If you are reading this post, please watch the 3:39 minute video below. After watching the video please share it with everyone you know either by email, Twitter, facebook or any other means.
This is a micro-documentary I have produced that strives to send a clear message to everyone who sees it why they might want to drive an electric car.
You may not agree with everything in the video, but hopefully there is something in it for everyone. You might not think its great or even very good, but at least its better than the Chevy Volt dance!
If we can get this video to “go viral” there’s a chance millions of people could get this message.
If you are the creative type, feel free to make your own.
Thanks for your support.
+8
Jan 19th, 2010 (6:55 am)Very nice.. perhaps also mention that oil has more important uses for manufacturing, growing and distributing food.. oil shortages have great potential to impact our lives.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:05 am)Would only add that traffic pollution costs us additional billions in health care and an immeasurable loss in quality of life. Drive electric.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:08 am)Lyle, I am almost speechless. It is beyond good. Very moving. Keep it up.
LJGTVWOTR
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:11 am)Covers all the points for me, other than the fact I think we are fast approaching peak cars as well.
The EV will eventually rule, and the EREV is a very important step in that process.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (7:22 am)Good work, Lyle!
But my only problem with all of this is that if we raise awareness to the “masses” before these cars are available in quantity, aren’t we just going raise the frustration level??
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+11
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:32 am)I hate to cast the first stone, but to me this video implies unless we start driving electric cars the earth will explode (as shown by the graphic at marker 2:36). This why EV supporters are often viewed as “extremists” and “crazies” (kind of like how Glenn Beck associates Obama’s presidency to Armageddon). Even if the idea of man-made global warning was accepted by everyone, very few agree that electric cars are the solution (perhaps a small part at best).
Having said that, the video is well done and will certainly prompt more people to look into EVs further. If it is not too late, I would suggest an edit to the video to remove the references to Armageddon.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:34 am)Great video Lyle.
Now all you have to do is get us some cars
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:38 am)What the hell is a cubic pound? How can you 20 pounds of anything from burning one gallon of gasoline which weighs much less than 20 lbs.?
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+11
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:45 am)Ok, one gallon of gasoline puts 19 pounds of CO2 into the air, even though the gallon of gas only weighs 6 pounds. Do a little homework and look for the explanation on the internet – it may take a few tries. I think Wikki has a decent one. The gist of it is that one atom of carbon combines with two atoms of oxygen. Each atom of oxygen weighs more than the one atom of carbon.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:49 am)Lyle, this video is BRILLIANT! ….It should circle the globe in NO time and it will certainly raise public awareness of the coming availability of the world’s first truly practical electric car —the Chevy Volt!
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+10
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:50 am)I agree with the message, but some of the claims seem a bit partisan. These days there is a large fraction of the population that will ignore the entire message because of appearance of political bias.
Also, at time 2:20, where do I get one of them “cubic tons”? All of my scales are circular, and won’t measure cubic weights.. B-)
Have a great day!
WVhybrid
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Jan 19th, 2010 (7:51 am)In a related issue, loss of manufacturing jobs may one day have consequences similar to the loss of independence caused by dependence on foreign natural resources. The Volt actually helps with this issue also.
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+14
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:55 am)Personally I think it is a bit self serving. To me it seems to say drive an electric car and save the world. Driving an electric car is not a silver bullet to the worlds problems.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (7:58 am)Electric cars (or plug-in hybrids) can partially address peak oil and global warming, but they would not alleviate traffic congestion. Also driving cars supports a lifestyle of inadequate exercise. We need to also build an infrastructure that encourages walking and bicycling.
In answer to Jeff’s second question, most of the weight of gasoline is carbon. Carbon has an atomic weight of 12. When burned each atom of carbon combines with 2 atoms of oxygen (atomic weight 16) from the atmosphere to produce carbon dioxide with a molecular weight of 44.
Good film – I hope the Volt is a winner.
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-45
Jan 19th, 2010 (7:59 am)(click to show comment)
+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:03 am)Thanks JohnK, you’re right of course. But I still don’t know what a cubic pound is? Still a very good video.
If electric vehicles are successful, I believe it will be because they will become more economical to operate rather than less polluting.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:04 am)The beginning of the presentation reminded me of a funny observation.
The guy who invented the wheel was smart. The guy who invented the other three was a genius.
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+30
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:05 am)And why would you want to buy a 100% imported car that runs on 75% imported fuel(prius)unless you have a grudge against the american economy
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:08 am)Lyle said, “You may not agree with everything in the video, but hopefully there is something in it for everyone.” and I’d like to add that: There are three integral parts to our nation’s quest for energy independence they are: (1) Energy conservation….(2) The electrification of the automobile through means of solar and wind energy….(3) And the mind set of our population. Oil is not an endless resource! Use it wisely and only where necessary!
Good Job Kyle
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:10 am)Nice video except for a couple of factual errors:
1. No such thing as “cubic pounds” or cubic of any weight.
2. Carbon dioxide increase lags global temperature, as any one that knows anything about data analysis can see by looking at the data.
And by now we know that the “most experts” that claim that global warming is caused by human activities are a bunch of crooks.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:13 am)OOPS, Good job Lyle
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:28 am)Lyle, you continue to amaze… I’m not sure how you do it – but THANK YOU for doing it! The video is brilliant – the music bed is captivating and a good choice – and this will get viewers!
Sure, a few facts could be disclosed clearer – but you stated “You may not agree with everything in the video, but hopefully there is something in it for everyone…..”
You also opened the door … “If your the creative type, feel free to make your own.” OK creative types … consider this Lyle’s challenge … let’s see your stuff!
Go GM. Go VOLT. Bring it on…..
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-11
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:37 am)(click to show comment)
+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:46 am)Of course the Volt is a silver bullet. It is the silver bullet that, once fired (no pun intended), it represents what we can do to save our butts (,) lots of gasoline money if that is your only mantra, lots of pollution if that’s also your (wise health) preference, lots of money not having to do brake jobs and other maintenance, especially if you’re fed up with $1500 brake jobs (for going to the wrong place in the first place), and on and on.
We can’t entirely stop what is going to happen in the environment, but we all **must** **sincerely try** to get on the same page regarding understanding it **exactly** without all the crappy denial. Read Science Daily every day. It is also highly reputed.
Then, *PLEASE* hold back on making conclusions for about three months to avoid provincial, circular views that remain chronically-outdated. (The Science Daily site format allows for excellent and quick and convenient research for the best current and balanced views on the environment, and everything else science (except Voltec of course)).
Volt is a philosophy. It’s a new way of doing
*********************
* EVERYTHING. *
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Lyle, the video is
*****************
* Superb!!!!! *
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Send it over to PBS!! (Maybe Ed can get ExxonMobil to sponsor it for us!!!!) They may need to slow the text change rate down a bit for people to read on their big new wide screens.
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+27
Jan 19th, 2010 (8:52 am)This is ridiculouos on many levels. Where will the insanity stop?
Allmost all of my tools are harmful to humans.
My wifes hair dryer is harmful to humans.
Most candy is harmful to humans.
Insectacides are harmful to humans.
Kitchen knives are harmful to humans.
The fact that my roof is 20 feet high and I must go up their occassionally is harmful to humans.
My lawnmower is harmful to humans.
The list can go on forever.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:04 am)Hi Lyle, I agree that your video is very good, but here are some comments for your consideration in an effort to make it even better.
I read more slowly than most, so the speed of the video was a little too quick for me, so consider having each page stay on the screen a little longer.
I am not a fan of AGW, and I am not alone. So I see its inclusion as a “blue” flag, which by that I mean I react with the thought this is liberal propaganda, not a rational argument.
Is the average car mileage 20.3 or 23? I thought it was 23.
