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Report: GM Plans to Build 100,000 Volts per Year after 2010

June 3rd, 2008 | Posted in: Production

Today truly marks the turning point in the Chevy Volt’s development process.

I began this site on January 12th 2007, a few days after the Volt concept was first introduced. We have analyzed news and information about the car on a daily basis since then, including contributing much original content. There is no question this site has served as a beacon to GM and many of their executives have told me this site is linked on their browsers and blackberrys and they check in regularly.

Today for the first time we hear that the Volt’s mass production program has been funded. Pushed by us, the economy, and the rising cost of oil, GM has agreed to make our Chevy Volt a reality.

We’ve also debated whether the Volt will be a niche car or massively produced. Initial production numbers we’ve guessed at and heard about have varied.

Now Edmunds.com claims inside information that GM intends to build at least 100,000 Volts per year. Obviously, since the first Volts will roll of the assembly line in November 2010, there won’t be 100,000 copies in 2010. But for 2011 and beyond, the Volt will be built in massive quantities right in Detroit, and a long with it presumably a whole suite of E-Flex vehicles worldwide

As usual, I tried to track down the source of this statement. The article’s author quoted Tom Wilkinson of GM. It turns out Tom is GMs director of news relations and I was able to reach him by phone.

He indicated to me that he did not specifically say “100,000,” as the actual target quantity is still not final. He reminded me that Chevrolet is the brand for the masses, and that indeed GM does plan to produce as massive numbers of these cars as the public demands. 100,000 simply represents a fairly sizable number of production cars of any ilk, and seems therefore to be more of a symbolic representation. He re-iterated that the Volt is not a niche car, and will not be “a toy for the rich,” taking a jab at the Tesla Roadster.

Lets face it, the Volt is GMs future, they had better build a lot of them!

Source (Edmunds.com)

Posted by: Lyle

184 Responses to “Report: GM Plans to Build 100,000 Volts per Year after 2010”

MetrologyFirst Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm

AMEN!
Mike756 Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm

I want number 756.
Arch Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm

Lyle

I think you have HELPED push the Volt to this stage. Hang in there until we see one in a showroom. Thanks!

Take Care
Arch
ThombDbhomb Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm

Third!
ThombDbhomb Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm

If only I got the third Volt
ThombDbhomb Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 pm

Didn’t we hear about these production numbers a long time ago?
bruce g Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm

That sounds great, well done GM, and their favourite lobby group, GM-Volt.
lifeformz Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:25 pm

Car looks awesome. Wonder how you charge it and how much it costs….
wow Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm

Hopefully they can sell them at a price point for the car to be self-sustainable (in an economic sense). Hopefully the supply and demand curves meet above the mass production costs. If/when that occurs, THAT will be a day to remember.
Glen Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 pm

That is what I love about the Volt. It is not just a car. It is a shift, a new beginning for automobiles. The power source may change but the lessons learned form the Volt serve as the foundation to rid the automobile from need to use gas. It is one hell of a first step.

Go GM!
bobnruby Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 pm

I’ve watched the Volt since I first heard of it as a prototype.

I would say that GM has the best idea for a practical vehicle with the available technology I’m aware of.

GM, don’t screw this up!
Statik Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm

This is totally fabricated and 100 percent false.

I quote word for word from Fritz Henderson, President and Chief Operating Officer, today on the conference call:

“What level of capacity did the board approve for the Volt”
“Uh…um..we are not…going to announce that today”

“But I would say we are going to have a relatively small ramp up…We expect to get into the market by 2010…Begin to ramp up into 011 and 012 and bring our suppliers with us.”

He continues to explain that process, technologies and more cost effective program will be developed concurrently.

If you want to hear it for yourself..here is the link to the conference call…the part you want to hear is at 46:00 mins even:

http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/0/93830.html

The target may well be 100,000 but it is certainly not it’s short term production goal. If I was guessing the Volt will be at 100K in ‘future generations’. Fritz actually mentions capacity utilization and special teams already working on ‘future generations”
Vincent Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm

Rock & Roll GM!
Jason C Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm

What is really amazing is the shift at GM. I am not just talking about building the Volt, but the rapid shift away from gas hogs to smaller, smarter and more efficient automobiles.

Can it be that GM has learned the lesson of the 1970’s here in 2008? It would seem that the death knell of the Hummer is the Ode to Joy for the rest of us .

GM Execs…I thought I knew you. When did you all become so smart?
Statik Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm

#10 Jason C

May sales SUV/truck sales are off by 40%…FORTY. These moves are strictly reactionary. They are not ahead of the curve…they are hitting it at 100 miles a hour.

Today they moved future truck capacity from 1.7 million units to 1.0 million units, which will take affect late 2009-mid 2010. Also…down 40 percent.
Statik Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm

Guillen works his 2nd walk of the game. I mind him playing 3rd even less tonight, (even though there is no correlation, lol).
Statik Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm

And that was me mis-posting from the Tiger game…

FYI, they just grounded into a double play to the end the inning if anyone is interested…lol
Jimmy Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:00 pm

I truly believe GM will be surprised by the number of people interested in buying a Volt. If the demand is there, GM can and will ramp up production very quickly. All they will need to do is look at the open orders from the dealerships to guage demand.

Thank you GM …and Lyle.
Vincent Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 pm

I really think they have been ready for this move and planned it for some time. If you owned a firm making a killing on Units…in this case SUV’s …you would ride it for all it’s worth as they have done.
Don’t be surprised when SUV’s roll out with the same or better technology as the Volt. It will happen sooner than you think.
Brian M Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Hey everyone I just did some math…

The Volt was introduced on Jan. 7th, 2007, and the current release date target is Nov. 2010 (I assumed Nov. 1st). That makes a total of 1393 days (and yes I counted the leap year).

Today is June 3rd, 2008, so by my count 513 days have passed since the original public introduction.

That means we are 36.8% of the way to getting the Volt!

Of course I am not including the time spent on the Volt before it was introduced, but we don’t know exactly what that is.
beachliving Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm

I’m not sure that demand is going to be enough to make more Volts. Look at the Ford Escape in most of the country it is impossible to get one, like the Prius was a few years ago.

Plus let’s not forget the EV 1 were you could only least one. I am excited of the news but doubtful of is ramifications to us mid income wage earners.
Mark Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:20 pm

The rising cost of oil with the insane drop of SUV sales is what is pushing GM to build the Volt. Lets hope this trend continues.
Hous Volt Pharteen Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:56 pm

I don’t care what number, just give me one in red please.
Will Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm

I feel that by 2010-2011 GM will need to be producing more than 100,000 per year. By that time gas might be as high as 6-7 dollars per gallon, and when people have to spend 75 bucks to fill up a compact car….well, people will be turning away from gasoline altogether. I sincerely hope that GM already has plans to quickly transfer the li-ion eflex system to other platforms and other models as quick as they can after the initial volt release because, I feel at least, there are going to be massive waiting lines for this car. GM needs to prepare for the deluge of customers. Three years from now I think we will see the resale value of ALL gasoline powered cars begin to fall, which is starting right now with SUV’s. The volt will truly begin a revolution in transportation in this country. Pretty soon people are going to be saying “If it doesn’t get 50 mpg or better, I won’t buy it”.

My girlfriend drives a Corrolla…very good on gas. It cost 44 bucks to fill it up the other day. And that’s an econo-box.
JBFALASKA Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm

Ultracapacitors, Smasitors, I want my Volt. Batteries are the future, and if the Ultras play a complementary role, fine.
Any rumor control on whether GM is going to tap into the Chevy Volt waiting list? Is there even a real, by name, email database for this?
Hope so. GM hopefully will start locking in orders ahead of production to keep the buyers at bay.

CHEVY VOLT: American-made, American-FUELED.
JBFALASKA Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:09 pm

True Will. Unfortunately, like all the hot sellers, we’ll wind up with a premium to pay (just as the Hybrid Tahoe) which will dampen sales. Out with the old, and in with the new. This is still going to take awhile to restructure the entire automotive world delivery system and production. I’m just hoping I’ll be close to the front of the line, and yes, for the first time in my life, I’ll be paying full sticker price.
GXT Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm

Statik, sometimes I don’t know why you bother. This lot wouldn’t know a “we’re imploding, please look at the shiny object in the future” if they built a website to it and GM advertised it three years ahead of availability.

GM (and it seems the media) is convinced that the Prius gives Toyota some sort of green advantage. Perhaps it does. But look at the car sales in May. This will be known as the month that the US switched to efficient cars. Honda is up 11.3% and Toyota is down 7.9% (GM down 30%, FYI). I believe the Civic is the #1 selling car in the US now; up 28% at 53,000+. The Prius and the Civic hybrid sales were DOWN in May.

There is a simple lesson here. Come 2010 (let alone 2012) people are not going to pay $30,000+ for the Volt. They are going to pay in the high teens for a Honda or a Toyota hybrid.

For GM, selling 10,000 Volts at a loss or 100,000 at break-even isn’t going to replace the huge profits of selling 100,000’s of thousands of SUVs and trucks.

GM is so bad at making decisions it truly boggles the mind. To think they might have saved themselves if they had just put all this effort into a competitive small hybrid instead of this crazy prius-envy inspired disaster.
Will Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:44 pm

GXT….

So you’re saying that a gasoline powered car is better than a car that doesn’t need gasoline?

I’m afraid I have to disagree with you on this. Small hybrids like the prius are only stepping stones to a future where people will not be using gasoline for their day to day transportation needs.

Electric cars are the future, there is no getting around it. And I’m very happy to see GM, an American company, taking the lead on it. It’s about time they came around.

