Volt in Jay Leno's Garage
GM is gearing up to announce the Chevy Volt’s first commercial markets at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday December 2nd.
Clearly, Southern California will be one of those places, which comes as no surprise considering the state’s long track record and interest in electric vehicles. It was after all the same place where the EV-1 was leased.
In the days leading up to and beyond that announcement GM has orchestrated a blitz of Chevy Volt appearances in the area. This author too, a life-long New Yorker, will be shipped out and in attendance for the festivities.
According to GM spokesperson Dave Darovitz, “the Volt will be popping up all over town, mingling with the stars and generally showing off to consumers and media alike.”
The Volt is on display at several car enthusiast locations such as it was at “Bob’s Big Boy” in Burbank last night, and ”Cars and Coffee” this morning.
Volt engineer Andrew Farah also took the car over to Jay Leno’s garage on Friday afternoon where the famed comedian and car enthusiast got to take it for a spin.
“What I like is that the Volt’s range isn’t limited like other electric vehicles,” Leno was quoted as saying.
It is also spent black Friday and is spending the weekend at the Century City Mall which is off Santa Monica blvd.
On Monday GM will stream a live webcasts of an assembly at a posh California middle school which will also be simulcast to interested participating classrooms across the nation, teaching students how electricity can be used to transform the way we drive.
Later that evening there will be a real time stream from an LA plug-in panel discussion.
Midday Tuesday there will be a consumer luncheon at which time the Volt paint color winner will be announced and given their well-deserved test drive.
Then on Wednesday morning during the opening hours of the LA Auto Show GM will announce the first Volt markets. Thursday will bring a press conference from the Mayor of LA (hint).
I will be present for most of these activities and will try to capture as much as I can in real-time. Myself and several journalists will be getting our Volt test drives. These will take place in the Dodger’s stadium parking lot which GM has rented and closed for the day to turn it into a private track.
If you haven’t already get yourself a Twitter account, and follow me at twitter.com/gmvolt. I’ll keep you up-to-date with real time tweets from my blackberry (as long as the battery lives and I’m not driving) and will post all I can right here on GM-Volt.com. Also use your new accounts to hit the Retweet button at the bottom of our posts, and help amplify the Volt signal.
We are bearing witness to the beginning of the last phase folks!
+12
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:25 am)Years ago I tried to lease an EV-1, but was denied because I didn’t live in Phoenix or LA. GM needs to release the Volt in ALL the major media markets. Leno is a car guy and would praise a Yugo if he was given one. GM needs to get wise guy Letterman on board and then head on into NASCAR and IRL Country. I’m waiting patiently for my local dealer to even learn how to SPELL V-O-L-T!! GM needs to deliver a proven car nationwide without any shortages or wait list premiums.
Thanks Lyle, for ALL you do!!
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:33 am)All these things are necessary to generate “buzz” but the bottom line is that I’m here in TN hoping I can see one in the next few years. *sniff*
But I’m not so self absorbed as to not see the great thing: the Volt is closing in. It’s real and people are getting their hands on it. It’s past the point of return and can’t be sidetracked for any reason. I’m also very curious how the reception will be beyond the early adopters and the curious. I hope GM has been conducting surveys and learning how to position the car for when they are able to ramp up production.
+8
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:34 am)This is all happening a bit sooner than I expected since VOLT is still about a year away from actually hitting selected showrooms around the country. Especially given the continued tweeking that is going on regarding the ICE noise, etc.
But, I am very proud of GM for getting VOLT to this advanced point of development and anxiously await reports from our fearless leader on the real driving experience.
Lyle, you da’ man!
GO VOLT!
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:36 am)I am #25, 000 and I am patient, living in S. Florida. All of us will get a Volt. GM wants the sales. Above is great PR. Let California get the initial bugs out. In the mean time I have my hybrid Saturn Vue which works just fine.
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:41 am)We are bearing witness to the beginning of the last phase folks!