That’s it. Thanks Lyle for all you do to foster a better future for all.
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-11
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:05 am)(click to show comment)
+8
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:06 am)Well, you probably wouldn’t buy it regardless, hater. But I would buy a Volt because I don’t like the Toyota bait-and-switch tactics. Sure the Prius STARTS AT $22K, but that’s for a base model 3 generations old (II not V). Only people with moths in their wallets will buy that. If you actually build one with the latest tech and features, the price is very close to the Volt, but you still can’t plug in the Prius. Unless of course you want to void the warranty and do a $10K 3rd party plug-in conversion. Oh wait, now the Prius is MORE expensive than the Volt. And still won’t be as fun to drive.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:07 am)Excellent Job, Lyle! I KNEW you had some extra time on your hands (g). It must have been an incredible challenge just to sort through all the issues impacted by the electrification of transportation! Maybe your next effort could be in 3D and IMAX compatible.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:07 am)Dear Mr. Whitacre,
Please buy the rights to Lyle’s video above, and, if it is OK with GM, and, if it is OK with the ExxxonMobil board, in a mutual GM/ExxonMobil effort, put that video in front of everyone on the planet in all the various languages in a PSA (public service announcement), and,
pay Lyle ten times the price of a Volt for it please.
(Include the Volt itself for the eleventh value as well).
Sincerely,
Dan Petit
Austin Texas.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:11 am)Nicely done video Lyle. Where in the world do you get the time to do all of this?
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:18 am)Nice grass roots video Lyle. Here’s one of my favorites. Running time about 20 minutes.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
=D~
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:21 am)Just curious, but what is the weather like in your world?
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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-9
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:21 am)I’ll come back and watch it when I have time to sit through the nonsense at the start of the video. Please get rid of that stuff and get to the point!
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+12
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:23 am)EVs run on electricity. Wind and solar are ways of producing electricity without relying on fossil fuels. Thus, they are very much linked in the quest to both reduce greenhouse emmisions and/or reduce the reliance on non-renewable fuel sources / create domestic power.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:23 am)Nice marketing! (but I’d be afraid they’d change the sound track to the Volt song) (g).
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:38 am)Sheez, what ignorance.. please spend a few minutes at the Toyota web site. The Volt cant compete with the Prius on cost, the Prius has been in continuous improvement and production for 13 years.. Give GM a chance to catch up.
Hint: all the Priuses sold today are the same generation, Gen III
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+4
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:39 am)Hi RB,
Although I think that we share a very similar political bent, when *I* watched the video, I found myself noticing ways that Lyle was trying to avoid political posturing. One example – he mentions the rise in CO2,but does NOT label it anthropomorphic. Cleaner air isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue – I think that they both breathe the same air – at least until they reach Washington, DC (g).
I just don’t see how a lot of the beneficial results of the Volt can even be mentioned without it “feeling” like it leans one way or the other. Tough job – glad Lyle took it on. JMO (and I respect yours too).
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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-4
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:39 am)Products are always being recalled for safety related issues.
They are either discontinued or improved to eliminate or lower the safety concern.
Allow me to reiterate. “Automakers need to stop making a product that is harmful to humans since there are alternatives they can make that will do the same job without or less harmful impact.” Other products that are harmful, and yes that includes cigarettes, should not be mass produced if there are safer alternatives. If someone wants to smoke maybe they should roll it up themselves. Having to go through the trouble of growing your own tobacco to smoke would possibly discourage people from smoking.
NPNS!
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-6
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:40 am)This video is a total Joke!!
Real scientists don’t have to Fake their results !!!
If you base the Volt on getting off middle east oil that is fair !
But Don’t Lie to the people about Global warming Hoax!!
Mt Saint Helens blew out in 10 min what the USA can produces in CO2 in Hundred years.
Sorry Lyle this video is based on a LIE !!!
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+6
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:42 am)It would be easy to pile on with more accolades for Lyles’s video – easy because it was well done. But if Lyles is looking for feedback and constructive critisizm then I would point out the following. That is that when a message has multiple points, especially multiple controversial points, it is most likely that someone will disagree with one of them. Human nature being what it is, people (myself included) will tend to focus on the one(s) they disagree with and the whole message ends up not being effective or at least less effective than it could have been.
Perhaps it would be better to put together multiple messages that focus on only one point. Those that disagree will just ignore that particular message. But the message(s) they do agree with they will pay attention to. So put together a video that focuses on the environment/global warming. As well as one for air quality, national defense/trade imbalance, peak oil etc. This would be my advice for GM as well. Go ahead and put together different messages and be careful about where you put out those messages. Perhaps skip the global warming one in an oil drillers trade magazine! Go with the globabl warming ad in the Seattle paper and the made here/national security type piece in the Detroit paper etc.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:42 am)Pretty good effort Lyle. (Way better than mine. Which is none.)
Overall, I think the video is a little too political. However, you have covered most of the points that would lead one to consider going electric. I think it would be better to push the mechanical attributes more (smooth, no shifting, quiet, etc). Maybe part II?
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:43 am)I still say Lyle will be mentioned when the history books detail the transformation of transportation from gas to electric. Thanks again Lyle for your heroic efforts.
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:44 am)My last comment still applies.
For every sharp knife there is a duller one.
For every chainsaw there is a dull hand saw.
For many good products, there is a safer version.
The idea that the production of a gasoline car or a battery car that is not good enough should lead to a lawsuit is still ridiculous by most peoples common sense standards. Discussions like that make this site appear to be monitored by loons.
By the way Lyle, Great idea to make a video.
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:45 am)Geez that is dumb. Do you need water? Is it dangerous? Using your logic I would ask you to submerge your head in the toilet for 10 minutes and we can prove if it is dangerous! Let us know how it turns out!
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:50 am)Nice video, it will certainly affect people concerned with our planet, environment, oil dependency, and such stuff…
…but am I the only one who likes the Volt because it is so COOL and HIGH TECH? I don’t care how many elks I save driving it – I just want to ride in true 21th century style, not using a steam- pardon, petrol- engine.
When will we see a Volt commercial with emphasis on coolness, high-techness, user friendlyness (doesn’t need to fill it up every week)? Then mention “andyouwillbesavingtheplanetalso” in the last second of the clip
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:51 am)The video link will not work for me. Anyone else having problems? I tried to find it on youtube … is it there?
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:51 am)Just a side note: Sharp knives are safer than dull ones, assuming you are concentrating on what you are doing at the time. You are more likely to slip and cut yourself on a dull knife. Any knife needs to be at least sharp enough to cut what you want it to, and if it’s that sharp, it’s sharp enough to cut you if you slip. A sharp knife will cut through what you intend to cut without skiping or sliding.
If you aren’t paying attention when cutting something with a knife, perhaps you should just put the knife down altogether.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:55 am)You just noticed? Sorry, I had to say that or my head would explode (lol).
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:55 am)Nothing is ever true all of the time.
Anyway, now we are really off track.
I will focus back on how great of an idea it was for Lyle to make a video.
Good idea!
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (9:58 am)______________________________________________________
Great video…
Lyle’s: “If your the creative type, feel free to make your own”…sounds like a Volt videoThrowdown Challenge me!
_____________________________________________________
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Jan 19th, 2010 (9:59 am)Granted. The majority of the time sharp knives are safer than dull ones. In addition to the above, you have to put a lot more pressure on a dull knife, making it much more likely to slip violently and cause damage. Ask a chef.
The same can be said about handsaws, the majority of time. I’ll take mine super sharp, thanks.
