There is one thing that can always be said about life, change is constant.
I remember very well that day just over four years ago when I first read about the Chevy Volt concept, in a top-voted story on Digg.
The concept of a full-featured American car that could be powered almost all the time on electricity both captivated and inspired me. I had long dreamed of moving our country off of oil, and this seemed a great way to begin.
Using my well-heeled Internet experience, I immediately launched GM-Volt.com as a blog in which I would follow the developments of the car and hopefully help compel GM to build it.
I had no way of knowing at the time that the car would ever be built, that it would become so important to GM and the country, nor that the resulting product would be so utterly masterful and wildly popular. I didn’t know either that GM’s communications machine would fuel the news media with a constant stream of Volt news either.
All these things came true, and GM-Volt.com grew remarkably popular for a blog about such a specific subject.
In a labor of love I have churned out over 1600 Volt-related articles, have test driven many versions of the car, met all the members of GM exectuive staff, and have attended a dozen or more GM sponsored events both in Detroit and elsewhere over these years. I essentially never missed a day of posting including weekends, holidays, and vacations. These sacrifices built a great community but did take time from my life and family.
Since December more than a thousand real people in our country have begun taking their Volts home and our early dream has become a reality. Many of these owners are signing up and posting at a rapid rate on our GM-Volt Owners forum and it is a beautiful thing to see.
The time has come to move GM-Volt.com to the next level and to allow me to return to my normal life.
The site has been acquired by VerticalScope, a large-scale company that owns and operates hundreds of the top automotive forums on the Internet including Autoguide.com and GMinsidenews.com.
In the hands of these industry leaders GM-Volt will be able to grow and thrive well beyond the hobbyist effort of this neurologist and family man.
Though I won’t be writing the daily blogs anymore, I will still be here just like you, as a member of the Volt community.
I am very proud of what GM-Volt.com has accomplished and I am very optimistic about its future.
Thank you for all of your support.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at 8:35 am and is filed under Volt Nation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+48
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:45 am)Thank you, Lyle, and congratulations. Job well done.
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:47 am)Glad to have been here from the beginning. Lyle, what a great thing you helped accomplish. Soon they will be available here in Ohio. I can’t wait.
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:55 am)Did you put in the deal that Tag gets a new Volt?
+37
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:58 am)Noooooooooooo!
Lyle,
This site has been a lifeline for us all. The information posted here has been so much more comprehensive than on any ither site or from GM itself. Chevy dealers who were not glued here did themselves a great disservice.
I trust the new keeper will do a great job administering the site…you know, it’s not brain surgery!
+14
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:59 am)Lyle, thank you for your tireless efforts. I have read everyone of your posts since early 2007 and they have been most informative. It has been a pleasure and I thank you greatly for your contribution. Enjoy your Volt and the time with your family.
+27
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:02 am)Long live Lyle!
, and others.
Thank you, my friend. This is the first and only blog I have ever belonged to.
It has become a way of life for me too. I have met many friends here, and lost some on the way. Grizzly, Anti-oil Jihadi, VoltGuy
I found you 1-2 weeks after you created this site. When I first heard of the Volt, I was very excited. Finally, someone is building a hybrid the correct way and not the backwards way the Prius and others were made. What I mean is, the electric motor was the primary, and not just an after thought supporting the ICE. IMO, the Volt is the future. Prius will change or die.
Alas, the sight won’t be the same without you.
I may hang up my hat soon too.
So long Lyle. It was really been fun and educational. You will be missed.
+8
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:05 am)Your work is done here – thank you for your efforts.
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:05 am)Thanks Lyle. gm-volt.com took me from interested to knowledgable to the waiting list at a dealer.
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:07 am)Lyle,
Please keep contributing…maybe we’ll see more of your comments instead of columns?
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:12 am)Good job with this site. I have thoroughly enjoyed the level of knowledge of, well, just about anything, within this automotive forum.
Now, with the Volt on the road, it’s up to us to offer proof of the concept, not let GM slip into building less than mediocrity, and carry the torch.
This is just the beginning.
Good health for the days ahead and thank you for the days we’ve read.
ps. plus I’m sure Tag will be availaible in case you need help rediscovering a “normal” life.
+37
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:13 am)I could tell when I read the title of the story that I did not like the sound of it.
However:
It totally amazed me how you could possibly have enough energy to go about your professional life and still write an article EVERY DAY. Did you ever get to sleep or did you just stay up 24 hrs a day???
I can not blame you for this, but still I don’t like it much. Reading your article everyday became almost an addiction. What, no article??? Shoot my day is not complete.
Thanks for your efforts Lyle.!!!
Go now. You are forgiven.
+10
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:18 am)Wow! Lyle, for most of us you have become a true friend and will be sorely missed! I have marveled at your ability to produce so much for so long. A very big thank you from all of us that have made the Volt and the EV revolution a huge part of our lives and futures. Now you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor and be assured of a job well done!
+25
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:21 am)Lyle says, “Though I won’t be writing the daily blogs anymore, I will still be here just like you, as a member of the Volt community.
I am very proud of what GM-Volt.com has accomplished and I am very optimistic about its future.
Thank you for all of your support.”
I’m glad to hear you’re handing the reins to VerticalScope when gm-volt.com has reached a true pinnacle, Lyle. You and your family richly deserve time to now enjoy the fruits of your labor and dedication to this noble task, which I’m convinced has played a major part in advancing the Volt concept into an incredibly successful automotive breakthrough —one that has already literally changed the course of the world-wide automotive industry toward electrification! Congratulations
for everything you’ve done here and on your decision to move on!
And I have a confession to make: The one deficiency in gm-volt.com as I’ve seen it is that YOU, as the master blogger and editor-in-chief, have only rarely had the time or the freedom to post your own comments on topics either you or others originated over the years. Hopefully, you’ll now be free to do so, and I genuinely look forward to reading those comments!
. —Phil Toney /
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:27 am)Well done, you!
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:31 am)Great job and thanks for the effort this been part of my morning ritual with coffee for five years, you will be missed. Thanks again!! Brian
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:32 am)From post #9— “Lyle, Please keep contributing…maybe we’ll see more of your comments instead of columns?
bt”
My feelings exactly, Lyle!
+19
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:34 am)There is NO WAY that I would be picking up my Crystal Red Metallic Volt next week if it were not for Lyle and this sites contributors insight. There is NO WAY I would buy (vs lease) a new car like this (or virtually any) without the knowledge and confidence I’ve gained from Lyle and the contributors. Thank you all!! — Scott Fauque (F200 soundex)
+51
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:38 am)You have accomplished a wonderful thing here. Not only have you played a lead role in promoting a new technology that is vital to all of our futures, but also along the way you have created a community for like-minded people to get together and to become an extended family of sorts…no small feat.
On a personal note: I have appreciated the opportunity to be ‘counter-productive’ every week or two on the site over the last few years, but more than that I have appreciated our friendship, I will miss ‘shooting the breeze’ about the day-to-day life/perils of automobile blogging, (=
Great work my friend, now load the kids up and take a vacation or something…and leave the computer off!
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:41 am)Wow…sadly, I knew this day might come! Although I am sad to see Lyle go, I am excited for the possibilities that are ahead of us. I can’t wait to get my volt (hopefully by Q4/2011) and I owe all the knowledge and excitement to Lyle and GM-Volt.com! Thanks Lyle!
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:56 am)Lyle,
I always wondered how you did it.. to me, it always seemed that you probably never slept. Thanks for your sacrifices over the years. You have provided countless articles that helped to evolve the Volt-a-lution.
I have been a member for a few years now, Gm-volt.com is my default homepage. I have read every post.
Good luck to you.
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:56 am)Lyle, thank you for your efforts creating this site and this community. While I have not been the most prolific contributor, I have enjoyed immensely reading you and the wide variety of contributors here. Hope to hear from you often. Enjoy your family; they must be the best for supporting your efforts here. I feel you have made the proper decision by making sure this site and community prosper. Thanks again!
Volts will be available in Lansing MI locally sometime this month or next (or so I’ve heard). “I gotta get me one of these” -Will Smith, Independence Day (pretty appropriate don’t you think?)
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:00 am)I can’t believe its been this long and that I have read over 1600 articles.
Thank You so much for all your hard work, I truly believe that this site was crucial in the decision GM made to move forward with the Volt and Lyle – you will be part of the history books regarding the beginning of the electrification of the automobile.
Again thank you so much for all your hard work, you deserve a vacation with your family. Also glad to hear that you will not be leaving the site for good.
+37
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:01 am)Now I’m bummed.
I read that same article way back when and I was really excited about where the car business was headed. After I discovered this site where I could actually get solid information about the Volt, it was even better. Shortly after, news of GM’s “re-alignment” came and even worse the great depression hit. The owner of our dealership laid off almost a third of the employees; and his other dealership, Corona Chevrolet, was given the axe by GM Corporate. It was very depressing and I thought I would get out of car sales completely.
But I just couldn’t give up after learning from this site that the Volt was actually going to become a reality. Now, after spearheading the marketing for the Volt at Singh Chevrolet the only thing frustrating is that they are not building them fast enough.
This so-called media giant has some very big shoes to fill now. The public awareness of the Volt and the enthusiasm that followed to push GM NOT to cancel the program is directly due to Lyle’s efforts.
Thanks for helping to bring back Chevy customers into the showroom, AND making car sales fun again!
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:02 am)I can’t tell ya how many times I thought, “this guy should take a day off.” Your a doctor for Petes sake. But, you don’t become a doctor being lazy like myself so your probably always looking for something else to do. I wonder what cause you’ll take up next.
My idea, finding out the best balance of imported cars to be sold in our country. While I know it’s important to have trade, to import and export, I get a little sick of seeing so many 40 and 50 thousand dollar foreign cars on our roads. Perhaps it’s just that a Mercedes or BMW seems more exotic and thus more desirable. I’m sure a fully loaded Camaro would be a pretty exotic car in Germany. Anyways, I’m rambling. Go Sailing.
Good Job Dr. Dennis
+8
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:07 am)Thank you Lyle for all the hard work over the years. Your posts have kept us all focused and entertained during the 4 year wait. I firmly believe that everyone involved in the development of the Volt or education of the public as to what the volt is is doing a great service to our country. For me personally the volt is the first big step in getting our country off oil in 20 years when we aren’t importing it anymore I hope the textbooks remember the volt and this sites devoted voltaholics as the catalyst to getting this country energy independent, export heavy, and fiscally sustainable. Thank you Lyle and thank you GM
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:08 am)Wow, what a journey! From conception to reality I have been captivated by the Volt story. I’m sure there are a lot of readers just like me that NEVER comment but are gratefull to you for all you do. Thanks
+12
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:10 am)Thanks for all the great posts Lyle, this site’s been a great source of information on the Volt, and kept all of us fed with info until the Volt wheels were on the road.
I love my Volt, and also knowing more about it than the dealers thanks to following your site all these years.
join thE REVolution
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:22 am)Lyle,
Thanks sooooo much! I have logged in at least once a day from the beginning. ( I think I am 744 on the list) I will miss your efforts as we all will. Live Long and Prosper!
Dwayne
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:23 am)Thank you Lyle for all your hard work. Don’t know a better way to say it, so Thank You again. It gave me hope that American auto manufacturing had the wherewithal to do it, and with your help, they did.
I’m not in the first group of Volt owners, but I will be an owner before too long.
Mike.
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:25 am)I was just starting to learn the basics on how to use computers and the software that allows me to have the ability to do so when I ran across this website. Not only did I end up learning alot about EVs, but I also learned alot more about computers and my accessable software as well. Thank you Lyle for all the interesting topics and the never ending hard work you have done for promoting the Volt. I hope your going to take a vacation with your family maybe in your new Volt, ENJOY!
+18
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:32 am)Thanks so much, Lyle, for the enormous amount of work and sacrifice you put into this project and making the Volt come to life!! We look forward to your highly-esteemed owners reports, though, of course!