JBFALASKA, I too, for the first time in my life, will be paying full sticker price for a car, and it will be the volt.
matt986 Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:52 pm

I think Lyle should get the shot at purchasing the first Volt.

Seriously.

He’s done much to help GM when it comes to publicity and maintaining a link between GM and the public.
R Jacobsen Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:52 pm

GM couldn’t find it’s rear end with both hands. I’ll believe it when I see it.
bruce g Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 pm

GXT,
I like your data but I come to a different conclusion.
The interesting trend is away from hybrids that only give a small improvement in mpg.

There is a big difference between the Prius that will not start without gas in the tank, and the Volt that may never need gas.

The future lies between the EV’s and the E-REVS, forget the mild hybrids, that was an eighties idea.

imho
randy Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm

100,000!?! I’ll believe it when I see it. But even if it is a public relations move at least GM is beginning to realize what the public wants. I wish they’d produce 100,000+ models ever year from today on, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

I think sticker for a Volt will still be a steal even with gas staying above $2/gallon let alone $4.
ThombDbhomb Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:06 am

Yes, it was last Halloween when Lyle’s post (http://gm-volt.com/2007/10/31/massive-breaking-news-gm-receives-first-chevy-volt-lithium-ion-battery-packs-from-lg-chem/) said,

“[Lutz] goes on to say that he hopes for 60,000 to 100,000 vehicles to be produced in the first model year.”

I guess Tom Wilkinson is allowed to say what Lutz has already publically stated.
Red HHR Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:08 am

Cool, my windmill was fixed today…

Of course I want my Volt in red. It seems to be the most requsted color. I would also like it with a touch of chrome. Makes the car more fun to wash. I would like to keep it clean.

Think they would let me use my GM card points?
Or how about a tour of the factory?

Thanks to all the hard workers that will bring us the Volt. (and information about the Volt)
Red HHR
BigCityCat Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:08 am

Hey guy’s I put an article in the forum on new battery technology. I was hoping someone could look at the specs on this new battery tech and let me know if this is an improvement on what we are currently working with in regards to the Volt. There is actually a quote about how much better this tech is than what the Volt is using.

I guess nobody really visits the forum section on this site. Could someone with technical knowledge take a look at this and let me know if it is important.

http://www.superlatticepower.com/20080602/index.html
Jon P. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:12 am

Lyle,

I hope you have a big grin on your face all day. You have achieved this sites origional purpose. To make sure the volt wasn’t a PR stunt.

Give yourself a pat on the back, we might not be why there building the volt but we made sure they knew there was alot of people who wanted to buy one.

Honestly 40K seems like a steal in 2011 with the way the dollar is going.

Not to mention if in the near future we electrify most automobiles it will probably persuade OPEC to change how they denominate a barrel of oil to whatever country is buying the most oil. (EU, china, india)
Which believe me will probably cripple our economy due to the drastic decline in the value of a dollar. (which isn’t backed by gold anymore) I believe that getting away from fossil fuels as our primary means of propolsion is a good thing, but i don’t see how we do it without cutting our own throat. I mean come on every foreign policy move of the last 25 years has been about oil, i guess a good question if that happens will be.

What will we fight for?
Jon P. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:14 am

Or more familarly what will our “vital interest” be then?
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am

#23 GXT

I know what your saying, but people want to believe…and thats ok. Everyone has got a opinion…this might just not be best place to be a contrarian, lol.

I will make a note on the Prius sales. It was down almost 30 percent as you say, but it wasn’t for lack of demand…they simply don’t have any.

It comes off a April, where basically everyone they had lying around lots got bought…up 54% in April. Official wait times on ordering a Prius is 26 weeks atm. They have issues with the ‘09 facelift and how to stop orders on the current incarnation to tool for the 09s.
Grizzly Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:35 am

#10 Jason C.

“Can it be that GM has learned the lesson of the 1970’s here in 2008? It would seem that the death knell of the Hummer is the Ode to Joy for the rest of us .

GM Execs…I thought I knew you. When did you all become so smart?”

**** **** **** ******

The wakeup isn’t quite that easy. It’s a cross between short run profitability and long term foundation. The latter is not easily understood nor achieved by publicly held corps. Ok so now you’re beginning to understand just why GM is in the pinch they are and just what kind of STAND it took with the Board Of Directors (B.O.D.).

The good part is that it’s been said that necessity is the breed of all invention, and right now GM has the necessity thing going on . The good part is that we’ll all benefit. Hard to imagine that $4+ /gal gas would be the savior of GM, but all it ever takes is a small amount of risk, and balls. Right now it appears that GM as both!

Bombs AWAY!
Ed M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:23 am

GXT
Your a tad negative about this announcement. Things can and do change all the time. And at no time faster than the present with new technologies sprinting ahead everyday. Its surprising that anyone thinks that they can predict the future.
The time has come for the electric vehicle. Unless hybrids get a quantum leap in gas mileage they will go the way of the bigger gas guzzlers. From what I’ve read the EV will out perform hybrids.
And with technology on batteries steadily advancing, it won’t be long until they will be able to get much better mileage between charges. Unlike the hybrids you may be able to roll in with a volt and upgrade the battery as they improve.
Bob Elleson Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:54 am

The volt will be my next new car.
Kubel Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 2:30 am

Same here, PHEV will be my next car, if it’s affordable. After crunching the numbers in Excel, I found that the 120,000 mile cost of ownership of a 2010 $30K Chevy Volt is cheaper than that of a $15K 2008 Ford Focus (my next likely gas car), assuming current gas and electric prices here in MI remain the same, and assuming the specs and price we hear from GM regarding the Volt are accurate. I’m waiting for more word on the new American Ford Fiesta so I can crunch those numbers too.

But get this: The energy cost of a Volt (assuming 20% genset, 80% battery usage) is actually cheaper than the energy cost of a 250cc motorcycle (Ninja 250, gets 70MPG).

Anyway, I’m really hoping GM treats this as a viable money-making opportunity for them, and not as a public-relations gimmick. I don’t want an EV1 repeat.
Terry K Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 3:52 am

I think we have to remember that we are all basically “fan-boys” of the Chevy Volt here. We talk about it, think about it, and anticipate it on a daily basis. We may be forgeting that most people out there may have never heard of the Volt. I have seen one story about the Volt on the evening news so far. Personally, I tell people I talk to about my next car, the Chevy Volt, and they tell me they have never heard about it. You would think a car this important would be on the news every night, and THE hot topic on talk radio. I guess GM has some public education to do.

10,000 units, 100,000 units – either GM is flying their trial balloons again, or their public relations people need to seriously start checking their “facts” before making public comments. Either way, Gm needs to build in a process to prevent dealers from “price gouging” on sales of the Volt. Limit dealer profit to a certain percent of base price, and enforce it. Their future may depend on this car. I would hate to see greedy dealers kill sales of the Volt.

About the color ? Red ? I see someone went to see the Iron Man movie this summer, and has “Tony Stark” envy. Well, enjoy your cherry red Volt, as you explain to Officer Friendly why you were going 70 in a 55 zone. I would settle for a metallic gold Volt, please. Cops aren’t as antagonized by that color as they are by red, IMHO.

The waiting is the hardest part. But wait I shall – what choice do I have ? A Tesla ? A Prius ? Please ! I’ll wait for the real deal, thanks.
mmcc Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:09 am

I want #6700 (+-) in silver. I’m glad to see GM is still making statements like “a brand for the masses” and not “a toy for the rich,” I don’t see how they can price it much hicher than the mid 30’s and that would be a stretch. Even with tax incentives it’s got to be priced in the low 30k range.
Chevy Volt Production In 2010 Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:38 am

[...] Source [...]
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:38 am

It’s not that people don’t want SUVs anymore, they just want them with significantly better MPG or MPC.

Vincent is right. Don’t be too surprised to see the Volt technology in SUVs and light trucks sooner than later.
Leon Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:47 am

I’m telling you, if the Volt is successful it weaken demand for oil, which will cause the price to come down. Not to mention the shift away from low-mileage vehicles which is already going on.

I predict gas will be $1.50 in 2013.
Roland Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:57 am

You all have your heads up your butts, don’t you? If everyone were to buy an electric car, electricity consumption would skyrocket, meaning more electricity would have to be created using fossil fuels or nuclear energy, seeing how solar and wind energy aren’t up to it yet.

Northern Europe (Sweden or Norway I believe) are way ahead with hydrogen-fueled cars which need only water and a — optionally ‘portable’ as in porta-potty portable — hydrogen station that can be solar-powered. Hydrogen is the future, not a substitute for oil that still requires the use of oil to get the substitute in the first place.

But wait, it’s an American ‘invention’ this discussion is about, so therefore it must be the greatest thing ever.
Joe Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:38 am

There’s no question in my mind if the price is right, the amount of cars will be huge. If and when that happens, I sure GM will make any adjustments. No need to worry about that.
bruce g Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:46 am

Roland,
You had me fooled there for a minute.
The portapower potty is the easy bit, its the hydrogen powered car that is the tricky bit.
Try and buy one on e-bay and see how you get on…

Just joking..

ps..Im not US….
Joe Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:52 am

to # 41 Roland,

We on this site don’t all have our heads up our butt.The only one I see with his head up his butt is you. You prove that with your arrogance. Yes, American is a great inventor–look at our history.
BillR Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:00 am

I think most of us realize the challenge for the Volt is the battery pack. They have done electric drive (EV-1 and Fuel Cell Equinox) and Jon Lauckner has indicated that 90% of the Volt’s electric drivetrain is already defined and has suppliers. Other systems (brakes, suspension, interior, etc,) are all within GM’s experience. The key component that has been the big unknown is the battery pack.