Back to our regularly scheduled video…
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:03 am)True, but I can’t think of anything the average American can do that is more significant to help our country. The average American can’t run for president and solve the worlds problems, but he can choose for his transportation a mode that creates jobs for americans and helps reduce imported oil.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:05 am)OK, if it is a choice between buying the Volt and giving your kids an education and teaching them good values and morals, I don’t know, thats a tough one. I think buying the Volt is still more important.
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:13 am)No, it’s not a silver bullet, but it is a signifigant piece of the puzzle. Elevtric vehicles open the door to a more diversified soure of transportation power. As an engineer I would expect that you would understand that there is no silver bullet, and every solution is going to have pieces that need to be put together. Putting the Volt down because it’s not a silver bullet is a weak argument. It’s a piece of the puzzle, and a very important one.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:14 am)Love the music, Lyle.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:14 am)I’ve been visiting this site almost since it’s inception and I still never see this talked about, so here it is.
A roomba like device designed so that once you pull into your garage robotically with a cord attached finds an under chasis charge port and connects itself. If you can make a roomba for 200 dollars that finds it’s way to a charging dock you can make this for the Volt. For a reasonable amount. Then you never have to worry about forgetting to plug it every time you come home.
I think I’ll repeat this every day.
John
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:14 am)A little of topic
From the Maryland Energy Admin.
The Gov’s plans:
Incentivize the Purchase of Plug-in Electric Vehicles
Create a credit against the State vehicle excise tax for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles (new generation of electric vehicles are expected to come on the market beginning in the fall of 2010, including the Chevy Volt, and electric vehicles by Chrysler, Nissan, Ford and Toyota.) The tax credit would be for 3 years and would be capped at $2,000 per vehicle. Exemptions would be limited to one per individual and 10 per business entity. Fiscal cost estimated to be $279,000 in FY 2011. Loss of revenue to Transportation Trust Fund will be offset with funds raised under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Electric vehicles will provide enormous and far-reaching environmental, economic, national security and health benefits to our citizens. Electric vehicles will reduce petroleum use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower fuel costs, improve air quality, and increase the State’s and country’s energy independence.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:15 am)I liked the video except for the “global warming” mention….IF you have to mention that all….I’d say “climate change”….
Also, in sending this off to my friends/family they might think that the Volt is an all electric vehicle….The video should IMHO clearly state the expected electric range (as well as expected gas range)….
Thanks for putting the video together….nice job….I hope to get a Volt in Florida….
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-2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:15 am)Need to clairify what 20 cubic pounds and 5.5 cubic tons actually represents…..irt emissions.
Might want to add a brief slide (with graph as well) showing the following:
World Population:
Modern Man–(20,000 years 0 to 1 billion)
1830 – 1 Billion
———————–(97 years 1 to 2 billion)
1927 – 2 Billion
———————–(33 years 2 to 3 billion)
1960 – 3 Billion
———————–(14 years 3 to 4 billion)
1974 – 4 Billion
———————–(13 years 4 to 5 billion)
1987 – 5 Billion
———————–(12 years 5 to 6 billion)
1999 – 6 Billion
———————–(12 years 6 to 7 billion)
2011 – 7 Billion
———————-(and on to 8 & 9 billion)
(nearly 4 billion added since just 1960)
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-13
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:17 am)(click to show comment)
-9
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:17 am)This video is slick and effective, however, General Motors is one the most polluting companies on the face of the planet. GM testified in front of Congress to not set emission reduction standards. As noble as your efforts were, the fox is guarding the henhouse.
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-1
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:18 am)I’d like to think that changing to electric cars will solve all our problems, until I saw a documentary on coal mining. People in the coal mining states in the Appalachian Mountains are literally dieing due to coal pollution caused by “mountain topping” mining techniques, let alone the destruction of the mountains themselves. And, since we still get the majority of US coal from those mountains, I’m dubious about changing from oil to coal.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:18 am)Lyle – Who can we get to make an informative video about the gas guzzlers we drive today and global excessiveness regarding the world’s oil supply?
Some Old Lady – Well my 13 year old grandson does the videos on the youtube. He made a funny video about a cat that really makes me smile everytime I see it.
Lyle – Perfect, bring him on board and let’s get this done ASAP!!!
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:19 am)Frustration is demand.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:19 am)I agree with Van about the AGW reference and also have similar thoughts about the solar and wind references. As soon as you put a political tilt to a piece like this, you lose a lot of folks. Electric vehicles have positive aspects even if the power comes from coal and nukes – which it probably will.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:21 am)I think he was kidding…
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:22 am)Speaking of faking results.
That volcano info is bogus.
http://greyfalcon.net/carbon2
And we know it’s fossil carbon due to it’s lack of C14 carbon isotopes.
http://greyfalcon.net/c14
Yes there is a lag. However that would only be relevant if you bought into the false assumption that climate can only be controlled by 1 variable at a time.
Now when you add multiple variables it starts to make more sense:
http://greyfalcon.net/climate2
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+4
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:27 am)Nice video- glad you included the peak oil graphs and middle east factor. I saw a great map of how the US bases are concentrated around the major oil fields in iraq. The most patriotic thing we can do is quit buying oil. Especially as batteries improve, electric is a clear winner. I’m glad to see GM committed to vehicles that can run without emissions and be fueled entirely from domestic sources. (And clean ones at that).
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:28 am)A very real solution is to retrofit your existing car into an advanced battery/electric motor. I hope new businesses that take this opportunity seriously and start springing up all over.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:30 am)Great Video …
I do drive a PHEV and am eagerly awaiting my Pure Electric.
Steve
http://www.goldenoldy.org
The Sustainable Museum of Sustainable Transportation
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:32 am)I’m convinced (and have been for a long, long time). So, where do I get one?
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-2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:32 am)Why do we need to tell people what to do? Can’t they think through the issue for themselves and freely make a choice that works for them? I’d rather be wrong because I made a bad choice than have no freedom to choose at all. Is it just me? I hope this site gets back to informing rather than compelling. Just the facts please. Then, LOL, we can get back to arguing about which facts are true!
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:33 am)For credibility, you might want to edit ‘cubic pounds’ since there isn’t anything like that.
Also for credibility, you might want to tone down the relationship between co2 and climate change since many scientists to NOT agree on this and it may become a polarizing point. IMO, focus on America’s energy independence, that’s objective.
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-2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:34 am)Don’t confuse what the car is for consumers – it’s a plugin hybrid.
Ppoint out that the car “has” a petrol engine to let you do long journeys as you would normally!
I would add this:
“You could never charge it … if you want… but when electricity costs 1/5th of what gasoline does, and the car can run silently… what would you do?”
Also point out the grid has excess “night-time” capacity for 40million cars” to be charged.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:38 am)I applaud the effort in putting this video together. Lets hope they can get the cost down a bit to make it affordable to the masses. I would hate for Chevy to put this out of the reach of the typical consumer, and yes $30,000 + is out of the reach for the typical consumer. Anything in the $20,000 – $30,000 is a much better market.
Please do not fail me, Chevy.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:39 am)I know first-hand the damage that coal mining does to the environment and to the miners, but shifting transportation to electricity does not require additional coal plants – especially in the near-term. By the time the Volt and others are widely in use, there will be cleaner alternatives available to generate the extra electric power required. Given the wealth of coal available in the northeast US, I hope that cleaner, safer use of coal is among them.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:41 am)well…how to start this..
I come from Iceland an im looking forward to the electrical-car revolution but is it as green as people say.
In Iceland most of our electricity comes from geothermal heating but from were comes the electric in the US.
I dont think that im an envirormentalist but lets just say that im against newclear-power…..but anyhow….may the electrical-car be here soon and not later then yesterday….
best regards to you all..Helgi
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:42 am)Well the “market” is a Price setting mechanism.
And if the Price of something is made artificially low.