I guess we all knew this day would come eventually! Still, I can’t help but feel like this:
EDIT: @ #4 Hamchief. D’oh! Leeeeeroyyyyyyed!
+16
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:32 am)As you have read above, Verticalscope.com has come to an agreement with Lyle and will now be the owners of GM-Volt.com. We here at aVerticalscope.com bring with us staff and resources to make this site grow by leaps and bounds. We provide the recourses necessary to run this site and maintain the day to day technical and managerial tasks that are time consuming for one person.
With that I would like you all to know that this is still YOUR community and we are here to work with the community and Lyle to keep this site a place for you to come and feel at home.
My name is Helena and I will be working with you all to help grow this site. Please feel free to ask questions or give suggestions in the forum section.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?6798-GM-Volt.com-a-Turn-in-the-Road
Thank you all for reading.
Helena
-33
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:36 am)(click to show comment)
+13
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:42 am)Lyle,
I’m down in Belize right now but I wanted to say that we all appreciate the hard work you put into GM-Volt.com. I was always amazed that you were able to devote so much to the site and still be able to work and keep your wife from smashing your computer.
While we are sad to see you depart, we all appreciate the work you did. You really have done an amazing thing. In time we may have historians point to this site as the tipping point for the transition to electric transportation.
Harrier
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:55 am)Thanks for all your hard work, the great interviews, the technical information… You have achieved a great success for all of us as our quarterback, friend, advocate, and tireless journalist.
Go enjoy your family and the open road that lies ahead.
Merlin
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:56 am)[i]Thank you for all of your support.[/i]
Thank YOU for all your work.
I hope for you the agreement with verticalScope is as generous as you’ve been, giving your time and energy for GM-Volt.com’s cause.
You’re norologist and I think you repaired some brains, converting minds from gasoline to electricity.
Enjoy your new free life.
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:56 am)Was really neat seeing your kids reaction when a real Volt appeared in your garage. Give your kids a hug for me. Maybe ProFlowers for the wife?
One of my first Volt experiences was watching the famous internet video: Volt Nation 1 from the New York Auto Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpKvy94r0LU
“Now I look forward to driving without gas…” Dr. Lyle Dennis
My second great Volt experience was the reveal. Bob Lutz going from corner to corner on the Volt. Talking about aerodynamics and giving his fingers a snap to relay the clean exit of air from the rear quarter of the Volt.
=D-Volt
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:57 am)Thank you for your time and efforts Lyle.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:03 am)I can’t thank you enough Lyle for the unswerving dedication you have put into this site as well as the electrification of the automobile. I will miss your daily posts and articles as well as many of the friends made here over the last few years who will eventually move on as well. I have often wondered how you made time for this with your busy “day job” as well as being a husband and a father. You can feel proud of all that you have accomplished here. I hope you become a regular contributor in the posts as well. Like I said to Tony Posawatz the other day fits just as good for you as well…
YOU’VE DONE GOOD!!!
May God bless you and your family!!!
SCHMELTZ
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:03 am)Others have done a great job of saying what I had to say, but to sum up, I’m grateful to Lyle for his leadership and to most everyone else for making this terrific place work. And I feel absolutely fortunate to have been a part of it.
The day will come when a movie is made about the Volt story, how its birth came at the darkest time of its parent’s life and how its very presence saved not only GM but helped lead the country away from the dead end of oil dependence, and on to the road headed toward energy security and prosperity. Kind of a Jesus Christ analogy in a very vague sense. GM-Volt.com will play a supporting role for being the grass roots represenative of the vast market potential that was silently but surely out there. I’m still unsure who to cast in the role of Lyle….
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:06 am)Thanks Lyle ! You done good !
Hope you can find time to keep us informed on your Volt.
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:08 am)Good on you Lyle.
Peace be with you.
Job well done.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:12 am)Thanks Lyle for having given us something to look forward to read each day, for the last 3 years or so.
Enjoy your family and take LONG TRIPS with your Volt w/o having to cope with range anxiety. Good luck with all your endeavors.
Joe
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:12 am)I don’t know if it will be the same…………..
With Lyle no longer in control, it sounds like this is going to be a Volt owners site, and it does not look like I can be an owner until late this year or early next year, depending on when GM opens up allocations for Ohio.
And I don’t think I can go a year of saying “Glad to hear you got your new Volt, I wish I had mine!” VES is a terrible disease……….
Do we know if Helena from above, has the same contacts inside of GM to bring us the same timely info like we were used to getting from Lyle? That is what remains to be seen. Sometimes, to “make this site grow by leaps and bounds” is not why many of us come here.
Time will tell.
And to Lyle: All I can say is what I said to GM many times – You did good!!!!
Jim
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:19 am)Thanks for everything. Every good wish.
+8
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:19 am)Lyle,
Thank you for your dedication. I have been following this site basically since the beginning and although I have only posted once or twice, I have visited this site everyday for years. I sincerely believe it was with your great effort that helped push GM over the edge to bring this car to life.
On a side note, I picked up my volt in CA about two weeks ago and drove it back to my home in AZ. My daily commute is 22 miles with minimal traffic lights and average speed between 40-50. Without climate I am hitting close to 50 miles per charge which is far greater then I could have expected. Let this be the beginning.
I also put my deposit on a Tesla Model S. Let’s hope they come through as well. Lyle, Tesla-ModelS.com?
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:23 am)Lyle,
For the last 3 years I have come to this site every day. Have not made many comments but always found it very interesting to read. Thank you for all your efforts. One person has made a very big difference. I hope that some day I can meet you in person. Now go enjoy some time with your family.
SteveF
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:35 am)Lyle,
Thanks for running such a great site. I hope the new management can find a way to still have the main blog thread. That daily entry set the tone for the topic of the day and, while the other forums were interesting, the main blog entry was the “water cooler” that we all gathered around.
However, helping people with your medical practice and your family are ultimately your top priority. I’m amazed that you kept this site going for so long.
Good bye. And thanks for all the fish.
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:40 am)@Randy C.
I can certainly imagine filling my Volt with $7 to $8 per gallon of gas (where I am, I’m filling my car with $5/gal already anyway). I can even imagine filling my Volt with $20/gal. At 150MPG or higher it won’t seem like much. On the other hand I can’t imagine having something like a 300 mile range BEV which would take 3 days to fully charge in a standard outlet or need a massive 500A panel or charging station to charge in a reasonable amount of time (just the cable for that would have to be as thick as my arm). So no, I can’t imagine it, not for a long, long, long time. It’s BEV technology which isn’t going to be enough. If anything is going to save us it will be EREV.
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:44 am)Amazing work Lyle. Thank you very much and take a much deserved rest.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:50 am)You are a founding and an integral VOLT team member. Nothing will ever change that.
The very very best to you and your family – its been a wonderfully productive ride.
+10
Feb 15th, 2011 (11:54 am)Thanks for all the interesting stuff you’ve posted Lyle.
Understand completely. Hopefully the sale raised enough cash to pay for the Volt, charger, and paint the garage :>}
Agree with #3 too. Maybe now you can drive over to Tag’s…
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:07 pm)Dr. Dennis.
I found this site after learning about the volt later in its life. During that time, this site has become a fvourite haunt that opens everyday for me when I open my browser. I may not post as often as many, but I have read every artice, every day.
Your vision was to help the Volt see the light of day.
Mission accomplished…
You were a primary driving force outside the GM corporation, but no less important. your grass roots effort i feel was instrumental in keeping this all on track.
Labours of love will also be finished, its time to take a break.
Best wishes, well done.
Mitch
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:15 pm)Lyle
Thanks for all your effort. You will be remembeed right along with Lutz as the first and formost Volt promoters
Norm
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:37 pm)A big thank you Dr. Lyle!
Like Rashid, this to is the first and only blog I have EVER posted and followed. I am not sure how long I have been following, has it been 2, 3 years? Seems like just yesterday.
Your posts will be sorely missed by many of us, but I agree it is time to move on for both you and a lot of us posters.
It’s been a fun ride. “Keep the shiny side up, and the dirty side down”
- JEC
-29
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:37 pm)(click to show comment)
-30
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:41 pm)(click to show comment)
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:44 pm)Thank you, Lyle, for your dedication. I visit this website regularly for my dose of Volt updates and it has never disappointed me. We understand that it is time for you to move on and get back to your life. You deserve it.
I am looking forward to ordering my Volt soon.
Chaim
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (12:49 pm)Lyle,
Thanks you for all these years of postings, rumor correction and fact settings. I too have followed the Volt development with an engineer’s eye. I test drove an EV-1 back in the day and really struggled with how to handle the real life Range Anxiety. GM blended the futuristic Volt with today’s existing infrastructure. Today, I’m driving what my 90-something father calls “The most exciting car he’s ever driven!”
It was you who started the “Want List” and forwarded our interest to GM. Even though they didn’t directly act on the list, they saw the interest and started their own. Through the development, we know they’ve been watching. We can see many of the early comments reflected in the final design. When GM announced the initial sales markets, pricing and availability, we heard it here first. Through the entire order and build process, the absolute best info source was RIGHT HERE!
I hope to personally meet up with you at a Volt event real soon and not only shake your hand, but give you a real pat on the back. You have enlightened and encouraged me. Your post on the Buy vs Lease pushed me off of the fence and now I’m an owner.
To all of my fellow bloggers, thank you and congratulations! Our voices have been heard! GM is on the road to recovery, oil use is being reduced, AND, we get to drive REALLY COOL CARS!!
Volt 63
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:02 pm)Though I have been reading this blog daily since its inception I have never posted. I think it would be most apporpriate now to do so and say “Thank you Lyle!”
I have a deposit down in AZ as of last September and was lucky enough to have the first official dealer sanctioned test drive in the state last week. A local dealer (Courtesy Chevrolet) got one from a sister store in San Diego. Fantastic car and can’t wait to get mine!
Cheers and thanks again (to you all) for the wealth of information you have provided. I will continue to lurk…
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:07 pm)I hope we will still get reports on your Volt experience once in a while, so those of us who can’t buy one yet will look forward to the day we can.
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:08 pm)Lyle proved that when you start with a few Stouthearted Men, there will soon be a huge parade following. He was certainly one of the first to start in up, and now look what is coming along! Great job and great results in getting us “tomorrow’s car today.”
BIG BTRY
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:33 pm)a hopeful bonus is that jerks like poster @ 56 and 57 can be blocked for being idiots..I am all for freedom of expresion, I just dislike people expressing them selves as mindless idiots on an otherwise intelligent blog….
+10
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:34 pm)Lyle,
You write like something naturally spoken rather than something composed.
We will certainly miss your folksy prose (such as using ‘either’ twice in the same sentence).
Making a transition from a community home-grown grass-roots effort to a corporate blog-o-site will certainly not sit well with a lot of us here. (Listening Helena?).
I think what makes this site great is your directed and untiring effort instead of just sitting back and being a ‘moderator’. The site design is not slick (sorry, but it’s not) and that’s part of the charm that keeps us here. Advertising on some other sites is interspersed with the comments and very irritating, for example. And a lot of the posts (on other sites) are blatant advertising efforts (or non-posts from kids), while here the bloggers are very personable and friendly.
We shall see how Helena and the corporate biggies keep the site real. Color me skeptical.
You have built a great community with a bunch of like-minded old farts. Good Job!
Have a great rest and let us know what the next big thing is!
–
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:52 pm)I knew this day would come, it could end only one of two ways, sell out or shutdown. Sell-out at least will keep the forums alive, but the content Lyle gave and the contacts he made are what made this site, that cannot be replaced by some cyber baby sister of a company.
I doubt GM will really ever understand this site is what made the VOLT a success, without it, more than likely the Volt would not have made it thru the Bankruptcy, the constant press here made a the difference. No disrespect to the thousands of GM employees that designed and built the car, but they aren’t the decision makers, those number less than 10 and all watched GM-Volt.com daily
Best wish for your travels DR Lyle, enjoy the efforts of your labor
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (1:59 pm)Just a simple THANK YOU from this corner… others have said my mind better than I could.
