The third year of this website will begin on January 12th, the second anniversary of the Volt concept announcement.
It has been a remarkable ride and I look forward to the day the Volt is released.
This seems like a good time to share and look quaintly back at the top 3 posts from 2008 and 2007.
2007:
1. GM-Volt Exclusive Feature: Ask the Chevy Volt Leadership Team Your Questions
3. FACT: Chevy Volt’s Generator to Start When Battery Power Drops to 50%
2008:
1. Volt Will Charge at Both 110V and 220V: Half of Range Charge Within an Hour
2. BREAKING: First Lithium-ion Prototype Chevy Volt Running
It looks like major milestones and key information points about the car are everybody’s favorite topics.
We will certainly keep on trucking though 09, and this year look forward to actual final Volt prototypes, media test drives, battery contract, start of production facilities, and likely a lot more surprises.
Thanks again to everyone for their support, I hope 2009 is a great year for all. Keep spreading the word.
And if you have any suggestions for the site let me know.
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 7:36 am and is filed under Public Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Jan 1st, 2009 (7:54 am)Happy New Year – Go Volt
Jan 1st, 2009 (7:59 am)Go Volt Go
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:12 am)Well 2008 has been a most interesting year for the Volt. I really could not believe all the plot twists and revelations in “As the Volt Turns”.
Real life, is full of surprises, I guess. Personally, 2008 has been a bitch of year, the low point coming with the loss of my partner on October 23rd. I am grateful to be a part of this community and it has given me much needed comfort the last few months. Still I could do without the heart stopping ‘loan’ plays going on.
Hopefully, we should see some Volts ‘downunder’ in 2012, and my heartfelt thanks to the US taxpayer.
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:22 am)The Volt news has been very interesting and informative over the last two years. Keep us posted, Lyle!
Happy New Year to all!
Go, Volt, Go!!!
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:40 am)Lyle,
Thanks for making this such a great site! Happy new year.
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:56 am)Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Jan 1st, 2009 (9:05 am)I guess I’d like to echo the ‘Happy New Year’ theme…I myself, celebrated ringing in the new year asleep on my chesterfield (couch).
Personally, I’d like to thank Lyle for giving me a place to make many new enemies over the last two years…and some friends too, heeh.
Your ’08 sounded terrible NZ, I can’t imagine…I’m sure ’09 will be much kinder to you.
/all the best
Jan 1st, 2009 (9:09 am)Happy New Year!
(Buckle your seat belts. ’09 is going to get “interesting”.)
Jan 1st, 2009 (9:54 am)_____________________________________________________
You are the Man Lyle…thanks for your hard work on keeping this site active. I wish you a Proserous and Happy New Year.
* Electric Cars + Nuclear Power = American Energy Independence!
_____________________________________________________
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:06 am)Lyle, thanks for providing us this site!
Happy New Year to you and your family!
Happy New Year to all who patronizes this site.
May the Volt become a reality soon.
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:29 am)Lyle, many thanks for your hard work and dedication.
I’d also like to extend my thanks to the folks at GM for including us in the making of automotive history.
Happy New Year to all!
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:51 am)A great site. Lets go GM and make money on your own! Get in the black and pay us back our loan with quality cars and cash to pay for the next bailout.
Next The Volt-like Corvette concept car. GO for it!
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:51 am)Lyle, I too would like to thank you for all the hard work you do to provide us with the best information you can.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Since I started much later than most of the “regulars” here, I’m about
Thanks.
to come to my own milestone soon. I’m #23114 on the wait-list, so just around the corner I’m going to be in the middle of the list. I intend to post a happy note when the wait-list reaches 46228.
I wish a Happy and Blessed new year to all who come here!
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:01 am)Happy 2009 everyone!
I was looking at Lyle’s list of the “top 3″ posts for 2007 and 2008 and wondering the following. By what measure are the 3 given in the post the “top 3″? They are not the ones with the most responses. Are they the most important? But if so, in what way?
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:01 am)Happy New Year everyone. I see there weren’t many post last night. Where are the committed?
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:04 am)Toyota Solar Car?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474853,00.html
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:10 am)I read an interesting article on the future of oil. It suggests what all of us here suspect, oil is not going to be the most economical choice in the near future, with oil prices settling around $80. At that price, alternative energy’s will start to become viable.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=6432204
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:12 am)Happy New Year ! Woo hoo !
It’s hard to be grumpy today, even though it’s freezing here in the MD / PA area. It’s a bright, shiny new year, full of hope for the future.
