own webserver seems more than a bit silly to me. And I’m a web developer.
If GM is looking for wiz-bang new features, I would prefer they leave the 90’s behind (eg 6-disc CD changers) and offer something like Ford’s SYNC system. If I can fit thousands of CD’s in my pocket, I should be able to fit more than six in the radio of my car.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
As for what should be displayed on the dashboard of the moving car, I’ll trust the ergonomics and HCI folks figure that out. I’ve studied enough computer interfaces to realize that providing enough information to satisfy my curiosity will distract and intimidate most people — and it would take me a while to learn to watch the gages rather than the road. Plus, the folks who design these interfaces usually come up with really nice graphical themes. And, lastly, I know how much research goes on in this area, and I’m sure professional designers follow it — so I’d prefer to just let them use their expertise for what the driver sees in the moving vehicle.
If I’m curious or need to troubleshoot the car, I’ll just hook up my laptop to either the OBDII or the USB/RS-232 interface and have my passenger operate it while I drive (or vice versa).
March 16th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Being able to check the status of the vehicle remotely is a desirable feature, however, I don’t want to spend too much for frivolous goodies. My main interest is the economy of operation and its return on my investment. My second concern would be security and protection of my personal information.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I was thing about this very thing the day before you posted the question, however I have a twist to this.
Currently I am a Prius owner (yes a Japanese company) and waiting for a SUPERIOR car (Volt) to be developed in the US, however I think consideration be given to offer similar (or better) options than the Prius offers in order to get customers from the Prius to migrate to the Volt. Little things like Bluetooth, Navigation, Keyless Entry, Backup Video Camera, noise beeper when the car is backing up, a gas tank bladder, side window air bags, retractable split rear seats with removable privacy cover, automatic climate controlled ice-cold Air conditioning system (even in 115 degree Arizona heat), etc. I hate to go on, however even the split rear hatchback solves a purpose–the ledge (where a "spoiler" would be attached actually blocks headlights from cars behind you from shining directly into the rear view mirror and into your eyes. It’s the little things that make a difference. Get Steve Jobs’ (Apple Company Chairman) opinion with GM’s quest for additional critical input (however I think Steve Jobs is currently in talks with Volkswagen).
In regards to paying for options, I am for it. I understand that OnStar might have a similar system, but doesn’t OnStar require a monthly (or yearly) service plan? Given the current economic conditions what happens if you are not able to afford the additional monthly expenses?
March 17th, 2008 at 12:02 am
just need to keep the cost down so people could afford to buy them if keep adding stuff and raising the cost the average person won’t be able to afford them and then there wouldn’t be as many on the road and we as a country need to get as many of these vehicles in motion as possible and as soon as possible thanks Eugene
March 17th, 2008 at 12:04 am
I take back what I just said about no WIFI in the car.
Actually, that would be an incredibly cool feature if OnStar was enhanced to also be an internet service provider. I could use my car as a portable WIFI hotspot, and if the OnStar ISP service was fast and reliable enough, I could possibly even cancel my home DSL service.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Look, keep the first production model as simple as possible. I want a American made, eco-friendly car thats bigger then my Honda Insight ( the best car I’ve ever owned). Speaking of which, the gauges in my Insight tell me exactly what my battery is doing and how my driving is effecting my MPG - that’s all I really need and I’m sure it cost way under $500 to set that up. Oh! And one last thing - I refuse to purchase a vehicle that has that insidious OnStar contraption. For me that has to be a strictly optional feature…
March 17th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Keep the car cost effective and dependable. Mileage is very
important. Plug in idea is the way to go. Although it wasn’t popular years ago, we live in different times and gasoline will
become very expensive in the next few years.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Phantom load.
If the wireless was to use 10w, say 24×365 that’s 87KWh, or 440 less miles per year.
Running on solar power, I’ve gone to some trouble to avoid phantom loads. So I would say it is ok if the wireless uses under 0.5W. That may be difficult.