Interestingly, the Volt countdown is reading 365 days as I type this.
So, yep the final year.
I guess the carpark, won’t be big on hill climbs then?
Still its all good.
LJGTVWOTR
Has Plug? Have Sale.
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (7:50 am)Clearly, Southern California will be one of those places, which comes as no surprise considering the state’s long track record and interest in electric vehicles. It was after all the same place where the EV-1 was leased.
Associating the car with Southern California and the EV-1 is a double negative for me and for many in my part of the country. It is an association with overpriced, lack of substance, irresponsible, and failure.
Maybe we are just jealous of the glamour factor.
Then again, maybe we will just watch the car on TV, with no need to buy one.
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:06 am)Love that Chevy Emblem! What a great looking car!
Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.
+5
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:23 am)IMO, if GM really wanted this to be a “revolution”, they should have skipped the movie stars and politicians, and selected users from this site as the initial buyers!!!!!!
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:39 am)A spin around a parking lot will not provide an opportunity to evaluate Volt Performance under hill and highway driving conditions.
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:48 am)While “first things first” with entirely new arrays of technologies emerging with Volt, wouldn’t it also be great if there was an announcement soon about additional production facilities scheduled to be planned to come online? I think that would be the “Icing on the cake” for the fulfillment of the promise to many more who want Volt.
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:50 am)GM is building a massive “buzz”. It looks very well done. Nice to see the Volt all dressed out, painted bumpers and all. It still has those funny wheels though. I bet all the aftermarket folk are measuring the offset. Jay Leno has to be one of the most influential car guy…
I wonder if there will be more colors?
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:52 am)Bummer that the ‘test drive’ is still in a controlled area. I guess the real-world drives will be further down the road when there are production Volts available.
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:53 am)I has begun…
+5
Nov 28th, 2009 (8:59 am)All of this hype really needs to be tempered with the fact that this vehicle will be produced initially in itty bitty quantities. Also, most of us will not live in geographical areas where the car can be purchased.
How long will I have to wait in Central Ohio before I can buy one?
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:06 am)Lyle,
I think someone already asked you, but could you please try out the heating and air conditioning. These seem like minor issues, but they really are not for some of us.
Also, if you could please evaluate the seating position compared to other cars. Is it sports-car-like reclined? Is it “upright”? Do you feel as though you are seated in a bathtub? Is the seating narrow or wide? How about visibility? Ingress and egress easy?
Thanks much.
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:38 am)I stopped by our local Chevy dealer on Friday to inquire about the Volt. The lot was about half empty so I thought they were having an off-site sale but the sales guy said they were not getting any new cars yet. Anyway, he said that “yes” they were going to be an authorized Volt dealer and they should get them in November 2010. (really?) Apparently he hadn’t heard that the Volt would only be available in limited markets the first few months, but, hey, maybe Boise will be one of those markets! (not) The more I talked to this guy, the more I realized that I (we) here at GM-Volt know more about this vehicle than some of the dealers. He asked me if I needed any information about the car and I was thinking… well, what do you want to know? Good luck on your test drive Lyle.
+8
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:47 am)I see it all as ongoing education (that we are helping each other with), not at all hype. Hype is something overrepresented and unmerited.
We’re undoing 100 years of ICE hype that clearly has been overdone technologically, and, those excessive tens of thousands of different systems ICE vehicles contain have made ICE a real mess to deal with nowadays when the owner does ANYTHING themselves practically.
We have to have ways of cutting expenses in regard to maintenance and repairs of our transportation. At this point in time, the best way to cut expenses down the line is to prevent them in the first place with an entirely new array of approaches. This is why Volt is not at all hype, it is just the very best new set of directions to accomplish the solving of all manner of expensive problems, not just future maintenance and repair costs. And, we all know what all those other kinds of extreme costs are and have been.