In 19 days we get a new administration, who is certain to be more E-REV and BEV friendly than the old one. Obama will make everything better – I hope. Gas prices are at historic lows, putting a little more jingle in this Christmas. GM has enough money now, that it can limp along until the new administration comes in. Celulosic ethanol is being tested. We are close to solar cells that can be printed like an ink-jet printer at low cost. Even EEStor may pull a rabbit out of it’s hat and bring ultracaps to market. Everything seems possible on News Years Day.
Resolution: lose 30 pounds by years end (excess weight can lower the Volt’s range, LOL).
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:33 am)Happy New Year to all! Thank you Lyle for all the work you have done with this site. I can hardly wait to see what comes at the NAIAS this year. My hope is for Ford and Chrysler to have some sort of E-REV or all EV announcements and for GM to be showing an alternate version/s of their E-Flex platform. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking. I don’t know.
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:35 am)Best wishes to everybody on the forum and thanks to Lyle and all of you folks for making this an informative, entertaining and sometimes infuriating place to visit.
It warms the heart to see that so many people of so varied backgrounds and opinions can discuss these matters in a (mostly) adult manner.
Not bashing the fun and games gang…that’s why we keep tuning in!
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:48 am)Happy New Year!
Lyle, thanks for all the daily info on th Volt. Hopefully GM will pull the Volt launch into 2009!!!
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:58 am)Lyle, Happy New Year to you.
I can honestly say my life hasn’t been quite the same since discovering this site back in early days. Thank you for all you do.
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:59 am)To all of you. I have met some great people here. We can agree and disagree, but most of us get along just fine. I hope to meet you guys at a VoltNation rally someday.
Jan 1st, 2009 (12:01 pm)#3 NZDavid,
I am sorry for your loss. I hope that 2009 can bring some healing to you, my friend. I know it won’t be easy.
Jan 1st, 2009 (12:44 pm)#18 The Grump says “In 19 days we get a new administration, who is certain to be more E-REV and BEV friendly than the old one. Obama will make everything better”
——————————————————-
Or, maybe somebody will bring some E-REV or BEV cars to market that are good enough that people like them for what they are
Jan 1st, 2009 (12:44 pm)Happy New year
To all
Jan 1st, 2009 (12:47 pm)Happy New Year to Lyle and all my fellow Volt enthusiasts.
I year closer to the Volt release
=D~~
Jan 1st, 2009 (1:51 pm)Happy New Electricyear from Denmark
Our primeminister has just held his annual speech – he talked a lot about independence from oil and driving electric cars – this and the next generatiion will go green.
This is what he said :
With green energy from wind, biofuels, solar and other renewable sources.
With fine plus energy houses that produce more energy than they use.
With high-speed railways.
With modern and fast ELECTRIC CARS.
A year ago noboby would have thought a speech like this could come from our primeminister(from a rightwing party) !
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:21 pm)Happy New Year to all.
Looking forward to visiting Detroit Auto Show in couple of weeks and seeing the production model of the Volt, in person. For the Volt world this is a big year. Of course there are many other areas that I am hoping for improved changes. I am sure this will be an interesting year.
Lyle, thanks for keeping us all up to date on the latest Volt information. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:24 pm)Happy new year GM! Can’t wait to give you billions and billions of more of our tax money in 2009 so you can continue to make cars no one wants to buy.
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:32 pm)Happy New Year to Everyone around the globe on this site.
Lyle thanks for the site – I check it as often as possible and I believe that this technology will lead all countries toward energy independance and a better world. Thanks for leading this effort.
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:36 pm)Happy New Year to all! As a relatively new convert to this site I have really enjoyed my daily dose of Volt news and discussion. Thanks Lyle.
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:38 pm)Great Site and nice year, Last year only after the oil prices surge i started looking news on alternatives and this site was simply great !!
It gave me ideas ICE,phev ,EREV, BAS,EV , hybrids, battery’s and technologies and most important soft skills like How to beg money ( thanks to big 3 ) etc ..
Have a nice Year !!
Jan 1st, 2009 (2:46 pm)Happy New Year to All, It has been interesting reading the various opinions here. Thanks again Statik, paying attention to you I saved a bundle.
Jan 1st, 2009 (3:11 pm)Mama says this is GM’s final year.
It’s time to shut’er down.
Jan 1st, 2009 (3:36 pm)#28 Lars Hastrup Says: “A year ago nobody would have thought a speech like this could come from our prime minister(from a right wing party) !”
————————————————————————————–
All around the world, it seems that conservative and liberal politicians now both agree that dependence on oil is a big problem.
On the conservative side, dependence on foreign oil is a national security risk.
On the liberal side, dependence on oil creates greenhouse gases that will destroy our planet.
