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Chevy Volt Console Display Data Review, and Car Won’t Drive While Plugged in

February 14th, 2009 | Posted in: Features, Interior

Cars.com gave a review of the information that is expected to be displayed on the Chevy Volt’s 7 inch center console touch screen LCD display. I suspect at this point the final information rendered in the production car is still under revision. Reviewed is what the show car illustrates on its screen as it flips through a pre-recorded DVD:

1. The graphic renderings are described as being bluish, curvy, Nintendo Wii-like and show that state you are in, EV or range-extended. The screen will appear different depending on which of the two modes the car is in.

2. Vehicle speed, battery level, and fuel level

3. Braking, acceleration , and tire pressure meters

4. While plugged in, the screen will show how much more time until full charge is attained and whether at 110V or 220V

5. Stereo, A/C and optional navigation

6. A climate control efficiency gauge

7. An extensive menu to to program charging start and end times

And finally, the author got the answer to a question people have been asking for a long time here on GM-Volt.com, the Volt cannot be driven while it is still plugged in.

Source (Cars.com)

Posted by: Lyle

124 Responses to “Chevy Volt Console Display Data Review, and Car Won’t Drive While Plugged in”

hayley Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:03 am

I’m not liking the interface too much… I’m not a graphics designer so I can’t say how it could be better but it just leaves me unsatisfied… Plus the letters are pretty small, I know I will have to squint and concentrate to see it, distracting from the road

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:03 am

This display can be a very nice feature. I hope it comes to include a lot of technical data about the ICE and electrical system, including motor, battery, current state, time projected to depletion, and remaining distances..

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:09 am

Note to GM – Most people hate digital speedometers. When my wife test-drove the Prius, that was a deal-breaker.

It would be so easy to provide a user selectable mode for an analog style dial or linear meter on the LCD display behind the steering wheel.

Please!!!!

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:17 am

From the article: “…the Volt cannot be driven while it is still plugged in.”
————————————————————————————–
What exactly does “plugged in” mean?
• What if the cable is plugged in to the car, but not plugged in on the other side?
• What if the cable is plugged in on both sides, but not quite all the way on the Volt side?
• What if the cable is fully plugged in on both sides, but a switch is turned off somewhere, so there is no power on the cord?

Any details appreciated.

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:40 am

“And finally, the author got the answer to a question people have been asking for a long time here on GM-Volt.com, the Volt cannot be driven while it is still plugged in.”

Crap. I guess I will be taking back that truck load of extension cords to Home Depot.

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NZDavid Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:43 am

Dave G. If the door to the charge port is open, the car won’t move. If the plug, or anything else, is obstructing the door it will not close and the car will not move.

Good to see the tyre pressure meters. Correct pressure will have a marked impact on range.

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:46 am

#111 (previous thread) Keerthi Says: It looks like the plug-in credit limit is being increased from 250,000 to 200,000 per manufacturer.
http://www.calcars.org/calcars-news/1046.html
————————————————————————————
If you read the new legislation passed last night,
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/h1/Recovery_Bill_Div_B.pdf
(starting at page 50)
it also requires a minimum battery capacity of 5 kWh. This is up from the 4 kWh in the previous bill. I believe the Toyota Prius Plug-in being fleet tested later this year has less than 5 kWh, so this implies it would not be eligible for the minimum $2500 PHEV tax credit.

john1701a, can you confirm or deny this?

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Estero Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:48 am

Guess I’m not one of the “most people” because I actually prefer digital speedometers over the analog style. But, I would agree with Dave G — the driver should have the capability to display the speedometer style of his/her choosing behind the steering wheel.

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:52 am

#6 NZDavid Says: “If the door to the charge port is open, the car won’t move.”
————————————————————————————–
Yes, we’ve been assuming a charge port cover sensor/switch for quite a while, but this was never confirmed by GM. Do you have confirmation?

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TALLPALL Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:04 am

Wakey Wakey… *** 654 Day’s to go ***

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Tim Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:31 am

Statists are trying to outlaw cell phone use and consuming food in cars because it distracts the drivers.

I wonder if the Central Planners will force GM to program this screen into a certain “fixed” configuration or make it text to speech while the car is in motion so it doesn’t distract the driver. They can easily do this now that GM has accepted THEIR money.

They are just trying to protect us from ourselves like any good “big brother” should.

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Tim Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:35 am

Oh, by the way…

In order to receive a tax credit for a new car, you first have to GET the credit required to BUY the new car in the first place and have the income to make the payments.

Credit is kind of hard to come by these days and so is the job. I hear the Gov’t is hiring, and hiring, and hiring…

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Jim I Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:39 am

Personally, I like digital displays….

But I am also sure that the main speedometer would not be on the center console display. That would just be for the passengers and data collection, don’t you think???

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:41 am

#9 Dave G says
Yes, we’ve been assuming a charge port cover sensor/switch for quite a while, but this was never confirmed by GM. Do you have confirmation?
———————————————-
If there is a sensor switch in the cover, and if the cover is a sliding cover, the switch will be a point of failure in bad weather once cars are two or three years old. To have a fully charged car sitting there in front of you and not being able to go to work (or go home) when you are in a hurry because of this switch is really going to be infuriating.

Maybe that is not going to happen, but with a switch in the cover, it will.

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:43 am

I believe I am now understanding what our govt is communicating to the masses. I found that trick was to first install the Babel-Fish device and adjust the volume, accordingly.

The Babel-Fish translated Obama’s first network broadcast to the nation as:
“We are in a crap load of trouble! I have Deep Thought working a solution 24/7, and we believe $42 Trillion may be the answer.”.

PS: I tried my Babel-Fish with George Bush, but it required the use of a special two-stage Babel-Fish device, which I was not in the possesion of.

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am

#7 Dave G said “..If you read the new legislation passed last night,..”
——————————————–

I smiled when I read this.
No one has read the new legislation, not even those voting “yes”.

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:47 am

#13 Jim I Says: “But I am also sure that the main speedometer would not be on the center console display. That would just be for the passengers and data collection, don’t you think???”
————————————————————————————–
The Volt has two 7″ LCD displays. The one on the center console is touch sensitive, and essentially deals with non-critical information. The 7″ LCD display behind the steering wheel has the speedometer, fuel gauge, etc.

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:49 am

#10 TALLPALL says “Wakey Wakey… *** 654 Day’s to go *** ”
—————————————–

What exactly are you thinking will happen in 654 days?

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:49 am

#15 JEC,
LOL!

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:56 am

9 Dave G
“Yes, we’ve been assuming a charge port cover sensor/switch for quite a while, but this was never confirmed by GM. Do you have confirmation?”
——————————————————————————–
I first thought, that the interlocking mechanism, would simply sense if voltage was applied to prevent operation of the car, but then what if the person is plugged in and for some reason the input power was off (tripped breaker, pulled plug from wall socket,…).

So my next guess may be redundant detection, like a switch on the sliding cover, along with voltage sense. This would be fairly simple and inexpensive solution.

“Never make any mechanism simple, when a way can be found to make it complex and wonderful!”