The wait is worth it, and, it’s our responsibility, it seems to me, to help surviving generations be more properly set up to survive instead of continuing to cater to the corporate profit mechanisms that constantly lobby and leverage themselves in fulfillment of thier greed, resulting in obsene levels of carbon and contamination into the world we supposedly are bequeathing to future peoples.
“[Monetary] Debt to be carried by your children”? Not a sufficient reason to not cut absolute-carbon (total carbon accounting).
2010 will carry far more sobering news regarding what we have been doing to ourselves with carbon dioxide. I think that we had better do everything we can to respect GM’s needs for what management needs, and when they need it to switch over to electric motoring.
The concept of future debt to your kids is the single most narrow minded concept today that is used to stop anything to be legislated. ** Carbon “Absolute Debt” ** is more deadly and will get to more of us clearly in the long run if not the short run in 15 years, directly or indirectly.
The oceans have accepted mostly all the carbon they can. Yet there will always be skeptics for everything. The good thing about executive privelege is that at some point, it can be utilized where there is critical proof that immediate action is required. The other slower methods may be too late already, and, may be too easily sidetracked to be neutralized.
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:16 am)Lyle, I can hear your excitement mounting in your writing! No matter where you get to drive the VOLT, it will be a fun, rewarding and memorable experience! Thanks in advance for sharing your experience with all of us.
Sounds like a well orchestrated plan of activities. From today’s entry, I take away this paragraph as most important: “On Monday GM will stream a live webcasts of an assembly at a posh California middle school which will also be simulcast to interested participating classrooms across the nation, teaching students how electricity can be used to transform the way we drive.”
Clearly someone at GM is thinking beyond the stars and the paparrazi. Getting middle school kids engaged with VOLT now is very smart – by the time the VOLT reaches critical mass-production numbers, many of these kids will be getting their licenses – and influencing their family’s car purchase choices. GM is planting the seeds for future sales as well as setting the stage for powerful changes in consumer perception about the new GM. This is the beginning of the rebirth of GM.
Go GM. Go VOLT. Bring it on!!! (and make metro NY one of the launch markets!)
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:27 am)Dan, Detroit Hamtramak plant can handle 100,000 per year, so GM has a couple years before they need to expand.
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:28 am)Statik – we know you are out there ! I’m waiting to hear the latest conspiracy theory on the continuing calvalcade of positive developments … perhaps they are all taking place on a Hollywood sound stage ? Who will be playing the role of Lyle ?
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:39 am)Given the unemployment situation this would be a GREAT idea for PR!
+1
Sorry Lyle, I don’t tweet, but I’ll be following everything here!
Thanks again,
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:40 am)Agreed, but the PR result would still be enormous.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:41 am)You will find VAST differences in the knowledge about VOLT from dealer to dealer and from salesperson to salesperson. To date, to most dealers and salespeople, the VOLT is just another new model coming out. But to those dealers and salespeople in the know, they realize that VOLT is a game changer and have been keeping up with the VOLT’s development through this site and any other source of information they can find. In just a couple of open-ended questions, you can pretty much tell what you are dealing with: “Besides a new name, what makes the Chevy VOLT different?” or “What are the engine choices on the Chevy VOLT?” (i’d love to compile the answers to this one!) or “What kind of special electrical permit do I need to get before I buy a Chevy VOLT?” (there are none, but an honest answer will tell a lot)
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:43 am)I’d love to know who would play the role of “Statik – The GM site Grinch” (g)
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:47 am)I agree, but all the “ink” goes through tinsel town. (sigh). Maybe we’re next on the list.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:52 am)Those are GREAT questions. I don’t usually get past the dull “HUH?” from the salesmen. General managers often show recognition, but I bet *they’d* flunk the questions.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:55 am)I think demand is very underestimated still, even for 500,000. The demand is underestimated because those who attempt to calculate it have no way of factoring in the fact that Volt is not just something to sell, a commidity like just any ol’ thing to be bought or sold, Volt is itself a philosophy of change.