Any wireless should have an on/off and the off should cause it not to consume power.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Just build the friggin car already. I don’t need any delays. An electric car with 4 wheels, a steering wheel and a few seats. I was spending $600 a month for gas. Now its more like $800. I cant wait for any stupid options. I will be buying a Prius this week. To hell with the Volt. Maybe GM can develop an optional drivers seat that captures the methane from my farts and burns them in a fuel cell. I can’t wait any longer. Sorry Detroit.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:31 am
info is nice to have but kiss.
want I in the Volt is that be built asap!!
you are already stalling way too much and it’s getting worse. China’s BYD has a luxury sedan plugin hybrid with longer range than the volt for 20k$ out this year.
you have oceans of fucking cars you could just put a plugin drive in and you should. but you use a new model as an excuse for stalling. listen to that motherfuckers instead of completely irrelevant wireless bs
March 17th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Off-peak charging is only thing that seems to be a practical consideration.
From my test engineering background I might be interested in data logging, but my guess is the average driver won’t care or want to be bothered. They’ll just look at the utlity bill and gas station recipts.
Unless someone is going to reward me finacially for the CO2 I don’t emit, an accurate accounting has little practical use.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Many good comments have been made. From my perspective, if this is to be a "worldly" car, it should have options that work in various countries. That the OnStar program does not work even in Alaska is disheartening. Please make certain it is optional so I do don’t have to pay for it.
As for MPG or km/100L info, in addition to battery charge, the Prius panel is grotesque. I’m sure the buyers of that car delight in seeing their gas mileage in something like 160 font size. Please do NOT succumb to that mentality. The information is good, but I’ rather not have it readable from the car next to me at the traffic lights.
KISS. And get it available quickly, please. Thanks!
March 17th, 2008 at 12:45 am
These add ons would be "Nice To Have" but
will increase the cost of the vehicle.
We need this car NOW, no frills, something that will get me to work and back or to town and back (50 Miles is ample). An inexpensive
vehicle with no fuel cells and no gasoline engine. There is no time for years of research and haggling over what options to offer.
Get a car on the market that I can buy NOW!
March 17th, 2008 at 12:46 am
These add ons would be "Nice To Have" but will increase the cost of the vehicle. We need this car NOW, no frills, something that will get me to work and back or to town and back (50 Miles is ample). An inexpensive vehicle with no fuel cells and no gasoline engine. There is no time for years of research and haggling over what options to offer. Get a car on the market that I can buy NOW!
March 17th, 2008 at 12:57 am
At the same time you can upload data.IT would be great to download music into the car before you leave for the day.Everyone has a wireless router in there homes so you can just make the Volt a device and download movies, news and audio right into it.That way on the way to work you can listen to your favorite music,Greg
March 17th, 2008 at 1:08 am
A wireless router would be very useful in the car. Both for transmitting all sorts of performance data, AND for passengers to be able to run their Wi-Fi appliances. It would be great to be able to "log in" to the car from any web browser. Also, having the car Wi-Fi accessible would be great for people with home networks. As soon as the car came within range of the home wireless router, automatic sync could take place with .mp3 files or videos so that the car’s entertainment system would always be up to date with the home system.
The Volt is basically a computer on wheels–that just happens to have a small gasoline engine. To not make the car’s data available to owners would be just plain wrong. For all the people worried about ‘privacy,’ just include a function to disable all wireless access.