I listened to an interview with GM lab personnel several weeks back regarding the testing of the battery packs. They are trying to squeeze 10 years of battery life testing into 2 years. Apparently, the way they can accomplish this is to test the battery packs at high temperature (which creates an accelerated loss of battery life). The battery degradation can then be plotted and trended.

First, I believe GM is much further ahead on battery testing than what they are releasing to the press. The fact that the Board of Directors has approved the Volt for production means they are sure the battery pack is successful, which means 10 years and 150,000 miles of life.

I’m sure GM also realizes the sense of urgency involved. If the Volt doesn’t come to market in the near term, they will give the other auto manufacturers more time to introduce competing vehicles. They need to be the first to market with a mass-produced iconic vehicle.

The commitment to a large volume also indicates their desire to lower the price, as high volume leads to lower manufacturing costs and the ability to spread the overhead (development costs, production facility costs, etc.) over more units. Also, high volume justifies an investment in automation, and this may be the key to lowering battery prices.

I anticipate that low volume production could begin as early as the end of next year (about 18 months from now), with a ramp up to full production by the end of 2010. Note that GM makes about 40,000 Corvettes per year working only 1 shift per day. With 3 shifts it would be entirely conceivable that production could exceed 100,000 Volts per year.

And as others have stated, don’t be surprised to see E-Flex luxury vehicles, SUV’s, and pickup trucks soon thereafter.
Jim I Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:08 am

The naysayers sure are wide awake and cranky lately…………

It will be fun to look back in 2012 or so, and see who was right!

Personally, I think this shift away from gasoline based transportation will be our greatest achievement in the last 100 years!

And I mean no offense to nasaman and what he was involved in during the NASA moon program. (Way off topic) I have already set up the DVR to record the “When We Left The Earth” series on Discovery channel. I hoe nasaman will tell us if we can see him in any of the episodes!!! (Back on topic now)

Finally, IMHO, it takes optimism to see your way through a project like this. The pessimists wring their hands and do a lot of talking, but what have they designed and built to solve any of our problems???

Go GM Volt Team!!!!
brad Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:34 am

It is World War II all over again. It just took us forever to find our enemy (OIL). Now that we found our enemy, it is time to completly rid it from our lives as quickly as possible. GO GM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave B Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:41 am

Way to go to the source Lyle…Edmonds, worthless. ha!
dagwood55 Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:52 am

Toyot has the capacity to build about 180K Priuses a year for the US market. That’s 15K a month. They ended the previous month with almost no inventory and this month they sold this month’s production and ended with 7 days’ of inventory. They’re selling everyone they make and very promptly. Don’t worry about Toyota, they’re doing OK.

They’re doubling Prius production for the 2009 model and intend to sell about a half million hybrids per year.
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:12 am

#45 BillR

“I anticipate that low volume production could begin as early as the end of next year (about 18 months from now), with a ramp up to full production by the end of 2010. Note that GM makes about 40,000 Corvettes per year working only 1 shift per day. With 3 shifts it would be entirely conceivable that production could exceed 100,000 Volts per year.”

You need to listen to the conference call at the annual meeting with Fritz Henderson. (I posted the link in #8). He clearly states the goal is to just get cars out in 2010…and to start to ramp up in 2011 and continue in 2012.

This isn’t a random interview. It’s the annual meeting, you can’t make stuff up here…you can’t outright lie and deceive the investors/the public. He also mentioned Hamtramck as the plant that would be exclusively producing the Volt…it has production committments for other vehicle until at least Q4 of 2009 (Cadillac DTS/Lucerne), and it already running two shifts atm. Also it has to be fitted to run the new Delta MPV7 before the Volt.

http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t20114.html

Then you have this quote from Lutz himself, “Volt will be about 10,000 units the first year, just to make sure we’re prepared for any issues that might come up, and then ramp up production from there,” and “So we’re not going to see a wholesale move to electric vehicles right away.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080221.WHDIESEL21/TPStory/Environment
Sean Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:17 am

# 40 Leon

I completely agree with you that if there is a major to electric vehicles that demand will drop like a rock and gas will become very, very cheap. Its about time that people understood supply and demand issues.
Tim Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:18 am

I wouldn’t say that the Volt is GM’s future, but E-Flex most certainly is.

GM should have NO trouble selling 100K Volts per year IF they are built and priced right which seems to be their intention. Now, 10 different GM E-Flex vehicles across 3-4 different lines at 100K in average sales each would mean 1M electric vehicles per year.

How many new cars are sold each year? How many of these replace old cars and how many are additions to the existing fleet? How long will it take to replace the entire practical fleet of ICE cars with electric ones?
Kevin R Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:19 am

Cadillac was just named the number one car for customer vehicle satisfaction. Way to go GM! Now we need to get that out to the general public that seems to think domestic automakers build crap!

“Survey: Cadillac The Top Auto Brand in the US for Vehicle Satisfaction

Jim Taylor
General Manager, Cadillac

We all have our favorites, our own loyalties and preferences. But in a survey of new vehicle buyers released today, only one brand can be at the top. The number one brand in the US in owner satisfaction in 2008 is Cadillac, according to AutoPacific’s annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) study.

This study is based solely on the opinions of actual new vehicle owners rating their new 2008 models. AutoPacific adds no “3rd party” opinion to the owner survey results, which are grouped into 28 car and truck segments. For more information, check out AutoPacific’s blog.

Cadillac’s overall win stems from the Escalade, Escalade EXT, the new CTS sport sedan and the DTS luxury sedan each winning the title as “most satisfying” in their individual market segments. Across all segments in the study, no auto brand (including BMW, Lexus, Mercedes and the others) was rated as highly by consumers as Cadillac.

And the good news from vehicle buyers doesn’t end there. GM had 11 overall segment winners, more than any other manufacturer. Chevy HHR, Chevy Silverado HD, Saturn Sky, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn VUE and HUMMER H3 were also named “most satisfying” in their respective segments.

There are no higher accolades than those earned from real owners who have spent real money on new vehicles. Specifically in the luxury business, high levels of opinion and satisfaction of the most discerning consumers is the ultimate goal.

At Cadillac, Escalade has put together a record of desirability as the top large luxury SUV. This summer, we’re extending Escalade’s desirability with the most technically advanced Escalade models ever – the ultra-luxury Escalade Platinum and the Escalade Hybrid with our “two-mode” battery electric technology.

In the luxury car space, new CTS is earning a place among the highest-regarded luxury cars in the industry. The upcoming CTS-V launches this fall, elevating CTS into the ranks of the world’s highest performing cars.

It’s a terrific time for Cadillac, and for new vehicle buyers who have an unprecedented number of excellent choices. At Cadillac, we’re pleased that – according to the AutoPacific study of new vehicle owners – our brand is the most satisfying choice.
Spin Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:37 am

I really don’t see the Volt being widely available until 2012, and I think the price will be north of 40k. The real issue is can GM survive as a company until the Volt becomes profitable?
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:44 am

This is interesting, seeing how this is actually ‘local news’ for me:

Union blockades GM Canada headquarters after job cuts.

Angry autoworkers blockaded the entrance to General Motors of Canada headquarters in Oshawa, Ontario on Wednesday, one day after GM said it would shut its Oshawa truck plant.

“We’re not allowing any GM of Canada employees to enter the headquarters building,” said Chris Buckley, of the Canadian Auto Workers union, which says 2,600 jobs will go if the truck plant closes

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAN0429106020080604?rpc=44

They actually have a legit beef because they just signed a new 3 year deal a couple weeks ago.

“The Canadian Auto Workers union reached a three-year contract deal with GM in mid May, agreeing to a wage freeze and a shift rotation at the truck plant that would see up to 2,600 workers share about 1,300 full-time jobs.”

It wouldn’t be hard to prove GM signed this in bad faith. At the very least it makes the striking legitimate.

While GM could care less about the truck plant or losing production in the short term on virtually any of its car plants…the Oshawa car plant is unique in the fact it is the sole builder of the ‘09 Camaro –which is already behind schedule.(It also produces the Impala, Buick Allure/LaCrosse
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:46 am

Oh I forgot to mention this part of the new May ‘08 contract with the union:

“As part of that agreement, GM also promised that the Oshawa plant would be employed to work on the next generation of light-duty pickup trucks”
Darius Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:00 am

We have to respect each other therefore I would like to answer to all your statements:

1. Max. “skyrocketing” of US power consumption in case rapid Electric Vehicle (EV) development would be additionally 0,3% per annum.
2. Hydrogen vehicles are not in the manufacturing program of any company since:
a) No availability of hydrogen retail system
Such system would be very expensive to install (US 1 trillion of US dollars)
b) Hydrogen car would be very expensive at least 50 000 EUR. The high pressure hydrogen fuel tank would cost 10 000 EUR.
c) Fuel cell cost is not identified yet because short life time.
3) Hydrogen itself does not make sense because to produce hydrogen you have to consume electricity or other primary energy source. There are no hydrogen underground reserves. And once again electricity will be produced in the car fuel cell. So you consume 1 kW of electricity and get 0,7 kW mechanical thrust. Therefore hydrogen simply accomplishes energy storage role very inefficiently. Why not using simply battery!!!!
4) The photovoltaic can be used both for producing electricity or hydrogen. The sun radiation power utilization efficiency would be better with electrical mode.
Biodieseljeep Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:02 am