New
************************
*** philosophies ***
************************
that very clearly hold the very strongest of promises to solve all manner of problems can almost never be “measureably-seen” by those who attempt to statistically-anticipate market. Conversely those whom do not actually know the right and powerful reasons for their customers to buy their product (as astonishing as that concept might be), risk the grave losses of and to the extreme disadvantages against their customers when management fails to get proper and accurate input from their marketing departments as to what technical merits and usages are available within thier technical products, and, they accidentally change them for the worse, or, expect that they can afford somehow to delete/not carry forward a powerful advantage, or, undermanufacture a powerful advantage.
Marketing departments use statistics. Statistical computations must be overly weighted in historical numbers. Philosophical change can never be quantified to be placed in a statistical formula.
This is why I think that Volt demand is terribly undercalculated using historical datum, because Volt is so very extensively technically-promising to the future, very economically ultimately.
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:04 am)Let’s just hope that the second plant is not in China.
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:21 am)GO VOLT !
Not to mention any names but some here have said it couldn’t be done.
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:22 am)The Thanksgiving 2009 Volt PR campaign would seem a bit early except for the recent news from competitors. Several have announced 2010 public release of their offerings. This marks the year 2010 as the battlefield for establishing EV dominance. We can expect a huge amount of news and information coming from the new crop of test drives.
GM will earn buyers by allowing average Joe types to test drive their Volt. Jay Leno saying he likes the idea of not having to stop and charge is okay. Having an average Joe report how the Volt compares to his prior cars key. Maybe it’s still too early for this?
=D~
-3
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:27 am)did they fix the engine revving problem? or are they just gonna let people experience it and say “we’re working on it”
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:32 am)GM has an excellent chance of pulling ahead of their competition thanks to the beauty of the Voltec Powertrain. While cars such as the Leaf will be relegated to specific markets because they require a charging infrastructure for any decent electric range; the Volt won’t be shackled by charging cords. GM can flood their electric car into “non-fabulous” states and the buzz will get going across the nation, rather than just a handful of markets with the lame Leaf.
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:46 am)What blitz?
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:54 am)I hope these early announcements are a prelude to PREORDERS!
If GM has enough PREORDERS, then they can plan for higher production.
GM, you had better have figured out PREORDERS, or Nissan and Toyota will DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE.
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (11:59 am)Truth!! And not for lack of me trying to educate them. Most of them are simply masters of the art of deliberate ignorance.
When I drive by my local dealership and the salesmen are just standing around looking at traffic go by, like they’ve got nothing constructive to do, it makes me roll down my window and holler, “WHAT are you gonna DO with your LIFE???!?” </DeeSnider>
Crack a book (or rather, a website) and read up, ya slackers… (am I being too harsh? I think not). The future’s a-comin’, like it or not.
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:03 pm)Oh, has you?
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:05 pm)Pre orders or beta testers? Where can GM find drivers for a beta test program similar to operation driveway?
BTW: Saw a lot of new GMC and Chevy trucks on the road this weekend. Many with custom grilles and oversize chrome wheels. Most in colors red and black.
=D~
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:27 pm)Yes, I guess I shouldn’t have assumed. Point taken (though I doubt GM would crow about opening plants in China).
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:34 pm)Right on Dave K, you hit the nail right on the head.
Its what I’ve been saying the whole time: Its Still Business As Usual At GM!
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:41 pm)GM is maintaining cash flow through sales of larger vehicles. Like it or not, GM needs trucks sales and China to keep moving forward with the Voltec program. Just the way it is.
=D~
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:41 pm)Hi again everyone!!! I did quit posting when all the na-sayerssss were kicking GM and the VOLT. Have been waiting for this day as many have for a long time. Gooooooo Volt !!! is great news to see VOLT hitting the showroom floors even if only in some test markets. Thanks Lyle for all you have done not only for the VOLT but for keeping us so informed over the last few years. Now how about some new t-shirts with the date the first one hits the show room? I have worn my origianl many times to many functions and it always gets attention. Still are many people who have never heard of the VOLT.