I would hope that any such system would use standard computing platforms and protocols so that third party developers could get into the act. Worst of all would be to offer an expensive but proprietary access capability. GM should resist that temptation. Many buyers would reject that option.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Lets keep the cost down, I hope this car concept does not turn out to be like the portable power tool market were you buy the product but then the cost to replace or lease the batterys is the real expence. If so over the long term the cost to operate the car will be very high.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:22 am
If you want to see some really cool features that can be enabled by providing connectivity to a car, check out the Th!nk Ox concept car (due out in 2011): http://en.think.no/think/Think-Models-Concepts/TH!NK-Ox/The-connected-car
I would like to see the same sort of features for the Volt - along with pre-heat or pre-cool options via wireless or GPRS.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I am against any thing that will unnecessarily add cost, weight, and drag to this car. It sounds like some should be talking to Microsoft as they are looking for an electronic platform rather than affordable transportation. Our state is in the process of spending millions of tax dollars to try and keep drivers in their lane as they have so much to do with cell phones, GPS’s, and ect. that they forget to drive and cause a lot of accidents. GM just make us an affordable electric car before you and us both go bankrupte.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I want a Volt version of the Chevy Colorado: 4-door truck, smaller bed, smaller all around, but a 4-door truck. That’s what I’ll buy. I have a Colorado now and love it. I want a Voltorado.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Here’s thar link again:
http://en.think.no/think/Think-Models-Concepts/TH!NK-Ox/The-connected-car
March 17th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Grrrr … the TinyMCE editor is a little too smart for its own good.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:43 am
I think the wireless idea is ok, but I would be more willing to spend an extra 500 dollars on a battery with an additional 10-15 miles of range, even if it was optional. I would buy a 32-34k Volt tomorrow with a 50 mile elect. only range. A larger battery storage area would be acceptable to me if necessary for the additonal cells. GM could also encourage employers to install charging receptacles for the drive home.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Just do something like OBD-II on steriods — rich data, easily available — along with gobs of history that can be easily dumped to a PC via USB or SD card.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:52 am
It’s time for Detroit to take back the market in the U.S.A.. Every american faces growing financial troubles, due to increasing oil prices. It has trickeled to every aspect of our lives. G.M.’s goal should be to mass produce the Volt and make it financially available to everyone. G.M. has the opportunity to create a turning point in american history. A point where good ole’ fashioned american ingenuity and know how save our collective asses. Don’t stop here, lets start work on the hybrid diesal. Lets drive down logistic costs and make it possible for us to live the american dream again. Less money for oil, more money to the detroit bottom line, and an america that spends again.
March 17th, 2008 at 3:50 am
1–Monthly e-mail as part of the OnStar report I already receive on my GM-built car.
2–I would not pay any extra for this option, but it would sure make me feel better about paying the already expensive $200/year for OnStar.
3–Would be cool, but I won’t pay extra for it.
4–Ditto
5–I would pay ~$100 extra for this feature. This may be worth more, but, please, I know this is not that hard.
My vote for wireless was for doing it via OnStar not an on-board WiFi router. If others want this option let them pay extra. I might pay a little extra for a remote start (but this does not have to be anything more than the existing option available on many cars). This car absolutely MUST have a good readout display that gives drivers real-time feedback and a battery SOC gauge, and this must come standard.
I love cool options (like having my car call me and speak with a programmable voice) as much as anyone. However, the most important things, by far, for me as a consumer (in order of importance) are for the car to function as advertised (i.e., 40 mi AER, 50 mpg with ICE running, 0-60 in 6 sec), to look sweet (i.e., like the concept car), to cost no more than $30-35K, and to be available for me to actually purchase and drive home ASAP (2012 at the latest). I will be more inclined to pay for bells and whistles later, when the batteries get better and cheaper (I want to spend my money on maximizing range right now).
Thanks GM, for listening. I am rooting for you and will support you if you give me good reason.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Many electric utilities offer lower rates for electricity purchased during off-peak hours. A wifi arrangement that would automatically access the local rates and and charge the vehicle during lower rate periods would be a valuable addition to the Volt.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Leave the power sucking bells and whistles out of it. Anyhow, anything wireless will eventually get hacked, so forget it. Spend your R&D pesos on improving battery reserve and electric-only range as much as you can…. lets see 100mi on a single charge before the mill kicks in.
And yes, I believe in the KISS principle.
Oil is $107/bbl today and headed up fast… and with it gas prices are headed thru the roof…. soon to be $5/gal. At that price, your basic soccer mom plug-in Volt will sell like Rotary Club hotcakes on a cool fall morning.
Keep it simple, keep it reasonable in price, and lets get the Volt into the showrooms ASAP.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:34 am
No wireless access.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Keep the cost down where as the middle class can afford this kind of a car.. Most of the time when a good vehicle comes out the cost of the vechile is outragious.Love the idea of very little gas bieng used. I travel 16 miles every day to work then 16 back total 32 miles this car would suite me just fine.I like the idea of taking moeny out of the pockets from the big shots. great car ,hope to see it soon SINCERLY Ray P.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:56 am
I missed out on the EV-1 because I live in Maryland. My commute to work is 6 miles round trip, so a Volt would suit me just fine. Please keep the fancy options down to a minimum so that this car is affordable and attractive to the masses. I really want to see GM succeed with this. I don’t want to see them one-upped by the Japanese again.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Lets do this right. We need a car that is affordable, dependable and made here in America. I am sick of Toyta. Lets get it done right and produce enough cars to make a difference.