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john1701a Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:00 am

This is up from the 4 kWh in the previous bill. I believe the Toyota Prius Plug-in being fleet tested later this year has less than 5 kWh, so this implies it would not be eligible for the minimum $2500 PHEV tax credit.
_________________________________

The fleet capacity hasn’t been announced yet, since the intended Li-Ion still isn’t in production yet. The prototypes used NiMH because they were readily available and the current model didn’t have as high operational tolerances as the 2010 anyway.

As for the bill, yes it was 4. But upon getting details of the 2010, being able to take advantage of a 5 should be a pretty easy sale. In fact, that’s the reason details about Volt are so critical. GM has to be extremely clear about what’s being delivered. Setting consumer expectations properly in a market suddenly offering a choice of plug-in vehicles will be a challenge… especially with such a well established hybrid as Prius.

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sudhaman Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:02 am

this is a very good thing. the details will really be helpful to us . what if we some luxury like having lcd display at the back and an ability to have an xbox 360 or ps2 to play for ur kids at the back. that would be still cool. but that may make a bit expensive. may be subsequent version may have this facility of plugging videogames if this volt is a real success

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:03 am

#16 RB Says: “No one has read the new legislation, not even those voting “yes”.”
————————————————————————————–
Republicans say that no Senator or Congressman has read this bill. While this is technically true, it’s deceiving, since their staff have read the bill and reported any changes from the last version, which most Senators and Congressmen have read.

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MarkinWI Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:06 am

I’m not thrilled with the graphic display (driving into the horizon, a little picture of a tire). I need to see numbers. I don’t need to be looking at pictures. I’m supposed to be driving amongst other real people, not playing a video game amongst those that I can mow down with impunity.

DaveG at 23: Exactly. The news item is when one of them actually reads a bill.

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:08 am

This is going to be a real nit-pick post, you’ve been warned.

If you look at the display for setting the charge start and end time, they display the numbers “12 through 11″ twice. Once for the PM selection and once for the AM selection. I do have quite a lot of experience in developing User Interfaces, especially touchscreen interfaces. You really want to make the soft-buttons as big as possible, and restrict the number to as few as possible. That being said, I would definitely eliminate the redundant numerics, and just make the AM and PM select what they are supposed to select (poorly worded, but hope you understand).

This will allow you to make the 12 through 11 soft buttons larger and eliminates all the “clutter” on the display. Also, ordering the numbers in normal sequence (1-12) may be more natural for most people.

I said this was a nit pick session

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Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:16 am

#14 RB Says: If there is a sensor switch in the cover, and if the cover is a sliding cover, the switch will be a point of failure in bad weather once cars are two or three years old.
————————————————————————————–
Yes. I hope they design it to last 10 years or more in all types of weather. It’s the little things that affect reliability.

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Harrier 1970 Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:21 am

As a graphic designer I feel that this design sucks. I hope that some enterprising computer hackers and GUI designers out there can get together to program their own OS for the Volt that has a simpler, more elegant design. For now, we are stuck with what they give us.

I look at this layout and I don’t know what to look at…what is really important? Why the F%^K is there a picture of a road on the left? Did I forget that I am in a car? The driver should only be glancing over (i.e. the design should reflect one person in the vehicle to read the display and should assume that they are driving). Big, bold and simple… I should be able to get all the information off that screen in less than 2 seconds.

GM should have contacted Apple to write this software. Engineers suck at user interface.

My two cents.

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:22 am

I think someone asked this many posts ago, but what is the M in the P R N D M?

Park
Reverse
Nuetral
Drive
Mountain?

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:28 am

7 Dave G
“it also requires a minimum battery capacity of 5 kWh. This is up from the 4 kWh in the previous bill. I believe the Toyota Prius Plug-in being fleet tested later this year has less than 5 kWh, so this implies it would not be eligible for the minimum $2500 PHEV tax credit.”
———————————————————————————-
I would think it likely, that Toyota would up the size of its battery a little, to get the credit. Assuming they can squeeze in the extended size.

This would give them better mileage and may cost the consumer less, even at $1,000/Kw-hr, going from 4 to 5 Kw-hr, would add $1,000, but then you get to subtract $2,500, and have a $1,500 savings, along with more battery. Sounds like a winner to me.

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TALLPALL Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:32 am

#18 RB

What exactly are you thinking will happen in 654 days?

_____________________________

Why? What do you think is going to happen in November 2010???

That is when i am HOPING to see a Volt on the road…

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:35 am

22 sudaham
“what if we some luxury like having lcd display at the back and an ability to have an xbox 360 or ps2 to play for ur kids at the back.”
—————————————————————————–
I would say just go to Best Buy and purchase a inexpensive car mount DVD player.

Installing high-end electronics in a car is both expensive and is quickly obsolete. That is why I would actually never design in all this graphical monitors and such into the Volt. You will find, that within a couple years that your Volt looks like an ancient relic. The use of true analog gauges, done correctly, will eliminate the obsolescence issue.

JMHO.

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Shawn Marshall Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:38 am

The road picture is for future GPS guidance systems and collision avoidance radar images. This car is GMs future. It’s going to do 100mph highway with guidance and collision avoidance to give you carefree and accident free driving. This will save 40,000 lives per year in the USA alone.
GM is thinking way ahead of all you wonks who think they only make big union contracts and Vaporware cars.

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:39 am

#27 Harrier 1970

“GM should have contacted Apple to write this software. Engineers suck at user interface.”
———————————————————————————
So you want Apples engineers, to write this? huh? Are they not “Engineers”?

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xed Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am

I agree with many of the folks here; I think the interface stinks but I really don’t care. It’s not like we’re talking about an immutable physical object; it’s a display screen and it can present anything in any way. They’ll get a little focus group of people together and sit them in the car and then those people will tell them it stinks and then they’ll fix it.

I fully expect there to be multiple “skins” for the display. Some folks have bad eyesight and are going to want to see less info presented in a big clear easy to read way. Other folks will want to see a billion technical details on their screen. I have faith that GM will satisfy all their needs by providing a small set of basics skins that can then have info either added or removed.

- and on the subject of the car not working while it thinks it’s plugged in (or the plug latch is open)… I foresee little punks walking by volts and screwing around with the plugin door to be a potential issue. Solution: allow the plugin door to only be opened by pressing a button while inside the car. (Maybe this is already the way it is but I shutter to think of the plugin door being able to be flipped open by anyone outside the car)

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CDAVIS Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:11 am

______________________________________________________
Repost:
Electronics Engineering Tip for GM:

Keep the electronic instrumentation relevant and simple. Don’t try to develop the “be all” set of GUI wiz-bangs. Instead allow for some type of electronic interface that will allow the geeks of the world to (open source) do that for you; there are way more of them than you that would be happy to do that. Provide a site (i.e. gm-volt.com) where one can download versions of GM-VOLT GUI. As an illustration, do what is being done w/ Word Press & Face Book. Provide the subsystem w/ a minimal GUI and allow others to develop elaborate versions of the extended GUI.
______________________________________________________
Electric Cars + Nuclear Energy = American Energy Independence!
______________________________________________________

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RLM Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am

1. I also prefer digital speed displays. My last car was a ‘97 Park Avenue with Heads-up display of digital speed, a feature I sorely miss.

2. GM provides there displays with reduced intensity at night and brighter display when the sun comes up. At dawn and dusk the displays are hard to read. I would appreciate a button to increase the brightness of the display for 15 or 20 minutes when the sensor is fooled.