Concerning current vehicle sales:

Its about the economy, $tup!d. It ain’t so much about the gas mileage, its about the price points. 25 vs 35 vs 35 mpg is about advertizing, the bottom line cost is what is the driver. People may well be buying a $20k prius, but those are people who WOULD have bought a $30k sedan w/more financing if they felt secure. And the econoboxes are selling well ACROSS THE BOARD, not just imports. People can’t afford the big cars, and can’t get financing, so they buy small and feel a tad better because of the higher MPG. But in the consumers heart, they really know that buying a $10k cheaper car also buys them a heck of a lot of gas.
RB Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:05 am

Lyle said “Lets face it, the Volt is GMs future, they had better build a lot of them!” Exactly so.
Stakik at #8 notes correctly that the chief operating officer at GM is, in contrast, still talking low volume. No doubt there is some level of negotiating still going with potential battery suppliers as to quantities and prices, so the chief is not going to stake out fixed “must have” quantities now, at any price. The chief is an ICE traditionalist yet good at what he does. I think he is smart enough to move along into the future as doors open for him.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:05 am

Statik

Yesterday you and I agreed you cynical and somewhat negative at times, but after reading some of today’s comments I have to say you are a rank amateur compared to them. Sorry, but I have to down grade your standing. These others are just blowing you away.
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:06 am

Further note on the other car Oshawa produces, the Impala. It has the smallest inventory window of any GM vehicle — 22 days. GM slowed production late 07 because of the new Malibu, figuring demand would shift…not so much.

Inventory start of May: 22,700
Sales in May: 23,803

The plant made 18,424 of them thru 5/24 and 5,407 in the last week, which is max. The only car GM can’t build as many as they sell. They have quite a bit of leverage in Oshawa to put some hurt on GM.
Statik Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:11 am

# 60 N Riley

“Statik -Yesterday you and I agreed you cynical and somewhat negative at times, but after reading some of today’s comments I have to say you are a rank amateur compared to them. Sorry, but I have to down grade your standing. These others are just blowing you away”

So your saying I need to up my game? I’ve been working hard the last couple days! Consider me more the gasoline the last two days…not the fire.

(=

I try to be objectively negative. I like to use’ actual facts’ backed up with quotes/stats and links. It would be alot easier to just spout off random diatribes (sp?) to really get people worked up…but it hurts the credibility (as shown by some of the posters recently…you know who you are, lol).
Keaton Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:16 am

I really like the picture Lyle. haha
BillR Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:29 am

Statik,

Your whole arguement appears to be timing.

I will stand by my prediction. Although GM executives may say they are targeting 2010 for a start date, if they can produce sooner, is that a bad thing? Even the stockholders are not privy to GM’s business sensitive information.

Look for production in limited quantities before November of 2010. Just my prediction.

I don’t believe everything I see in the media.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am

Statik

Your comments always makes sense even when I do not totally agree with them. Some of these others do seem to spouting off mighty bad. Keep up the good work.
Nelson Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:40 am

I guess those Union Workers would rather see GM go bankrupt instead of making moves to guarantee its future as the #1 electric hybrid car manufacturer. Maybe GM Union workers don’t have any GM stock.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:43 am

I believe we will all see an improved GM come out of this mess. I feel for the jobs lost, but at the same time those union workers helped make GM the company it was and still is today. As long as they got their way on every contract everything was fine. Now the hard times are here for real for GM and everyone else. I am sorry, but the union workers will just have to “suck it up” and get along like the rest of us.
Theoldguy Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:00 am

Black Volt…. all the options… I was in the first 500 to register and had to re register twice when the “webmaster” made changes to the site and I was still in the top 3000…
Let me know when I can pick it up …. If you need my number Lyle… contact me via this site as I log in dayly…
TOM M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:23 am

I hope GM IS monitering this site because the competition is going to be tuff, and soon.
I just received my current issue of ” MY FORD MAG” On page ten is an artical and sneak preview of the Escape Plug-In Hybrid. The long and short of the artical is as followes:
Lithium ion battery that can be recharged in about seven hours, providing a range of 30 to 40 miles. After that the gas engine kicks in and the vehicle operates like a standard Ford Escape Hybrid. They have a 20 unit fleet now being tested in California. My main question is what are the speed limits for the 30 miles? Is this a top speed of forty five or seventy five?
In any case, we are going to see many auto makers coming to the table in a big way, and I believe the compition is going to be fierce.
Consumers should have some excellent choices in the very near future.
God Bless America,

Tom
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:25 am

I was reading the Ford owners magazine my son receives (since he is a Ford truck owner) and it said Ford was readying a Escape SUV Hybrid Plug-in to be released for testing later this year. I got the sense of the article (without them saying it) that Ford intends to have it in regular production by fall of 2009. That is one full year ahead of GM Volt. I know this does not equate the Escape with the Volt, but still it shows Ford’s intent to take a big chunk off the Volt’s prestige of being the first regular production plug-in vehicle. The article said electric range would be 25 – 40 miles before a “range extender” engine would kick in.

Come on GM!
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:31 am

Tom M

Saw your post after I had posted mine. Great going. We both were on the same thought plane. I have been looking for Ford to do just that with the Escape. Surprised they haven’t announce the same capability for the Edge SUV. I feel it is coming. Plus the Fusion and the Focus. Just have to down size the drive train. Car bodies already there and fully certified for world wide sales. If they do it and can’t get the mpc the Volt gets, that’s ok for them right now. They still have time before 2011 to juice them up..
Firefly Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:39 am

Well, I was # 7468 or something like that. I think people on this forum serious about buying a Volt should be emailed some type of agreement that would be filled out and sent back to GM for processing. That way, the GM-Volters would have first opportunity to get chassis #’s 5 through 10,000. I say 5 because the first 3 will be test mules and I figure that Lyle should be entitled to chassis # 4.

I prefer silver. And as far as all the people bad-mouthing GM for this project? My guess is that they’ll be the first in line trying to buy one.

There was a fable once that the moral was “it is always easiest to despise what you know you can never possess.” So keep hating. Talk positive, talk negative but keep talking. Because the more crap you spread about the Volt, the more people will hear about it. Go ahead. Make it easier for GM to get press. Thank you. After I get mine, I’ll invite your cynical @$$ to a barbecue. We’ll sit down like adults and I’lll listen to you degrade the next good idea to come from this country. And wouldn’t it be something if your kids graduated college and went to work for GM? You’d bad mouth them too?
Brian M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:48 am

Firefly –

Typically the first few hundred will be “test” vehicles, although identical to the eventual production models. They let employees drive them around for a few months to make sure they have ironed out all of the obvious issues. Then a few months later they start the real production run.

Of course they could decide to something different with the Volt.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:58 am

Lyle

I did not make a note of what number I was when I signed up for gm-volt.com. Is there a way to find that out?
noel park Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am

#54 brad:

I sure hope so.

I think that following this saga (soap opera?) every day can easily make one feel cynical and negative. I would confess to both – although I’m sure you didn’t notice.

On the other hand, we are all going to be a lot better off if GM can make this work, and coincidentally pull its corporate chestnuts out of the fire. So I am struggling today to get back to a more positive place.

So come on guys and get it done. I truly hope that you do. As frustrated as I (we) get sometimes, I will be there with the cash to buy one of the first ones, if the price is at all realistic.

If you produce a really cutting edge ICE Delta platform car, as discussed yesterday, in the meantime, I will buy one of those too. Even better, how about a 1.4 turbo Colorado? My S-10 is getting pretty tired.

Bring it on.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:05 am

noel park

I echo those same sentiments exactly. My stop gap vehicle may not be the car GM announced with 40 mpg because it will not be available until fall of next year. I am not sure I can wait that long. The 2009 Prius is starting to look good as a stop gap car then passed on to my wife when the Volt is available.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am

noel park

Well, I guess I did not echo your sentiments exactly, did I? But I am on board with most of what you say.
Wendell G Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:14 am

I’m happy GM has made the firm commitment to produce the Volt. It’s time that an American automobile company took the lead in something rather than following along 5 years later. The price tag is going to be too high for many in the first year or two until the volume ramps up enough to get the production costs down. The trick will be if they can sell enough at the higher price to warrant building enough in the future to get those costs down?

In the end America has to find a different way to get around rather than burning gasoline. EV’s and EREV’s seem to be the best way that is on the horizon. Imagine having a solar panel collecting energy all day and transferring it to your EV at night so you can go to work, etc. without ever burning a drop of gasoline. That’s energy independence.
Marcus R Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:15 am

Oil independence!
I’ll take Volt #1776 please.
N Riley Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am

Maybe GM should copy Ford’s program (or at least advertising of one) where they let people test drive their vehicles. I know that GM had and may still have a 30 day return policy. If they do still, they should advertise the fact and get some good commercials on the air with “real” people expressing their experience with “switch over” test vehicle. GM has got to improve their public relation campaign. Don’t depend on good press, GM, because you may not get it. You have to create your on “BUZZ”. And their is plenty to talk about.
Neutron Flux Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am

I could not let the affront from #48 go unaddressed. Since it appears he is personally familiar with anal-cranial inversion. The forum should have lots of information on this subject much of which I posted myself with a direct cost study. Your obviously a newbie to this site who fires from the hip without any bullets. Do your homework before you insertus your footus in your pie hole. I will not bother to try to educate you since if you are not willing to look it up you probably wouldn’t let facts get in the way of your opinion.
TOM M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am

N Riley:

At least we are on the same page. Again I am concerned on the top speed for the electric mode. My driving is freeway ( until we get toll roads) and the speed that San Antonio people drive is 70mph. and up, MOSTLY UP !!!!
But the important thing is that the auto makers get the message that we are demanding a release from foreign oil, and domestic !!