John Ferraro
March 17th, 2008 at 5:01 am
K.I.S. S.
Why is it that NO!!!! US auto maker, will even try to catch up to forgein car sales. When Toyota has 21% of all cars sold in this country. Make a affordable (safe) HIGH MPG car for the working class. If you build it they will, COME. Get up off the GREED end you are sitting on!
March 17th, 2008 at 5:02 am
I get the feeling that the Volt will be a tantalizing product to bring people into the showroom and not purposely for mass production, similar to the Ford GT. What I want is a vehicle that is safe, durable (last longer than 5 years) and efficient - in that order. If Toyota can make the Prius a production car there is no reason I can find why GM can’t put this into production in one of the old Oldsmobile plants.One of the issues I have is air conditioning. It is my understanding that the motor will need to be running to drive the A/C compressor. GM should be working with Vintage Air of San Antonio about an efficient A/C system instead of trying to re-invent the wheel or have their Intellectual Attorneys reviewing the US/Japanese and EU patent and trademark offices for existing designs. Two years to production seems like an awfully long time given the resources available.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:04 am
KEEP COST DOWN AND MAKE AFFORDABLE FOR EVERY ONE , WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER TO CREATE A BETTER PLANET
March 17th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Keep it simple, make it efficient as possible. I drive a Prius, love the car. I want a Volt that beats the Prius in all ways. I want better MPG and clean air. Not a lot of gizmo’s for my ego.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Come on, lets make a car the world wonders at. I agree with the above. This stuff is a simple add-on and should be standard. When Toyota and Ford offers it at no extra charge, how are you going to justify the cost?
March 17th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Build the car, I am sure you will be able to determine which options trully matter & which ones don’t. Thank you,
March 17th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Keep the cost as low as possible. That’s the ONLY way
Detroit can beat the Japenese and Koreans!
Dave
March 17th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Ok dear All,
Just to give you my experience with my actual car, an small basic Opel Corsa with a lot of generic GM parts.
I was just astonished a few month ago when I went to my garage for a little check. I was explaining that a warning light was on from time to time on the dashboard but I was unable to show it because it was out at the time I went to the garage.
No problem said the attendant, we will know everything of the conditions of the car and YOUR DRIVING BEHAVIOUR during the last 24 hours by plugging the car in the computer.
I asked to see and that was true. This is not advertised. I asked to get the software to check the use of the car … mainly by my children who say they respect speed limits and so on … but I’m not sure of it at all.
Until now I got no answer to my request.
So I think it would be pretty simple and not very costly (I didn’t pay too much for my car and it runs OK, thanks Opel) to adapt the already "board computer" for an home usage using a common USB link, be it wireless or not. The software could be available through an internet application.
I vote for an optional wireless connectivity of the board computer which is there anyway. And a possibility of a customization by the user of the outputs he wants. This should not cost very much since you already pay for it (except the connectivity to your own computer ).
For an E-REV vehicle, the suggestions made above are of real interest. I think I would prefer to get rough data of mileage, electricity regenerated, rate of discharge of the battery, correlated with the current driving behaviour (average speed, .