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unni Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:28 am

#33 thanks for asking, i was to ask the same .

#34
GM should give skin developers guide and that collect all approved skins in an app store. so that people can download with software updates.

Lyle , kool pics and good post

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Red HHR Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:29 am

Happy Valentines Day,

At a secure undisclosed location…

It is rumored that California Senators. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstien were allowed to sample a Candy apple red Volt with a buttery smooth chocolate interior…

This was the latest version of the Volt mule provided to the government for evaluation before the bailout loan. It included the newest interface along with an updated interior that resembled the interior from the Converj. The outer body panels are still of the Cruze body style. It is not known how many mules the government has in its possession.

Testing is underway to evaluate the Volts potential to become part of the US energy policy. GM is trying to make a favorable impression and is providing them with the latest of developments.

Senator Fienstien was impressed by what she described as the “Rich Corinthian Leather” and Senator Boxer made some suggestions for the console display, they included how you can benefit the State of California by driving the Volt. Also she made some unknown suggestions for the OnStar capabilities to be expanded.

Both Senators were reported to have taken the wheel for a short period of time. Asked how they liked it, they replied that they really do not have much experience driving, however it was very entertaining and they were glad the area was clear of obstacles. They also reported the drive was smooth and the AC worked well! Senator Feinstien said she had people that were more experienced than her evaluating the performance of the new car.

Red HHR (with a box of chocolates)

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Dave B Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:31 am

RLM @36,

Good point about the HUD. I loved that about their ‘03 Vette (I think was the last one I drove) which I absolutely loved. That’s a feature that could save a lot of tacky looking space on the dash instead of it looking like a Nintendo Wi… But perhaps they will incorporate some sort of a HUD.

(Quote)
Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:35 am

#29 JEC Says: “I would think it likely, that Toyota would up the size of its battery a little, to get the credit. Assuming they can squeeze in the extended size.”
————————————————————————————–
When they were doing the PHEV credit last year, I remember Toyota lobbied hard to get it down to 4 kWh.

As I understand it, the Prius PHEV is an option that uses a Li/Ion pack of the same size and shape as the standard NiMH pack. If true, Toyota may be hard pressed to makes the new minimum 5 kWh PHEV $2500 tax credit.

These little details really matter. Assuming the Prius PHEV is less than 5 kWh, if the Volt costs around $35K before tax credits, and the Toyota PHEV option adds $4K to the Prius, then the Volt and the Prius PHEV would cost about the same.

(Quote)
JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am

Signs the economy is on a path to recovery:

1) Stimulus package ready to be deployed (well, they need to do something)

2) Spring tends to bring people out. Purchases of new cars and homes are on persons minds, if they can just get that credit approved.

3) Statik is putting his money into the market (I see this as the most encouraging sign yet!)

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:39 am

#26 Dave G says
#14 RB Says: If there is a sensor switch in the cover, and if the cover is a sliding cover, the switch will be a point of failure in bad weather once cars are two or three years old.
————————————————————————————–
Yes. I hope they design it to last 10 years or more in all types of weather. It’s the little things that affect reliability.
=============================================

Yes, I agree, it is the little things that are most likely to be overlooked and the little things that are the most frustrating, especially if some little failure means you can’t drive the car.

I have an older model Buick that has a nice cover over the trunk lock. Looks good, and the idea is that you slide the cover over the key hole back to unlock the trunk of the car. Then there is an “automatic” switch (really a simple mechanical switch) that moves the cover back into place when you take the key out. The problem is that it has never worked like that for more than a few months at a time. The original one stopped working when the car was about 6 months old and was replaced under warranty. Then its replacement stopped working about a year later. Then the 2nd replacement, which I had to pay the dealer for, parts and labor, stopped working a few months after that. At that point I gave up. The good part is that the cover over the key hole for the trunk did not affect anything about starting or driving. But even though it is a little point, it always has affected my view of GM and its reliability —- can’t make that switch work even on the 3rd try.

So that was then and this is now, and the Volt may have a different switch for a different purpose. I can imagine the same sort of attitude toward the switch on the volt charger cover, that it is a minor item that should be very low cost to make, resulting in a legacy design and execution. Well I hope not.

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Arch Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:40 am

One person speaks out.

http://www.hybridcars.com/news/long-time-gm-consultant-chevy-volt-wont-save-company-25553.html

Take Care
Arch

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Estero Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:42 am

#17 Dave G said:

The Volt has two 7″ LCD displays. The one on the center console is touch sensitive, and essentially deals with non-critical information. The 7″ LCD display behind the steering wheel has the speedometer, fuel gauge, etc.
_____

There is no doubt my wife would like a digital speedometer on the center console — she would be much less likely to get a crink in her neck watching the driver’s console!

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theflew Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:43 am

These displays were samples running on a loop. We doln’t know what the final display is giong to look like. And I imagine they will/do have graphical/UI designers. I don’t think you would waste all this time building a revolutionary drivetrain to make the part of the car you actually interface with suck.

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RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:50 am

#23 Dave G said
#16 RB Says: “No one has read the new legislation, not even those voting “yes”.”
————————————————————————————–
Republicans say that no Senator or Congressman has read this bill. While this is technically true, it’s deceiving, since their staff have read the bill and reported any changes from the last version, which most Senators and Congressmen have read.
===========================================

So I hope all the Democrats have actually read the bill carefully and thought through its likely consequences. My senator and rep are Democrats. I am not confident. Did they understand the consequences of Dodd’s pay limits in the bill? (that even the Obama administration opposed) I very much doubt it. They are just fast readers. (Yes, I know, we elected them.) My senator and rep are party loyalists and voted the way the leadership told them.

(Quote)
Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:54 am

Dave G@23 said
“#16 RB Says: “No one has read the new legislation, not even those voting “yes”.”
————————————————————————————–
Republicans say that no Senator or Congressman has read this bill. While this is technically true, it’s deceiving, since their staff have read the bill and reported any changes from the last version, which most Senators and Congressmen have read.”

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

Please help me understand why this landmark legislation was only provided in print form, and not a PDF document. Someone typed the hard-copy of the Bill, so why not a (searchable) pdf?
Be well,
Tag
LJGTVWOTR

PS” Maybe the M stands for “Maybe”

(Quote)
statik Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am

RE: New legislation & Prius PHEV

I don’t think there is anyway that the Prius does not hit the minimum requirment to hit the benchmark. They aren’t just going to throw away free money.

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Right Lane Cruiser Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:20 am

About the plug sensing… It is relatively simple to do a conductivity test within the socket itself. This would allow the car to determine whether or not something is in the socket; sufficient for this feature as you wouldn’t want to drive the car with anything in that socket at all — powered or not. We already know there will be voltage sensing circuitry in the vehicle as it can determine whether it is attached to 110V or 220V… or 0V. This is sufficient for warning that the car isn’t receiving charge because there isn’t a connection.

There will almost certainly be a switch on the charge port door, but I expect it will not be any more functional than the one currently found on gas flap doors… which generally just flash a warning at you.

(Quote)
George K Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am

We also need some kind of indication from the outside when the car is thru charging. Many won’t always charge on the console schedule (or may not remember it), but want to know when it is fully charged.