Either due to subsidies (Warfare)
Or due to unpaid externalities (Pollution & National Security Risk)
Then a Price setting mechanism is incapable of pointing towards an accurate result.
So how in the world can we expect the “Market” to handle this sort of thing by itself?
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:48 am)The Auto Law Suit was not my idea, but I don’t think I’m the only one who supports the State of California in their quest to protect the people and the environment.
Read about the pre-existing cases.
http://www.calcleancars.org/legal/auto_claims.pdf
http://www.calcleancars.org/legal/auto_claims.pdf
NPNS!
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:51 am)This video looks like a bad powerpoint presentation from 10 years ago. I’d love to be able to drive an electric car, but I’m realistic enough to admit that they are not yet practical.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:54 am)The video is right. But it looks to damn like a marketing video, that could come from GM. It will be hard for people to believe it. And the price, that people have to pay for the electrical car, will be high in the beginning.
I believe, it is the driving performance of electrical cars, that will lead to their breakthrough, not their “greenness”.
Kai
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (10:56 am)That was a lot of work Lyle, and the video may not go ‘viral’ on YouTube to get enough exposure.
I’ve been saying, you have enough ‘content’ for a major magazine publication:
Get it on the news stands of New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, Dallas, and Atlanta.
That would really get the word out.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (10:59 am)Just for the record, the number of registered vehicles in the U.S. has declined for each of the past three years. Using your analogy, if that trend continues, we will all be walking.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:04 am)Lyle, please fix “cubic pounds” and “cubic tons”. It’s lame.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:04 am)Generally, I liked it… the animation’s awfully jerky (PowerPoint?), but otherwise, a good video.
You might mention China. Not only are they rapidly driving up the consumption of oil (along with India), but they have realized there’s no catching up to the rest of the world on petrol-powered cars. So they’ve vowed to be #1 in electric vehicles. They already have a plug-in hybrid in full production, the BYD F3DM, which can go 60 miles on battery power alone (but the like Prius, can’t run battery-only at high speeds), and sells for $21,900. Warren Buffett liked them so much, he bought 10% of the company. They have 10,000 auto and battery engineers working on these technologies. BYD is planning to enter the US market in 2011. And this is just one… every Chinese automaker is working on both hybrid and full electric vehicles.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:04 am)I think it was great. Until I got to the part about “Global Warming”
I will not forward this to anyone. GW is a joke, just look out side. We had a very cold year in 2009 and record cold all over the world this winter.
GW give me a break. We do not fake GW to get us to change to electric. It only make us who support electric cars look out of touch.
We need stop supporting people who hate us by buying their oil. That’s the only reason.
Sorry GW is fake with out it, that was a great video.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:06 am)Very true! Although, they’re kind of unnecessary on a unicycle
Nice work Lyle!
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:06 am)RB “Given that GM is now a virtual government entity, you cannot watch this (visually) impressive video without the sense of a deep political bias.”
It’s too late now to undo the “bailouts”. What has been done by our inept government has been done….and has only made the economic situation worse in the long run….but….the GOOD NEWS is that GM has said it wants to re-pay us taxpayers. OK….the only way that can happen is if they sell cars.
The good news is….GM HAS been building a much, much better product of late. I think GM and the UAW finally “get it”….nothing is more important than QUALITY. I had all but given up on GM, switching to Subaru….because I need RELIABILITY…..I do not have time for break downs. The Subaru has been fantastic…..But last year t I also picked up an 09 Chevy…mostly for work….and have put 50K miles on it in only 17 months. It also has been impressive….no major problems of any kind. This, combined with the fact that GM has seen fit to “go the distance” with the technological milestone we know as the Volt has made me decide to give GM a “second chance”. If the quality of the Volt is top notch….I think GM and the Volt can make it…in spite of the horrible economy.
Good Video Lyle….in spite of the AGW stuff.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:10 am)Hey, just an FYI from a real people…
I will think about electric transportation when we can move 15-40 people on my “capitalist” work teams, hauling a 6000 pound trailer, about 80,000 miles per year. BTW, our funding for community youth development and volunteer work comes from Republican donations. A-hem…
Also, do let us know when Obama and all the other greenies rides to work in an electric car (no more big black Suburbans and Cadillacs, he has not earned it! I wish I could buy one of his used trucks.
I like my (2) OLD 4×4 Suburbans, and 15 pass. van with a trailer. We can do all kinds of good for the environment, including recycle our plastic, aluminum, paper, oil, and tires. I will never pay $30,000 for a hybrid anything. LESS technology for us please, simple, NO computerized stuff. We will maintain fix them ourselves.
Mike, Arizona
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+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:12 am)This is an excellent video. It makes a very strong case for evolving into electric cars.
However, I would be careful about tying Volt’s success to belief in man-made global warming. That is a topic that is highly politicized and there is a very large segment of the population that does not believe in it. Which means a large group of buyer will dismiss the core message that electification is the direction we all need to pursue.
Yesterday I saw a video by the man who created the Weather Channel. He is a meterologist with 55 years of experience. His presentation illustrated the theory that global warming is normal and comes in cycles, some of which are tied to solar activity. Reasonable people do disagree with man-made global warming.
However, it is impossible to disagree with the fact that all this exhaust causes very serious health problems and the explosion of cars you forecast will only make things terribly worse. And, of course, the foreign oil point is also irrefuteable.
So why go into the global warming argument? There is plenty of great rationale for electric cars without straying into areas that can be debated. No need to alienate a large portion of the buying market.
Actually one of the great appeals of the Volt for me is that it is a duel-fuel car. I have gasoline and electricity in my home. If I lose either one, I can still get by on the other. Why not have the same assurances that my car will continue to operate if I lost one or the other?
I have recounted a few times on this site our experience in Atlanta when gas supplies were interrupted with no indication of when they would return. We had very long lines and intermittent violence at the pumps. That experience convinced me that Voltec is the best idea of all. Actually living through a gasoline shortage will make a convert out of you when nothing else will.
And shortages can come in many ways. Just the demand for cars you forecast will almost certainly create shortages that dramatically drive up prices to levels we have never seen. And that becomes another great, and hard to refute, case for Volt.
Lyle, you are amazing. I am sure everyone here agrees with that. And we dont know how you support this site as you do and still practice your craft.
Please keep up the great work!
Go VOLT!
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:12 am)Yeah, yeah, the cubic pounds thing is a boo-boo. We get it.
And as for AGW being a myth, I lean (strongly) that way myself. But this video is designed to appeal to the general public. Therefore I can see why Lyle would make mention of that. Besides, he did say “most experts believe,” which, while also debatable, at least indicates there is dissent.
Personally, the national security angle hits home a lot harder with me…
Edit: Minor cleanup, added bold.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:14 am)#58
Excellent! Very encouraging. +1
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:15 am)The criticism of EVs has been that they simply move pollution from the tailpipe to the smokestack. So a cleaner grid would be one part of the solution. Out of curiosity, if the video showed a nuclear power plant would that generate a different reaction? To me it wouldn’t matter but I’m thinking for some people it would make a difference. If so I’d suggest that Lyle add that to the mix in his video.
On the market front, GM is doing quite well. Its sales are down but that’s just a reflection of having fewer brands. The remaining brands are doing either very well or decently with the exception of Cadillac, which is suffering from the lack of a top end model (hence the very nice XTS introduced at the Detroit Auto Show).
