Comments on: GM-Volt Wait List Generation 2.0, List Tops 33,000 Members

By: S Brian

S Brian — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:04:52 +0000

GM looking the good guy now? In 1996 they produced an electric car, the EV1, which had a 60 mile range and roared! 10 years later they scrapped it. California was all ready to support it with “recharge stations” and all. Educate yourself!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489037/synopsis

By: 200+ MPG at Lenwood

200+ MPG at Lenwood — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:23:18 +0000

[...] to Chevy for ponying up a car that people are lining up for, the all electric Chevy Volt. Its cool to see American companies [...]

By: john1701a

john1701a — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:37:10 +0000

Two weeks later, the list has grown to 39,752.

Though, support for Volt doesn’t seem to be growing beyond just the basic short-lived daily blogs. Membership of the forum is just 1,970. That doesn’t provide much for those wanting to learn more and get into deep discussions.

What are the next steps that will be taken to provide more online?

By: Gordo

Gordo — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:31:01 +0000

To the people that don’t think using electricity instead of gasoline makes sense – well I used to think that way too, but after doing the research, I found out I was wrong. Its hard to believe at first, but electric, despite its inefficiencies, is actually better than using oil/gasoline. Electric prices could triple and you would still save money. Even if the power is from coal, its actually cleaner than using gasoline. We have lots of coal and natural gas in the USA that can be used for power generation until sustainable alternatives are developed. This would help reduce our dependency on foreign oil (we are sending close to a TRILLION dollars a year overseas to the oil producing nations!). Eventually with renewable inputs, electric will become a better solution, but it makes sense right now. Do some research on your own. We have excess capacity, and most charging would be done at night, when demand is naturally lower. We could meet the demand from a million electric cars TODAY without building a single additional power plant.

Of course with electric prices already set to go up substantially, and gas prices having already come down pretty big from their highs, the amount of savings from fuel may not be that high. Factor in the expected high cost of the first electric cars, and they really do not make any economic sense at all. Rich guys and people that want to impress other people will be the target for Volt sales. Personally I bought a Toyota echo used for $5,500 with low mileage (35k) that gets close to 40mpg. No electric car can beat the total cost of ownership I have with my efficient gas car.

By: DaDe

DaDe — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:39:39 +0000

Electric cars right now scare me.
There is no such thing are free energy.
In some places electricity is generated by coal and natural gas. There is just enough electricity to power North America. Electric cars will draw a huge demand. Electrical prices will increase substantially,
Engineers are working on nuclear reactors, they are returning.
Also, use an electric car in the prairies or Canadian north during the winter time.