You don’t want to have to unplug, get into the car, and turn it on, to see that you don’t have a full charge yet. On the other hand, you don’t want to leave the console on all the time to display the graphic, as that will deplete the 12 volt, and call attention to an unattended “very cool” car, that looks like the ignition is on.

Turning on A tail light (very dim) would be a good solution. Some PHEVs turn on both tail lights (very dim) to show the car is charging.

=D~~~~

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Van Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am

Two or 3 wheeled vehicles need 2.5 KWh of capacity to qualify, 4 wheeled vehicles need 4 KWh to qualify for the $2,500 credit. Then for vehicles with at least 5 KWh, an additional $417 credit is available plus $417 for each KWh above 5. So a Prius with a 5.2 KWh battery would qualify for 2,917 credit. See page 60 for the definition of “qualified vehicle.”

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Jacon Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:45 am

I really hope they change the console and display, it really looks cheesy. If I’m paying $30k+ for a car I would expect for better finishes than that. I don’t want a toys-r-us plastic interior.

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statik Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:45 am

EDIT: What Van said, lol

Side note: I’ve never heard mention the of the Plug-In Prius being less than 5kWh anywhoo.

Side, side note: This new legislation (if everything is as it seems), is really big news. Not only for GM and the Volt…but for all the other automakers and the industry in general. This is the kind of thing that we need the gov’t for…I support this move 100%.

/now someone make me a EV already

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Brian Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:56 am

#46 Tagamet
“Please help me understand why this landmark legislation was only provided in print form, and not a PDF document. Someone typed the hard-copy of the Bill, so why not a (searchable) pdf?”

PDF and TXT formats
http://www.readthestimulus.org/

(Quote)
DaV8or Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Don’t put a lot of hope into the tax credit. What ever it is, it will just be added to the dealer mark up. Of coarse since GM hasn’t announced pricing yet, they know that they can now set the MSRP about $7500 higher. No way out of this one. This car is going to be VERY, VERY expensive!

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DaV8or Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm

#51 Jacon-

“I really hope they change the console and display, it really looks cheesy. If I’m paying $30k+ for a car I would expect for better finishes than that. I don’t want a toys-r-us plastic interior.”
—————————————————————————————-

Unfortunately, at this point it is what it is. I hear you though. I pretty much hate the cheesy iPod look too. I think the Cruze has a much better interior and wish we could have that instead.

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statik Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

#3 Dave G said:

Note to GM – Most people hate digital speedometers. When my wife test-drove the Prius, that was a deal-breaker.

It would be so easy to provide a user selectable mode for an analog style dial or linear meter on the LCD display behind the steering wheel.

Please!!!!
==========================

I think we have been down this road before DaveG, but I completely agree with you…100%.

I’m not sure why car companies always assume that the high end consumer wants all the ‘whiz-bang’ Sure, some do…and I think we all want a little techno-hotness in our EV, but I’ll take my traditional gauges in analog, thanks.

(Quote)
Van Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Hi Statik, I was addressing the suggestions in posts 7 and 21 as to the minimum battery capacity to qualify for the 2,500 which is 4 KWh not 5.
I was also addressing the speculation that the Plug-in Prius because it may not have at least 5 KWh would not qualify. The prototypes on the road have 2.6 KWh of battery capacity, and if I recall correctly the lithium version is supposed to have twice the capacity, hence 5.2. Time will tell, 10 more months.

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canehdian Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

I personally like digital displays. Instead of a needle telling me how fast i’m going or how much gas (battery?) I have left, it’s a number. Can’t read that wrong :p
It could just be a generation gap…

And wtf are you talking about with obsolescence.. it’s an LCD SCREEN – change the software and it can display anything. The only way it’s going to be obsolete is if we go to holographic projection and HUD’s, etc. I don’t see that happening.

(Quote)
JeffNY Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Glad there will be a navigation option (hopefully with Sirius XM weather option). But how about a rear-view camera option? Anyone heard anything on this?

(Quote)
Designboy Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

The numerical speedo display is a mistake, I think.

Graphically, a needle moving up and down along a vernier is easier for the mind to quickly understand than an isolated number floating on a blue field. I realize that all data is collected electronically (digitally) in this case, but it should be easy enough to animate a fat needle moving along a scale.

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Dave K. =D~ Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Just had a new sound system installed in my truck Friday. This simple improvement really made my day. I am sure the Volt can be placed in some sort of ’standard mode’ or ’simple mode’. All the bells and whistles will help with resale value. Kind of like, “power everything”.

JeffNY #59, the Volt photos I’ve seen show a rear view mirror. I read an article a few months ago that stated the Volt will not have a rear view camera. My guess is that GM will add a rear facing camera before release.

=D~

(Quote)
Chevy Volt Console Display Data Review, and Car Won’t Drive While … | Car & Van Reviews Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Neutron Flux Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

It would be nice if the tire pressure was relative to temperature. Most pressure requirements are stated as cold or hot so if you forget to check it before driving off the added heat generated in tires will skew the reading. If the measuring device was able to sense the air temperature in the tire it could calculate relative cold tire pressure so that regardless of how long you have been driving, the pressure indicated is relative to cold and a valid reference for what the car requires. Additionally I have always been told you never go by what the required pressure on the tire states but what the MFG recommends which are not always 1 & the same.

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George K Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:44 pm

60 Designboy
“Graphically, a needle moving up and down along a vernier is easier for the mind to quickly understand than an isolated number floating on a blue field.”
- – - – - – - -

Not sure I agree. One of my cars has a digital display and one not. I think once you get used to the digital, you’ll like it.

For me, it’s easier to simply see the exact speed number than to glance at a graph and interpolate how fast I’m going. Although usually close is good enough, anyway.

I think the best solution is the option for either. Some poeple like the advanced digital watch style, and some like the stuffy, warn out, old fashion (just kidding) clock style.

=D~~~~

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JEC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:52 pm

#58
“And wtf are you talking about with obsolescence.. it’s an LCD SCREEN – change the software and it can display anything.
—————————————————————————–
It is an LCD. But, like all tech. this LCD will look old in just a couple years. Resolution and contrast improvements in future displays, will make this obsolete.

Take a stroll down any Best Buy video dept, and look at those high def monitors. Just a couple years ago, you would have settled for a simple LCD.

(Quote)
Mac Attack Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

Will the touch screen support finger gestures like the iPhone ?

How about an HDMI port on that console ? (There still time to talk to your suppliers)

(Quote)
Casey Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 2:05 pm

Don’t worry about tax credits they don’t matter anymore, the government will give you a car if they think you need one.

I just can’t wait for mine

I just love this new way of life were all going to get, ain’t it great!!!

The country is finally going in the right direction

NO PLUG, NO SALE, JGTVWOTR, DBNGCMEMEV, (my house) =D~~~(my volt)————————-STOP THE BAILOUTS———————-oooops too late

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StewartJC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

#51 Jacon
“I really hope they change the console and display, it really looks cheesy. If I’m paying $30k+ for a car I would expect for better finishes than that. I don’t want a toys-r-us plastic interior.”

——————————-
Totally agree. The center has a cheap plastic look that really detracts from the interior. The designers need to look at a Lexus or Infinity to see how nice console with LCD should look.