Keep up the great work you do Lyle … again THANKS
Nov 28th, 2009 (12:47 pm)Hello Lyle,
I’ll be surely following your upcoming reports about the drive tests. As I live up north in Québec and willing to get one whenever we can on this side of the border, could you please ask GM engineers by what percentage the battery depletion will be affected in very cold temperatures, around -30°F .
Let’s hope you’ll enjoy your ride!
Nov 28th, 2009 (1:04 pm)This news is very positive. However (as many are commenting), the weakness for GM (new and old) continues to be the GM dealers … so far.
Maybe there will be a required-viewing business narrowcast of the festivities for the distributed GM employees (if not, something should be prepared quickly so that troops in the field can deal with local reaction to “the buzz”).
Nov 28th, 2009 (1:08 pm)Dang it, Lyle! I was determined to ignore the Twitter-fad! Now, I guess I’ll have to sign up …
Nov 28th, 2009 (1:37 pm)The genie’s out of the bottle. Good for GM. They (or should I say we – beings we own 61% of GM) got something to crow about… And we should be able to get an idea of CS Mode mileage. Gotta say about smog … My first time in S. Cal. was a 1972 trip to Anaheim – going SB through US5 I never saw downtown LA-and it was into the 80′s where the smog reduced so I could see from US5 downtown buildings. Anyways Lyle, weather should be fine – have a great trip.
Nov 28th, 2009 (2:27 pm)Just checked the brand layout of the 2009 L.A. Auto Show. Looks like Audi is setting up right next to Chevy. Was going to wear my GM Volt T shirt. May need to change to a faded navy blue wifebeater T now. (hee hee)
=D~
+2
Nov 28th, 2009 (2:51 pm)I would not expect GM to start accepting pre-orders for several months. I hope that they do accept pre-orders. Pre-orders are the easiest and best way to determine what the market is. I expect that they will quickly discover that they have a Tiger by the tail, and the Hamtramak plant will have to be in full production to fill the orders.
I suspect that their timid, limited introduction in certain markets first is more to limit orders than worries about infrastructure. They may not be able to obtain batteries fast enough to support full production.
Most, if not all, enthustiac EV supporters would buy a Volt without any public charging stations at all, just their home charger and the knowledge that employers, shopping malls, and hotels will be quick to set up chargers for their customers. These charge stations do not have to be expensive, high power fast chargers.
If all dealers are allowed to sell the Volt, GM would not be able to keep up with the orders.
Nov 28th, 2009 (2:54 pm)I went to a Leaf tour event at the Irvine Spectrum, like the Volt Tour no one is allowed to actually sit in the vehicle except maybe a few choice celebrities, guess theri money is cleaner than mine! Yet they are expecting many people to pluck down wads of cash on pre-orders next February for the Leaf. Although not site unseen, I would prefer to get a feel for the “recycled bottle” upholstery & comfort & leg room etc before I commit. They are planning on running their batteries down to 10 % and up to 80 or 90% to get the advertised range. I think think Nissan realizes these batteries won’t last 10 years & maybe won’t last 7 years providing full range with these cycles so plan to lease the batteries. At least GM is putting their “taxpayer” money behind the warranty on the batteries. Leaf has a 24KW battery compared to Volts 16 or a third more. As nice as it looks on the outside I would not commit to buying one without some serious external reviews and unbiased test drive reports. Their pre sales and psych of green screen pictures putting you in drivers seat is a great tool to trying to get people emotionally committed to the Leaf even if they can’ t actually sit in one. I would not mind putting on a paper jump suit just let me sit in it and that goes for Volt too! I can see pictures on the web although not 3D it is quite a drive to some of these events to not be able to touch the car. Guess they didn’t think of seat covers or paper booties & floor mats. GM take note!