+22
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:00 pm)I was always amazed that a neurosurgeon could find the time to put together a site like this. I still am. But we are all grateful that you did, and that you proved that one man really can make a difference.
Thank you for everything. And best wishes for all your future plans.
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:10 pm)Lyle,
Thanks for your significant investment of time that made this site so successful. Love this site and the volt.
+23
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:21 pm)I would have burned out long ago. Thanks for your time.
+20
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:25 pm)it’s ironic that I didn’t post early because of a doctor appointment this morning. Now Dr. Dennis will have more time to spend with his patients. Lyle, you have done a great work here by creating and nurturing GM-Volt to be the #1 support community for the Volt. Your enthusiasm and knowledge gave us confidence in a vehicle that has won Car of the Year and many other awards. The daily topic generates intelligent response that was the trigger to go to my Chevrolet dealer and place the order for the Volt (thank’s CorvetteGuy for your leasing post.) The forums and their many topics help us to share knowledge and to motivate others to solve the issues that need to be addressed. Above all, GM-Volt has become a group of friends who have shared the good times and the sad times as life changes occur.
No Broadway production about General Motors could have a better success story than the Volt. While Lyle is leaving the stage, he will be joining us in the audience. But unlike Broadway, this is theater of the Web, where each person is either on stage or lurking in a theater seat. As new directors of GM-Volt assist in keeping this production running smoothly, remember that the future of the electric car has been reborn with the Volt. Nothing else can match the long distance range and short range economy. There will be thousands of new owners nationwide who need a great place to express their needs and desires. GM-Volt is a great place for them to enjoy. And don’t forget, all of Lyle’s performances are in the vaults for all to read.
Thanks again Lyle for your great service to the EV community and to all here at GM-Volt who have contributed. I look forward to continue sharing the successes as each bump in the road is smoothed with changes and improvements. With the need for second meter installations, quality 240 volt home chargers and abundant public charging stations, there is a lot of improvements to get excited about.
+11
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:29 pm)A couple comments on why this site has been great and hopes for it’s successful future:
1. The posters here are for the most part friendly and make good comments. Many other sites quickly fill with bitter vitriol and become places people go to rant. This is definitely testiment to Lyle and his efforts to keep the commentary moving along in a positive direction.
2. Attention to the hot button issues: aesthetics, range, cost, production schedules etc.
3. This was a labor of love for Lyle and that was easy to see.
4. The transition to forum threads was a natural progression and a big success towards weaning us off of your daily article. The mechanics of the forum make good threads easy to identify, so while maybe a little primitive in appearance, it does the job well.
Best of luck to you Lyle and I look forward to reading your comments and threads in the forums.
Silently motoring about in my white diamond #135,
(-this auto signoff that follows seems new)
+10
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:45 pm)I’ve only been reading your articles since Nov 2008, but I knew this was just the place for me. You’ve made it a great place to come to every day as all of the posters make this site that much better. Look forward to reading your posts. Amazing how so many of us have become addicted to the Volt news, a car I still haven’t actually seen to this day.
omnimoeish
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (2:58 pm)Hello new management. The quote function is still not working. I am getting the dreaded code “404″. It is really cramping my style, LOL. Help!
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:00 pm)Simply…thank you Lyle. And tell your family thank you for allowing us to steal some of your time away from them. We still hope to hear from you, from time to time, though;-)
+8
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:08 pm)Thank you Lyle for all your hard work and enthusiasm. I have also read every post since the beginning and am taking delivery on my Volt in about 1 month. I do not post much but this site is the first one I have gone to every single day. I am 500 something on the “list”
Please keep posting!!!!
+10
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:15 pm)Thanks Lyle for the web site it’s been a great ride. I just hope this site doesn’t go down the path of Statik’s old site Nissan-Leaf.net (Statik- you should have never let the Llamas take over that web site). Both you and Statik had a writing style very unique that attracted visitors to your stories, something that main stream web sites lack. Both web sites were a favorite visit on mine.
Best of luck,
JB
+13
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:28 pm)Lyle
There is an old saying-from little acorns mighty oaks grow.
That is exactly what you have done these several years. You have been planting that acorn every day and one took hold and is growing into a mainstream automobile , energy saving, foreign debt saving and reinvigorating what I consider the greatest auto manufacturer.
Thank you for I consider a great service to our country.
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:31 pm)Omni,
Good job on the new avatar.
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:38 pm)Lyle, We’ll miss you. I have read your stuff everyday for 4 years. I’ll miss it. Thank You very much for your hard work. I’ll be ordering my Volt in Q2 when i can in Seattle. When i drive it home, i’ll think of you Bud.
Thank You.
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (3:59 pm)I really have not been Lyles patient and I don‘t know hour’s achievements as brain surgeon but as journalist you are very talented and inspiring. Your articles have been interesting and always following nerve of our discussions and important events. The articles were informative, emotional and at the same time very diplomatic with calming effect for hothead. The everyday articles molded community of real leader’s ant enthusiast of electrification as paradigm of change and it really changed the world. Without Lyle I would never met Static with his vigorous expert skepticism and charming wordings, practical Rashiid Amul, Tagment with his overwhelming enthusiasm, beauty LauraM, expert Nasaman, DonC, Texas and many many others permanent and spontaneous posters.
It was really pleasure.
I have some hope that value of gm-volt will not diminish.
+4
Feb 15th, 2011 (4:00 pm)Lyle
I’ve been reading this site since maybe day one … I think I was 30 something on the original list. I don’t think I’ve ever commented, but I have been here every day! If I’m saying anything at all you know I must be moved! I’ve enjoyed this site more than any other site on the internet. If the new masters are half as good as you I will keep coming back every day … I just want you to know, you meant a lot to a lot of us that you never even heard from! Thanks for your efforts.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (4:46 pm)Obviously your daily thoughts and reporting will be missed by many. Thanks for all the work you did on this game changing vehicle. I have been following this blog pretty darn since the beginning. We all owe you a debt of gratitude.
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:06 pm)Some high points for me here.
1) Volt Nation. It was awesome. I had a one on one conversation with Tony P. I shook hands with Lyle and Nasaman.
2) The radio show Lyle did was fantastic. I remember how excited the Host was.
3) Lyle being on CNBC and talking up the Volt to a host that didn’t seem to understand all that well.
+5
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:36 pm)crew,
I *knew* that I liked the cut of your jib! Unfortunately, if it was part of the transfer (and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t), I wasn’t consulted. God willing, I’ll live long enough to have earned my Volt.
Be well,
Tagamet
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:37 pm)Thanks Lyle,
With such a busy schedule you manage to post daily info about the Volt. You really deserve a break. I’ve been here since the beginning and I stongly believe that the Volt wouldn’t where it stands right without your input.
Take good care,
Louis
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:41 pm)Lyle,
Thank You to you and your very patient wife, family and practice. If not for you I would probably have not puchased a Volt. You gave me every tidbit of info you could pry out of GM. I hope they have some idea just how valueable you were to their survival and the marketing of the Volt.
Next time you are in Fort Myers, Florida with your Volt we’ll go for a ride to the beach and show off our Volts. It will be 80 all week here and a good time to visit.
Take Care, My friend
TED
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:46 pm)Not being a person who frequents any other auto blog but this one, I do not know anything about VerticalScope.
But I do think I know a bit about the kind of quality and professionalism that Lyle has provided us for these many years.
So I am sure Lyle has done this step in a way that we will all eventually appreciate.
I predict Lyle’s choice of Vertical Scope will provide us the same quality that we have become accustommed to in our auto blog and in the VOLT itself. It may well be like shifing into the next gear for GM-VOLT.com.
I look forward to what will come here (and with VOLTEC) and to hearing from my virtual Volt neighbors here as I have for years.
Thank you Lyle for a job done superbly well.
Mike in Atlanta
+7
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:48 pm)Lyle,
Although due to work pressures I have been posting a LOT less of late I have kept up with the articles.
You have been a real inspiration that one man CAN make a difference!
Thanks for your hard work!
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (5:59 pm)Lyle- great job. This was/is the #1 site for Volt education. Frequently I would forward links to your articles to help friends/relatives understand what the Volt was all about. I look forward to your future comments regarding the progression of the Volt and your real-life experiences.
Helena – you have big shoes to fill. Hopefully you follow GM’s stance on the importance of quality.
I also look forward to what VerticalScope will bring to the table. Maybe they can flex their internet muscles and get us inside information on what’s next on the Volt-horizon.
Feb 15th, 2011 (6:03 pm)Some info on VerticalScope
http://www.verticalscope.com/
VerticalScope is a leading Internet media company providing detailed coverage and analysis of the Technology, Automotive, and Sports vertical markets. Our network of industry web portals, and online communities reach over five million enthusiasts and decision makers each month.
As one of the pioneers of Consumer Generated Media, our targeted network of discussion forums and community websites have in excess of one million registered members and tens of millions of consumer generated posts, articles, and blog entries.
February 12, 2010
VerticalScope Inc. Acquires Off-Road.com
January 12, 2009
VerticalScope Inc. announces the launch of AutoGuide.com
December 11, 2007
VerticalScope Inc. Launches PersonalWatercraft.Com
December 11, 2007
VerticalScope Inc. Launches ATV.Com
November 1, 2007
VerticalScope Inc. Launches Snowmobile.Com
+13
Feb 15th, 2011 (6:05 pm)Sorry that I got to today’s party so late.
I guess I’ll have to take my *last* opportunity to point out that you are proof that one man *can* make a huge difference! Most of the good adjectives have been used already. Your tenacity, intensity, vision, reliability, and willingness to bear up under some of the crap GM doled out over the years, provided the foundation on which you built a community. Even in the beginning, this wasn’t a “website”, it was (and is) a family. Yes, sometimes we were a dysfunctional family, but it’s always been far more than a website. When I heard of Jerry’s (Voltguy) passing, I cried. I suspect that I wasn’t alone in that. When you and I met in NYC for the fireworks, we didn’t shake hands, we hugged. Without your hand on the rudder, I’m not sure what direction the family will take. All that’s really certain is that it will be different.
As with all things unsettling, I’ll let my emotional dust settle for a while.
Thanks again for all you *and your family* have done!
Be well,
Tagamet
-40
Feb 15th, 2011 (6:14 pm)(click to show comment)
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (6:32 pm)I too am “late to the party” today. Lyle what can I say? Others have done a pretty good job of expressing themselves. Well, that is an important part of this web site. What can I say? Bless you Lyle in ALL of your endeavors. Now get out there and start training for your next marathon!
+42
Feb 15th, 2011 (6:41 pm)I cannot thank you all enough for your very kind and flattering comments.
I couldn’t have run this site as long as I did without all of you. It has been your comments, dreams, emails, ideas and debates which have continued to inspire me to seek and create new stories.
I will miss the daily fun of coming up with something new, but I am vey grateful to be able to spend more time with my precious family who have been incredible understanding and supportive.
You can still count of seeing me here in the comments and forum now. Vertical Scope says they plan to continue the blog.
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (7:08 pm)Hi Lyle,
I recently took a test about strengths, interests, attributes or some high fallutin’ ideal. Any way the upshot is I have it in writing that I value learning as much as anything or maybe more as a personality trait. You sure gave me the place to do that here! Thank you.
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (7:32 pm)Thank you to Lyle from a resident of the Great White North (although in Chicago for the week). I too have been following this site since almost the beginning, hardly ever missing a day. Both Lyle’s articles and his curating of the Forum have been exemplary. I have not posted often, as there has been little reason for me to comment on what until later this year will be a uniquely American experience. I am however very much looking forward to seeing the Volt available in Canada and other markets. This isn’t just a way of getting the USA off oil, thanks to Lyle and GM, it is a step toward getting the world off oil.
Excellent work Lyle, enjoy the return of (relative) sanity to your life.
Joe
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:19 pm)Those “front page” news posts was part of what I liked about this site. The forums are still going to be great, tho
Will there be any other part of the site that you could post these “Volt-related daily blogs and articles”?? Thanks,
C.F.