Have a great day,

Tom
GM Volt Fan Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:34 am

Maan … I’m getting addicted to this Volt blog website. The Volt can’t get here soon enough! I’m looking forward to seeing the final exterior design. I hope GM makes it look cool. I’d like people to buy the Volt for the exterior design alone. Make that interior look good too. I hope GM’s best design geniuses are working on the Volt.

I’m sure the powertrain engineers working on the stuff “under the hood” will test everything thoroughly and make sure it gets the good quality ratings from the car magazines, Consumer Reports, etc.

This will be GM’s technological flagship vehicle for the next 5-10 years or so. Let’s hope they get it right. Toyota and the other auto companies are giving GM all the competition it can handle these days. Get ‘er done GM! Get ‘er done right! Make Americans proud of their auto industry again. This really IS a bit like a “moon shot” like Bob Lutz says. There’s a new documentary in HD about the moon landing on the Discovery Channel starting on Sunday night. Maybe it’ll inspire GMs engineers even more.
omegaman66 Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:36 am

How many of you really think the waiting list on this site means anything other than to let GM know a litlle about the demand for the vehicle? There appears to be a belief running around that the waiting list is an ACTUAL waiting list!!!
Markusfrom Germany Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:41 am

Does anybody know if and when this car will be available in germany? At the moment one gallon fuel costs here 5,80 Euro, that are 8,92 USD for one gallon! I am sure that this car will find many many buyers here.

Have a nice day
Markus
R.V. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 11:52 am

Way to go Lyle. Your part in this is much appreciated!

I’ve always enjoyed watching concepts to production and there’s never been a better view.

My GMC Sierra is the best vehicle I have ever owned and I have full confidence in what GM is doing with the Volt program!

Don’t miss this- there is a huge ground swell of buyers that are fully charged and ready to run completely away from OIL. No matter what they do with the price, .99 cents again good, I’ll still only use it when I have to! I’ll buy E!

The Volt is A beginning, this singularity will permeate GM and all of it’s offerings. (The plug in Vue by the way even sooner 2009) Take that Found On Road Dead and all of the others playing catch-up.
George B. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Just a personal case study on demand scenarios for the Volt;

First of all, I hate cars.

They are dirty, dangerous and expensive, but today they are necessary. I own a ‘95 Blazer 4×4 which I will drive till it dies (still going strong, 22 mpg) and an ‘04 PT Cruiser (sorry…wife’s choice!) which I plan to replace with a Volt. She will almost never have to buy gas for this vehicle, given her driving habits.

THAT is exactly the niche where the EREV fits in. This means a real savings of about $240.00 per month, which I will consider when the pricing comes out for the Volt. If the car is priced reasonably close to a comparably equipped ICE-only vehicle, the decision will be a no-brainer.

Biggest Obstacle to buying:

1. Dealer “just ’cause I can” fees for high-demand products. I just won’t do it….
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

Neutron Flux #88. Too funny.

#48, Roland. My wife had been telling me that for years. So I had a Colonoscopy a while back. When it was over, my doctor when out to the waiting room to see my wife. He explained to her that he indeed did NOT find my head up there. She was very surprised and that was the first and only time she has been wrong.
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

I honestly think building 100,000 units the first year is nuts.
Don’t get me wrong. I really want this car. However with the new technology, and GMs reputation, it would be best to go slow and fix any bugs that come up. Once the bugs have been fixed, jump to 30,000 units. If all is good, then make a big leap to as high as they can sell.
BigCityCat Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

I hate to tell you guy’s this but Oil prices are going to drop significantly. You have the Bakken Oil reserve find with about 400 billion barrels of oil, a strengthening dollar, regulation of the futures markets, and a new oil refinery approved in South Dakota today. Oil is down 12 dollars a barrel in that last 2 weeks. A lot of people expect 80 dollars a barrel by the end of the year. Thats about 2 dollars a gallon.
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

BigCityCat, #97.

If you don’t mind, I won’t hold my breath.
Don’t forget the “greed” factor. If oil dropped below $100 a barrel, I would be shocked. I think the only way it will get below $100 a barrel is when the demand for oil slows down significantly. I believe that is years down the road. IMO

Don’t get me wrong, I pay for home heating oil, as most of us do in the Northeast. I would love for the price to drop. I bought it in April for $4.16 per gallon.
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

Make mine RED and ASAP!
Way to go Lyle, you done good!
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Thanks for reminding me, Tagamet.

Make mine green.
KDIB Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

OK, It’s time to save up for those photo voltaic panels. Come on Nanosolar I want to drive my Volt for free.
Ken Grubb Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

#27 GXT

“There is a simple lesson here. Come 2010 (let alone 2012) people are not going to pay $30,000+ for the Volt. They are going to pay in the high teens for a Honda or a Toyota hybrid.”

I’m very hopeful that Honda and Toyota hybrids in the high teens will be here come 2010/2011. However, these will likely be HEVs, not PHEVs. The PHEVs will probably still sit in the $30K to $40K space. That’s where Volt will rest.

50-70 MPG HEVs for high $10Ks or low $20Ks.

100+ MPG PHEVs for $30K to $40K. And that 100+ MPG figure has a VERY high upper limit. Looking at the fuel log of my Saturn SW2, a PHEV-40 (like a Chevy Volt or Prius Li-ion PHEV) and the gas engine will NEVER kick on for me–unless I take it out on the freeway on weekends. I might cross the 1,000 MPG barrier.

Luxury cars of today are more expensive than compacts. PHEVs will be the new luxury cars. However, if the price to land an HEV falls to the high teens, then there’s likely to be a hybrid in every driveway and a PHEV in the hands of the more affluent.

If GM does at least a mediocre job with the Volt, it will be a big win.
Superschupp Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

OK, listen up GM

The first year’s production should be offered to the the people on this site’s waiting list.

There are several good reason for this:

1. Warm sales, no salesman commissions at the involved dealers. The dealers will love you.

2. We are all early adopters and are likely to be more forgiving of the little “issues” that come up in first year productions.

3. We are your greatest cheerleaders! I would be like having 20,000 free salesmen on the job.

4. As fanatical supporters of the Volt. I would be much easier to get feed back from us for future improvement.

5. Relying on the buzz created by fanatical supporters will greatly reduce your advertising budget.

I am sure other here could add to this list. But theses reasons alone are enough to justify first year production being offered here!

Think about it.
Marcus R Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:30 pm

I got that Ford magazine too.
I didn’t see anything to suggest that Ford currently has any consumer production plans on that Escape Hybrid with the all-electric range. It exists only as a test fleet; an EV-1 style exercise in “Yes We Can… (but we won’t)” style.
Van Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Lets see, 10,000 in 2010 (5,000 per month, November and December)
60,000 in 2011, as the suppliers ramp up production capacity,
100,000 more or less as demand dictates in 2012. That seems to be the plan.

Why would demand not be well over 100,000? Because someone else is making something that performs nearly as well, say a Plug in Prius with a 20 mile AER at 60+ MPH for thousands less than the Volt.
nasaman Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

103 Superschupp….
GM, I WANT TO ENDORSE THE IDEA OF APPROACHING THIS SITE’S WAIT-LISTED MEMBERS BY EMAIL AS YOUR FIRST, MOST-DEDICATED VOLT BUYERS!!!
nasaman Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:38 pm

PS: ALL HERE WHO AGREE WITH POSTS 103 & 105, PLEASE SAY SO!!!
Marcus R Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

I say “so” and to blatantly steal from BSG: “So say we all!”
Jackson Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Several have explained the dropping interest in the Prius in terms of current supply limitations, but also, haven’t the tax incentives expired, or nearly expired? This could be a factor. Also (and let GM beware), the Prius is an iconic “tree-hugger” car, not an image for a mass-market vehicle to aspire to. Like expensive oil? You can lay a large portion of the blame at the enviornmentalist’s door: restrictions on where and how oil can be acquired or refined at home. I think there could well be a public backlash in the offing.

Red? Silver? Gold? Meh. The appropriate color for a Chevy Volt must surely be Electric Blue!!!

Concerns that plug-ins will cause electrical power shortages have already been addressed in a power-industry study which concludes that the existing infrastructure will work just fine, provided charging is done mostly at night (which is what most commuters will do anyway).

It will take years for electric cars to cause a market correction in the cost of oil. I’d be much more concerned that Opec, fearful of what is being attempted, will artificially increase production to lower price and hurt EV sales. But folks, please be aware:

a) the International demand for oil is still rising as nations develop

b) there’s nothing on the horizon which will replace oil for aviation fuel, giant over-the-road diesel trucks or the chemical industry, at least not anytime soon; so any such correction will be limited

c) at a worst case 80 cents per Kwh and 40 miles per charge, gas will never again be cheap enough to achieve 2 cents a mile.

I don’t consider myself an early adopter. I have a firm preference to never buy a first-year anything, even if it’s the usual ‘childs play’ with internal combustion engines. Given the ground-breaking nature of the Volt, I wonder if GM is prepared to offer some greater-than-usual pledge to Volt buyers, to keep them on the road during this epic, early period?
Murray Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Looking forward to articles about where to place my deposit money as well as who or how I can contact people locally to get “in line” for real…
I’m sure Lyle will keep us informed as well as he can and as well has he has been. Good stuff Lyle.