Price and cost data should be introduced by the car owner on is own computer.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:35 am
I like nifty little electronic touches just like everyone else, however, most are only utilized when a car is new and one is playing around with all the gadgets and gizmos.A real-time energy reserve monitor seems mandatory, but things like service intervals, engine hours, motor time, etc, aren’t really needed except on an access basis.What is the ONE thing I’d like to see GM do with the Volt? GET IT TO MARKET ASAP! Don’t piss away precious time using in-house committees to decide if available battery tech is adequate for this application…choose the best available NOW (like LiFEPO4), and get the car on the market. As better tech comes along, it can, and should be incorporated directly into production, with previous customers (the ones who supported GM with their money) offered reasonable-cost upgrades.When I first read about the Volt I said, "WOW! Now here finally is a truly viable, real-world vehicle that deserves the name ‘hybrid’!" I’d love to see GM grab the reins on this and use the opportunity to SET the market bar. The LAST thing we need is yet another bloated SUV that gets maybe 5mpg more than the last one.Now, as for something specific I’d love to see…offer the Volt with the OPTION of its onboard generator engine to use a fuel OTHER than gasoline! The United States has the largest supply of natural gas in the world. Vehicles have been successfully using fuels such as butane and propane for years, AND I might add, a "distribution network" for these fuels already exists! Take propane for example…you can buy it almost everywhere, and you don’t even need a fixed, onboard "tank" to hold it…make the Volt capable of using OTS propane tanks that can be quickly replaced…which means it loses nothing in terms of cross-country range, yet is completely OFF the petroleum "teat".A generator engine doesn’t operate in the same environment as does one required to provide motive force. It starts up, goes to a preset, optimal rpm, and runs at a steady state, allowing less "complex" fuels to be used, and this is all too evident if one simply looks to the private sector where industrious and inventive people have been "home engineering" all sorts of alternative fuel vehicles for years.Stylish is nice. Modern is nice. Gadgets are nice. However, underneath it all, the basic platform should be kept simple, and built to be upgraded either by the consumer, or manufacturer as technology permits.Another factor that must be addressed is PRICE. There are already quite a number of high-priced EV’s and alternative fuel vehicles using NASA derived technology that only a few can afford…and the people who can afford THOSE tend to have substantial economic resources which generally means they aren’t exactly fretting every night over the cost of gas. The high-priced vehicles will fail for one simple reason…low market penetration. It’s time for GM to reach back in time and steal an idea from an early 20th century entrepreneur…Henry Ford. Instead of building a few expensive, optioned out, over-teched vehicles, instead churn out a veritable swarm of reasonably priced, "good enough tech" vehicles that will get into the hands of MANY consumers.Anybody remember what Cadillac built between 1900-1930? How about Chevrolet? Buick? Anyone? But I’ll be almost EVERYONE has heard of the Model A and Model T Ford. What was the secret? It was bringing to market the right car, at the right price, at the right time to get PEOPLE into them. This is what the Volt should be about. Not another EV1 doled out to a limited market via leases, nor something like the Honda ECV–another boondoggle being leased out in a limited market, using high-dollar, unrealistic technology…that is of course if the idea is to actually do something positive about getting practical, low-cost alternative fuel vehicles on the road. On the other hand, if the idea is to suck up huge government subsidies and tax credits for the "effort" placed into R&D for a car that won’t actually effect change in the real world, then I suppose delaying production, continuing to "develop" the technology, and all that other hogwash is the order of the day.I mean, just how hard IS it to build an EV? People have been converting ICE cars in their garages for decades, AND even been building on-board or towed generator "systems" to allow cross-country range; all from parts and components sourced "locally" and "on the cheap". Yes, these "inventors" were satisfied with CURRENT TECH….like SLA batteries, but their existence proves it doesn’t take billions of dollars to put an EV or alternative fuel vehicle on the road…it just takes the desire to make it happen.Right now GM is standing in a wide-open doorway to the future with virtually no competition already extant. The longer GM takes to bring the Volt to market, the smaller that door becomes. Already an "upstart" company is planning to have a sub-$30K EV in widespread distribution by next year…using Chinese backing…an electric car with 120 mile range…nothing fancy or over-teched, but straight to the point.It’s time to stop designing, stop developing, freeze the concept, and get into production.If the Volt I can buy tomorrow lacks some goofy "gee-whiz" gauge or readout, I could care less, and I suspect I’m not alone in this regard.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I JUST WANT AN ELECTRIC CAR!!
And I want one as cheaply as possible. If I want a bunch of superfluous add-ons, I would get a gas car!
All I need to know:
How long til charge complete.
How many "MPG" am I getting.
How long til battery is drained.
Please don’t start adding stuff, especially large LCD display screens that suck power. I want the battery to last as long as possible.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:45 am
Wow look at all the comments. Is anyone really even going to read mine? Reading yes, no, yes, yes, no over and over again gets old. haha! Is anybody out there. IMO it is a total waste of money and electricity. On board mpg, battery state, etc is all that is needed.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I hope that someone has been working with the Bose company in designing a stereo that uses less power but really rocks. It should be built like a laptop with a touchscreen. USB inputs to store MP3’s. Also all of the accessories should be run off of a seperate battery that charges simutaineously with the other batteries. That being said, I think the most important thing is to get this car into production!! If the gas prices keep climbing I’ll buy a Prius and then I won’t need a Volt. I have never owned a foriegn car and don’t want to. Heck, how hard would it have been for GM to reinvent the GEO metro X series that got 60 miles per gallon without batteries?
