“Change every year is nothing new. Think about 1556, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 Chevys, for example. Similar under the skin, but almost like different cars from the outside. People loved it. The buzz every fall was intense waiting to see what would be new for the following year ”

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This is EXACTLY the magic Lutz/Wagoner are trying to recapture. T’wood be nice to think that every vehicle was “unique” to the core but that’s not a reality. Platform sharing is here to stay and has yet to hit it’s zenith. The problem with “publicly held” “accountant run” GM is that it was and IS boring and detrimental. It’s a crying shame that it took nearly 3 decades of continual market share slide to realize this.

When people call for Wagoner’s sig. below the bottom line they fail to understand that HE is the future and the board agrees. When you understand GM’s position and it’s problems you can only subscribe to one camp, the short run or the long. The former would/could possibly have produced some more favorable recent income stmts but it’s all about the future. Sometimes you’ve just got to believe and really believe that red ink will flow before you’re BACK in BLACK. NO car company has a better/greener future plan than GM. Dig deep and hang on, it’s a matter of courage and staying the course!

The 63-67 Corvettes look very similar from the outside, but evolved every year under the skin. Disc brakes, big block engines, and many small upgrades as opportunities and/or problems arose.

Our 1917 Chevrolet had thermosyphon cooling. The 1918 introduced a proper water pump system. A huge one-up on the Model T. Any proper racing Model T had an aftermarket water pump.

While body styles stay similar longer now, the technical upgrades continue year by year. The Volt will only follow in a tradition as old as the automobile.

1) Use 10KWH battery instead of 16kWH and extend the SOC operation to around 15 – 95% (8Kwh) by using ultracapacitors to compensate for low amps at extreme SOCs. If the 16kwh battery cost
is 10000$ then they can easily reduce the cost by 3000$ for 10kwh battery with ultracaps cost included.

2) Enhanced Electric Motor.

3) Enhanced HVAC.

4) Low Power Wipers and Stereo.

5) High efficient power electronics.

6) Improved ICE efficiency. May be 1.0L four cylinder with direct injection ?

#41 Depreciation I think on Gen 1 Volts will be huge..but the resale value of such a game changing auto may increase..it will be a modern classic car..think about it..first generation, limited production..if you have a gen 1..keep it pristine for about 10 years, it WILL Appreciate then..like a model T or a split window vette…

To everyone else:

Of course every new model year of the Volt will be better! That is the nature of the car business… If you are going to wait until the car is perfect, you will wait forever. You have to decide when it makes sense to you to purchase, and then buy what is available. It is exactly the same as buying a computer.

I have a question about Statik’s and Tag’s math. They both said 30 months to go. That would put delivery of the first Volt to the showrooms at Mid February, 2011. Did I miss something???

If delivery is still supposed to be November, 2010, that would be just under 4.5 months in 2008, plus 12 months in 2009, plus 10 months in 2010, or a total of 26.5 months. If you want to make it the end of November, that would be 27.5 months. We flew (HAHAHAHA!) past the 30 months to go date back in May!!!!!

Lets not make this wait any longer than we have to, OK???

Yes I agree that the supercaps are huge, especially for effectively capturing regen braking. If you really think about upgrades it’s staggering what’s possible. Since the design has to be frozen very soon they obviously have to stick with the basics if this car is to hit the streets in 2010. But there’s a lot that can be upgraded and improved like….

1. Further refining the ICE/Genset to be more fuel efficient and a better performer with E-85

2. Further optimizing the supercap/battery combo for range and performance.

3. Wiring the AC induction motor and controller so that from 0-5K rpm it’s a torque-ster and from 5K-13K rpm is a horsepower machine. This would still allow for transmission-less efficiency but perform like it had one.

4. Provide and economy/performance mode selection.

5. Add back the 12 gallon tank I desperately want.

And on and on……

Cheers,
Mark