My view is that product drives sales. Nothing more complicated than that. It’s why Ford is doing so much better — it stopped messing around looking for silver bullets and started cranking out better vehicles. I’d look to Buick as the best indicator of whether sales follow product quality. It has the Enclave, the LaCrosse, and soon the new Regal. Those are all nice vehicles, and this lineup should do well.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:17 am)Another thing… it’s not entirely fair to compare the Volt to the Prius. I drive a Prius (2003 model), and it’s a great car. Most people miss the point that the Prius was originally designed to be a green vehicle — low pollution levels were the original driving factor, high mileage was just one means to that end. But it’s still a gasoline vehicle; the electricity it uses is the energy wasted by other vehicles, but it still comes from gasoline.
The Volt will be a fundamental shift toward electric vehicles. Today, you do need gasoline backup… today’s batteries don’t charge fast enough to make “Volt Stations” practical (15-30 minutes or more for a full charge on most Li-ion and NiMh chemistries, though some new anode and cathode materials are bringing this down to a potential of 5 minutes).
Comparing prices, consider that the Volt is moving to Li-ion, but specifically an improved cell that hopefully won’t die after 3 years and/or 500 charges, as most cellphone and laptop batteries do. Li-ion in general can offer twice the energy density of NiMh… Toyota is also experimenting with Li-ion cells, now, in a plug-in version of the Prius (undergoing fleet testing sometime this year).
But for some people (for example, each and every one who is CONSTANTLY harping on the death of the EV-1), this will be all or nearly all electric in practice, without the need to compromise on range. So really, see how the price compares to electric vehicles (Toyota was selling the RAV4-EV, the one Ed Begley Jr. drives, for $42,000, but they were subsidizing it, even at that price). If Toyota makes a version of the Prius that plugs in AND offers a functional all-EV range, then the door’s open for direct comparisons.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:20 am)#63
True that. +1 “Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.” It is just another huge problem which we have to solve to make all of this work. To its everlasting credit, the Obama EPA is currently taking a very hard look at these practices, which have been left to run amok for the last 8 years.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:22 am)#65
Well said! +1
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:25 am)(click to show comment)
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:26 am)#78
And best regards to you. I really love the world wide participation here. Many thanks for your comments. Come back soon. +1
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:28 am)Ok the video was good until global warming was mentioned as a fact. So many bought into the lie to the point now we have to start to tax carbon emissions! Carbon… Big oil owners and World Order folks realize people are trying to make a change so they figure out a way to tax it. Wow, loss of revenue if your car gets 60+ MPG or you dont use gas at all. They will find a way to tax you, trying to remove yourself from investing in Terrorist OPEC nations.
Those “Global Warming” emails were not “hacked”. Scientist(s) released them to avoid FOIA hearings.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:29 am)#24
Yeah, heavy on the “crappy denial” +1 The “crappy denial” here scares me to death. At times like this I am ready to believe that man will doom himself in the end.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:30 am)(click to show comment)
+7
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:32 am)#90
Nothing like a perfectly appropriate screen name, LOL.
I owe you all an apology. I am so used to clicking + that I did it here by accident. “-1″
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:32 am)John,
There are a couple issues with your idea.
As I see it a garage tends to be cold and wet (mine is at least) so the robot will need to be fully ‘weather sealed’ this will add to the cost
A ‘Roomba’ is not very powerful (I have one) there is no way it has the motor power to drag a power cord under a car and plug it in so you would need to upgrade the entire drive system again adding to the cost.
Honestly, just get in the habit of parking your Volt (I like saying that!) plugging it in and then unloading the groceries. It’s easier cheaper and more reliable.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:34 am)#79
Well said. Outstanding! +1
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:39 am)I would love to see GM prosper. I have a Toyota Prius today.. my first non-US-made, non-US-branded car. I’d be really happy to go back to an American-made car, but only when they stop looking backwards and start looking forward. Volt IS looking forward, even if it’s not quite perfect out of the gate.
Sure they did. In fact, they were doing this in Europe for quite some time… I never understood why Fords seemed so much better in Germany than in the USA. Was I just homesick? I don’t think so.
Toyota and Honda build cars that should give you pretty trouble free service for 200,000 miles or more. There’s absolutely no reason GM or Ford can’t do that. When I get that, it’s awfully hard to justify buying a car that only goes half as far. Sure, some people are into the “new every three years” thing, and if that’s the only kind of car US makers want to make, I guess I’ll just have to look East again. But my Prius only has 120,000 miles on it, and it’s only kinda-sorta middle aged… should be going in for its first scheduled tune-up soon. My Fiero died at 87,000 miles, my Lynx died at 105,000 miles, my Talon TSi died at 94,000 miles, my Explorer died at 114,000 miles, though I did sell my ‘61 T-Bird at over 120,000 miles.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:40 am)I love how people like to tout natialism when the companies only use nationalism to sell cars and line their pockets.
GM has stated that China is the next emerging market and will be building cars with that in mind and I can garuntee that the US market will become second. Just look at the New Sail car built by GM and China, it sells for 8500 dollars. Too bad they couldnt have built a car like that for the US Market.
As for my being a hater, nope I just use the same measure that most people do what is the best value for my money and guess what Toyota quality and price point is far better than that of GM.
Recently I have heard good things about Ford and will be looking at the Ford Fusion Hybrid since they have reached the quality level of toyota in recent years. But in the end the Car companies care about nothing but their bottom line so I will do the same, guard my bottom line.
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+5
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:41 am)if you’re talking about John Coleman he didn’t actually start the weather channel but that’s beside the point. The point would be that he’s not a scientist he’s a TV personality, and one with a somewhat whacky personality at that, unless you think that a old guy dancing around on your TV screen is normal.
People need to get over thinking there is a controversy about global warming. There isn’t. When 95% of the serious scientific community agrees that something is true it probably is. It might not be true of course, science is hardly infallible, but if you have to bet the smart money would be on the scientists who publish in peer reviewed publications rather than on blowhard political pundits.
Let’s just look at the facts. We KNOW that releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere increases temperatures. That’s a fact you can reproduce in the laboratory. And we KNOW that burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases. That’s a second fact. Do you not agree these are facts? They are really incontrovertible, so the conclusion has to be that the direction of the impact is clear and we only have to determine the magnitude of that impact.
Determining the magnitude of the impact is the messy part. Obviously it is somewhat limited and can be cancelled by other events. For example, a volcanic eruption the size of Mount Tambora will cool the surface of the earth by up to 5 C, which is far more than the effects of the release of greenhouse gased from fossil fuels. Moreover, all the particulate pollution which frequently accompanies the burning of many fossil fuels cools rather than heats the planet. And of course there is a sun cycle, the one Coleman talks about. But the existence of all these things doesn’t disprove the basic tenet that releasing greenhouse gases increases the earth’s temperature.
But you know what, it really doesn’t matter. As Lyle’s video points out, there are many other reasons to avoid oil. National defense and national security. Check. Terrorism. Check. Health. Check. Economic growth. Check. Whatever floats your boat. If you don’t like one reason there are plenty of others to think about.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:43 am)Good video; not what I was expecting (I thought it would be about an actual drive/ride from inside a BEV/EREV) but nevertheless a nice watch. However I’d suggest to be more careful to inform viewers that the GM corporation is not responsible for the content or affiliated with the production of any of your videos, Lyle. That said, it was 500% better than that dance fiasco of a video.
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-5
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:45 am)According to Richard Dawkins “Greatest Show on Earth” p. 367
“We’ve been land animals for about 400 million years, and we’ve walked on our hind legs for only about the last 1 per cent [sic] of that time. For 99 per cent of our time on land, we’ve had a more-or-less horizontal backbone and walked on four legs.”