I didnt find this site until late, thus I’m somewhere around 20,000 or so on this site’s waiting list….but I’m on this list and better yet…I’ve got my deposit sitting and waiting.

I agree with you 100% there #103
and Statik’s stuff is always on point…..
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

I say SO as well.
TOM M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

#103 and #105

I’ll go you one better. I’m on the list from way back and I’ll even

go and pick mine up at the factory !!

Go VOLT

Tom
Theoldguy Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

Tom… Pick me up on your way by and we can get them both at the same time..
Black with all the options for me..

Ray
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

GM, I WANT TO ENDORSE THE IDEA OF APPROACHING THIS SITE’S WAIT-LISTED MEMBERS BY EMAIL AS YOUR FIRST, MOST-DEDICATED (and most knowledgeable)VOLT BUYERS!!!
Ask for a deposit to hold our spot.
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Statik posted:
The target may well be 100,000 but it is certainly not it’s short term production goal. If I was guessing the Volt will be at 100K in ‘future generations’. Fritz actually mentions capacity utilization and special teams already working on ‘future generations”

I say, things change, Just ask Hillary.
Every serious prospective buyer ought to be melting their dealer’s phones – NOW.
mien green Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

White, and an A123 battery pack.
nasaman Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

GENERAL MOTORS…..
SO FAR, POSTS 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112 & 114 HAVE ENDORSED THE IDEA OF GM APPROACHING THIS SITE’S WAIT-LISTED MEMBERS BY EMAIL AS YOUR FIRST, MOST-DEDICATED VOLT BUYERS!!!

[[[LET'S KEEP THIS GOING, GUYS! ---JUST COPY & REPOST THE FOLLOWING]]]…….

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST
—PLEASE EMAIL ME —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Tagamet’s Rule #4
There is a direct correlatiohn between the level of postive Volt news and the frequency, volume, and innanity of the trolls and negative Nellies on that day’s posts.

Tagamet’s Rule #5
The totally rational and generaly all around great fans of the Volts won’t be swayed an iota.
Mike756 Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:24 pm

GENERAL MOTORS…..
SO FAR, POSTS 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112 & 114 HAVE ENDORSED THE IDEA OF GM APPROACHING THIS SITE’S WAIT-LISTED MEMBERS BY EMAIL AS YOUR FIRST, MOST-DEDICATED VOLT BUYERS!!!

[[[LET'S KEEP THIS GOING, GUYS! ---JUST COPY & REPOST THE FOLLOWING]]]…….

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST
—PLEASE EMAIL ME —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”
nasaman Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:26 pm

GENERAL MOTORS…..
SO FAR, POSTS 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, etc HAVE ENDORSED THE IDEA OF GM APPROACHING THIS SITE’S WAIT-LISTED MEMBERS BY EMAIL AS YOUR FIRST, MOST-DEDICATED VOLT BUYERS!!!

[[[LET'S KEEP THIS GOING, GUYS! ---JUST COPY & REPOST THE FOLLOWING]]]…….

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE HAVE ALSO REQUESTED
—PLEASE CONTACT ME 1ST BY EMAIL —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE HAVE ALSO REQUESTED
—PLEASE CONTACT ME 1ST BY EMAIL —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”

and RED!
brett Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:31 pm

NO PRICE

No indication how fast it will rot out up here in the northeast salted roads.

Is it available 4wd – necessary for common sense people in the snow.

How many people and how much luggage.

Does it save a substantial amount of energy between the factory and the crusher compared to a diesel car of the same size and does it cost less than one? Or is it for the narcissistic like the Prius?
fred Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

I had a garage with no electricity. In anticipation of my Volt purchase I ran power to it and put in some outlets and lights last weekend. Outlets to charge my Volt with!. All I need is front wheel drive for the winters. Heck, I got along ok with rear wheel drive when that was all that was produced. I hope the Volt is so profitable for GM that all the union workers are financially rewarded and compensated for the recent wage reduction.
StevePA Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm

The news keeps sounding positive.

To GM – guys and ladies – you have a golden, once-in-a-generation opportunity. Would be good – no, great – to see you win big again starting with Volt.

Now, have you planted the seeds down in Bowling Green for an eventual E-Rev Vette?
DaveP Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:11 pm

#114 mien green:

Yup. White, absolutely. I neither want to fry eggs on top of it nor run down the battery cooling it. And, well, white is the car color of the masses so it’s fitting. Plus, I don’t want to spend more time in traffic school than necessary.
(Now, if they doubled the power by putting another motor on the rear wheels, then that’s a completely different story and I’d take silver, thank you very much
I’d prefer the A123 but I’d take either, as I dunno if I’d ever mod the car to use the extra power output of the A123 batteries (extra motor on the rear wheels, anyone?
I’ll also be looking forward to Super Sport \Volt II or whatever with that mod. But I’ll take the \Volt we’re getting. In White.
jeff Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

I AGREE WITH 103, 105 . . .
Jim C. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:22 pm

GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE HAVE ALSO REQUESTED
—PLEASE CONTACT ME 1ST BY EMAIL —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”

CHECK BOOK OPEN FOR DEPOSIT.
akojim Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

#83: N Riley – You have captured my attention once again – “The 2009 Prius is starting to look good as a stop gap car then passed on to my wife when the Volt is available.”

Been married long have ya?

Trust me on this one – handing down things to your wife when something better comes along for you to play with is going to get you permanent overnight parking on the living room couch. Consider giving your wife the new Volt and then come up with creative reasons why you need to borrow it a lot. Maybe something like, “I need to make a quick trip over to the jewelry store….”
noel park Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:02 pm

#70 Keaton:

Yeah. I can’t make out what the vehicles are. I wonder if they’re Hummers?

#84 N Riley:

Close enough, but #127 akojim is a wise person, so I strongly advise you to take heed.
David Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

I want number 442 in the old GM color viking blue!
David Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

I want number 442 in the old GM color of viking blue!
Roy Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

I guess GM finally took a play from the Honda/Toyota playbook! They have been offering low mileage compact cars since the 1970’s & electric hybrids since the early 1990’s. GM killed the EV1. Let’s see if they can offer an electric vehicle which can get 300 miles on a charge and be reasonably priced. Otherwise we will have to look at Larsen Radax Engine & hydrox fuels on demand or flux-magnet capacitive discharge motors. One company is offering PICC & HAFT Technologies. There should be no reason why an internal combustion engine is not getting at least 100MPG or the engines need to be re-engineerd/redesigned like the RADAX.
http://www.squidoo.com/auto_mechanics_needed
http://www.preignitioncc.com/HCM/
George B. Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:14 pm

GM:

I’m not sure where I fell in the waiting list but I know I’m in there and am ready, willing and able to buy a Volt as soon as I can.

Being on the waiting list isn’t an entitlement, but it sure makes selling the first 20,000 or so REALLY easy! Just email me and let me know where to send the check! We can do this whole process ON-LINE!
Ed Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:15 pm

GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE HAVE ALSO REQUESTED
—PLEASE CONTACT ME 1ST BY EMAIL —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”

CHECK BOOK OPEN FOR DEPOSIT.
Rashiid Amul Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

#131, Roy. You have an interesting job.
Guy M Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

Chevrolet is announcing that beginning in 2010 it will begin producing an electric powered car known as the Volt. The car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries that can be plugged into the wall socket and charged overnight, or charged by E85-fueled onboard generators that will allow a range of 400 miles and an effective mileage of 150 mpg.

Nice concept – the Volt. With gasoline prices at record highs, and no guarantee that they won’t rise even higher in future months and years, this car sounds like just the ticket to beat the stranglehold
that the oil producers have on our pocketbooks. Unfortunately, at a price of between $35,000-$45,000, the Volt will be out of the price range of the people who are most in need of the fuel-saving benefits the car provides. And that’s the tragic irony of the whole situation.

In the long lost era when gasoline was plentiful and cheap, and when common sense ruled for the most part, luxury cars were built for the rich, and economy cars for the not-so-rich. Luxury cars,
including the now-maligned SUVs, featured big, powerful, gas-guzzling engines that took you to high speeds very quickly, with the trade-off being fewer miles-per-gallon. Economy cars were just the
opposite: smaller cars, smaller engines, not so hot in the acceleration and top speed categories, but they could surely stretch a gallon of gas. As I said, common sense ruled in those days; so those who could afford the big bucks bought the big luxury models, and those who couldn’t, of course, settled for compact econocars.

Now, with gasoline at $4.00/gallon, and fears that $8.00/gallon or higher prices are on the not-too-distant horizon, fuel-efficient cars are becoming highly in demand. This is especially true since the
environmentalists are refusing to budge from their awkward “head-up-their-ass” position and will not allow us to drill for oil offshore, in Alaska, or near the Rockies where geologists have discovered
huge reserves that would free us from our foreign dependency and relieve the price pressure from low-income consumers. Fortunately, technology has “come to the rescue” in enabling the development of
highly fuel-efficient automobiles like the Volt. Unfortunately, technology comes at a price, and the “rescue” that it offers compares, in a twisted sort of way, to the sinking of the Titanic, where lifeboats were limited, and passengers who paid for the luxury first-class tickets were put on the boats first and “rescued” before the lower-class passengers – at least while boat space was available.

In this instance, the super-fuel-efficient high-tech automobiles will be available to “rescue” the high-income consumers, who can afford the “high-tech” prices of these cars (not to mention the climbing
prices of gasoline for their luxury SUVs), from increased gouging at the pumps. Shamefully, those who cannot afford these technological marvels will be relegated to continuing to drive cars that they are
becoming increasingly unable to feed. They are in a Catch-22: they can’t buy the new cars because they cost too much, and they can’t drive their old ones because the gas costs too much!