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:24 pm)Helena,
Dittos to Lyle for this site. If you’re happy I’m happy. Great work.
How about a picture Helena? …We know what Lyle looks like.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:29 pm)The King is dead. Long live the King!
My congrats and all my appreciation to the Dr Lyle Dennis for his devotion over all these years to lead the way to the RE-EVolution!
+3
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:37 pm)You’ve put on quite a show, Dr. Dennis. Very well done!
If not for you and this site I stumbled on a couple years ago, I wouldn’t even be in the market for a Volt!
Chalk up another Volt sale to Lyle!
Best wishes for you and your family, and hope to see you around the forums!
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:38 pm)A job well done, Lyle.
Enjoy your family and your Volt.
Thanks for promoting the electric care that will help get us off foreign oil.
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (8:48 pm)Thank you, Lyle, for all your time and effort. I’m almost sure that GM we wouldn’t be buying Volts today without your incredible persistence. And I’m very sure I wouldn’t have a Volt on order today without the help I obtained from this site.
I don’t know how to say it better, Dr. Dennis. THANK YOU!.
WVhybrid
+6
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:00 pm)@Jim
“With Lyle no longer in control, it sounds like this is going to be a Volt owners site, and it does not look like I can be an owner until late this year or early next year, depending on when GM opens up allocations for Ohio.
And I don’t think I can go a year of saying “Glad to hear you got your new Volt, I wish I had mine!” VES is a terrible disease……….
Do we know if Helena from above, has the same contacts inside of GM to bring us the same timely info like we were used to getting from Lyle? That is what remains to be seen. Sometimes, to “make this site grow by leaps and bounds” is not why many of us come here.”
My sentiments precisely – especially the VES part. I’m not sure what Helena could have said, but helping us grow by leaps and bounds comes off at best as pretentious. It really would be a shame to see the site devolve into a Volt owners only site, but unless they have an inside track to info re Gen II, III, etc, the number of site hits will be sorely limited. Given the number of Volts on the road to date, it’d take a week to get the same traffic as the current daily traffic.
Maybe after a couple year’s reprise, Lyle will feel like starting gm-VoltDuex.com.
Be well my friend,
Tagamet
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (9:33 pm)Thank you Lyle for all that you have done.
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:27 pm)Lyle,
Thanks for all that you did in keep both GM and ourselves fully informed. I know that you hit the big time when I added you to my home page, and would check gm-volt every day.
Enjoy your rest, and I hope that the site will continue to be a conduit between us Volt lovers (and aspirers), and the great folks at GM.
Mike in Shreveport
+2
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:36 pm)Thank you Lyle for your efforts! Your site was indispensible to me during most of 2010, especially after July 27th when I realized that I was going to be buying a Volt.
- Chris C., http://www.FirstVoltInGeorgia.com
+1
Feb 15th, 2011 (10:54 pm)Lyle,
But there is so much more….if you only knew. Cheers to you, You’re dedication has been most inspiring and it has been quite informative and entertaining to watch this site grow. Outstanding.
I wish you all the best, LT
+8
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:06 am)Conflicting emotions on this one.
I’m very glad that Lyle has an exit. He has spent so much time and effort for so long. I have no idea how he has managed. Finding a topic every day had to be one of the most challenging tasks imaginable. I’m happy that he will be able to get back to a more normal life and I’m glad he’s managed to sell to a company which has the resources to continue his good work.
On the other hand, it feels a little like a funeral.
+5
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:40 am)When you don’t know what to say, quote a general:
“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”
- Gen. George C. Patton
.
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:44 am)Darn it! I wish I had made Lyle an offer for gm-volt.com, as it surely has been a lucrative small business edeavor over the months and years. Over the last few months I’ve noticed GM has been the sole advertiser here and that contract has to be valuable.
Lyle, I’m glad you kept the quality of the site so good – it’s been a battle with trolls and detractors who haven’t understood that this indeed is a business for you – perhaps a labor of love at times, being such a fan and promoter of the Volt , but it is, in the end, a business.
It’s been a great ride – seems gm-volt.com will become a PriusChat-type forum for Volt owners and that, itself is a great reality – Volts being in the hands of real live owners. I can understand that the time spent away from family just wasn’t worth the income that came in from the site at some point – not that it wasn’t profitable, but priorities are priorities.
Thanks Lyle for the ride!
James
+8
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:47 am)I’m sure there are a lot of daily readers like me who post rarely if ever but nonetheless are big fans.
I just wanted to say this blog has meant a lot to me and I think you have performed a valuable service to our country.
Enjoy a well deserved rest!
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:51 am)For the last 4 years I would get to work (auto tech center) , chat with the workers and go in my office and fire up the computer and click on the gm-volt . This has been wildly entertaining and a source hope as the nation’s mood has darkened ! Thanks Lyle for creating a site that inspired this Dyslexic person to dare to write his thoughts for the world to see!!!! Jeffery S Johnson Bowling Green Ky
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (1:38 am)I’ve been absent for some time, so I am glad to have looked at this article and get the opportunity to tell you how significant your contribution to the resurrection of the electric vehicle, IMHO, is. I believe that, in the year 2050, all on Earth will be able to look back and thank God for this development. It happened at the last possible moment to enable our civilization to continue into the future. Forgoing all the skeptics out there about peak oil, and global warming, and maintaining an affordable price for petro-fuel, the new electric transportation industry may well be one of the essential saving inventions of not only the planet but also our country. I expect many will disagree with what I am saying but, Lyle, you may just be responsible for saving all of us through your significant contribution! God bless you and your family!
Enjoy your Volt and take that well deserved vacation!
Your friend, LRGVProVolt.
Feb 16th, 2011 (2:09 am)Thank you Lyle and especially your family for “sharing” you with what has become the Volt community.
Would you have believed what was a blog on the Internet would be a service to our country, the environment and the world? I believe! Thanks again, Lyle. Maybe I can leave you with this bit of news when it comes to electrification: https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/
Enjoy!
+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:44 am)You did a fantastic job. I had no idea you had a full time profession and family. Good service to the world and mankind. Take a well deserved vacation with the family to some place warm and relax.
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:36 am)Thanks Lyle for your efforts. Glad to see you were successful with the site.
Please keep posting to support the Volt and the good people at GM.
I only hope that the playing field some how gets leveled for GM and Ford so that we will have future advanced products to write about… no one is addressing this fact. The Volt is giving GM a temporary boost right now but the playing field is still totally against them.
Japanese, German and Korean companies are GM’s biggest competitors … they will put huge tariffs on the VOLT to keep it out of Japan.
I hope someone will post how much the VOLT will cost in Japan , Germany and Korea.
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:55 am)Thank you Lyle! Here’s what you have done: My bookmark bar goes- Google, Craigslist, Youtube, GMvolt.
Agree with the poster above, ‘growing’ the site was never something that excited me. Instead it was the regular, timely, seemingly inside info from Lyle’s great articles. The comments here are also fantastic and free from total idiocy. I have read nearly every article and most of the comments on each. If I got back from out of town I’d be glad because I’d have 3 or 4 days worth of volt news to catch up on.
Please Helena, try to put in some work and get some original content to put here EVERYDAY. Call the guys at GM. Get some inside info. Go in person to their battery lab and see what they’re working on! I want to see pictures of Helena next to the guy in charge of the voltec orlando. Be the source. That’s why we are all here.
Also I know it’s a commercial venture but I hope you don’t fill the site full of ads that get in the way of reading. Nothing is more annoying than pop-ups, or ads that cover up what you’re doing. If I have to click on it to get it out of my way, I’m probably finding a new site pretty quick.. especially if there’s no more original content. Lyle has built up something great here by putting in the legwork.. So don’t drop the ball! =)
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:29 am)Maybe an off road Volt? With about 12″ of ground clearance and 10″ of suspension travel? The underside could be pure composite bash plate. The generator a 1200cc motorcycle engine.
NPNS
-3
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:40 am)Leaf and Prius stomp the Volt on greenest car list
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/15/autos/aceee_volt_green/index.htm?hpt=C2
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:24 am)Lyle,
After reading all of the heartfelt comments above, I can’t possibly follow an opening act like that. However I can’t let this day go by without also thanking you for a job well done. I look forward to your posts in the forum as well.
GSP
VIN #1217
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:58 am)“The time has come to move GM-Volt.com to the next level and to allow me to return to my normal life. The site has been acquired by VerticalScope…..”
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:40 am)Good work, Lyle. Hope you made a profit
+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:40 am)Lyle,
I just want to thank you for your passion and dedication. Enjoy your new Volt and your newly found free time!
Regards,
Jonathan
+5
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:02 am)Thanks, Lyle, for a job well done. You’ve provided a significant push to the project IMHO. Something of value to all of us.
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:19 am)ATTN HELENA: As one of the early gm-volt.com bloggers who’s spent time at this site for years, I want to add my plea to yours by repeating the above comment once more. Best of luck, Helena!
– Phil Toney, aka nasaman
-11
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:29 am)(click to show comment)
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:48 am)Great job, Lyle. Thanks for all your efforts here.
Now you’ll have more time to train for those marathons!
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:49 am)All this and most of America has not yet even seen a Volt.
(Me inlcuded.)
Most have not even heard of Volt, much less understand its implications for modern transportation.
There is much to do.
Godspeed VirtualScope.
(Lyle and his gang will be watching you!)
+14
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:57 am)If the new owner does not have a different post on a daily basis, I will quickly lose interest. Sorry, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.
+5
Feb 16th, 2011 (10:13 am)joe,
I will probably not loose interest, but at some point will stop looking at the main page and just go to the forums, login, and click on “New Posts.” What is more important is that newcomers won’t get sucked in and become devoted readers and posters. The “daily post” is one of the things that built readership.
Here’s hoping frequent quality posts are on the way. Maybe VirtualScope could have a rotation of posters, e.g., Statik, Lyle, WOT, GM Engineers, etc.
+9
Feb 16th, 2011 (11:05 am)We are working on getting out team to create blogs and posts for the site, please be patient while we get them set up and find some information worth posting about. Its like buying a house, we bought it but we still have to paint and move in our furniture.
+7
Feb 16th, 2011 (11:23 am)Helena,
Paint? I was just getting use to the green.
+6
Feb 16th, 2011 (11:45 am)Metaphorically speaking
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (11:53 am)#129
Me too. +1
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (12:34 pm)Lyle,
Thank you! Although I won’t be buying a 1st generation Volt, this site, and especially your posts have been very helpful to me.
It won’t be the same without you at the helm, but I wish you the best and understand your reasons.
+11
Feb 16th, 2011 (1:38 pm)There have been so many lessons, Lyle, that you have taught the World.
This site has been the finest model for the entire array of technical topics and varied and inclusive participation
of so many people, for such a noble cause, that I dare to suggest that you ought to be
nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
I am sincerely serious about this.
Thank you so much, Lyle, for the relentless and noble work that you have so
perfectly performed for us all.
Dan Petit in Austin.
Feb 16th, 2011 (1:40 pm)#130
Amen. +1
How about Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield? She is doing a great job over at “the other blog started by Dr. Dennis”. Unless there is too much of a corporate schism involved, I’m sure that she could add a lot of value here.
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (1:59 pm)Monday I posted a remembrence to VoltGuy – and later in the day it just vanished into space!
I’m glad Tag listed a link to the forum post – but I was a bit put off how an entry I felt was so important just vanished. That literally has never happened to me before on gm-volt.com , kudos to Lyle and Netlook.
Yesterday and today I noticed the quotes are not working – and it’s a bit troubling – your choice of words, Helena, as EVs, EREVs, battery technology and Volt/GM behind-the-scenes have been such staples here. It’s not a good sign when you say you’re looking for information worth posting here – believe me, it’s everywhere, and the EV industry is at it’s rennaissance. Lots of us regulars will just move on if we aren’t getting the same or similar subject matter and GM access to comment on that we’ve been used to for 4 years.