So 1 percent of 400 million is 4 million years, contrasted with your statement of humans travelling by foot for 1 million years. To be precise, you’d have to say we traveled by foot 400 million years, albeit on all fours. If you stated we’ve traveled on hind legs for 4 million years that would be okay too. But your 1 million years is way off the mark.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:48 am)Perhaps. But making your own, would for many folks, add to the ritual of smoking and deepen the addiction.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:51 am)Until the Volt costs $20,000 or less, there’s no way I could ever afford one. I can’t afford $700+ per month car payments right now on one of these cars. I’d be much more inclined to buy a brand new Hyundai Accent or Hyundai Elantra or something. Better bang for the buck and a fraction of the price.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:55 am)I have to echo and elaborate on those saying to go lighter on the global warming issue. It has more risk than reward. In fact anyone who watched the entire video can figure out the BIGGEST weakness in the argument.
If we’ve already burned half of the oil that is in the ground, and here we are the last couple years starting a cooling trend, then how much more harm can it do to burn the other half of the oil thats in the ground. The obvious answers is not enough to make any difference in the big picture.
Talking about Global warming just muddies the water when there are easily provable issues that justify going 100% BEV/EREV. And another year or 2 of cooling trend can risk losing all of the inertia we have gained for EVs if people think its about Global Warming. So I really recommend dropping all the global warming (replace with pollution), and FOCUS on economic and GEOPOLITCAL issues.
All the wars and human misery fighting over oil is reason enough.
Exporting american dollars and jobs for the imported oil when we could use that money to create jobs here instead of terrorists over there is reason enough.
The message really needs to be made crystal clear and without dispute. Only a moron can argue that Japan didn’t invade China and Germany the Crimea for their OIL. No one can argue that we are fighting wars and keeping carrier strike groups on constant patrol to keep the oil lanes open. No one can argue that our economy collapses if the flow of oil stops or the prices skyrocket. I could go on and on but I think the message needs to be Economic and Geopolitical, drop the climate change hocus pocus.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (11:57 am)An inductive device would be more elegant and less likely to break.
I have several Roombas and they are not the most reliable tools (toys?) I have owned.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (11:58 am)You clearly have not the slightest understanding of what’s meant by global warming. There hasn’t been remotely enough warming to affect regular weather cycles… some winters are cold, some less so. Factors like El Niño/La Niña (the southern oscillation) have a far more profound effect on the weather of the day.
Global warming is an average, over years, and over the world. One obvious sign is that most glaciers are shrinking. Another is the fact that vast stretches of the Arctic Ocean are becoming navigable in the summer.
Another factor is weather. Global warming today has far more effect on the severity of the weather you see than the kind of whether. All weather is ultimately driven by heat energy. Most heat in the system, more evaporation, stronger winds, etc. So you might see more rain or more snow, larger storms, stronger winds. It doesn’t mean you get to have a beach party on Cape Cod in January.
Global warming is very, very real. Deny it at your peril. However, your point is also just as valid… we really do want to get away from oil that’s controlled by foreign countries. Even if the folks of the Middle East were our very best friends, we as a country are foolish to give them that level of control over our economy. And they’re not.. it’s not even the people of the Middle East in charge, it’s a relatively few Shieks and Kings and other questionable types, not people who share many of the American values. Particularly little things like Freedom and Democracy.
As oil becomes less important, their power will fade.
This is a good reason that freedom from oil should not be a partisan issue… it’s good for everyone in the USA. Even those who don’t believe in science.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:02 pm)Very well said DonC.
The thing that drives me up the wall, personally, is when someone grabs onto one piece of the complex global climate puzzle and runs with it. Prime example would be the whole sun cycle thing. To think that educated scientists who spend their entire careers working on this line of research haven’t taken these things into account already is naive.
I’ve personally worked with some of the climate models out there, looked into the science and math behind them, and I can say without doubt that they take into account WAY more things than anyone outside the serious scientific climate research community would even dream were part of the puzzle.
Climate change is a theory the way evolution is a theory, which is the way gravity is a theory or relativity is a theory. The amount of peer reviewed scientific evidence is overwhelming. To a scientist, and established theory is more like what the layperson would consider practically indisputable.
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-1
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:06 pm)Today I had to pickup my son’s friend for school. His parents called and asked if we could. When I got there, the child’s dad was behind his 6-7 month old Chevy Silverado Crew Cab cursing it to hell. Why? Because his 6-7 month old car poured out all his tranny fluid on his driveway and down the drain with the rain.
Although he was positive the repair was going to be under warranty, he swore up an down to never buy a Chevy product again.
Incident’s like these that I “know” of make it difficult for me to purchase a GM product. GM has been building cars for years and years, IMHO, there’s no reason this happened. Now coming into such new tech like the Volt, it’s even more disconcerting.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:07 pm)“Presently the scientific consensus on climate change is that human activity is very likely the cause for the rapid increase in global average temperatures over the past several decades.[25]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
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+5
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:08 pm)Tom,
It’s been a while since this chestnut has surfaced!
You are referring to the non-aerodynamic no rear seat headroom Camaro-like mock up styling exercise right?
It might just be time to grow up a little and realize that most people do not want a car that stands way out from the crowd. They would have sold a few of the showcar bodied cars but I for one would not have bought one. I don’t think I’m alone in this.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:09 pm)Are you kidding? I think it is 95% of people don’t know how to think critically in this world is more like it.
There are all kinds of things that large amounts of people are very sure of themselves, but they are totally wrong.
There are still people who think socialism is a good idea judging by the last election. It works ok if some countries are socialist as long as there are enough capitalist countries left to create innovation (one of the problem with our health care system is it is innovating TOO fast and that is driving costs up, but those socialist countries that never innovate can benefit from our discoveries).
People just grab onto idealogies that feel right and don’t think things through. That is always something that irks me is democrats or republicans that just buy the whole ideology without thinking it through.
Rush Limbaugh for instance drives me crazy. He’ll make perfect sense one moment talking about we need a society that promotes innovation, rewarding hard work, freedom, or may other things, then in the next minute he’s talking some total nonsense that we can solve our energy problem by lowering taxes or something (he is not a big proponent of EVs).
I can’t stand either party.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:15 pm)Eventually, those cars will be electric (or at least non-gasoline) as well. I would concentrate on another option: E85. You can displace a bunch of foreign oil by burning USA-produced alcohol/methanol.
One of the main points of an electric car is to avoid using foreign oil.
Everyone can contribute to reducing foreign oil consumption. Buying an electric car, for now, will be a higher-end way to accomplish the goals. Conservation and using other alternatives will also help.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:17 pm)While I have unbounded respect for Richard Dawkins, I have to point out the fallacy in your argument. The quote was “we humans”… yes, our ancestors have traveled by foot for a good 400 million years, give or take. But not as humans.
If you want modern humans, it’s only been about 200,000 years. If you want to go all the way back to Homo Erectus, then it’s been as long as 1.8 million years. He used tools, lived in social groups, but probably lacked modern human-like speech. Two steps back, you get Homo Habilis, the first of the “Homo” genus, at about 2.4 million years ago. He looked far more ape-like, but used simple stone tools.
But I don’t think he was trying to be paleoanthropologically correct here.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:20 pm)#41 RonR64 – VERY well said.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:21 pm)Hey Lyle… One more thing…
It would be really cool if you would submit an ‘op-ed’ piece of your own to those magazines the give you on an airline flight… I forget the names, but each airline has a captive audience, many of whom are professionals and/or decision makers, and the information in your video (turned into a nice article which also plugs GM-Volt.com) would also get the word out.
Just a thought.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:22 pm)I’m sorry, but this video is nothing but liberal propaganda. This video will do more to chase people away from the Volt than to draw them to it.
The lure of better technology and the promise of less or zero dollars spent at the gas pump are far more enticing than these ‘fear tactics.’