(Quote)
Harrier 1970 Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

JEC writes:
“So you want Apples engineers, to write this? huh? Are they not “Engineers”?”
I————————–

I see I was not clear, I never said Apple Engineers… I just said Apple should do it. I said GM would use their “Engineers” and that engineers generally don’t give a S*&t how people interface with what they make… they are content that it works, not whether people enjoy interfacing with it or not.

Example: Apple did not invent the MP3 player, but they did make it easy and fun to use. Every aspect of this car should have that same attitude.

Harrier 1970

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TechTD Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Pretty big GM news breaking today, looks like bankruptcy may be likely next week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090214/ts_nm/us_gm_plan
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090214/autos_bailouts.html

(Quote)
Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:20 pm

#51 Jacon Says: “I really hope they change the console and display, it really looks cheesy. If I’m paying $30k+ for a car I would expect for better finishes than that. I don’t want a toys-r-us plastic interior.”
——————————-
#68 StewartJC Says: Totally agree. The center has a cheap plastic look that really detracts from the interior. The designers need to look at a Lexus or Infinity to see how nice console with LCD should look.
======================================================
The white plastic is only one color option. The black looks better.

(Quote)
Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pm

#69 Harrier 1970,

I believe what you are saying is that Apple could define the user interface, and then GM Firmware engineers could implement that. Not a bad idea. Apple seems to be king-of-the-hill on defining the user interface.

(Quote)
Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

#50 Van Says: … 4 wheeled vehicles need 4 KWh to qualify for the $2,500 credit… See page 60 for the definition of “qualified vehicle.”
————————————————————————————–
Thanks Van. That clears it up.

The calcars.org article implies 5 kWh,
http://www.calcars.org/calcars-news/1046.html
and I only read pages 50-52 of the new recovery bill, which
implies 5 kWh minimum as well. So that’s what threw me off.

But yes, page 60 does specify a minimum of 4 kWh.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/h1/Recovery_Bill_Div_B.pdf
So the Plug-in Prius will definitely get a tax credit.

(Quote)
John Jones Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:55 pm

#3> Note to GM – Most people hate digital speedometers. When my wife test-drove the Prius, that was a deal-breaker.

I would have thought the same thing, but after having my Cayman for almost three years, which has both an analog dial and a digital read out, I hardly ever use the analog dial.

Now center mounted instrument clusters, THAT would be a deal breaker.

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

#30 TALLPALL said
#18 RB
What exactly are you thinking will happen in 654 days?
_____________________________
Why? What do you think is going to happen in November 2010???
That is when i am HOPING to see a Volt on the road…
================================================

I am just like you and hoping to see a Volt on the road then.

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Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

Brian@53 said
“#46 Tagamet
“Please help me understand why this landmark legislation was only provided in print form, and not a PDF document. Someone typed the hard-copy of the Bill, so why not a (searchable) pdf?”
PDF and TXT formats
http://www.readthestimulus.org/”
*********************************************************************************************
To my knowledge they were not available before the vote. Teams of “staffers” sat up all night combing through the paper edition – which was all that was available before the vote. Then again, there was to be 48 hours available to “study” the bill before voting – also didn’t happen.
Does President Obama mean that posting the bill on the internet AFTER it’s voted on is an example of “transparency”?
Sorry, but I’d hoped for better from him.
Be well,
Tag

(Quote)
Kubel Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Horrible GUI. If GM can’t hire some talented graphic designers, then they need to make an open-source theme engine and let the Volt community go to work designing something nice. I would actually prefer a more customizable Volt.

Suggestions for GM:

- Add an SD card slot so the Volt can receive and output data using a standard media format (can also be used for radio to play MP3s)
- Make the center console display open source and encourage the community to develop themes and applets for it. This will cost nothing and just make it that much cooler.
- Leave the lousy stock console setup default, just give people the OPTION to tweak. GM could really pioneer a CarPuter standard by just inviting the open source community into their console development with minimal funding.

Of course, GM will do neither of those things, and Volt owners will be left with a boring poorly designed display that is almost completely uncustomizable.

(Quote)
chevonly Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:36 pm

Here is an idea, if you can’t program a remote or your DVR you cannot purchase a Volt, this is part of my job helping idiots who lock up computers and equipment that is smarter than they are. Gee I know there is some idiot out there that will be able to completely lock up the computers on the Volt, maybe one call to onstar will be all that is required to reboot the system, but I regress to some of the posts on this site, yes some people are to darn stupid to own a Volt or any hi-tech equipment, I can see some dope pushing his Volt out of the garage with the cord plugged in trying to figure out why it won’t run.

(Quote)
Dave K. =D~ Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

hi Dave G #71,

“The white plastic is only one color option. The black looks better.”

_____________________________

I believe the perfect solution is marbling. This will look Euro-classic and also hide fingerprints.

=D~

(Quote)
Casey Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

#70 Tech TD said

Pretty big GM news breaking today, looks like bankruptcy may be likely next week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090214/ts_nm/us_gm_plan
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090214/autos_bailouts.html
———————–o———————————–

THIS MIGHT BE PRETTY BIG NEWS. is anybody paying attention?

NO PLUG, NO SALE, JGTVWOTR, DBNGCMEMEV, (my house) =D~~~(my volt)————————-STOP THE BAILOUTS———————-oooops too late

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

#70 TechTD Thanks for the link about possible GM bankruptcy filing. I’m taking GM’s statement as brinkmanship negotiating with bondholders and the government. I’m thinking it has an “Play my way or I’m going to take my ball and go home ” flavor. It still was an interesting read, and we will see soon, I suppose.

(Quote)
Tom Harwick Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Statists are trying to outlaw cell phone use and consuming food in cars because it distracts the drivers.

I wonder if the Central Planners will force GM to program this screen into a certain “fixed” configuration or make it text to speech while the car is in motion so it doesn’t distract the driver. They can easily do this now that GM has accepted THEIR money.

They are just trying to protect us from ourselves like any good “big brother” should.
=========================================
You explicitly state that the purpose for banning cell phone use while driving is because it distracts the driver. This is not protecting us from ourselves. It is protecting us from distracted drivers yakking on cell phones who cause accidents, some of them fatal.

Do you think drunk driving laws are also statist attempts to protect us from ourselves?

(Quote)
kent beuchert Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:23 pm

So I’ll need to return my three mile extension cord?

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

#76 Tag said
To my knowledge they were not available before the vote. Teams of “staffers” sat up all night combing through the paper edition – which was all that was available before the vote …
————————————————————

No one really knows what is in the bill, even its writers, as it was written in a big hurry and everything is going to have to be “interpreted” by people in the White House, in the Treasury department and in other departments and those interpretations can turn up into upside down, as well as take months or years. You will have plenty of time to read and read again before what is passed becomes rules and procedures and money goes somewhere and does something wonderful no doubt After all, its about a billion dollars per page of text, so that’s pretty general guidance in the text of the bill itself, not details. Maybe your name is in there, or if not something that can be understood to be your name.