Either way, it’s becoming increasingly clear that using oil is not a good thing, and we should take some serious steps to avoid it…
Jan 1st, 2009 (3:46 pm)Thanks Lyle for running such a great web site. I’m a huge GM fan who sadly moved out of Michigan in 2008. I cannot wear my GM Volt T-shirt anywhere without someone asking me about the Volt or what I think. Most of the facts and figures I share with them I have gotten from this site. Thanks for keeping me informed about the Volt as well as the future of General Motors.
Long Live GM!!!
Jan 1st, 2009 (3:54 pm)Lyle,
Thanks for the work you put into this site. You and the contributors give me my daily “Volt fix”!
I am sure 2009 will be better than 2008. For example, in a few months, we’ll be seeing the Volt’s wheels on the road!
Happy New Year everyone.
LJGTVWOTR
=D~~~~
Jan 1st, 2009 (4:37 pm)I’m still driving my (now) 12 year old truck awaiting an electric car. Someday, maybe someday soon. Happy New Year Everyone!
Oh and # 30 I will gladly give GM and the working class many more Billions for products we use. At least the war machine is not taking it to kill. And maybe there won’t be enough left for the banking class to steal AGAIN.
Jan 1st, 2009 (5:20 pm)Happy New Year !
Volt is a great start. Hope I can get mine in a couple years.
Ford and Chrysler will be forced to come up with something competitive.
Volt will also put pressure on H and T and N to develop the kind of E Vehicles we want.
There will be a lot to chose from in just a few years.
Go Volt !
Jan 1st, 2009 (5:50 pm)Thanks for a great website “Volt Nation”.”Happy New Year” to all who visit this site.Both my vehicles are GM and yes they will last till our “Volts” get here.(both 91′s)I’m hoping the Lyle guy can get our names on a “Preferred Buyers List”(#62xx)
Jan 1st, 2009 (6:13 pm)Happy New Year to all! Hoping the new year brings good news of recovery for the American Auto industry and the pursuits of electric cars moving forward. These are both scary times and exciting times simultaneously. I’m so thankfull to have a site like this to go to where we have the common thread of interest being the promotion of electric cars. Thanks to Lyle for putting so much of his time into providing this “place” where we can meet daily and grow our knowledge of this subject, as well as even gaining a few friendships along the way. If this endeavor isn’t a success for just that reason alone, then I don’t know what is.
Wishing all of you the best!
Jan 1st, 2009 (6:51 pm)Thinking back over 2008, I am coming to the conclusion that the biggest Volt story was not one of the three listed in the post, but rather the post with the pictures of the GM execs together with the production Volt. That story created a huge uproar together with a tremendously intense follow-up discussion, pro as well as con. Whatever one’s judgment, it changed all our views of what the Volt would be.
The second most important post was when it seemed that GM was sliding into bankruptcy, with all the follow ups and ultimately the bail out.
The ones listed also were important, especially GM is a GO, and perhaps were selected because they were seen as more positive.
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:08 pm)Thanks and Kudos, Lyle, and a Happy/HEALTHY New Year for you and yours. It’d be hard to imagine a more diverse group (that hasn’t been committed and heavily medicated (JK)), which has maintained this level of civility for this length of time. Although most of us are looking forward to seeing a Volt’s wheels on the road, the means of achieving that goal are also spectacular in their diversity.
Thanks again for all you do.
NZDavid, I’m so sorry for your loss. The sense of loss gradually is overcome by an appreciation of that which was lost. Please be kind to yourself during that process.
Be well,
Tag
LJGTVWOTR!! NPNS
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:09 pm)#3 NZDavid
I’m sorry for your loss. 2008 was tough on me too. I lost my father in January. Around September, my extremely bright 10-year old son (who learned to read at age 2.5!) exhibited debilitating OCD. It has been a battle and we are trying to get him functional again. This site has been a good distraction for me and it is something my son follows, through me.
In 2009, I will turn 50! I don’t know if that is good or bad. I feel good.
Good luck to us all. I hope our nation can find the positive and build on it. We’ve had too much negativity for too long. N Riley has been saying good things about center-lefts. I will try to follow his example and be courteous to center-rights.
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:45 pm)We are half way to the Volt. Happy New Year everyone.
I think we should try to summarize GM-Volt top stories for every month since inception so that new members can get up to speed.
For instance:
Jun 08 MaliVolt
July 08 Lutz pink tie and interview gaffs.
Aug 08 was first leaked Volt Pictures and the ensuing discussion of new and old Volt design.
Sept 08 was New Volt revealed at GM 100th anniversary.
Oct 08 was first signs of Big three bankruptcy issue.