I have long been a fan of the Volt, Tesla, and other offerings, but not because the world is going to go up in flames if I don’t buy one. I want a zero emission vehicle which performs equal to or better than today’s best cars and, frankly, the sooner I never have to pay for gasoline again, the better.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:23 pm)I gotta ask a stupid question and yeah, i’m late on it…..
In the previous thread that GM will make a profit and the cost will be low 30’s, then whay the hell limit the production? If you’re in the market to make $$$ why limit yourself to a meager 10,000 the first year?
Yeah yeah, I know new tech but if it’s the car to save your ass, then save your ass.
Or are they afraid it will be over promised and under deliver?
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:24 pm)Very good video.
But I am afraid if I will start to spread this video it will be too hypocritical
PS. I always wondered why global warning is considered as a bad thing. Temperature outside of my house is -25C (-18F) now and still decreasing. It is freezing out there.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:25 pm)Not to diminish Lyle’s piece, but I would like to see one also along this line.
LJGTVWOTR
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:25 pm)Love the music track, which one was that again?
Ok Nice that the long awaited GM-Volt is coming out, just the Car?
What about a small van, or small cab truck? Then again for us to do our part do we need to to make these cheaper, are you all and do I mean all the maufactures selling cars that use oil, gasoline to other markets which will be far greater than 170 mill. By this Video, I say you will have a greater problem on your hands, if these are not cheaper so you can swamp the market.
One can’t promote the useage of Global Warming to us, while selling to much larger markets somewhere else.
The Electric car was invented along time ago, just suppressed.
Still I like the design, just how useful to the regular Joe’s lke us, except on date night.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:26 pm)lol……
Then why “Showcase” it like they did? In all honesty, it looks like the good ol “bait n switch”.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:31 pm)“There are still people who think socialism is a good idea judging by the last election. It works ok if some countries are socialist as long as there are enough capitalist countries left to create innovation (one of the problem with our health care system is it is innovating TOO fast and that is driving costs up, but those socialist countries that never innovate can benefit from our discoveries).”
Socialism is not a concrete philosophy of fixed doctrine and programme; its branches advocate a degree of social interventionism and economic rationalisation (usually in the form of economic planning), but sometimes oppose each other. A dividing feature of the socialist movement is the split between reformists and revolutionaries on how a socialist economy should be established. Some socialists advocate complete nationalisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange; others advocate state control of capital within the framework of a market economy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
If market socialism doesn’t work, explain why China is kicking our butt. What’s clear is that any blunt-instrument ideology that ignores facts on the ground, and anyone attempting to speak, judge, or rule on those terms, is doomed to failure. I’d like to see more people discussing more details of where market economy works best and where socialism works best, and where blends of various ideologies can be seen working well. If all we do is throw blunt instruments at each other, we all look stupid and we learn nothing.
Its historically obvious why pure capitalism needs rails and socialist protections, and it’s historically obvious why pure socialism in the form of communism needs opportunistic paths for people to succeed without the full burden of total command and control because of the issues of corruption and incomplete and timely knowledge. Even in our country you will see massive command and control in the corporatist organization. Why doesn’t anybody sneeze at that???
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+6
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:35 pm)It *should* be tough to extrapolate from an issue with one vehicle, of one model, of thousands of copies of that vehicle, of the many models fielded by a company – and draw the conclusion that you shouldn’t buy any vehicles from that company. I know it’s a natural thing to do so, but you have a TINY piece of a much larger population and are generalizing to condemn the whole population. It’s a little like having one bad date and saying that you’ll never again have anything to do with females.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:36 pm)I don’t think there’s such a thing as “cubic pounds” or “cubic tons”.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:37 pm)May I also add (128) performance. EV’s are capable of performance comparable to (better than?) ICE’s.
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-10
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:38 pm)(click to show comment)
+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:40 pm)#106
My S-10 is going strong at 218K miles and my wife’s Impala ditto at 127K.
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:50 pm)Because they can’t know what they don’t know. Until they get a significant # of wheels on the road and gather tons of data, they shouldn’t risk exposing promising tech to the bad PR of recalling a bazzillion Volts. JMO, but look at how a SINGLE bad transmission caused a reaction.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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Jan 19th, 2010 (12:50 pm)If you understand evolution, you really can’t say “we” as being distinctly Homo sapien, or Homo etc as there was never a time along the lineage where we could distinguish “us” from our ancestors. Each generation looked very much like the previous generation. It is only now that we look back and create arbitrary categories and name them for our understanding. The video says “for 1,000,000 years man has traveled by foot”. I won’t bother with the culturally insensitive use of the word “man” instead of the more correct term “human”, but I took the word “man” to mean “we” and went from there. My argument is not fallacious at all unless you can cite the specific fallacy I employed, however we all may be suffering from semantics. I was simply trying to offer some info to try and shore up the video so that it is factually correct and uses the most correct terminology and years. From what I can find, Homo erectus is not part of our ancestory but a distant cousin, so bringing up that species is irrelevant. Cheers! I love this topic, however. http://humanorigins.si.edu/ha/a_tree.html
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:53 pm)#108
Naaaahhh, this is America. Blowhard political pundits trump scientists who publish in peer reviewed publications every time.
Poor old Dr. Dennis. No good deed goes unpunished. Too much truth will get you in trouble every time, LOL.
BTW, +1
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+6
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:54 pm)>> And by now we know that the “most experts” that claim that global warming is caused by human activities are a bunch of crooks.
This is called PROJECTION: Whereby the Oil industry, and coal industry attempt to steal the future from Real Viable Solutions to Global Warming, as the Antarctic Ice Sheets crack, in essence CROOKS.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:54 pm)Good video. It’s just too soon to start a viral campaign. All the EV makers will be sold out as soon as they deliver and there will be long wait lists. All this with no public awareness campaign or advertising. It’s when sales start to slow and manufacturers are up to speed that you have to go after the general public. Right now, this just builds frustration and way more demand than there is supply. Too many high priced and limited supply EVs will build the public perception that EVs are just a rich elite person’s toy.
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:56 pm)Maybe. But plain water vapor has a much more effective greenhouse effect than CO2. The issue is whether humankind is causing an effect not whether CO2 levels and global temperature have a graphical relationship.
In most people’s minds, pollution is a much easier issue to grasp and ‘fix’. The causality is similar, but, the ability to get people to change is much higher when they can actually see that their air is turning brown and their water tastes funny.
Convincing someone that +2 degrees in temperature rise is a big deal (which it could be if it is a trend) is a way harder sell. I’m a fairly well educated individual and I’m not convinced that man’s CO2 emissions are doing any harm at all. I *am* convinced that putting tons of particulates and other pollutants into the air, water, and earth is bad.
CO2 is a naturally-occurring gas. Petrochemical vapors, complex compounds, non-biodegradable plastics, and other man-made pollutants are not naturally-occurring and are causing massive destruction of our environment.
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+5
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:58 pm)Really extraordinary assortment of trolls today.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (12:59 pm)We all appreciate very much your video. Well done. G/W: There are cogent arguments both sides. Whatever… as an engineer my approach has always been – why take chances? If G/W is real it’ll be too late; and, if its more a cyclical deal no harm, no foul. I have seen first hand pollution damage.
A relative as a kid lost an eye about 1920 swimming in a wholly polluted Delaware River (Phila. Pa.) I remember the same Delaware c. WWII being just like a sewer, maybe worse. Now the river’s relatively clean. This is how unbridled pollution screwed-up our rivers before 1900. A few miles up from Washington’s Crossing I spent many summers at Treasure Island Boy Scout camp – the Delaware then was perfectly clean and gorgeous about a mile wide.
On the other hand, this well could have been a video concerning overpopulation. For as Asia Westernizes demand exponentially outstrips supply.