Not that we won’t give you a chance, but from the other sites your company owns, I can pretty much see the writing on the wall. No offense. This site has just been so unique in a world of lookalikes, lame message boards and the oh-so-typical.
We’re thrilled and stoked that the Volt is here – and we know the only thing constant in life is change – it’s just seeming to be the changing of the guard at gm-volt.com means a very nice era of exchange and interchange has come to an end.
To look at the cup half full, I’d say now is the time many of us need to consider the possiblities that are now open to fill that void with something new.
THEY’RE PUMPING OUT THE VOLTS! ,
James
P.S. – I can live without the green! lol
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (2:25 pm)Loboc,
Fully in agreement with you this time. I like(d) the straightforward and mature comments from the participants. I hope it continues.
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:27 pm)The quotes don’t work.
I can’t copy and paste the text instead.
There is a great article on CNN Money putting the Volt at #12 for being green. (Complete crap if you ask me).
How about this for a suggestion. Leave the site the way it was, and just post a new topic.
There is no need to change the code behind the scenes.
My guess is that VerticalScope did not find out about this sale yesterday. So being prepared should have already come. I have plenty of experience writing e-commerce sites and using WordPress.
This is not rocket science. Paraphrase a few sources at first and post it. Lyle used to include the link to the original source. If you want, I will do it for the article from CNN Money.
+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:28 pm)This is the end of an era.
I hope we continue to see the occasional article written by a contributing writer named ‘Lyle.’
Do not be a stranger and make your presence known here.
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:34 pm)Now I can’t log in to comment on the forum threads. this is getting REALLY old!
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:41 pm)Lyle,
What you have done with this website was something incredible. Has someone else said, there are actions that are “bigger than life”. This website, was with no doubt, one those things that will be remenbered.
Thanks alot for everything and my best regards to you and your family.
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (3:57 pm)I, for one, welcome our new overlords
Thanks for all the hard work Lyle.
+5
Feb 16th, 2011 (4:54 pm)Lyle,
Thank you for all of your work over the years. I have been a follower for the last two of them and always wondered how you managed to keep up. Best of luck to you now and always!
+7
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:11 pm)Aw Lyle, lastly Tony Posawatz, now you!?! Is there anyone left at GM who helped to push the Volt along?!?! I thought for sure you’d be running it until at least Gen 2 was shipping, oh well, life goes on…
After visiting the site since early 2007 after hearing about the Volt, I just want to say “you’ve done a fantastic job helping to spread the info /news of the Volt.” Clearing up ALOT of the negative information that was said regarding the Volt was one of the main reasons I would visit your site for clarification. I don’t think GM could have paid anyone enough money for what you’ve done for them for FREE! I’m saving up for a Gen 2 Volt in 2014/2015 or sooner if it starts shipping. Can’t wait for the improvements that GM will include in the next version.
Hopefully the quality & frequency of information will remain the same if not better, since unlike a doctor who has a full-time job, the new owners should have even more time to make this site even better. Hopefully the same will not happen here that happened with Static’s old Leaf site. Lots of Zzzzzzz over there, LOL! All the best with the family and drive that baby EV all the way!
GO EV!!!
-5
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:27 pm)Here, here, –especially the picture– She sounds like a hot Canadian.
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:55 pm)#142
Actually, I finally worked my way into most of them, although I am having to “log in” a lot more than before. But it seems like access to a recent one called “How’s this work?” or some such is blocked. What’s up with that? Is that the modern day equivalent of “moderation”? It must be pretty juicy, LOL.
+14
Feb 16th, 2011 (5:57 pm)Have driven Volt #555 for 31 days now.
Here are the numbers:
1248 total miles
1151 EV miles
2.2 gallons of gasoline burned
NPNS
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:13 pm)Dave K.,
Thank goodness no-one monitored the CS miles, they probably would have thought you were a gas hog.
+8
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:32 pm)Volt # 1506 is mine. I just got the email today.
Take Care, TED
+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:41 pm)Dave K.,
Good job. You are neck and neck with this guy.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Americans-Rev-Up-for-Cleaner-More-Efficient-Cars-116243889.html
——————-
High performance
That’s been the experience of Jeff Parmet, a lawyer who works from his home in Potomac, Maryland. He says he hasn’t pumped a drop of gas into his car since he bought it in December. “Ideally I never want to put gas in it. That’s the goal.”
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:45 pm)#149
AWESOME! +1 +100 if I could!
Feb 16th, 2011 (6:48 pm)#151
You go Ted!!! +1
Mine is supposed to be built this week, but no news yet. What day did yours go 3400? Mine was 1/26.
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:05 pm)Bittersweat news. Congratulations Lyle. While you and us may feel some separation anxiety, it sounds like a necessary step. You have reaffirmed the “power of one”.
I am sadened, in a sense, that this chapter is ending but I am also excited to see where things lead next. Hopefully the community that has developled here can stay together in this next phase.
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:14 pm)And hang up pictures?
+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:18 pm)Congratulations Ted, I can’t wait to hear your reports.
+9
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:21 pm)When I read this post I thought “I hate it I hate it I hate it.” The reason my feelings were and are so strong is that Lyle has been such an honest, delicate, optimistic and yet direct reporter of all the ups and downs of the gestation of the Volt that I know there can be no replacement going forward, however upstanding the new owners may be. That’s sad, but it’s only sad because it’s been so good.
Wonderful job, Lyle, very well done for the whole duration. Every day that I have read a gm-volt post that you wrote I learned something new and interesting. I hope the whole endeavor came out as well for you as I know it did for us as your committed readers. Thank you.
Feb 16th, 2011 (7:56 pm)+1
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:02 pm)You guys will love your new Volts. I just went out to the mailbox behind my condo to drop a couple of letters. While returning I saw a neighbor looking over the engine of his newer BMW. On my way back in. I walked to my garage and unplugged the SPX J1772 connector from my Volt. I just couldn’t resist.
=D-Volt
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:18 pm)#155
Amen. +1
+3
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:29 pm)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rcsd6NWqas
NPNS
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:44 pm)It has been a privilege reading you every day. Thank you very much for your efforts and your time Lyle.
Feb 16th, 2011 (8:56 pm)Dave K.,
Way Cool, just checking to see how the green text quote works….
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:00 pm)Well this is looking better! Quote button, after highlighting text.
+4
Feb 16th, 2011 (9:15 pm)Lyle, I shall put you up for Canonization. Well if I knew how..
I have really enjoyed your website, and learned from it also. Thank You.
Myself, I still will wish for a Red Volt. Maybe even a Gen II in Victory Red.
Enjoy yourself, I am off to other obsessions.
2006 Red HHR
2005 Red Colorado
2009 Red Prius
1990 Red Miata
Here is too you!
Cheers
Feb 16th, 2011 (10:13 pm)EN-V, the Future Car?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/tech-8112634/general-motors-reveals-car-of-the-future-24210138.html
+2
Feb 16th, 2011 (11:07 pm)Lyle, your passion for the car is what makes this a special place. It won’t be the same here without you at the helm, but heaven knows you deserve a rest. Enjoy that new car of yours! I am sure that I will own a Volt someday, although circumstances may put that a few years into the future for me personally. Best regards.
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:26 am)#136 – Dan Petit says Dr. Dennis should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his introduction of gm-volt.com and it’s impact on our transportation tech moving forward.
I agree. As bombastic as it would sound at first blush – that a fella who started a business and forum from his passion about an oil reduced transportation sector by way of Volt should win a time-honored peace prize shared with the likes of Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa….
Yet such a notion is not altogether far-fetched as the Nobel Committee last gave it’s coveted price for peace to a guy who hadn’t yet done a thing ( just got elected ), then sent 33,000 more troops to Afghanistan and who has done next to nothing forwarding world peace!
Good job Dan! I’m with ya . LYLE DENNIS FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!
THEY’RE PUMPIN’ OUT THE VOLTS! ,
James
-1
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:48 am)Go ahead and rain down the neg 1s, it’s OK, I can take it. You guys know I’m blunt and honest, and I speak my mind. I’m sure one or three people will agree with me that I am disappointed that Lyle didn’t rethink the whole sell off thing before he pulled the trigger on gm-volt.com. I believe that the Volt has started to be produced, but there are still reasons a site like this needs to exist – to keep the momentum going, and to show GM and others that Volt isn’t a flash in the pan. We need to keep up the positive pressure, as I do not believe Volt is in the clear – not in this unprdictible political environment and not rosey economy.
Lyle, it’s your baby. You accomplished great things with gm-volt.com in only 5 years or less. I am in 100% agreement with everyone that you did something nearly unprecedented in the auto world by bringing good folks together in great discussion and made a force with your sign up list and insightful dialogue on this site. You’ve stated this is a business for you – and I’m sure others have found your contradictors online who’ve quoted your emails stating this is just a business for you. I don’t buy that for a second. Sure, it’s a profitable endeavor and it has to be to keep one working as hard as you have in putting it all together with the inside access to GM and the sometimes news-breaking content you’ve shared with all of us over the months.
Yet Lyle – did you consider farming out more of the work – yet keeping the control over gm-volt.com? Did you talk to your family about how much money it was and would in the future bring in each year – and how keeping it going yet delegating more authority to other writers, contributers and authors?
People are not going to be reliable in providing articles for the daily subject matter if they are not paid. Bottom line. Sure, you’ll get Volt owner testimonials for awhile and here and there – but to keep a daily conversation going it’s obvious you need thought-provoking, news delivering articles that nobody would expect a neurosurgeon would have time to manage in his daily busy schedule. But farming it out completely and selling the baby and the bathwater. I feel you’ve pretty much put an end to anything near what GM-Volt.com was. What it was was unique , fun, educational and thought provoking. What it will become is —- Well, as I’ve stated…
Writing on the wall — or the proverbial wall, the internut landscape of blah.
A plain Volt owners message board is not any of the above. It’s a place where some will go to discuss Volt issues and that’s important – but not rare, not unique. There’ll be several Volt forums I’m sure – none really unique from any other fan site. I love RC airplanes. There is 3 or 4 main forums the guys in the know go to – and that’s great. But each one is the same – none any different than the other except for different people, and if you read enough of them until your eyes bleed, you’ll get some good info. Here at GM-Volt.com it was a microcosm of many good people contributing to the whole of the Volt and Voltec…. By selling it off…There is going to be a feeling you sold us all out.
Again I fully understand you couldn’t do this alone any longer – many thanks for as long as you did. I just feel you dumped gm-volt where you could’ve kept it going with help from paid contributors and possibly a part-time staff to help you keep it afloat. Actually 1 employee could’ve brought it all together for you. Instead gm-volt as what it was is history as we all knew it.
R.I.P. GM-Volt.com
THEY’RE PUMPING OUT THE VOLTS!
James
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:18 am)What made Lyle’s site unique is that he had access.
For comparison, look at all the TMZ, Entertainment Tonight Blah Blah Gossip shows and websties each having some popularity – from people with no lives who live vicariously through what Lady Ga Ga eats for lunch or Lindsey Lohan steals, smokes or crashes. Yet none of those National Perspirer folks has anywhere near the access to inside sources as to what Lyle Dennis had gotten during his stint as founder and builder of GM-Volt.com.
Lyle, you have had access to CEOs, Project Leads, PR heads and countless insiders over at GM. In turn, the feedback here and the insight and ideas shared by posters here each day has been useful to GM and also followed by GM’s competitors. This place has been a unique pulse of the current interest in getting off foreign oil – gauging public interest and taste – and appetite for things like GM was engaged in doing.
No longer. No AutoBlog site is going to have that access. What gave GM-Volt.com it’s inherent value was that Dr. Dennis, you had the connections to make the site interesting and post provoking. Without that – what does it have?! Not much.
I like many here would come here first. Sure, if you Googled a bit you could find out juicy new facts on the Volt’s development, or GM’s plans moving forward, etc… But here was a place with mostly like-minded individuals who filtered out much of what was pure speculation or old news, and concentrated on what was good – using Lyle’s access as the starting point.