Of course, there IS a solution to this whole problem. Unfortunately, it requires the application of COMMON SENSE, something that, like our Alaskan, Rocky Mountain, and offshore oil, is in dreadfully
SHORT SUPPLY among our political and business leaders – SHORT, that is, unless they really have the gumption to search their souls for it! And if they don’t have that gumption, then we should be trying to elect or promote those people who DO! START DRILLING FOR OIL, START BUILDING MORE OIL REFINERIES, AND START MAKING OURSELVES ENERGY INDEPENDENT FROM AMERICAN-HATING OIL SUPPLIERS LIKE VENEZUELA’S HUGO CHAVEZ AND RADICAL ISLAMIC NATIONS LIKE SAUDI ARABIA, IRAN, IRAQ, AND OTHERS WHO ARE JUST ITCHING TO TURN THAT OIL SPIGOT OFF AND BRING OUR NATION’S ECONOMY TO A PAINFUL CRAWL!

If you want to use technology to develop alternative or fuel-efficient energy solutions, that’s fine. But when that technology prices the average American consumer out of the market for those solutions,
then where’s the true benefit? What’s the point of building fuel-saving automobiles that can ONLY be purchased by the very people who CAN AFFORD NOT TO SAVE THE FUEL? Where’s the common sense in that???
Len Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

Candy Apple Blue, A123 batteries.

According to an article in the Washington Post quoting two service station owners, it appears that Exxon is charging whatever the market will pay and price has little to do with cost. The first three months of this year they recorded one of the largest profits in history.

We (in the USA) are not the only source of demand. Both India and China have increasing demand, and it is just starting. It appears that the supply is essentially flat. Google “peak oil”.

Florida Power and Light just announced a 16% hike in electricity prices due to the higher cost of oil (You knew it would happen).

New battery technology is coming. The A123 uses nano technology in the cathode. It was invented at MIT. There is a new technology that uses carbon nano tubes that was invented at Stanford that is still a couple of years away from production that could be significantly better. If this was 50 years ago it would go the way of the Fish carburator (Google “fish carburator”), but in this day of internet communications I think this revolutionary technology will make it to market.
Len Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

The untapped supplies of oil like in Alaska and off the coasts would amount to less than a years supply. We definately need to start reducing our consumption now. The Volt is a step in the right direction.
Dan Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

@ #48: “You all have your heads up your butts…If everyone were to buy an electric car, electricity consumption would skyrocket…Hydrogen is the future.”
______________________________________________

Okay I’ll respond to this nonsense. We currently have plenty of electricity for electric cars because the majority of charging would be a night, when electrical demand is low and there is plenty of capacity available.

As for Hydrogen being the future, the only way to get a decent amount of hydrogen is to use electricity. A fuel cell car is essentially an electric car only instead of charging it straight from the plug, you charge it via a fuel cell which wastes 2/3 of the electricity. So either way you are using electricity but an electric car uses as most, half as much.
fred Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

opec and traders and whoever else can lower gas cost to $1.00 a gallon and I am still buying a Volt!. Why? for freedom from them.
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:03 pm

Guy M said:
What’s the point of building fuel-saving automobiles that can ONLY be purchased by the very people who CAN AFFORD NOT TO SAVE THE FUEL? Where’s the common sense in that???

Although I totally agree with the fist part of your post drill where we can (AND develop all other sources of energy – my addition, but it IS common sense). First adopters almost always pay a premium. It’s not like we’re bidding on life boats. The POINT is to prime the techological pump and get it “out there”. Then economies of scale reduce the price to an affordable level for everyone. As always, some people will have to tread water until that point. Life’s not fair, but it beats the alternative.
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:08 pm

Fred at 140

AMEN. Well said. If we get non-food cellulosic ethanol helping out, we can put some E85 in OUR volts, JUST IN CASE we have to run the motor from time to time.
Dan Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:17 pm

@136: “START DRILLING FOR OIL”
__________________________________________

You’re right on about the catch-22 created by expensive new cars being introduced to combat high fuel prices. However, raping our few remaining wilderness areas is not the solution. Not only is this solution too late, it would destroy ecologically valuable areas permanently so that we can extend our oil addiction for 1 or 2 more years. We need a real solution, not a 1 or 2 year patch.
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 8:27 pm

Dan @ 143
Modern oil field development does not mean destroying an area’s ecology. The Governor of Colorado was on TV today talking about the new drilling methods that go down and then laterally for miles. THere is at least 4 BILLION barrels in the Bakken and possibly up to 40 Billion. Nothing to sneeze at. Why haven’t we built a refinery in decades? Why aren’t we drilling in deep water off our shores? If I thought that it couldn’t be done in a responsible manner, I’d be against it. We HAVE to increase supply WHILE we develop renewables – not sitting on our hands while renewables come on line.
Terry K Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

C’mon, Dan #143. I’ve heard that tired argument since the 1974 oil crisis. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now, because “greens” never have a “real” solution. Under them, we would be reduced to living in lean-to’s and riding horses, “living with the land”. I have a different idea.

Nationalize the oil deposits under our military, and use them to fill our strategic oil reserves. When oil prices jump like they did this year, open the reserves and flood the market with oil. It would give the US some control over oil prices. It would drive prices down, and hopefully bankrupt the wall street oil future traders (traitors?) who bid up the oil prices in the first place. What we are seeing is panic oil future buying at its finest. One oil release from our reserves could put fear in the hearts of anyone trading oil futures, as they would be afraid to bid up the price too high, and watch their investment fall apart.

We must start treating energy as a national security issue. Energy price increases have already lowered our standard of living. We need to act before America slips into an economic depression. For now, we still need oil. But don’t worry Dan, there’s no one up for president in 2009 willing to make the hard choices. We will continue to crawl to the Middle East, hat in hand, and BEG them to lower oil prices. It makes me sick. The Volt is the only hope I see for the future. And – I – will – NOT – learn – to – ride – a – horse – ever ! Take that, Al Gore.
Steve Doris Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

Anybody tested this car in Detriot in January?
Jim I Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Sorry I am late on this one – a very busy day at work…..

But here is my entry:

GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST,
—PLEASE EMAIL ME — I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!

I think a medium blue metallic would be my exterior color choice.

Black or dark gray for the interior.

And all the options you have to offer!
bruce g Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Im not against drilling the Bakken but it is most effective in conjunction with a reduction in consumption.
I believe Mastercard is suggesting there was a 4% drop in consumption at Memorial Weekend compared to a year ago.
It probably did not even disadvantage too many people.

Well done!
Tagamet Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 9:41 pm

Sorry Jim I,
I got the last one (evil grin)
T
ThombDbhomb Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST
—PLEASE EMAIL ME —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”
Jim I Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

Don’t woory Tag, I would not take your red Volt…………

But what is Candy Apple Blue that someone else said they wanted????
Dan Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 10:33 pm

Tagamet @144: “Modern oil field development does not mean destroying an area’s ecology.”
__________________________________________________

I guess, but once you open the door to oil drilling, it seems that whatever environmentally friendly method that was touted to get permission to drill goes out the window. Have you been to Alberta, Canada? They are basically pit mining the entire province now that the price of oil is so high. That certainly wasn’t the idea when the province first allowed drilling. I bet if we allow drilling in these areas, we’ll abandon these costly techniques when the price of oil hits $6-$7/gallon. Then again, maybe I’m committing a slippery slope fallacy here.

I agree that it can be done with perhaps an acceptable impact but I still think it’s pointless. All you’re doing is delaying the switch to electric cars by a few years. And I don’t buy the idea that we need a few years more of oil to allow the battery technology to develop. If we find a few more years of oil and the price drops then the business case for an electric car is destroyed and automakers will abandon these projects.

As we’ve seen over and over, automakers only focus on fuel efficiency & alternative power sources in times of crisis. If we manage to drop the price of oil to $2/gallon then all the automakers will cancel their cutting edge programs and we’ll find ourselves in this same predicament in another decade.

I think gas prices are like the ‘frog in boiling water’ story. If gas prices gradually rise over many years, then we all grudgingly go along with it. What we need is a price shock to get us out of our oil addicted rut. That price shock is here now and if it remains, we can make some improvements to our transportation sector in the next 5 years. If we subsidize gas or scrounge up a few more years worth then we’re just delaying the inevitable.
Kubel Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 2:02 am

@ #58:

Gas will not drop like a rock once we start switching to EVs because world-wide demand is increasing, and production will soon be decreasing. See Peak Oil. Supply will have to outweigh demand for prices to drop, and that will never happen.
Richard Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 6:02 am

When I see it I will believe it and then I hope it works. GM deserves to have lost market share – wasting their time, money and energy on those big gas guzzlers. Maybe finally, after getting their butts kicked, they will move whole hog into environmentally efficient cars. They should have been doing this at least ten years ago.
koz Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 6:17 am

me too!

GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST,
—PLEASE EMAIL ME — I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!

Pearl white with light leather interior
Eco Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 7:21 am

Well, since we’re all lining up to buy something, I’ll take a

Flextreme in bright yellow please.