(Quote)
alex_md Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

The display graphics is really BAD. This reminds me of some 80s movie about distant future, say 1999 or something. GM has to hire professional interface designers for this one. Most people will not look past the interface and I think they will be right. You absolutely can not cut the corners when it comes to the human-machine interaction. What made apple so successful was not the hardware, it was the new innovative interface. If you want to do digital, it has to look and feel like analog, so people would ask themselves if it it real or just a computer image. It has to be 3D and highly customizable. Making it look like a computer image from the 80s is so uncool.

(Quote)
CDAVIS Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

_____________________________________________________
update to my above #35 post:

Downloadable Dashboard Apps for Cars Coming in 2010

http://i.gizmodo.com/5153702/downloadable-dashboard-apps-for-cars-coming-in-2010
_____________________________________________________

(Quote)
N Riley Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 5:51 pm

This may have already been said by someone else, but I can not see GM using the charge port cover as the sensor to allow the car to be driven. What happens if the cover is loose or is broken off. Being broken off is a real possibility, I would think because “hoodlums” could access it and snap it off easily. I would think the sensor would be a contact sensor in the the charge port that would sense the cord touching it. I don’t know for sure, but the cover doesn’t seem the best solution.

(Quote)
Dave K. =D~ Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

When GM received our cash bail out we had a 98% chance that they would be back for another bundle. And a 90% that after they had returned, the slate would be cleaned with a bankruptcy.

Can anyone tell me why we gave GM all those billions a month ago?

And why $800,000,000,000 was handed to dishonest and misleading bank presidents through TARP?

Why didn’t these billions stay in the clean car rebate fund like they were supposed to?

Will more of our gold be given to crooked or mismanaged companies?

If so, why? Honestly, what the h3ll is going on?

__________________________

A billion seconds ago it was 1945.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion dollars is spent each 4 hours in Washington.

=D~

(Quote)
DonC Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:09 pm

#76 Tagamet says “To my knowledge they were not available before the vote.”

You can usually find all bills along with a bunch of other information first on Thomas.loc.gov. This bill was up on Thursday night though in html rather than in pdf form. I’m not sure if changes were made subsequent to that but that wasn’t the case in any section I’ve looked at. Granted I haven’t looked at every provision, but from what I’ve seen the differences from the original House and Senate bills was minimal. IOW if you looked at the House version and the Senate version there wasn’t anything new in the Senate Amendment.

All this yapping about not seeing the bill seems a result of talk radio needing something to spew about. To begin with, it’s not the number of pages in the bill that matters, it’s the number of changes. Lawyers routinely handle contracts this large with this many changes in half the time. It’s not that hard IF you want to handle it. But let’s face it, not a single representative complaining about the timing was going to vote for the bill regardless of what was in it. And no one who voted for the bill was going to vote against it no matter what the changes were. Finally, not to be too cynical, but you could give 80% of Congress six months to study this bill and they wouldn’t understand it.

Let’s take a specific example. One section of bill addresses whether the tax credit for the Volt will be subject to the AMT. This is one of the sections I was interested in. The bill reads as follows:

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this
title, the credit allowed under subsection (a) for
any taxable year (determined after application
of paragraph (1)) shall be treated as a credit
allowable under subpart A for such taxable
year.”

OK. Simple enough. Just a few lines. So is the credit subject to the AMT or not? If your Representative or Senators looked at this would they know? Given that this has been in the House version for a month, would 48 hours help?

#70 TechTD says “Pretty big GM news breaking today, looks like bankruptcy may be likely next week.”

This is very interesting but this is just an option. It may be a throw away.

(Quote)
Bob G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:17 pm

I agree that the the digital speedometer is a bad idea. We went through this in the aerospace industry years ago. Granted, there are far more gauges on a flight deck than in an automobile, but the problem with digital gauges is that they require the operator to stop and think about what that number means for each gauge. This takes time and concentration away from the primary responsibility of controlling the vehicle.

The ideal meter has an analog indicator (such as a needle) with a green “normal” zone and amber and red “abnormal” zones in the background. The operator can quickly scan this meter and see if it is on the normal zone (without even needing to think about what the meter is measuring or what the actual quantity is). If the meter shows the abnormal zone, then more attention is required. That’s when a smaller digital readout of the quantity being measured becomes useful.

In the case of a speedometer, the green/amber/red background probably isn’t necessary, but a needle or bar display makes it so much easier to judge the speed visually. I hope GM fixes this.

(Quote)
carcus1 Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

#89 Don C.,

” But let’s face it, not a single representative complaining about the timing was going to vote for the bill regardless of what was in it. And no one who voted for the bill was going to vote against it no matter what the changes were. Finally, not to be too cynical, but you could give 80% of Congress six months to study this bill and they wouldn’t understand it.”
______________________________________________________

Then the logical conclusion is that this is a bill that should have never come up for a vote to start with.

Congress doesn’t know how to, nor should they be allowed to, run the economy. It’s not in the constitution.

U.S. Constitution online
http://www.usconstitution.net/
(not that anybody gives a crap about that, especially if they think it might cost them money in the short term, or a job, or a car)

(Quote)
Zach Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Battery trip 120, gas trip 30? wtf?

Why would they want to put the speed and such in the center console?

I would like to know more about what’s going in the driving console area. Is there going to be a digital gauge speedo or something? Personally, I think gauges have a unique look to them that I like more. I believe it’s watching it swing around as the throttle is let out. Either way though, I think it would look nice to have a digital speedo with the actual speed in the center in large font (same or similar would likely look good for all other gauges/monitoring as well).

(Quote)
ThombDbhomb Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:54 pm

#89 DonC
I appreciate your efforts. A lot of people opine about things they have little knowledge about.

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 7:57 pm

#58 canehdian said
I personally like digital displays. Instead of a needle telling me how fast i’m going … : It could just be a generation gap…
—————————————–

The “generation gap” is true in my experience. My father just loved the digital speedometer in his car, while his grandchildren all much prefer analog.

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

#89 DonC notes “All this yapping about not seeing the bill seems a result of talk radio needing something to spew about.” and then asks
“So is the credit subject to the AMT or not?”
——————————————————-

What is the answer to your question?
I don’t think my senator or representative will know.

(Quote)
Dan Petit Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:01 pm

The easiest thing in the world to change would be that graphics display. I’d bet you’d be able to custom order it waaaaay ahead of time online. They could give you several dozen types of styles with various ways to combine any visual features based on how you are used to processing info.
Some folks might like the digital numbers but others might want a sliding arrow along a track for speed. Others might like the old timey analog gauges to start with, then go “experimental” with something else later.
The neat thing is that it seems to me that GM is letting flexibility set a course of its own, where what you want when you buy it is changeable to something entirely new and spiffy that you have seen in some other Volt of a later year.
Dan Petit Austin TX

(Quote)
john1701a Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:05 pm

I agree that the the digital speedometer is a bad idea…

This takes time and concentration away from the primary responsibility of controlling the vehicle.
_________________________________

On paper, many will agree with that.

But in practice, it is quite the opposite. While driving, all you need to know about is minor fluctuations of speed. Traffic and instinct will get you to the proper flow. So, the only use is to detect variations… when you wander from the limit.

When it’s 40, the creep to 41 then 42 is blatant. Requiring nothing but periferal vision. To see that detail with a needle or bar at a glance, forget it.