Nov 08 bailout or no bailout and Cruze/Volt in Washington.
Dec 08 Cheap oil’s effect on Volt and EVs in general.
Jan 1st, 2009 (8:50 pm)Thanks for all the hard work Lyle. Have a great 2009, There is nowhere to go from here for detroit but up. The auto industry has hit rock bottom (I hope), Detroit real estate is in the crapper, The Lions have the worst record in Football (but at least the season is over), and Budweiser is now a foreign beer company. Nothing but promise in 2009.
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:28 pm)Happy New Year all.
NZDavid—-take REAL good care of yourself. I lost my wife back in 92 to a heart attack. My doctor told me it would take about 5 years for me to get over it. I thought he was crazy. Well all my medical numbers went crazy. Blood pressure, blood sugar you name. He was right it took almost 5 years to get back to normal. Not to mention weight. Be careful and take care.
Take Care
Arch
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:49 pm)back to questions : I was reading
1) from some place “T shaped battery was a poor design and because of that GM has to introduce Ac for cooling batteres” . Volt also carries the same – why ?
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 : says EV1 series hybrid ( is volt same ? )
3) The hybrids page in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Vehicle_Drivetrains says “During long-distance highway driving, the combustion engine will need to supply the majority of the energy, in which case a series hybrid will be 20%-30% less efficient than a parallel hybrid.”
4) NiMH batteries is a cheveron patent, how Volt will go over the patent ?
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:56 pm)Reference #4,
Volt uses Lithium Ion, not NiMH.
Jan 1st, 2009 (10:59 pm)2008 is over, good riddins’…….. great job Lyle! Happy new year all!!
LJGTVWOTR
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:01 pm)Happy New Year to all.
Lyle, thanks for this site. You’ve created a place where people of common interest can share their views and opinions about what matters to them when it comes to the development of the Volt.
For 2009 I would like to see this site expand and serve as a place where GM Stock Holders can discuss useful recommendations for the company. You can accomplish this by allowing users to specify how many GM shares they own. The site could lend itself as a pre- GM Shareholder proposal discussion and polling tool. As a stock holder, who does not attend the company meetings in person, I feel that my vote is not always heard.
And remember 2009 = NPNS!
Jan 1st, 2009 (11:13 pm)“During long-distance highway driving, the combustion engine will need to supply the majority of the energy, in which case a series hybrid will be 20%-30% less efficient than a parallel hybrid.”
______________________________________
PARALLEL hybrid means an ASSIST design.
That term is incorrectly used here so often, it’s disheartening. For 2009, a Tech-FAQ really needs to finally be created here… for proper terminology and to address topics precisely like the one above.
POWER-SPLIT hybrid (also known as Series-Parallel) means a FULL design, like Prius.
Jan 2nd, 2009 (1:39 am)#49 Unni asks:
1) from some place “T shaped battery was a poor design and because of that GM has to introduce Ac for cooling batteries” . Volt also carries the same – why ?
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 : says EV1 series hybrid ( is volt same ? )
3) The hybrids page in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Vehicle_Drivetrains says “During long-distance highway driving, the combustion engine will need to supply the majority of the energy, in which case a series hybrid will be 20%-30% less efficient than a parallel hybrid.”
4) NiMH batteries is a chevron patent, how Volt will go over the patent ?
————————————————————————————–
Answers:
1) I don’t think the T-shape has anything to do with cooling. All batteries get hot when charging / discharging due to efficiency losses. Car batteries also have to work on very hot days. So a big car battery may have significant cooling issues. GM decided early on to be conservative and use liquid cooling for the battery. But then later during testing, GM said the battery worked even without circulating liquid cooling, so this may change in future versions of the Volt.
2) Yes, GM experimented with a few EV1 series hybrids. These had a gas turbine engine in the trunk. It wasn’t really well thought out, just a design afterthought to deal with the range anxiety issues of the EV1.
3) The same hybrids page says “An advantage of a series hybrid is the lack of a mechanical link between the combustion engine and the wheels. The combustion engine can be run at a constant and efficient rate, even as the car changes speed; closer to the theoretical limit of 37%, rather than the current average of 20%. At low or mixed speeds this could result in ~50% increase in overall efficiency.”
Note that GM is using a few different constant RPMs for the Volt’s ICE depending on the driving scenario to achieve maximum efficiency.
4) The Volt uses a special Lithium Ion battery. Unlike laptop batteries and cell phone batteries, the Volt’s Li/Ion batteries do not explode when they rupture. The most dramatic example of this was the KillaCycle accident, where the A123 battery pack ruptured, and nothing happened. The LG Chem battery chemistry has similar safety features.
