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	<title>Comments on: GM VP Troy Clarke on Why GM Doesn&#8217;t Have a Strong Hybrid Sedan</title>
	<atom:link href="http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/</link>
	<description>Real-time news, information, and discussion about the Chevrolet Volt.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:33:05 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>By: Michael Robinson</title>
		<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/#comment-94920</link>
		<dc:creator>Michael Robinson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:24:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gm-volt.com/?p=1470#comment-94920</guid>
		<description>The Chevy Volt hydrogen is the future.  Fuel cells are not fool
cells.  First off, fuel cells are coming way down in price as the
expensive platinum catalyst will be replaced by carbon nanotubes.
Second, there are many safe ways to store hydrogen on a vehicle
in large quantities other than the current compressed gas tanks
which are safe.  Third, all you need is water and aluminum or aluminum and hydrochloric acid to get hydrogen.  There are other non electrolysis means of getting hydrogen as well that involve using bacteria.

Hydrogen is the best choice because water is the most abundant
resource on earth.  As solar cells get better, electrolysis will
become more practical but so also will solar cracking of water.

Batteries have a problem, they take a long time to recharge and they wear out posing a pending environmental disaster when they are disposed of.  Go to http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/ if you don&#039;t believe in fuel cell cars and be amazed by what you see.
Fuel cells simply need to be supplied with hydrogen and they&#039;ll
continue to crank out power.  Current fuel cells that use platinum
have about a 50k mile lifespan, but that should get better.  Keep 
in mind that fuel cells have been getting smaller and more 
powerful over time.  A fuel cell stack that will run a car now is 
about the size of mid tower ATX computer case.

Ethanol and biodiesel can be reformed to produce hydrogen 
fairly efficiently.

I wish Oregon would get off the pot and build some hydrogen 
fueling stations so that fuel cell vehicles can be tested here.

Lithium ION batteries can explode and one should realize that
the weight savings from using Lithium are lost when you build
a battery.  A moderate size NiMH battery and a fuel cell make 
more sense to me.

Apparently all the hydrogen that is needed for fuel cell vehicles
and half the power that the U.S. needs on a daily basis could
be supplied by Wind farms strategically placed in high wind 
areas.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Chevy Volt hydrogen is the future.  Fuel cells are not fool<br />
cells.  First off, fuel cells are coming way down in price as the<br />
expensive platinum catalyst will be replaced by carbon nanotubes.<br />
Second, there are many safe ways to store hydrogen on a vehicle<br />
in large quantities other than the current compressed gas tanks<br />
which are safe.  Third, all you need is water and aluminum or aluminum and hydrochloric acid to get hydrogen.  There are other non electrolysis means of getting hydrogen as well that involve using bacteria.</p>
<p>Hydrogen is the best choice because water is the most abundant<br />
resource on earth.  As solar cells get better, electrolysis will<br />
become more practical but so also will solar cracking of water.</p>
<p>Batteries have a problem, they take a long time to recharge and they wear out posing a pending environmental disaster when they are disposed of.  Go to <a href="http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/</a> if you don&#8217;t believe in fuel cell cars and be amazed by what you see.<br />
Fuel cells simply need to be supplied with hydrogen and they&#8217;ll<br />
continue to crank out power.  Current fuel cells that use platinum<br />
have about a 50k mile lifespan, but that should get better.  Keep<br />
in mind that fuel cells have been getting smaller and more<br />
powerful over time.  A fuel cell stack that will run a car now is<br />
about the size of mid tower ATX computer case.</p>
<p>Ethanol and biodiesel can be reformed to produce hydrogen<br />
fairly efficiently.</p>
<p>I wish Oregon would get off the pot and build some hydrogen<br />
fueling stations so that fuel cell vehicles can be tested here.</p>
<p>Lithium ION batteries can explode and one should realize that<br />
the weight savings from using Lithium are lost when you build<br />
a battery.  A moderate size NiMH battery and a fuel cell make<br />
more sense to me.</p>
<p>Apparently all the hydrogen that is needed for fuel cell vehicles<br />
and half the power that the U.S. needs on a daily basis could<br />
be supplied by Wind farms strategically placed in high wind<br />
areas.</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: M1EK</title>
		<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/#comment-93975</link>
		<dc:creator>M1EK</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:05:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gm-volt.com/?p=1470#comment-93975</guid>
		<description>Paul-R, picking the most recent months&#039; data and comparing the Prius against the two cars closest to it in size is the exact opposite of cherry-picking. 