Now that Lyle and his access is gone —- Or Lyle and his clout as gm-volt lead and publisher —- GM- Volt is dead, and all that it was. Anyone in denial can neg me – but this is only the truth. And it is why I am so disappointed Lyle sold it out.
Emails were not sent to regulars here – esp. the ones with huge knowledge cred, WOT, Nasaman, Don C, …etc. giving us some insight as to what was happening behind the scenes. Not one of us doesn’t understand running GM-Volt.com all by oneself was a HUGE UNDERTAKING…. But I think some candid discussion behind the scenes could have saved GM-Volt.com.
GM-Volt was a small business. GM-Volt was a brand. Indeed there are always transitional times when change has to come. To me, this change was delegating daily operations to others and having at least a minimal paid staff – perhaps of only 1 administrator who could pay contributing authors and line up stories and advertising. In that – Lyle, you could have grown the brand and made a whole lot more coin. In selling it out – you pretty much killed a great thing.
James
-2
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:58 am)http://www.johnchow.com/gm-voltcom-making-money-by-blogging-about-your-passion/ ————————————————————————————————————
Here is an article about how Dr. Dennis turned an idea into a profitable brand and website.
Lyle, I agree – you get the credit and the kudos for doing a really great thing starting this site. It became unique in the amount of access GM gave you – the amount you profited from being so high in Google’s listings for Volt – and how it was a marraige “made in heaven” for all.
Here is a quote from you Lyle in 2007 ( from the article on JohnChow.com ) :
” It is interesting that the car is still three years from production, and in the end may lead to millions of units in sales. I predict continued growth for my site. Also it is important to note that the site has made it to either the number 2 or 3 position by Google or Yahoo search for “chevy volt”. This means every dollar of advertising that GM spends actually benefits me, I joke that my site has a $100 million advertising budget. There is no shortcut to getting that PageRank though, it has taken a lot of hard passionate work, i.e. content. ”
The content you describe is not only the articles and information you were able to convey in your daily post – but all the clever, insightful, technical and professional postings made daily by GM-Volt’s contributors. This is what made GM-Volt successful. So it’s not to brag about one’s success in coming up with the idea for ths site – but to acknowledge it was the quality and character of GM-Volt visitors and inhabitants that made it so popular.
To that end – you were able to sell GM-Volt for a nice profit. But in keeping it going, you definately could have increased the brand, and taken us all along for the ride since we all made GM-Volt.com, not just you alone. You were right in that article by stating branding and selling merchandise would have been key in gaining market and growing GM-Volt.com bigger and bigger. Velocity will not be able to do this without having your access. With perfect timing and hard work, you hit the sweet spot. You got GM’s attention and ours. You profited alot by and from GM and so did we – in different ways.
I just don’t understand why you would drive something like GM-Volt, admittedly a side project of yours – into success – only to take quick profits after 4 years and let it die on the vine. GM-Volt was not only a financial success – but it took off – and become much more than that.
James
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:42 am)Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog!
We want Blogging!!
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:42 am)Thanks Lyle, best of luck in your future endeavors.
Oh, and I leave you with my favorite movie quote from
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Willy Wonka: But Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted.
Charlie Bucket: What happened?
Willy Wonka: He lived happily ever after.
I’m that guy with my Volt!
Volt#671
300+ miles and have not had to buy gas for my Volt.
NPNS!
+8
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:45 am)Well, shall I be the first to say it? This is getting old.
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:04 am)James,
James@170
Thanks James for your honest assessment. I’m sure many others feel the same way as you do.
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:30 am)The transition of ownership of this web site was compared to buying a new house, and now having to wait for the furniture.
I think most people who buy a new house will have furniture waiting for them. I’ve never heard of anyone buying a house and leaving it empty while shopping for furniture. It shows lack of interest and that is not good! This how the new owner’s representative “Helena” compared it to.
Today the house is empty again, not making it a home, just an empty house. Let’s see if we get furniture tomorrow and hope on good quality.
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:52 am)Hmm, my identity protection software alerted me today about a “known trojan” while I was on this site. This was the first time this has happened to me, so I thought I would mention it. I did not think to note the identification number of the Trojan, I simply blocked it. I hope this was not part of the remodel?
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (11:02 am)#175
Yup. +1 Not looking too good.
+6
Feb 17th, 2011 (11:25 am)Having been a webmaster way back when, I’m sure the new owners are working on a fresh new face for this site. If I had bought it, that’s the first thing I would do.
+8
Feb 17th, 2011 (11:41 am)Read this and try really hard to figure it out.
“All these things came true, and GM-Volt.com grew remarkably popular for a blog about such a specific subject.
In a labor of love I have churned out over 1600 Volt-related articles, have test driven many versions of the car, met all the members of GM exectuive staff, and have attended a dozen or more GM sponsored events both in Detroit and elsewhere over these years. I essentially never missed a day of posting including weekends, holidays, and vacations. These sacrifices built a great community but did take time from my life and family.”
…And by the way, after spending 17 years in school, working as a professional in service to community, volunteering, raising kids, following through on obligations and sacrificing time and opportunity with family for the last four years, 1600 posts, three site updates and lifes usual and unpredicted crises, it’s hard to see anyone (except someone saddled with the limitations of a fool) to even talk about quick profits and Lyle Dennis in the same comment. So are we are aren’t we…since I’ve been hanging out with you here for a while, it would be nice if you proved that wrong?
+5
Feb 17th, 2011 (11:50 am)RB,
“When I read this post I thought “I hate it I hate it I hate it.” The reason my feelings were and are so strong is that Lyle has been such an honest, delicate, optimistic and yet direct reporter of all the ups and downs of the gestation of the Volt that I know there can be no replacement going forward, however upstanding the new owners may be. That’s sad, but it’s only sad because it’s been so good.
Wonderful job, Lyle, very well done for the whole duration. Every day that I have read a gm-volt post that you wrote I learned something new and interesting. I hope the whole endeavor came out as well for you as I know it did for us as your committed readers. Thank you.”
Well said RB, I hope everyone can read your comment so far down the list.
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (11:52 am)#180
Well thanks for the positive take. +1
“God send that it shall be true”
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (12:25 pm)This is going to be the longest and most boring thread ever. I’ll take a peek if/when the main thread changes.
I’m outta here. Peace.
Feb 17th, 2011 (12:43 pm)Ted in Fort Myers,
Ted,
What is up with your new (28% Approval Rating) Governor Rick Scott who just killed High-Speed Rail in Florida yesterday?
Very much like the Volt, this project was a LARGE step toward weaning the United States off of foreign oil.
In his brilliance yesterday, Governor Scott decided to can a project that was going to provide tens of thousands of jobs (many permanent), in a state whose unemployment rate is currently over 30% HIGHER than then national average. Brilliant.
As is the case with the Volt, more electification of all of our transportation methods will lead to great reductions in our dependence on oil, and greater national security. Although not (yet) a perfect solution, electrification is a step in the right direction, especially considering the promise that energy sources like solar, wind, etc. are bringing to our electrical grid.
For those more interested in the Florida High-Speed Rail project:
http://www.floridahighspeedrail.org/
If this necessary project is going to continue, it’ll take the nerve and relentlessness of people, like those on the Volt forum, who have the vision to see what the near future could be like, and the drive to make it happen.
Lyle: I hope the new owners share your passion. All the best!
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (12:52 pm)#184
Naahhh, not by a long shot. There were some back in the day about the price which had literally hundreds of responses. And borrrring, OMG. Somebody has to keep this alive IMHO.
Maybe CorvetteGuy is right. I mean, if they actually paid good money for this deal, why would they let it just die?
+7
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:01 pm)Lyle,
Thanks for all your efforts in keeping us advised and informed on all the ebbs and flows of the creation of the Volt!
I never knew where you got all your energy, but you certainly deserve a little r&r.
I’m glad you finally got you Volt. Mine is still in the future, and I look forward to that time every day.
Thanks again for you dedication, and thanks for the dedication of the people on this site, who’s enthusiasm I share.
+4
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:27 pm)Thanks for the web site. It must have required an incredible amount of endurance to practice medicine, be a family man and build this site. The Volt sounds like a great car. I still haven’t seen one. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I’m sure I’ll see some Volts on the road soon.
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:49 pm)I’m sure this will get removed but I found another guy who’s starting a daily Volt blog..
here’s the link.. http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/prius-more-green-you-must-be-delusional.html
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (1:56 pm)I was just commenting on why there has been no new information posted for a few days. I think all websites should get a facelift every couple of years. It keeps people coming back.
+6
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:30 pm)I’m sure they’ll restart the blogging. They probably need time to hire someone. Of course, the longer they take, the more people will find a substitute…
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:33 pm)LauraM,
LauraM,
Looks like someone is an opportunist, or just can’t handle a day without a news story… http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/prius-more-green-you-must-be-delusional.html
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:34 pm)Rashiid Amul,
can you email me? hbarclay@verticalscope.com
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:36 pm)I liked this blog the way it was. Of course, a new blogger will be different. But he should keep the format that Lyle had. (I do not like the green lettering. At all. )
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (2:53 pm)I wonder if vertical scope is panicking now that there’s another volt blog out there.. contacting regulars to try and get them to blog about the Volt? is this why she’s asking for Rashiid’s email? Fill us in Rashiid.
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:05 pm)I understand that California wants the federal money. And that line actually makes a lot more sense, and stands a much better chance of being successful, than the Florida one ever did.
It’s not great for me, personally, since I actually planned to use the Orlando/Tampa line when visiting relatives. (And I was hoping it would, eventually, go to Miami.) But, overall, I think this is actually good for the future of high speed rail in this country.
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:23 pm)Thanks for that site Rolan
and rick scott is an idiot. I never liked him, creepy eyes
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:28 pm)#191
Exactly. +1
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:34 pm)#196
Yeah, we’ll take it, LOL. Did you hear that the first segment in CA is proposed to go from a little north of Fresno to Bakersfield? I predict HEAVY ridership.
Actually, I think I heard that they just want to build the line to capture the “stimulus” money, and create some facts on the ground/momentum to try to make it harder to abandon the whole thing. CA voters approved a $9+ billion bond issue for this a couple of years ago, so we gotta get the money spent somehow. I think I heard that they don’t propose to have any rolling stock until they somehow get some more built. Can anyone say “Bridge to Nowhere”?
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:46 pm)Noel Park: #191
Exactly. +1 http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/prius-more-green-you-must-be-delusional.html
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (3:57 pm)One could guess what Lyle would have posted yesterday. Here’s my guess:
http://wot.motortrend.com/chevy-dealers-listing-marked-volts-high-65590-32649.html
Do a Google search for the Volt news and enjoy your own daily topic!
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (4:39 pm)Hiaku for Lyle
The adventure ends
Noble deeds well rewarded
Lyle’s off in his Volt
Been a great few years here. See ya’ll around.
-Biodieseljeep
+8
Feb 17th, 2011 (4:44 pm)I’ve been reading proably all the articles starting from day one of this site (write… not so much…) and about 80% of the comments. I do understand Lyle’s move and I hope that the new owners know that they have some BIG shoes to fill and that they will be able to retain the usuals on the site because IMHO they add at least 70% to the value of the site.
EDIT: to the attention of the new owners: for a “how not to do” lesson take a look at the nissan-leaf.net site where Statik started something pretty nice there but then it nosedived after the site has been aquired by somebody else.
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (5:10 pm)New Blog!, hey, if they start blogging here on a regular basis awesome, more power too em. But if they don’t let’s all meet at http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/
And go there in the morning for another new story!
+2
Feb 17th, 2011 (5:17 pm)Just realized if you go to that link you have to click on the comments button at the bottom of the article, but you can leave comments! or you can click on this link and the comments should already be laid out for ya. This is it.. I’ll stop spamming, at least for today..
http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/prius-more-green-you-must-be-delusional.html
+11
Feb 17th, 2011 (5:26 pm)All I know is that this is the first time in quite a while that I have not posted in over 54 hours…..