-14
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:05 pm)(click to show comment)
-14
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:08 pm)(click to show comment)
-14
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:11 pm)(click to show comment)
-15
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:14 pm)(click to show comment)
-10
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:21 pm)(click to show comment)
-14
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:25 pm)(click to show comment)
-14
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:33 pm)(click to show comment)
-9
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:45 pm)Listen to me now and believe me later. There will be NO PRE-ORDERS for the Chevrolet Volt. Whoever started this rumor should be banned from the interwebs. Don’t make me hurt you fools. Here is how it a gonna work:
Only select dealerships will carry the first-year Volts. These dealerships will require advanced and lengthy training to handle the different technologies found in the Volt (Gearheads need not apply). These dealerships will be prevented from taking pre-orders but will be allowed significant markups for their value-added services since you cannot just go to ANY GM dealership for required scheduled maintenance. Also since ALL Volt will be heavily monitored by OnStar the OnStar subscription will be mandatory at time of delivery. This is how it will work. Dealer markups should be expected and welcomed for a car of this stature, after all this is not your father’s Prius we are talking about. This is a genuine American forward looking car of the future that commands a premium price.
+7
Nov 28th, 2009 (3:45 pm)Ugh. The troll is out.
It may be easier to believe that it’s more than one person writing these things if there weren’t 6 negative messages posted in a row in a period of about 30 minutes.
Edit since I posted: Make that 8 messages in 40 minutes.
-15
Nov 28th, 2009 (4:19 pm)(click to show comment)
Nov 28th, 2009 (4:27 pm)Wohoo…glad I just moved to LA. They might be bringing the Volt to an expo at my job next week. I’ll make sure to comment on that if true.
Nov 28th, 2009 (4:51 pm)Awesomeness!
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (4:59 pm)This is all exciting. But Lyle, why does your comment say “Myself and several journalists will be getting our Volt test drives”. Shouldn’t that read “Myslef and several other journalists”? With all the real news and interviews you publish on this site you’ve moved from hosting a fan site to a news site quite a while ago.
Have fun on that test drive! Keep in mind we’re living vicariously.
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (5:03 pm)http://www.autospies.com/news/Buick-Sales-Soars-50-In-China-43716/
To point out something good with Wags’ former management team. They had the foresight to open sales to every continent on the globe. Continuing with this winning strategy is not only necessary, it is wise.
BTW: Much has been said about our spouses being involved in car buying decisions. My wife likes the signature color Volt. Although partial to white, I can bend a little on this one.
=D~
Nov 28th, 2009 (5:55 pm)Gary – I think they have a club… they come out of their hole late each afternoon….
Nov 28th, 2009 (6:05 pm)are you really that petty?
+3
Nov 28th, 2009 (6:33 pm)Lyle,
all the best of luck for your test-drive! Could you please ask whether the Volt will be available with the glossy black interior finish known from the Opel Ampera concept? It’s so much better than the white and grey versions we’ve seen in the Volt so far…
Thanks!
Nov 28th, 2009 (6:36 pm)just envious (smile). hope you have a great day
Nov 28th, 2009 (6:58 pm)Yep. Everybody vote “-1″ quickly. Do your part for the community!! The sooner we reach -10, the sooner the posts collapse and disappear.
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:26 pm)I guess he hasn’t heard about the California ban on TV’s (because they take too much electricity)…
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:47 pm)Go Volt! Go Lyle! I choose to believe that the Volts are not so far away any more. Check out this cool pic (from a Science Daily article on advancements in batteries):
+1
Nov 28th, 2009 (9:48 pm)I know I said “Think again loser. The Volt is a niche Chevy vehicle.”, but I said that because I’m angry. Mommy is yelling at me again for being on her computer.