A far more likely conclusion to draw is that cheap is selling better than expensive (with Camry down by much more than Corolla). Prius is expensive compared to Corolla. (This leaves Yaris as the outlier, but then again, it&#039;s a piece of crap).</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Paul-R, picking the most recent months&#8217; data and comparing the Prius against the two cars closest to it in size is the exact opposite of cherry-picking. </p>
<p>A far more likely conclusion to draw is that cheap is selling better than expensive (with Camry down by much more than Corolla). Prius is expensive compared to Corolla. (This leaves Yaris as the outlier, but then again, it&#8217;s a piece of crap).</p>
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		<title>By: Paul-R</title>
		<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/#comment-93812</link>
		<dc:creator>Paul-R</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gm-volt.com/?p=1470#comment-93812</guid>
		<description>M1EK, you seem to be cherry-picking statistics in order to support your point, and you haven&#039;t yet explained November&#039;s huge Prius drop.

Also, here is another article that seems to agree with Mr Clarke:

http://www.hybridcars.com/decision-process/toyota-gets-aggressive-prius-sales-25447.html

From that article...

&quot;In the first half of 2008, the Toyota Prius was selling like hotcakes. But sales considerably cooled off as gas prices dropped in the last months of the year. As a result, Toyota is now offering tried-and-true dealer incentives, and customer perks, to stimulate sales.  According to Automotive News, a trade publication, dealers will get a $750 “spiff” for every 2009 Prius they can sell. &quot;

I think those new incentives and spiffs artificially propped up the Prius for January 2009, bringing it inline with your statistics.  Here are some additional January stats that I cherry-picked:

Camry down 34.2%.  Camry-hybrid down 69.6%.
Civic down 32.4%.  Civic-hybrid down 38.3%.
Escape/Mariner down 25.0%.  Escape/Mariner-hybrid down 40.3%.


In short, you have a lot more stats to explain if you want me to agree with your allegation that Mr Clarke is a liar.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>M1EK, you seem to be cherry-picking statistics in order to support your point, and you haven&#8217;t yet explained November&#8217;s huge Prius drop.</p>
<p>Also, here is another article that seems to agree with Mr Clarke:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hybridcars.com/decision-process/toyota-gets-aggressive-prius-sales-25447.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.hybridcars.com/decision-process/toyota-gets-aggressive-prius-sales-25447.html</a></p>
<p>From that article&#8230;</p>
<p>&#8220;In the first half of 2008, the Toyota Prius was selling like hotcakes. But sales considerably cooled off as gas prices dropped in the last months of the year. As a result, Toyota is now offering tried-and-true dealer incentives, and customer perks, to stimulate sales.  According to Automotive News, a trade publication, dealers will get a $750 “spiff” for every 2009 Prius they can sell. &#8221;</p>
<p>I think those new incentives and spiffs artificially propped up the Prius for January 2009, bringing it inline with your statistics.  Here are some additional January stats that I cherry-picked:</p>
<p>Camry down 34.2%.  Camry-hybrid down 69.6%.<br />
Civic down 32.4%.  Civic-hybrid down 38.3%.<br />
Escape/Mariner down 25.0%.  Escape/Mariner-hybrid down 40.3%.</p>
<p>In short, you have a lot more stats to explain if you want me to agree with your allegation that Mr Clarke is a liar.</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: M1EK</title>
		<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/#comment-93765</link>
		<dc:creator>M1EK</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gm-volt.com/?p=1470#comment-93765</guid>
		<description>Paul-R, the Prius was down 28.6% in January 2009, which compared to the overall drop in car sales, is within a standard deviation - not a disproportionate drop. Exactly what I said. (Camry was down 34%; Corolla down 11% for comparison).

In January, the Prius was just outside the top 10 in vehicle sales. Again, without fleets, GM would be thrilled if they had a couple more car models (rather than truck) selling that well.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Paul-R, the Prius was down 28.6% in January 2009, which compared to the overall drop in car sales, is within a standard deviation &#8211; not a disproportionate drop. Exactly what I said. (Camry was down 34%; Corolla down 11% for comparison).</p>
<p>In January, the Prius was just outside the top 10 in vehicle sales. Again, without fleets, GM would be thrilled if they had a couple more car models (rather than truck) selling that well.</p>
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		<title>By: john1701a</title>
		<link>http://gm-volt.com/2009/02/02/gm-vp-troy-clarke-on-why-gm-doesnt-have-a-strong-hybrid-sedan/#comment-93716</link>
		<dc:creator>john1701a</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:54:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gm-volt.com/?p=1470#comment-93716</guid>
		<description>&lt;i&gt;I don’t think the new 2010 Prius would impact that delta, since it’s not radically better than the current Prius.&lt;/i&gt;
_______________________________

Generation 2 of Volt will likely be portrayed the same way... nothing radical, just a wide array of moderate improvements.

I&#039;ve seen the 2010 Prius.  It most definitely fits that criteria, improving many features compared to my 2004 with 112,000 miles on it.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><i>I don’t think the new 2010 Prius would impact that delta, since it’s not radically better than the current Prius.</i><br />
_______________________________</p>
<p>Generation 2 of Volt will likely be portrayed the same way&#8230; nothing radical, just a wide array of moderate improvements.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve seen the 2010 Prius.  It most definitely fits that criteria, improving many features compared to my 2004 with 112,000 miles on it.</p>
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