How much of a deposit do you want for #64

I was looking forward to having a standard transmission again in my next car…oh well, times change.
DCW Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 8:26 am

Okay this should be coming out now not 2 to 3 years from now this is the problem with the auto industry. You should think ahead before things are needed and then be able to pump them out when they are. This car is needed NOW not in a few years!! I do say good Job but took the auto industry long enough to figure out that the US needs to be off GAS and on to something that the US makes or that is all over the world YA that is called water!!
Tom M Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am

# 153 Richard

We the consumer drive the manufacturing of what comes out of the plants. We cannot entirely blame GM or any auto maker for building the pickups and SUV’s when we demand them. Toyota has fallen into the trap here in San Antonio. They have just built a Hugh truck plant here and guess what? Yes you guessed it, demand is way down and trucks are not selling. We can only blame the auto makers for so much. We must look in the mirror and take some of the blame for what is happening to us right now. I can name dozens of small cars over the past 30 years that were produced by our US makers and the did not sell because there was no demand for them.
The main thing is that we the consumer change our driving habits and and demand that our elected officials implement a an energy policy that should have been implemented 30 years ago.

God Bless America,

Tom
Jack Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 8:49 am

GM, a warning, if you concede to corporate greed and price the Volt over 30 K it will be a failure
Bill Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:11 am

Hey how much current is this cars battery system going to need for a full recharge.I think if we can get a ballpark figure we could set up a solar array and a battery unit at home so we could recharge from the sun.THe initial set-up might be expensive but with federal/state/town rebates it should be managable. Maybe if these things take off we could have companys set up array parking to plug in the cars during the day while we are working.I truely believe all electric is the way to go.I will be shocked to see it go that way because I doubt the oil companys and federal government(tax generation)will allow all that money to go away.I think thats why they love E85 so much,you have to use more to get the same amount of work…more money for them….That being said,I want number 69 in a metalic blue…..Hey GM let your engineers design your vehicles…not your bean counters.You have the skilled workforce to make the best products in the world….let them.
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am

#103 #105

While not in TOTAL agreement, I am so close that it would be hard to tell the difference. Sounds quite possible.
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:24 am

“GM, AS THE MANY POSTS ABOVE ALSO REQUEST
—PLEASE EMAIL ME —I WANT TO BUY A VOLT!!!”
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:33 am

#128 Akojim

Been married almost 41 years (June 17th) and have no fear my wife will accept those terms. I have her trained very well, thank you. (yeah & I own beach front property in Arizona). Seriously, my wife and I have discussed this and she is on board. She has our latest new car (2004 Honda Odyssey). My last new car was a 1995 Honda Accord EX. I currently drive a 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab pickup. I am ready for the 2009 Prius and the Volt when it arrives. Cash in the bank GM, if you are reading this. Just waiting for the ok for the deposit.
KDIB Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:35 am

OK, I am not on the waiting list yet. But as soon as I can get a VOLT convertible I will be at the Dealership.
nasaman Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 9:46 am

159 Bill…..
To fully recharge the Volt (8kWh) in 6 hrs will take roughly 12 amps @120V AC into the car’s socket. Allowing for conversion inefficiencies of roughly 15%, a solar array would need to generate an average of about 1.6KW/hr over a period of 6 hours (10AM-4PM, say). Call your local solar array installers for estimates on a 1.5-1.6KW array*; they’ll probably also know what rebates might be available.

PS: Don’t forget that you’ll have to get your local power company involved to arrange for…..

1) Demand-type metering (so you charge at the lowest rates, which might save as much as 50-100% compared to your regular rates

2) Feeding your solar-generated 120V (or 240V) INTO the grid during daylight hours (i.e., making your meter run backwards)

*I can tell you installed home arrays now cost perhaps $8/watt —which means you’ll need to budget roughly 1.6KW x $8/W = $12,800. To me, this isn’t cost effective right now. At $0.05/kWh it will only cost about 40 cents to fully charge your Volt, so it would take a LONG TIME to pay for a 1.6KW roof-mounted solar array!
mien green Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 10:13 am

125 @ DaveP

I know what you mean; I like to reserve the sidewalk for making breakfast during the hot Texas summer. But “masses” considerations aside, white is every bit a color, too, and my personal preference over all others for my automobile. Tho you could say that it’s the antithesis of Henry Ford’s ubiquitous model T.

But all other things being equal, it’s not all about the car color, it’s about the battery.
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 10:43 am

mien green

White is the best color for my car. I love white because it looks cleaner than darker colors (does not have to wash it as often) and it is cooler to the touch.

Make my Volt White with a light Tan interior.
Tagamet Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 11:37 am

Dan at 152

Don’t look now, but there ARE no electric vehicles availabel now. I totally agree that there SHOULD be, but (sigh) there ain’t. Any new oil we bring in AND refine will just decrease foreign oil needed – not prices.
As far as the slippery slope – it sounds like the permit for “drilling” was “just” very poorly worded. No was an impact study would have allowed strip mining. I grew up in the Anthricite coal regioons and I KNOW stripping. Horrible.
PS That frog sure got boiled FAST. since the dems got in, how much has the price gone up? I thought Pelosi was going to “simply” lower the gas prices in the first 100 days. (I know you’re in Canada, but if I didn’t jab Pelosi, my head would explode) (G)
Kevin R Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am

Tagamet…

That is not true. We have two electric cars being sold at a dealer here in Saginaw Michigan.

The first, a small chinese built unit gets 150 miles to the charge, is a two seater, goes 45mph and costs $12k.

The other is the Zenn from Canada. A slightly larger vehicle, 35mph and runs $15k. I’ve looked them both over and they’re cute and capable but only for urban driving situations.

http://www.zenncars.com/
J Snow Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 1:25 pm

It sure took a long time for Americans to stop buying gas guzzlers. I’m not so sure they are going to love Chevy Volts, though, given the high price and the need to charge the battery pack.

I’m just wondering how GM will regain the profit margins on small cars that they made on the gas guzzlers.
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

Tagamet

Pelosi did promise to reduce oil prices. Guess she mis-spoke and meant to say she would increase the price to slow down consumption. Their new plan is to sue OPEC and raise fuel taxes by several dollars a gallon to force us to stop using our cars and trucks. They do not want us to start using horses and mules, as someone suggested. That would be considered cruel and unusual punishment by the Dems.
N Riley Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Cruel and unusual punishment against the horses and mules, not the humans. Humans lose once again.
Mike Huggins Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Lyle,
I want to thank you for everything you have done. You have truly inspired many of we Volt enthusiasts to check this site daily. For those of you reading this post at the GM plant, can you see what you can do to get Lyle one of the first Volts off the line. He is very deserving of this. I can’t wait to get mine.
mien green Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 3:21 pm

N Riley:
“Make my Volt White with a light Tan interior.”

Exactly. Altho now you’ll have to keep it clean and waxed up for the aerodynamic drag factor.
Tagamet Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 8:10 pm

Kevin @169
I stand (technically) corrected. Maybe we should take a poll to see how many Americans would consider either of those roller skates “cars”.
Just wondering….
Paul Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 3:39 pm

The Volt is the future. I only hope that GM:
1. Produces enough of them.
2. Doesnt make the price so high that they shoot themselves in the foot before they even get off the line, better to lose money on the first 10k or even 50k units and realize the demand then to kill the demand with a price that prevents the public from accepting it.
3. Continues development so that it can go farther then 40 miles on a charge, thats a very low number to me and many that commute. It should be able to go 100 miles on a charge minimum.
Kevin Says:
June 7th, 2008 at 11:14 am

well in 2010 when the cost of oil is around 180 dollars a barell we will see how many poeple want this car
David L Says:
June 7th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

I’ll be a customer if it works!!!!!
Leon Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 1:09 am

This technology is well-proven in DIESEL-ELECTRIC engines used in TRAINS. The Volt is the exact same concept. Mo betta than the Prius. If the price of ELECTRICITY starts going up as rapidly as gasoline than who knows if this type of solution will be viable. Things are changing VERY VERY RAPIDLY in global economics, an EV may pale in comparison to the bigger forces in play.
Buy My Farm Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 1:14 am

Speaking of the GM-Volt electric MULES currently being tested. I recently read where some farmers are going back to MULES because of the high price of oil. Their tractor ain’t gettin no traction. hee…hee
Fred X Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 11:46 am

rather egotistical and inane of you to think GM was “pushed” by you. The market gets what the market wants. So the timing was not as completely optimum as you imagine it could have been. There is no way to prove that. This is a purely market driven. This why I hate liberals. They just so darned “special” in their own minds. That’s a nice way of saying dictator.
Tagamet Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 11:51 am

PDNFTT
Kubel Says:
June 10th, 2008 at 1:46 am

PDNFTT

@176:

1. GM won’t be able to produce many of them for the first few years because, like the Ford Escape Hybrid, GM will need to artificially limit the supply of the vehicle to keep their loss-per-vehicle down to manageable levels.

2. GM will likely sell a hundred thousand units before they expect to see some positive cash flow from this venture. If they don’t see it after a few years, the program will crash and burn.

3. Range will extend over time (if the program catches on and GM can see some profit from it), but keep in mind, the batteries are cutting edge and are outrageously expensive. The US really needs to invest in massive battery manufacturing domestically. That will cut our dependence on foreign energy, provide us with a vast amount of batteries for transportation, and offer thousands of new jobs. Just think of all the billions of dollars being poured into the hands of people overseas, and take that money and put it right into the hands of American workers (who also are consumers of their own products).

I don’t expect to see 200+ mile AER serial hybrids for many years. I think during my lifetime, we will be settled at around 20 to 80 mile AER hybrids, unless oil peaks and gas skyrockets to $10/gal very soon.
Redhead Says:
August 7th, 2008 at 4:11 am

As the price of oil falls, even relatively, the incentive to buy electric will also fall and affect the return on R&I by manufacturers. Could be either just interesting, or a wild ride.

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