I’ve been driving with a digital speedometer up near the windshield (above the steering wheel) for 8.5 years now. And over that time, I’ve had a lot of feedback confirming what they actually see is not what they expected.

(Quote)
Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:08 pm

Don C@89,
A) Only one party wrote the Blll (though it is possble that the three Senate Republican shils may have had a small voice).
B) There was a unanimous vote before hand hat the bill would not be voted on until 48 hours after it’s release.
C) Our Pesident assured “transparency” FOR THE PUBLIC in the legislative process. I guess that I wrongly assumed that the point of that was to give citizens the ability to give feedback prior to the deal being done. Granted that I don’t know anyone who believed that that would have mattered, but that’s another issue.
D) Quote: “There is no pork in this legislation”.

Although I didn’t vote for Mr. Obama, I DO seem to remember something about “Change we can believe in”. Well, we got the change (at least the party in the White Huose changed), I guess, I”d have rathered that it wasn’t laid on he backs of my children and grandchilden. And the saddest part of my rant is that the repubs were no better (other than in scope).
Be well,
Tag
PS Using AMT with the tax credits is not alowed (at least the way I read it).
PPS What is Ross Perot doing these days?

(Quote)
Dave G Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 8:59 pm

#88 Dave K. =D~ Says: “A billion seconds ago it was 1945.”
————————————————————————————–
These analogies are meaningless.

Take $789 billion, and divide it by the U.S. population (about 306 million), and you get $2580 per person. That’s just over $10K for a typical family of 4. That’s how much the government is borrowing for the stimulus bill.

The next question is: How much would the government have to borrow without the stimulus? With hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost every month, the amount of taxes are going to be much less, and the amount of unemployment benefits are going to be much more. So it’s quite possible that the government would have to borrow $10K per family without the stimulus as well.

That’s why the vast majority of economists, even very fiscal conservative economists, have backed the stimulus. Its basically making the best out of a very bad situation.

(Quote)
RB Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

There’s a nice article today in the NYT auto section on the Honda Insight.

(Quote)
statik Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

#70 Tech TD said

Pretty big GM news breaking today, looks like bankruptcy may be likely next week.

———————–o———————————–

#80 Casay said:
THIS MIGHT BE PRETTY BIG NEWS. is anybody paying attention?
=============================

I am. And it also means I’m going to be almost totally insufferable now. (If that is possible)

Lets go over the checklist:
UAW walking on GM? Yupe, happened tonight
Bondholders not capitulating and calling the bluff? Yupe, they bailed tuesday

Now GM is going to table a plan to go bankrupt, and then reform with the most viable parts with the governments blessing/assistance. I like to call this the ‘GSB’ (government sponsored bankruptcy), and it completes the trifecta. We get that on tuesday.
(They will also table the ‘give us another big bag of sweaty taxpayer money plan’ …which is a real crowd pleaser).

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFN1425572520090214?rpc=44

As we say on the internet
/pwnsauce

Side note: I might take my +1 back Red HHR, hehe

(Quote)
George K Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

O.T.
#89 DonC
All this yapping about not seeing the bill seems a result of talk radio needing something to spew about. To begin with, it’s not the number of pages in the bill that matters, it’s the number of changes.

I agree with Tag. What is the BIG hurry to get this signed. Could it be, they don’t want US to hear what’s in the bill, and give our Congressman feedback? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

Ok, it only went from 800 to 1000 pages, with 8 hours to decide. How are they expected to get input from the people they represent? Or, isn’t that really necessary? What’s the big hurry here, especially since much of the money won’t kick in till 2010 (coincidentally, that’s the next election cycle)

(Quote)
Altazi Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:56 pm

#99 – Dave G. said ‘Take $789 billion, and divide it by the U.S. population (about 306 million), and you get $2580 per person. That’s just over $10K for a typical family of 4. That’s how much the government is borrowing for the stimulus bill.”
—————————————————-
Perhaps true, but most of those 306 million do not pay taxes. This puts the entire burden on those of us who do. I am financially responsible, own my own home, and have almost no debt. Where is my bailout? People like me are the ones who are going to be stuck paying for this, and I am completely unhappy about it. This bailout crap just rewards irresponsibility. Our society is going to hell in a nightsoil cart.

(Quote)
Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Statik@101 said in (small) part:
“… And it also means I’m going to be almost totally insufferable now. (If that is possible) …”

Er, does that mean that we’ll notice a difference?

(I know bait when I see it, but this I couldn’t resist.
You knew I couldn’t pass this up (g).

Be well,
Tag
PS The darker you paint it, the more brilliant it’ll be when the Volt’s wheels actually DO hit our newly refurbished infrastructure! (Yeah, I know that that means~2015)

(Quote)
Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:03 pm

George K@103 re the “rush” to pass this Bill. I’m pretty sure Nancy Pelosi couldn’t change her appointment to meet the Pope. Boy, I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear THAT conversation (lol).
Be well,
Tag

(Quote)
George K Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pm

#106 Tag
“I’m pretty sure Nancy Pelosi couldn’t change her appointment to meet the Pope”

Yes, that’s probably it. “hehe”

By the way, is this Volt getting better all the time, or what! I love the electronics!

(Quote)
statik Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

#106 Tag said:

Statik@101 said in (small) part:
“… And it also means I’m going to be almost totally insufferable now. (If that is possible) …”

Er, does that mean that we’ll notice a difference?

(I know bait when I see it, but this I couldn’t resist.
You knew I couldn’t pass this up (g).

Be well,
Tag
PS The darker you paint it, the more brilliant it’ll be when the Volt’s wheels actually DO hit our newly refurbished infrastructure! (Yeah, I know that that means~2015)
===============================

I just set them up for you to knock down my friend.
(=

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Arch Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

Here is an idea, if you can’t program a remote or your DVR you cannot purchase a Volt, this is part of my job helping idiots who lock up computers and equipment that is smarter than they are. Gee I know there is some idiot out there that will be able to completely lock up the computers on the Volt, maybe one call to onstar will be all that is required to reboot the system, but I regress to some of the posts on this site, yes some people are to darn stupid to own a Volt or any hi-tech equipment, I can see some dope pushing his Volt out of the garage with the cord plugged in trying to figure out why it won’t run.

Chev

Sounds good to me. I get a kick out of people who say some people are to stupid to own a product. If you can not design a product so that most people can use it—- well get another job.

Take Care
Arch

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Tagamet Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:36 pm

Geroge K @!07
Yep, it’s getting to the point of appealing to a lot of folks for a lot of diverse reasons e.g. Anyone with a “Y” chromosome HAS to want those electronics. I believe that GM’s er, transparency, is going to pay big er, dividends in the long run. Surely, even with their considerable imaginations, they couldn’t have anticipated Static (wink). One theory has it that Statik is actually Maximum Bob (but I probably just heard that on talk radio….)
Be well,
Tag

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Red HHR Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:54 pm

#102, Think anythings going to actually happen on Tuesday?
Folks going to be scrambling, that’s for sure, yes I read the WSJ…

I am going to pass on this poker game. Stakes are way to high.

Possibilities,
Unions get busted, bad face for Obama..

More loans? Bad for taxpayer..
We just spent a billion dollars a page for a really tall stack of papers.