I luv my mommy. I wear her dresses while she hems them. She thinks I look pretty in them, and I do too. I like to post stuff on the net because I like the attention. I don’t like the Volt because mommy says she can’t afford to buy me one when I get my drivers license. ITS SOOOOO UNFAIR.
—————————————–
Actually, I’m not Thug. I just wanted to screw over a troll. Lyle, see how easy it is to spoof names? What you need for this site is a pin / password system, one per internet address. THAT would cut down on rapid fire troll blasts from one person using different names.
Nothing’s more fun than taking some punk kid calling himself “Thug”, putting him in a dress, and making him call for his mommy. [Grin]
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:34 pm)Yes, that would help cut down on Troll invasions. However, I have a point of never (well, almost never) having anything to do with sites that require me to register (just one of my many endearing idiosyncrasies).
Lyle has provided several tools for defeating Trolls; one is the voiting system which allows us to hide the more mindless comments, but also we have the option to select Gravatars (for which we must sort-of register with a real, bona-fide email address; something which a multi-name Troll can’t do). Also, it’s absense tips off readers that a regular’s name is being spoofed. Yes, I was skeptical of Gravatars at first, but have found them useful in retrospect.
For Lyle to just ‘go out there’ on the stage of the Internet and welcome all comers is to his credit IMHO; and more in keeping with his stated mission to spread the Voltec message far and wide.
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:40 pm)Dan Petit
Obsene?? This is the kind of hyperbole that Al Gore spins. Going from 280 ppm C02 to 380 ppm C02 has taken decades. And this amounts to putting in 1 C02 molecule into each group of 10,000 molecules. This is a pittance and there is a very good chance that the C02 levels are being driven by the warming trend and not actually driving the warming trend.
I would suggest reading http://www.climatedepot.com for a while. This will help you understand what all of these so called skeptics are talking about.
Nov 28th, 2009 (10:42 pm)… voting, not “voiting” (sorry).
Nov 29th, 2009 (12:07 am)Voting? Lyle for President!
Cheers
/just kidding, wouldn’t wish that job on my worst enemy.
Nov 29th, 2009 (7:31 am)Assuming your stats are accurate and taking a molecule diameter column from sea ground level to the edge of the atmosphere what do you suppose the number of molecules that pulse will encounter on it’s way past the Kármán line 65,000 miles out (how many nanometers is that?)? This is best case, shortest path of exit. Doesn’t your stat indicate it is 35.7% more likely to encounter a CO2 molecule now? Does sound like a negligble number?
Information without context isn’t very usefull.
+2
Nov 29th, 2009 (9:51 am)The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
The island nation of Maldeves will disappear in the not too distant future being something like several feet above sea level. Yes, I would call that an obscene effect of Carbon Dioxide.
Guess what else. If you live on Manhattan island, again, only just a little more than several feet above sea level, the North East coastal tides run 75% higher than most other places. 50 years might not seem much to some of us “who won’t be here in 20 to 30 years”, but it is our decisions NOW, that will or will not help future generations to adapt. How about most of Florida in 100 years?
While there won’t be some shocking rise all of a sudden, what I am saying is that the ramp up of the thermal dynamics are
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*compounded and exponential*
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not one single simplistic linear
“who-the-hell-cares”-flat-shallow-thermal-line-upwards-at-a-”comfy-cozy”-forever-OK-rate-”leave-the-problem-[cause]-for-’the-future’-to-solve”-**it-is-really-a-molecular-problem”**……
Bull.
+1
Nov 29th, 2009 (11:28 am)Knowing what simple things to do that have enormous compounded positive effects are what’s most important.
When I put my money where my statements are, I have received exceptional returns from smart generosity. Spending $1050 several years ago and buying 384 complact flourescent bulbs and gave them all away to shop technicians, teachers, and neighbors, and those that seemed to be too poor to afford their electricity, the returns over these last 2 years after I did that have been
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*astonishingly *
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tremendous.