The oil reserve limitations however cannot be refuted. Can anyone doubt OPEC would dump down to the last drop if they thought the electric car would be the dominating mode of transportation in ten years. One set of experts believe EV’s will make up 0.33% of 2015 car sales. That’s a very long ways off from EV’s dominating anything. Nonetheless, you can bet the farm OPEC will increase supply – not so much because EV’s are in big time production – but on news of a EV breakthrough; A 1000 mile range Li-ion battery.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:00 pm)Howdy Captain, Long time no chat!
It was a CAR SHOW prop after all… “Showcasing” is pretty much what these things are about, right?
Over the years pretty much every car company has built concept cars with no production intent whatsoever, they are simply to create ‘buzz’ to bring attention to that companies production product.
The original Volt concept was exactly that.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:00 pm)At $40,000 plus TAX and Lic.,easily be closer to $50,000 out the door… ha, the Volt is only for the rich..Hopefully some car manufacture will come out with something similar for the middle class.
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-1
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:06 pm)To think that educated scientists who spend their entire careers working on this line of research would pass off as fact an opinion printed in a magazine is naive.
Oh wait…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1244067/Climate-change-based-cold-facts.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ramesh-turns-heat-on-Pachauri-over-glacier-melt-scare/articleshow/5474586.cms
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+5
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:07 pm)The best reason for electric cars? Almost anything can be turned into electricity. This includes the wind, damed up water, the sun, natural gas, coal, gasoline, Hydrogen, ethanol, rotting landfills and yes, even crap can be turned into electricity. Electricity is also easy to distribute since most every home has an outlet.
The key has always been the storage of electricity in a vehicle so that it is lightweight, cost effective and has a lot of range. We are approaching this and the small gasoline engine is a good stop gap measure to use so that electric vehicles become more common. This will spur their growth, leading to more competition and a higher degree of innovation towards a better storage system for electricity.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:07 pm)Yeah, but evolution is only a theory….. (just kidding DonC)
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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-13
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:08 pm)(click to show comment)
+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:11 pm)Tag, I have worked in a production facility for many years. When a problem is found it’s almost too late as over 8,000 have already been built. In this case the problem was not found till after the buyer experienced it. That’s part of mass production. When you make one mistake, it continues through till someone finds it, by then products are on the shelf. In this guys case it’s the second time his new car is going in for repair. I didn’t bother asking what the other time was. He was a little too pissed off.
I consider my 96 Saturn SL2 “luck of the draw” in that I have had little problems other than my recent starter intermittent issue. I’ll keep fixing it till the engine blows or tranny dies. Till then, as long as I have no car pmt on it it’s perfectly fine.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:11 pm)I race cars. Save the oil for that! Well, I guess that’s “special” fuel at $12 per gallon. Kidding aside, has anyone done a study on the pollution effects of mining rare earth to produce magnets? Are magnets recyclable? They better be from the looks of the problems with rare earth production in China (where most rare earth comes from). Every technology has it’s problems, electric, hydrogen, nuclear. The worst problem is short-sighted thinking. As long as there is a total environmental plan for electric ie, byproducts of mfg., impact of waste and scrap, battery pollution, etc., then we can say it is good for Mother Earth.
If it’s a full speed “we gotta get to market and deal with that later” strategy, then we are in for more heartache. Be good to Mother.
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+2
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:12 pm)Again, to think that climatologists haven’t taken water vapor into account is naive. This is well understood, and is taken into account in climate models.
CO2 is naturally occurring, but taking a massive amount that was sequestered underground and releasing it in a short period of time will have an unnatural effect.
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+5
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:14 pm)I would simply ask why GM is not a solution provider when in fact they are preparing to release the highest mileage production vehicle and/or the most practical electric vehicle for mass consumption.
These thousands of electric garage cars are great but I have never even seen one. They are of little to no significance on the grand scale.
If GM is such a bad actor and of course all of the other companies are better, where in the world are their electric cars. Why can’t I get an electric Toyota, BMW or Peugeot today. These come from countries with high gas prices and ample electricity. If GM is a capitalist pig company for not producing electric cars, what are these other companies. Capitalist Hogs?
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+1
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:26 pm)You have a coupe good points, Baker made a very decent electric car in the early 1900’s
A hybrid by at least one definition is a car with both mechanical and electric drive, the Volt only has electric drive so is not technically a hybrid.
I believe that most people will not buy a BEV because of range anxiety issues, I won’t.
The Volt is the first and only electric car that I would even consider.
The Fisker is still vaporware and even if it see’s the light of day it’ll be out of my price range.
A supposedly 100 mile (160 km) ranged BEV at 20c is one thing, it’ll be MUCH less at -25c with the heater blowing hard with stiff bearings and generally sticky cold metal bits. I WILL NOT put my wife at risk with something that cannot be quickly refueled and likely could run out of fuel. (In this case battery charge) In the depths of the winter cold I expect that the Volt will run it’s engine a good part of the time.
I’m normally a pretty positive person but in winter the gas tank is half empty. This is range anxiety in a nutshell.
There is not a chance in ‘heck’ that I would consider any BEV, I am not alone.
Crediting GM for a move that the entire auto industry made is giving them a lot of respect! I had no idea you were such a fan Eric!
We’ll call you GM-Eric from now on!
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:27 pm)The water vapor feedback is very poorly understood by the UN panel and they admit so in their report.
“In spite of these improvements, there has been no apparent narrowing of the uncertainty range associated with cloud feedbacks in current climate change simulations. A straight-forward approach of model validation is not sufficient to constrain the models efficiently and a more dedicated approach is needed.”
They apparently assumed cloud cover would not change in their original report on the subject. They pass this off as scientific consensus.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:27 pm)(click to show comment)
-12
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:29 pm)(click to show comment)
-1
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:29 pm)Haha! I see you’ve been down that road a time or two.
The gorilla in the room that car companies don’t want to talk about is the reason to own a car in the first place. If it wasn’t for the post WWII break in traditional built environment promoted by GM beginning at the Futurama Exhibit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74cO9X4NMb4 most of us would not need cars. We bought the Futurama idea hook line and sinker and it was simply a marketing idea GM dreamed up because people didn’t want cars because they didn’t have anywhere to drive them, and the places to drive them were too congested with trolleys, street cars, buses, trains, pedestrians, and horses. GM invented the need of the car, and forced us into single family detached houses on suburban tracks through zoning and federal restrictions on home loans to only this type of housing. Now we’re paying for it big time. What GM needs to do is get into housing and build nice walkable urban places. For more info read http://www.amazon.com/Option-Urbanism-Investing-American-Dream/dp/1597261378
I’m not so much anti-car, but I’m not anti-pedestrian and anti-mass transit either. The transportation mix we have due to our built environment is the real problem and it needs to be fixed faster than it is. Hope to see most of ya’ll living dowtown some day, riding the rail out to the beautiful countryside while you read a nice book, and renting a car for the weekend joy ride. Our country has become quite illiterate because we are slaves to the wheel.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:33 pm)I agree with most of this but, ever the optimist, I don’t think that there will *BE* a slow down in sales anytime soon. Low productions and high demand will suck up the available Volts for at least a year – probably 2 years. By that time, assuming that the Volt warrants it, word of mouth will increase demand exponentially. JMO.
Be well,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The ***VOLTS’*** Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:35 pm)Lyle, Good video but I think you should have taken a different tack. Repubs will just dismiss it as environmentalism once you who flaming globes. Just focus on the money-where it goes to support terrorism and where it could go, which is locally to make jobs.
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Jan 19th, 2010 (1:36 pm)It does sound wrong. But according to the Google calculator:
1 cubic pound = 0.093324833 kg3 and 1 cubic (short) ton = 746 598 664 kg3
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+3
Jan 19th, 2010 (1:38 pm)