March 17th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Anything above the basic vechicle that add costs to the price of the basic car should be an option. All we want to know is:
1. How long until the full charge is completed.2. Percent of battery power left while driving.
If the Volt does NOT come in with a selling price below $25K it will be difficult to sell with the inevitable competition from Japanese and European manufacturers.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I would like to see a boiled down version. I am someone that does not need all the options on a car. Would like to see an electric car with the bare necessities. Fm radio, cruise control and that is it. They should be able to put out an elecctric car with bare bones options for around 20k. And for thoes that need it all make then like they want. But for us that just want an electric car to get from the high prices of gas then I hope they build it
March 17th, 2008 at 6:06 am
LCD screen do not suck up much juice. In fact alot of research now is being poured into certain polybenzene based matrials to establish an even more efficient and as thin as a credit card LCD. That being said, I don’t want a bunch of extra garbage on my new car. Honestly, all i need is the body of a small coupe or sedan with an electric motor that can get me up to 75 mph and sustain that for a while(I am still skeptical about the 40 mile range when the tesla and zapp cars can go 250 - 300 miles per charge, step it up chevy). About the monitoring the best time to charge, everyone will charge it at night, when it is the cheapest because power is in low demand while people sleep. Electric motors have been around for a long time, and we are good at building them. Don’t try to rip us off.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Please don’t start adding silly web options to this car. What’s next, a myspace page for each vehicle?
My current Japanese-made hybrid provides a reasonable feeback as to gas consumption / electric usage in-vehicle. That is quite enough. I don’t see the need to check in on my car via the web while I’m at work via mobile Internet or whatever. I want a car to get me where I’m going, cheaply and efficiently. As soon as I’m out of the car I am too busy living my life to even care what the car is doing out there in the garage. Just hurry up, please!
March 17th, 2008 at 6:22 am
great looking car give me a great price and not a bunch of stats that don’t really mean anything. I know I’m saving by driving the car. I don’t need to be emailed or told by the car how much I’m saving. I do need to know how much of a charge is left on the battery.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:24 am
I would like to see a full electric vehicle. So we can say good bye to OIL. I say good bye to OIL. Go ahead GM you know it will work. Remember the EV1…… you will sell a ton of them. Take back America and make a fully electric vehicle. I dare you !
March 17th, 2008 at 6:25 am
I would like to see a full electric vehicle. So we can say good bye to OIL. I said good bye to OIL. Go ahead GM you know it will work. Remember the EV1…… you will sell a ton of them. Take back America and make a fully electric vehicle. I dare you !
March 17th, 2008 at 6:26 am
I would like to see a full electric vehicle. So we can say good bye to OIL. I said good bye to OIL. Go ahead GM you know it will work. Remember the EV1…… you will sell a ton of them. Take back America and make a fully electric vehicle. I dare you ! http://www.pluginolympia.com
March 17th, 2008 at 6:27 am
All of the options listed would be useful. You really can’t have too much information. Better to have more data features so that people can pick and choose what they want. A calendar that synchs with outlook and google calendar would be useful too.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I would like, instead of a full roof top sunroof, a retractable
solar panel collectoin to recharge the batteries. The router internal network system would then balance the recharge on demand either via gas or diesel and solar.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:37 am
In reference to the questions above:
1) Yes
2) Yes, equipment expenses only, OnStar already offers this service, so I think the service should be included as part of the OnStar basic package
3) Yes, always like more information (I am electronics technician by trade and believe all information is important and aids in troubleshooting whether it seems important or not)
4) Personal opinion is this is irrelevant, I can maintain my own records and do my own math
5) No, I would rather maintain the vehicle myself and not have too much automated for me.
I am still watching this program closely because I want to see it succeed… one step closer to fuel/emissions free. As of the moment; however, I am concerned about the cost and the target consumer. Everyone wants gas mileage and everyone wants to get "green" but if the cost gets too high up there, it’s introduction would be for the rich who are busy driving fuel hog SUV’s and probably don’t really care about the mileage… the caring consumers will be unable to afford it. I agree with Greg(87) on all the extra electronics as well… only show the information I need immediately while driving, sell the vehicle with software for a laptop and a manual on how to read the vehicle’s computer… or is that too much for a consumer to have access to (I feel automakers are greedy and withhold this information so their proprietary technicians with proprietary tools, software, and parts have to make repairs)? Is it possible to install a solar panel for a roof? I know it isn’t a huge help… but it is a help and an extra that I would pay for since I move every couple of years from apartment to apartment and do not have an actual home to plug the car into at night. Is an A/C system for the battery more efficient than a liquid cooled system?