Now I have VES and depression!!!!
Tag – when is your next couch open for a session??????????
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (6:12 pm)New Posting at The Chevy Volt Blog
http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/chevy-volt-blog-obsession-lives-on.html
+1
Feb 17th, 2011 (6:42 pm)Clicking on (Reply) works just fine but clicking on (Quote) results in an error message, at least on my computer. Any idea if this is a known problem on this website? It worked just fine until today.
As it relates to this posting, Lyle said “The site has been acquired by VerticalScope, a large-scale company that owns and operates hundreds of the top automotive forums on the Internet including Autoguide.com and GMinsidenews.com.”
It would be my guess that this did not come about over night. It likely came about over a period of several weeks or months, plenty of time for VerticalScope to hit the ground running. It is now 2-days and counting where they have not posted anything. Too bad! I really enjoyed this website these past several years.
Feb 17th, 2011 (6:45 pm)Really? I thought that an LA to San Francisco line sounded like a great idea? But you would know more than I do.
In that case,the Northeast corridor could really use the money. It’s Amtrak’s busiest route. And most profitable line…We should have real high speed rail. In any straightforward cost benefit analysis. It wins. Hands down.
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:01 pm)Hi Helena,
As much as I want to know about Volt GenII, GM has said they will clam up and not release more info. Why would they? They want to get as many miles out of GenI as they can. I can not help but think Prius II was so much more than Prius I. Prius I was a conversion of the Echo? though. So there may not be enough new Volt news for a daily blog. Sometime I wondered where Lyle found all his storys. That being said the reasons for the Volt still exist, Imported oil being number one. I am sure you are going to start with that tomorrow! Then I am sure the journey of creation has ended the journey of discovery has just begun. I am sure there are many story’s an what the Volt can do.
And of course there is the Volt Monkey…
+3
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:02 pm)Helena,
I emailed you.
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:14 pm)Speaking of high-speed rail, I really hope this gets going (finally).
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/passengerrail/mwrri/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Hub_Network
The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) is a cooperative, multi-agency effort that began in 1996 and involves nine Midwest states (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin) as well as the Federal Railroad Administration.
+4
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:23 pm)Like all good things, GM-Volt must evolve to the next level to thrive and survive. Hopefully the new owners will broaden the scope with new visions. Lyle has certainly done well but its time to move this site forward if its going to morph into something even more educational and dramatic.
The use of electric will accelerate over the next decade and this site will continue to be a good source of information.
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:39 pm)Rashiid Amul,
Are we going to hear your story tomorrow?
I hope so.
Looking for a little Voltec pickup;)
Feb 17th, 2011 (8:51 pm)Or is this tomorrows story…
http://translogic.aolautos.com/2011/02/17/chevrolet-mylink/
Also wondering if any new story will be tweeted.
Waiting
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:21 pm)http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/chevy-volt-blog-obsession-lives-on.html
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:23 pm)The Future of Volt Blogging.
http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/chevy-volt-blog-obsession-lives-on.html
+6
Feb 17th, 2011 (9:28 pm)Dear Lyle,
It is a fitting picture of you standing next to the production Volt at a Chevy dealership. It is proof inerrant that you and the GM-Volt website have helped steer a new path for the automotive industry. And what a fantastic journey!! Filled with trials and tribulations, near catastrophe and final triumph. You should indeed be proud of what you have achieved.
But more than the successful introduction of the first production EREV – you should be proud to know that these efforts have made the world a better place. It may be only slight here in the beginning, and there will be setbacks as well as new triumphs ahead – but it was in large part you who helped set all this in motion. Thank you Lyle for your steadfast leadership and unswerving devotion to the cause. You, Team Volt at GM, the dedicated readers and contributors here – have had a real, positive influence on the human condition. We are better for what you have done.
Fare well… and um, don’t be a stranger eh;)
+4
Feb 18th, 2011 (8:07 am)Today is another day with nothing new on this site. I’m afraid “GM-Volt: Turn in the Road” was too sharp and the vehicle went off the road never to come back. May it rest in peace.
Time to get my Volt news elsewhere…..sayonara, adios, au revoir, cheerio, auf Wiedersehen, adieu, and good bye!
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (8:31 am)Hey new owners, the reason people come to this site religiosly is to get new content while eating breakfast every day. Post something new and interesting or you’ll end up on page 1200 of a google search!
Feb 18th, 2011 (8:45 am)New posting at TheChevyVoltBlog.. Feel free to comment there! Even if you have nothing to say!
http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/future-just-keeps-on-coming.html
+1
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:10 am)Agree with Gsned57!
Time for a new informative post, I’m losing interest.
+3
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:17 am)Hey Everyone!
We have a full-time editor starting today, so you all should be seeing a post at some point today.
If you would like to see a picture of me, you all will have to look at my forum profile.
Have a good one.
Helena
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:25 am)Yay! I’m a terrible blogger..
+8
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:34 am)Helena,
That’s good. I was getting worried =)
+6
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:36 am)hi Helena…good to see a new post is on the way. There is much to talk about with the electric Volt. For one, anyone send their taxes in this week? I included the form 8936 $7500 EV credit. It’s been two days now and the IRS still haven’t accepted my tax paperwork. I believe this is due to the “aggressive” looking into of non-owners sending in for the EV credit. The total number eligible for 2010 is under 1000. This being less than two hundred Leaf. About 600 Volts. And a few from other manufacturers.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/04/33-million-in-ev-tax-credits-went-to-buy-unqualified-vehicles/
=D-Volt
+4
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:36 am)Lyle,
You are missed, my friend.
It seems GM-VOLT.com is not habit forming, but addictive.
Judging by some of the comments, some people are going through some serious withdrawal.
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:37 am)Forum profile as “admin.”
+16
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:43 am)Rashiid Amul,
I’m still here friend. It’s like a restaurant. For years I’ve owned and operated it and made all the meals. Now there is a new owner, and I can be a patron.
I’m still passionate about and committed to electrification of the automobile, and furthermore love my Volt!
The pressure of creating daily posts in the midst of an otherwise very busy life became too great for one man to do. Also I am taking a new position as Chief of Neurology at a new hospital which will be taking all of my attention.
+6
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:46 am)Well done. Now you’ll have the clout to get more EV recharge parking spaces installed.
=D-Volt
+4
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:48 am)Excellent Lyle. Congratulation on the new position.
If you tackle that job like you did this one, you will do great.
We just got spoiled and we need to learn patience.
My Volt is a couple of years away, but is the first and only car on my list.
+1
Feb 18th, 2011 (9:51 am)yes
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (10:03 am)Congratulations, Lyle! That hospital and its/your patients are fortunate to have someone of your dedication, intellect and character in such a key position.
And Helena, it’s great that you’ve got a full-time editor on board to handle gm-volt.com. We’ll all look forward to his/her leadership here! BTW, I note that you’re a Volt owner, right? Great! And I couldn’t help but notice that you’re a VERY attractive brunette!*
* http://gm-volt.com/forum/member.php?9015-admin
Feb 18th, 2011 (11:32 am)#209
I agree that it’s a great idea. But I doubt that it’s completed in my lifetime. The right of way acquisition problems in the SF Peninsula and LA/Orange County metro area are HUGE. Communities which may be bisected by the line and/or subjected to noise, etc., are already mobilizing to fight it. And then there’s the issue of where’s the money coming from?
Between the $9 billion bond issue and the Federal stimulus money there’s something like $13 billion on the table. That’s just the down payment, IMHO. I spent a large part of my life working on large public works construction projects. I’m totally from Missouri on such things.
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (11:33 am)Congrats on the new position Lyle, my blog is just temporary to help us Volt fanatics get our fix, when this site returns to normal I’ll forever shut down The Chevy Volt Blog.. Long live Lyle’s baby, GM-Volt.com
http://thechevyvoltblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/future-just-keeps-on-coming.html
-1
Feb 18th, 2011 (11:39 am)> Jeffhre –
I’m so glad you enjoy my writing so much! In fact – to quote you, my posts #169 – 172 are from a person ” saddled by the limitations of a fool “. LOL!!!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
You’ve gotten some + traction with your comment so truly I can feel the love radiating here. Quite obviously some here took my commentary completely NOT in the way it was intended. Jeffhre supposed I was saying Dr. Lyle Dennis was here to make a quick buck and sold us all out for a quick profit. It’s said people hear what they want to hear and read what they truly feel they want to get out of a certain piece. This is the case for Jeffhre.
I SAID NOTHING OF THE KIND – IF YOU TRULY HAD READ ALL OF WHAT I SAID INSTEAD OF LITTLE BITS – YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THE MANY TIMES I STATED DR. DENNIS COULD NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO RUN GM-VOLT ON HIS OWN – BEING WHAT A FEAT THAT IS TO HOLD DOWN HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER AS A DOCTOR AND ALSO HIS SIDE BUSINESS OF GM-VOLT.COM ( and be there for his family – Job #1 ).
I used his own quotes from interviews he did on websites about site building business. I used his own words in emails he sent to CAB members. Lyle has said many times that GM-Volt was a business for him – this is not debatable, it’s fact. It also is not controversial or bad. Lyle has done a great thing for electrification of the automobile and I never took anything away from that.
If you aren’t daft, you can hear my message loud and clear. That message was my disappointment that Lyle did not share the load – hire someone to administrate GM-Volt.com use some of us ( his devoted readers and commentators ) and pay writers and contributors . No reliable content can be counted on for FREE. IN THIS WAY GM-VOLT.COM WOULD SURVIVE AND NOT BE SOLD OUT TO VERTICAL WHO – IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITES – DOES A VERY GOOD JOB AT PUTTING OUT VERY AVERAGE AUTO WEBSITES. GM-Volt was unique in this web world. GM-Volt HAD CLOUT IN THE INDUSTRY and coverage. Lyle admitted the site was quite profitable. Does anyone here not have the knowledge of what that unique GM access afforded this site? Do you feel the sponsors listed on this site ( GM and local GM dealers exclusively for the last few months ) don’t have to pay to be here? Lyle himself stated that he was considering marketing some product here ( GM-Volt coffee mugs, T Shirts…??? ) and I agreed that was a great idea. Lyle should profit from his relentless, untiring work he’s done here. You missed my ENTIRE POINT.
Jeffhre, in feeling he was defending our friend and co-conspirator in the electrification of transport failed to read what I read. Instead Jeff resorted to name-calling – and believe me, that in itself is foolish.
THEY’RE PUMPING OUT THE VOLTS!
James
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (11:48 am)It is now Feb 18th as I add this. After just a short taste of the new format, I just have one observation to make:
Sad. Very sad. Something exceedingly rare and valuable has now come to an end. After 4 years, I don’t blame Lyle for making this decision. I doubt I would have held out this long; but I cannot help but feel that something precious has gone out of the universe.
.
+2
Feb 18th, 2011 (12:28 pm)Clarification:
I will still always continue to check gm-volt. I can only hope that things can get better.
.
Feb 18th, 2011 (1:59 pm)Yesterday I went on a major automobile magazine’s website and debunked their facts and defended the Volt/Voltec technology. It’s apparent to all of us that misinformation is nearly the norm out in the web world and we can be there to correct it and supply needed help in posts and commentary.
New York Times, Washington Post, Major Auto magazine websites – they all have this discourse going on about the Volt and Volt dealers, etc.
Today is time we not preach to the choir, which happens alot here – and go out to the world and spread the voluminous knowledge we’ve gathered over 4 years at this place. I called my local NBC news affiliate the other day and corrected their mistake which they broadcast all over the Northwestern USA. In their story about the first LEAF customer to pick up his car in Seattle, they said ” Next week the first Ford Focus EV customers will be picking up their cars”. The news guy on the phone asked me: “Are you from Ford? ” , to which I responded – “no, I’m an EV enthusiast and blogger” – he grunted..ugh…huh…and hung up the phone! To which in hindsight, I should have said I am an EV expert. We all are who have been here for years. You are a spokesperson who knows more than 95% of the folks out there.