Jan 2nd, 2009 (5:45 am)I asked about Volt battery cooling when at the L.A. car show. The spokeswoman said the cell is designed to cool well. I don’t want to get into specifics as the entire world reads this thread and the design information may be sensitive.
We also read Lyle’s post concerning the cooling pump contract. I have worked with similar pumps and find that they do very well unless foreign matter somehow works it’s way into the cooling line. It then becomes a filter life issue. The pumps I worked with transfer fluid ranging from 50 degrees to about 180 degrees.
This car is going to be good. I just hope the sticker price doesn’t cause buyer paralysis.
=D~
Jan 2nd, 2009 (6:43 am)Dave K says: This car is going to be good. I just hope the sticker price doesn’t cause buyer paralysis.
Me too brother, me too! Still looking on the bright side, I might be able to pay cash for a Prius. hehe.
Statik, Rashiid, Tagamet, ThombDbhomb, Arch. Thanks for your support, it means a lot at this time.
GM if you care, announce the battery contract already!
And give Lyle a bl&&%y test drive darn it.
Jan 2nd, 2009 (7:12 am)Off Topic: I can see why GMAC got into trouble, going by the following.
Investors filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan on Tuesday against Ascot Partners, a New York City money-management firm that acted as a middleman between Madoff and investors; the firm’s managing partner, J. Ezra Merkel, who is also chairman of automotive and real-estate financing firm GMAC; and its auditor, BDO Seidman.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/17/news/parloff_madoff.fortune/?postversion=2008121715
Jan 2nd, 2009 (11:52 am)This reminds me of Jean-Charles Jacquemin and his comments about a world community which bypasses traditional compromised and manipulated communications channels. So I guess all of you are sort of world wide “urban pioneeers”. Hooray for you!
Happiest of New Years to all.
#3 NZDavid:
I too am deeply sorry for your loss. We are facing a similar tragedy in our family, and it does help to see that all of us around the world face similar challenges. I share your hope and optimism that 2009 will be better than 2008.
LJGTVWOTR!! NPNS!
#57 NZDavid:
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
Forrest Gump
Jan 2nd, 2009 (2:29 pm)#18 “Obama will make everything better…I hope”
Yeah sure, he will. He’s proposing to do the same things that got us into this mess. Print money and spend our way out of this; Carbon credits…a made up industry rife with inefficiency and inviting graft (modern day dot.com nonsense); wind farms…limited utility, eyesores, infrastruture (transmission lines) lacking, there seems to be a problem with blades disintegrating; solar panels…have you priced an feasible array lately (I have), expensive, payback – never, life expectancy – who knows (diminishing efficiency over time); corn ethanol, unless its cellulosic it’s the worlds stupidist idea; let’s not do nuclear (despite new processes which eliminate the meltdown threat). I want an electric car because at its root it is a most efficient system, once the battery issue is resolved. Electric motors last forever and there not a thousand moving parts. I don’t want Obama’s or anyone’s Govt designing my car and insisting I buy one through tax policy and subsidies. GOVERNMENT does nothing well and in fact politician’s have a knack for making matters worse. Between Obama’s health care proposals and energy policies the costs for these necessities will skyrocket. There are geniuses out in this country with solutions; let’s provide incentives and let the free market work, for once. In the long term a combination of all energy sources (coal, wind, sun, oil, alt fuels) is necessary. Cheap energy is a REQUIREMENT for a functioning society…unless we outlaw the poor and middle class. There, my rant for the New Year.
Jan 2nd, 2009 (5:23 pm)Let us hope for a good third year for gm-volt.com. It has certainly been an interesting ride thus far. Good luck and thanks, Lyle.
Jan 2nd, 2009 (7:10 pm)Obama will definitely fix everything with this Bush economy.
I will be waiting for my Volt benefits provided by the man.
Go Obama Go.
Jan 6th, 2009 (2:55 am)Congratulations Dr. Lyle on the web site’s 3rd anniversary! Keep up the excellent work!
Jan 9th, 2009 (3:36 am)Thanks Noel #58
I only saw your post today when I sorted my infos.
I have been quite bust those days and was not able to read all the comments.
One of my colleagues just wrote a book on the new media power of the blogs. She recognizes that the traditional media are by and large under the control of economic and/or political parties power and that their independence may be contested. She adds that professional journalists may become too involved with the subjects they investigate.
So the blogs reinvent the ways of democracy through – often artificial – national borders, and are a way towards the postnationalism of the modern world. That is a world in which you choose the nation you want to belong to and not where you are determined by your birth, blood, religion, language, etc.
Exactly what Lyle did with the Volt Nation.
Regards,
JC