Nationalize car makers…
Hmmm

Red HHR (Lyle, help, where is that story on the Tesla)

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Red HHR Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:38 pm

#67 Mac Attack

I am waiting on a touch pad an the armrest like the pad on my laptop. It would make a good interface, once it was figured out. Even if it did simple stuff like dimming the lights, i would think it was cool. It would be even cooler if I did not have to poke my grubby fingers on the dash. Just rub the armrest & control the screen like a mouse would. now if Apple did it it would be even cooler. Was the console described some time ago as “Apple IPod like” so there is, as you suggest, a possibility.

Red HHR (You are what you drive)

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Dave K. =D~ Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 12:19 am

hi Dave G #100,

I believe you missed my question. Can you give me some insight on why the government is sponsoring GM and Chrysler? We knew they would be coming back each 6 weeks for another $6,000,000,000 loan. If we just let natural economics work, GM would be clear of the bankruptcy by now and sailing to the next mark. They would have $30,000,000,000 in debt off their back. And a renewed opportunity to make the decisions needed to prosper.

If you claim I’m Monday morning quarterbacking, then you have lost touch with reality. You can reread my post of 6 weeks ago anytime. It reads, “What will we do in 6 weeks when they come back for more?”.

“Stimulus” isn’t sponsoring the GM’s, Trump’s, Wynn’s, Halliburton’s, Macy’s, and Circuit Cities. A “Stimulus package” is not giving every American $400 this week. A “Stimulus package” is not bailing out stupid home buyers who earn $3000 a month make payments of $2800 for a house.

A “Stimulus package” is giving the people who have money to spend a reason to spend it. Thus generating tax dollars to keep government running.

Think of the last medium to large purchase you made. There was probably a discount or a rebate offered. Or it may have been the lowest price found in 8 to 10 vendors that made you buy. It may have been that you didn’t like the quality of something you currently owned and decided to upgrade. It wasn’t because B of A or Washington Mutual was flooded with money that week. It wasn’t because GM would be saved from reorganization for 5 or 6 weeks longer. Am I right, or am I crazy?

Has anything you have seen or heard in the last 3 months made you feel you want to just run out and spend. How about offering clean car instant rebates right now?

250,000 cars @ $4000 each = $1,000,000,000

Is one billion set aside to help American’s buy clean cars so much? GM employees will have something to do. Our air will be cleaner. We will use less oil.

For a measly billion. Now that’s a deal and that’s stimulus.

=D~

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Dave G Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 7:17 am

#113 Dave K. =D~ Says: “If we just let natural economics work, GM would be clear of the bankruptcy by now and sailing to the next mark.”
————————————————————————————–
Most people won’t buy a car from a bankrupt company. Chapter 11 may signal the end of GM.

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Dave G Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 7:32 am

#113 Dave K. =D~ Says: “Has anything you have seen or heard in the last 3 months made you feel you want to just run out and spend.”
————————————————————————————–
Actually, many of the sales going on right now already offer huge discounts, but most people still aren’t spending. People are scared. They’re holding on to their money, or paying off their credit cards. Look at the statistics. Consumer savings is on the rise. Consumer debt is falling. First time in 25 years any of this has happened. People are scared.

That’s why economists didn’t recommend a stimulus of just tax breaks this time. Normally, tax breaks would work. You give people money, and they spend it on things that are most relevant to them. They shop around for the best deals. But this time, if you give people money, they’re not going to spend it. They’re too scared. That’s the problem. So tax cuts are like pushing on a string. It only works if there’s something already pulling on the other side. This time, there’s no pull.

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Dave K. =D~ Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 8:03 am

hi Dave G #115,

Who said “tax cuts”? Please reread #113.

=D~

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koz Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 8:20 am

On the numerical vs analogesque debate, I say yes to both. A needle and numeric (above or below or overlayed).

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Shawn Marshall Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 10:16 am

If the Volt itself has ‘charge’ of charging in user given time constraints, I guess it can use the amount of charge needed and the allotted time to randomly distribute the charging cycle over the interval thereby yielding a uniform charging demand on the distribution line and maximizing the utilization of existing electric facilities all the way back to the generators.

This is a great efficiency and SHOULD work wonders to ameliorate electric costs since the population of Volts (and similar) will increase the load factor towards one and make heaps of money for the utilities on EXISTING infrastructure. Smart Grid is a fraud.

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GM Volt Fan Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 10:38 am

I think GM should get LOTS of feedback on the console display interface from people outside of GM. Like from the design people at Apple and Microsoft. GM will be creating a standardized interface like MS Windows that could be in use for a LONG time. GM should work very hard to try to get the “ultimate” well thought out user interface right out of the box with Volt 1.0.

People often get used to the look and feel of an interface and get annoyed about having to learn a new one. They like having the interface features in the “usual places” and and all that. GM needs to work hard on this. That outside feedback could be crucial. They should talk to the people who review cars all the time like JD Power, Consumer Reports and the car magazines too.

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Luke Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Designboy @ 61,

Graphically, a needle moving up and down along a vernier is easier for the mind to quickly understand than an isolated number floating on a blue field. I realize that all data is collected electronically (digitally) in this case, but it should be easy enough to animate a fat needle moving along a scale.

I’ve driven both and, after some practice, I find both the numerical display and the analog-style gauge to be intuitive. As for the practice required, perhaps you’ve forgotten how long it took you to learn how to read the speedometer when you first started reading?

One very nice thing about the Prius’ digital speedometer placement is that it’s very close to the windshield and very compact. So it requires less movement to see than the conventional gauges in my Ford Ranger (and every other car I’ve driven).

Overall, I really don’t care what style of gauge is used — just so long as the information is, easy to read, and doesn’t interfere with my being able to see the road.

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George K Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 10:25 pm

Glad to see temperature display.

Also, colors on gas and battery display should change when getting close to empty, as a warning. Esp. gas, perhaps flash and voice (female) warning as it gets really low.

Have at it, guys. This is looking really good!

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jscott1000 Says:
February 16th, 2009 at 11:38 pm

If this display is anything like the Nav displays on current vehicles it will be considerably dumbed down while the vehicle is in motion.

That drives me crazy on my truck when the PASSENGER is unable to enter anything into the Nav system while the vehicle is in motion. The lawyers don’t want to take any chances.

Personally I prefer digital speedometers and digital everything else. If the speed limit is 55 mph I can process a number such as 57 instantly. When I look at an analog gauge I have to first figure out how much each hash mark equals then interpolate. I hate analog.

Oh and Texas is considering a $4,000 tax credit for plug-in hybrids IN ADDITION to the Federal tax credit. That’s a whopping $11,500 tax credit. Suddenly the Volt is sounding cost effective!

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Zero X Owner Says:
February 17th, 2009 at 4:40 pm

Gaaaa…..

Nice that they added the consumer tax credit for two wheeled (that’s me) and three wheeled (such as aptera or a piaggio mp3-e), but the power pack on mine is 2 kWh and the minimum for the credit is 2.5 kWh. Guess maybe in their Zero S street version, if they use a slightly larger power pack? Win-win for both consumer and manufacturer if Zero does…

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bram Says:
February 17th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

The charge-port-door switch is an Achilles heel:
You could immobilize a Volt by opening the charge port door.
A car jacker opens it: victim cannot escape by driving away.

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