Now’s the time to go out and spread the word and give accurate data to the world. Lyle giving up the site can be seen as the positive next step in the journey of the electric car. It’s time for us to evangelize and correct. Thanks to this site we’ve become experts in our own right – and ambassadors to what VOLT is and promises into the future!
I love you guys – See you somewhere down the road. I hope we can keep in touch and have Volt meetups. Happy VOLT Trails!
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU,
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN,
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU,
KEEP SMILIN’ UNTIL THEN,
DON’T FROWN WHEN LIMBAUGHS QUOTE EV MISNOMERS
JUST DANCE AND SPREAD THE TRUTH WITH FOUR LEAF ( and VOLT ) CLOVERS,
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
PUMP OUT THE VOLT KNOWLEDGE! ,
James
+1
Feb 18th, 2011 (2:01 pm)Of course it’s a business for him! Why wouldn’t it be? Do you know how much time a site like this takes to run? But it’s not a business anyone would start looking to make a lot of money. If it worked out that way for him. Great. He certainly deserves it. But I very much doubt that was his intention in starting this site.
James,
I suspect he tried doing that with guest posts. But that still requires a lot of time and energy. He’s a neurosurgeon. Do you know what kind of hours neurosurgeons work? He has a family. I think he’s superhuman to have managed it this long.
What makes this site special is a) the access Lyle has to GM, and b) the commentators that it attracts. GM isn’t giving the information to Lyle because they like him. (Although I’m sure they do.) They’re giving it out to us for marketing reasons. And I’m sure they’ll continue to give information to whomever the new owners find. And if they don’t, it’s because they’ve decided that they want to keep their future plans more private. Not because Lyle decided to sell his site!
I, personally, am hoping that most of the commentators stay. But, if they don’t, that’s not Lyle’s responsibility.
Feb 18th, 2011 (2:09 pm)But they worked in the past. We built a transcontinental railroad. And the interstate highway system. Where would be be without them? If they can do it in France, we should be able to do it here. We just need to make it a priority. We invented the maglev trains! We should be the ones building them. Not Japan.
And, by the way, if the difference in price between us and France is the labor, then someone’s being paid too much money. The French are not not paying a living wage.
Also, from what I’ve heard, the high speed trains in Europe are a lot quieter than Amtrak. They create less noise than the average highway.
+1
Feb 18th, 2011 (2:16 pm)LauraM,
Your tone sounds as if I was criticizing Lyle for making it a business. I was not. Others have. One CAB member – to whom you may or may not be familiar, has blogged that Lyle rejected his posts and sent him emails chiding him – because mainly GM-Volt was a business to him. This was news to that CAB member ( you can Google his commentary ) but not to you or me.
Laura, I was not criticizing. I feel I keep having to make that point over and over.
Once again, I’ll reiterate – I admire Lyle for what he accomplished and always was amazed at A) how he could do it all while being a dad and doctor B) the access he gained C) The impact he had D) That GM-Volt.com became a go-to place for anyone wanting to know more, or be part of the Volt’s revolutionary journey. How insiders and outsiders accessed the site to gain insight.
Part of it’s success was me and you… how the site attracted a rare mix of mostly polite and intelligent posters.
PUMP OUT THE VOLT KNOWLEDGE!
James
Feb 18th, 2011 (2:55 pm)LauraM,
When I was in Singapore I travelled primarlity by MRT, their overhead rail service that travels 70 mph over all traffic congestion and is the backbone of transportation of that rather cramped and very populated island city/state. Built in the ’70s the MRT pretty much carried Singapore through it’s massive building expansion in the ’80s where 4 of 5 Singaporeans were built and moved into government MDP housing developments. Here, government housing is viewed as a bad thing, there , a good thing – it’s a subject for another day.
The MRT worked for decades – until the Western view of human transportation freedom leaked in. Today, the Singaporean government penalizes it’s citizens greatly for buying and owning a personal car – their roads and highways are clogged beyond LA or Seattle ( two of the USA’s most congested highway systems ) and people insist upon buying personal cars anyway. It’s the lure of the open road ( even if they have no open road
). In Singapore there is a mandated buy-back system whereupon a car owner has to sell his/hers car back to the state after ( I believe ) 12,000 miles. The cars are then crushed, sold outside the country or recycled. When a Singaporean buys a car, they have to pay an “Entitlement Tax”. If one is entitled to own a car they must pay a huge penalty – I believe they told me a Honda Civic ( very popular there ) that costs $18,000 in America costs near $35,000 in Singapore!
I think once a person has tasted the fruits of personal transportation – going back to public transpoortation is looked upon as a great sacrifice. We would be willing to pay whatever it takes, just like they do in Singapore – to own a car we can drive when , where and how we desire. In Singapore, they even have little computer sensors installed from the dealer before they pick up their cars – that sense when they enter a city congestion zone whereupon they are taxed a fee on their credit card! Yet cars in Singapore clog the parking lots and apartments – gridlock reigns supreme! It’s a status symbol – a Western image of success, for them to own a car and the percentage of their yearly income wrapped up into their car is enormous.
We have been slogging away at a light rail system in Seattle for years. It’s been akin to pulling teeth, and the prices for light rail have gone from single digit billions to high double digit billions in implementing a system that covers even part of the city. Our infrastructure is not rail based. In part in fault to GM for their successful attempts at putting a private car in every home – we are strapped with a culture of highways and byways. Actually the electric or hydrogen car future is the approach we have to put a band-aid on this complex and innefficient means of getting people to where they need to go.
Trains have always been more efficient, friendlier to our environment and more practical but we in the USA have larger distances to cover and the adoption of the personal car was seen as an inalienable right of the American to move about the country at will without any inconvenience.
We now live in a world of inconvenience brought on by this thinking – but really there is no way out at this point. We have what we have. I’ve ridden MAGLEV trains and they’re incredible. When our current rail system was built, they didn’t have to rip through the sheer tons of red tape, personal property rights and existing infrastructure we have today. Back then a few moguls who owned a good portion of major industry could force their hand in government and do pretty much whatever they pleased and could afford. Today – the dream of intercontinental high speed rail In America seems a pipedream.
James
Feb 18th, 2011 (3:06 pm)Studies have been done in Seattle to see if people are leaving their cars at home and riding our multi billion dollar light rail system to work. They aren’t. I believe it will take gas prices to soar above $4-5 dollars per gallon to get them out of the car and into the train.
Seattle also started a heavy rail commuter train called The Sounder, for longer trips and commutes along the Western Washington corridor between major cities Tacoma – Seattle – Everett. This train ran for eight or nine years only to have been scrapped last year for low ridership.
James
Feb 18th, 2011 (3:07 pm)New post is up for the blog … at last.
[/a]Is the text going to be green in perpetuity? It’s harder to read. I’ve tried various html things to try and shut it off.
.
Feb 18th, 2011 (3:31 pm)There’s a new post up, but…
That depends on the person and the situation. Singaporeans may like having cars, but I’m sure many people still use those trains. Public transportation works very well in New York City. Plenty of people are OK with not owning a car. Even people who grew up with them.
And the biggest rival for high speed rail isn’t a car. It’s an airplane. Lots of people (me included) hate planes. And, unless you’re traveling first class, trains are just all around much more comfortable. Well, at least Amtrak is in the North East Corridor.
That’s one of the reasons why we should have a gasoline tax, so that we don’t abandon rail infrastructure during a brief blip of low gas prices. Gas prices are only going to go up from here. And at 6 or 7 dollar a gallon for gasoline, I expect people’s preferences to change. Very fast.
Feb 18th, 2011 (5:22 pm)LauraM,
Exactly. Although we know an increase in the gas tax will not come. I’ve quoted the Asst. Sec. Of Transportation a few times in here when she told Automobile Magazine, ” currently there is no apetite in Washington ( D.C. ) to raise the gas tax”. And there never will be. It’s just too practical and too good of an idea to be implemented.
Politics gets in the way of a lot of great ideas. Increasing the gas tax by only a few cents per gallon could quite readily decrease our national debt. It’s just too bad raising such a tax is political suicide. Just think, your Senatorial candidate endorses a gas tax – her/his opponent jumps on it full force. ” They want to tax your gasoline and take the bread off of your children’s table! “….. it’s never ending.
To that end, the Volt and ( better than 80-100 miles range ) EVs are the answer. We can’t tax gas more, but we sure can use less.
James
Feb 21st, 2011 (4:32 am)Lyle,
Lyle,
I have to say, I am sad to hear that you have handed off your website to someone else. I have always found this blog to be extremely packed with information, excitement, and friendliness. I think it works well because of your consistent style of daily, lengthy, informative, and relevant blog posts. Thus, GM-Volt has been a daily addiction for me to read for the past few years. (I don’t post often, it’s just not my style. I only post when I feel that there is something important on the blog, or I have something important to say.)
Ever since the Chevrolet Volt launched, I began to worry what would happen to GM-Volt. Surely there won’t be enough Volt-relevant news to carry on each day? But this website kept pressing on….
Then things turned…the daily CAB Volt statistics stopped being updated. That was the first sign. Then, beginning in January, the website was redesigned. Since my phone is my primary way of reading this site, the website became IMPOSSIBLE to navigate after the GM-Volt 3.0 design launched. Every few days, I would check in on a real computer. I found it difficult to read stories since the blog post navigation window allowed only five stories. I found it relieving when the archive dropdown window was added. Lyle, you posted in the beginning of the year that daily posts were not going to continue much longer. To my reluctance, I accepted that. Little did I know that the updates would slow to a crawl. In fact, the updates was so slow and non-intriguing that I began to write this website off as dead.
And then, the big news. I came back today to catch up on the posts I have missed. I was surprised, even now, that I have missed only a few posts. Basically, all of February’s. When I finally got to the previous post…I was saddened. Lyle, selling his wonderful website? Oh no, this must be a dream! But it isn’t.
I write this as firstly a token of respect for Lyle’s work for the last few years, and secondly of my disappointment in management changeover.
Despite Lyle’s reassurances, I am not sure that the new corporate management of GM-Volt can carry on the passion, discussions, and overall community of GM-Volt. No automotive website on the web comes close to GM-Volt’s tight-nit community of very educated, informed, diverse people discussing a car. (And I bet that no one can find a website that is more so. Don’t even try, I surf many, many websites.) I checked out the other websites that the new management owns, and was not very reassured. The quality in their websites just don’t reach that of the GM-Volt legacy. Then, the first article to come out from the new management came out. Put it nicely, I was shocked at the low quality of the article. The article seemed to be produced hastily, and in a corporate manner. The post was rather staid, lacking commentary nor analysis that we have came to expect from the great Lyle Dennis. The new management has much to learn.
Lyle, I do hope you continue to do many blog posts and other contributions to GM-Volt in the future. You have become one member of the heart of the Volt.
Thanks for godfathering the Volt.
Llama off,
Danny Thai
PS. I have also posted this on the next day’s post by the new management. It’s not everyday that much time has passed, and barely and comments are posted after Lyle’s! It seems like many commentators in our great community have left.
Feb 21st, 2011 (12:54 pm)Thanks for being a GMsurgeon, too, Lyle. Glad you’re sticking around.
So, how much did you get for the sale? 8^)
Feb 21st, 2011 (1:13 pm)I smell pork. Moving people and their luggage around to meet is an old solution to an increasingly old problem. The private sector’s efforts at avoiding the high cost of long-distance transportation seem close to a tipping point, IMO. Just see the recent TV pieces on IBM–virtual offices and mtgs. Looks like a huge growth area for them if/when they roll that knowledge and experience out to their clients.
And the recent blizzard in Chicago was probably a high-water mark for telecommuting here, would be my guess. Will just get more & more popular as the ‘wireless generation’ becomes a bigger % of the working population.
Feb 22nd, 2011 (2:23 pm)Thanks Lyle,
You did your job well and deserve a break. I hope your next endeavors are just as prosperous.
Chris
aka: nuclearboy