Several business persons I talked to vocally-reacted as if it was wasteful, weird, foolish (“a fool and his money are soon parted”), and uneconomical. But at least five exponentially-positive things happened with each bulb given away.
Each time those bulbs are turned on, maybe some of the people I gave them to are reminded to give away CFL’s themselves (stocking suffers?). Compounding good economies by actually handing people CFL’s is more effective than what some people do to me with false discrediting based on my environmental views.
(Which political discrediting I completely reject). I have too many more good work opportunities (to kill carbon) from customers who appreciate my technical scholarship to be the least bothered by superfluous discrediting.
Decisions now are exponential to the future. Just look at what compounded 29.99 percent interest does to people. Those debts are not meant to be ever paid off.
Exponential effects drive exponential change, for us or against us. Later is too late, and all the skeptics need to say is “I didn’t know [after all]” leaving future people in greater trouble.. Al Gore is not wrong. Al Gore is completely accurate.
“They didn’t know what they were doing”. We nailed God to the cross because of our ignorant and arrogant “not knowing” what we were and are doing. At least we have freedom of speech so that we can learn how to be better and do better. Learning from many unusual circumstances especially, in ways that most others won’t or are unable for some reason to show us.
That’s why this site is the very best.
-1
Nov 29th, 2009 (5:56 pm)Dan Petit,
Every time I bring up the global warming issue someone claims it must be true because some ice is melting somewhere.
That’s not the point. It is confusion of the issue.
The issue is what is causing the warming. Al Gore and his tipping point bull tells us that it is C02 and that the science is settled. That is clearly BS and I recommend reading from http://www.climatedepot.com to get some perspectives on this. You are a very smart sounding guy.
Things are warming up. That is a fact. They have been warming for centuries. What is causing this. I do not know. I do know, however, that the science of man made global warming is based on models that are not accurate. The earth has not warmed at all for 10 years and none of the models predicted that. The IPCC panel ignored changes in cloud cover when they set forth their dogma.
Clouds are huge greenhouse contributors. Much more than C02.
I just recommend that you read more on the subject. I work in the area of Energy balances and Energy transfer and have two graduate degrees in this field. I do energy balances every week and model some of the same physics everyday. I also read papers on the global warming theories. What I have found is 1. The public does not even under stand the debate, 2. Al Gore deals in hyperbole that gets into the mainstream, and 3. The science is far from settled, and 4. It is very difficult to get the original data that these hucksters are working from. They only give data that they have massaged. A colleague of mine, who was a global warming (man made) believer a few years ago has been trying and failed. He now is a skeptic too.
Again, I recommend reading up on this.
PS the 1 in 10000 molecules comes from the 380 ppm of C02 in the atmosphere. We are told that 280 is normal (whatever that means). So 380 is 100 in a Million parts more or 1 in 10,000.
Dec 1st, 2009 (6:02 pm)Just because someone publishes something (especially electronically), one source alone unreplicated is never the
“be-all and end-all”, “topic closed”, because of a single reference. (Valid studies are always replicated by an objective other agency).
That would be the most closed-mindedness arrogance for such a critical topic I would ever see in my life, for such a compound-complex topic as is global warming!!!!
The Sun’s heat/output energy cycles (two of them, one an 11 year and the other is a 55 year) are BOTH AT THEIR LOWEST HEAT OUTPUT LEVELS FOR BOTH CYCLES!! That co-varied into the situation causes artificially-low highs an artificially low lows in all the science.
One study or published paper can never have credence over what all non-lobbyist-paid scientists have been telling us for decades.
One measily reference ought to change all of reality?
You need not worry about anything. Many of the remainder of people on the planet choose to.
Where’s Tag? (LOL).
Dec 2nd, 2009 (12:58 am)I think Chevy Volt is next best car after Cruze. Big advantage on this car is this is hybrid car. After Cruze, Volt is the next choice of the customers.