March 17th, 2008 at 6:40 am
All the add ons sound great but I thought the whole idea of creating the Volt was to make it affordable to as many people as possible. If the car it overpriced what good is it if noone can afford to buy it? Guys lets be realistic and attack the problem the correct way, make a fully electric car without all the fancy gizmos and gets us more than 40 miles per charge.
How is it that the TELSA gets 200-300 mile a charge and the Volt only gets 40? The technology is there lets use it at an affordable price.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:45 am
I would like some of that information, but I don’t think I want a wireless router set up. I would prefer using a flash drive that I could use to get the data and then plug it into my computer where I access either a web app or client app to fool around with the data. No need to suck more power from the car than necessary.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:45 am
1–Would you prefer the tracking information for costs/electrical usage/gas usage, etc. be provided in the vehicle or by a weekly/monthly e-mail? Would prefer this information be displayed in real-time in the vehicle.
2–Would you be willing to pay for this option? If so, how much? If it was part of a very informative LCD panel and navigation system I’d pay up to $499.
3–Would you like other information, such as emissions reduced, CO2 negated, etc. This doesn’t seem helpful other than knowing that I am saving CO2 whenever I drive the Volt, but once I know this I won’t be checking it again.
4–Would you like a calculation of cost savings of electricity over fuel? Yes
5–Would you be willing to pay more for the vehicle to know the rates for electricity and delay charging until the rates are lowest? Not really. If it needs to be charged during the day regardless of rates, it will need to be charged. This isn’t necessary.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Having wireless access to this data would be moderately helpful and useful. Most of that same information would be, or at least should be, also available on the car itself. With the cost of the Volt already rising from its original estimate, I would not be willing to pay very much extra for this service. It would help if this wireless service could be combined with with Wi-Max internet and cell phone capacity (in my case for the iPhone, in my son’s case the Blackberry on a different carrier), the ability to sync an iPod with my Mac at home, etc. If it this service is offered, (a) it should be relatively inexpensive, (b) platform neutral — that is, able work with Linux, Mac, and Windows through, for example, a standard browser, and (c) absolutely, definitely not tied to a proprietary system available only from GM. If this item were to cost a significant amount of money, say $500 or more, I would rather have the option of investing in a stronger battery — or seats that an older couple (65 and 67) could more easily get into and out of, etc. P.S. I hope that it will have an option for 220 volts (at my home) as well as 110 (at my son’s home and most guest locations).
March 17th, 2008 at 6:48 am
I believe the most important issue as regards to how the Volt communicates to the User/GM is the method used. I would prefer IP communications over power line ethernet. This would make it more universal and secure. Few examples:
1) Connection at home to monitor the car with some of the software features suggested.
2) Connect to a public charging station so that billing would be communicated by the car to the billing service.
3) Connect at a dealer for diagnostics.
4) Connect to GM for software updates. I believe that this is important and requires a more secure approach that wireless cannot provide.
Using wireless communications involves to many security issues. There are many who don’t bother to secure their wireless networks.
Also the issue of having to have the right network name and login. I believe that wireless would limit were the car could communicate to the user and to GM.
With a direct connection via power line ethernet only two security passwords would be needed. One with GM for SW downloads/system monitoring and one for the user. An additional one for a billing agency could be set up for away from home charging at a public charging kiosk.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I am very excited about the Volt project and agree that any delay in production is not what we need. For me, the price point is $30K. Its style is of huge importance, as well as a great interior and instrument panel. Certainly solar panels should be incorporated into the body as much as possible. I look forward to seeing the Volt in production. Otherwise I will wait for a Corvette Prius. But seriously, my 2003 ‘vette had the best instrumentation of any vehicle. OnStar is a fantastic safety feature. I would not be without it, and it is helpful to receive a monthly e-mail on oil life, etc. LarryLufkin@comcast.net.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I voted no. The reason is that I would already expect information for electrical usage