Intending to spur interest for its present production, GM has tried to cap information leaks about next-generation Chevrolet Volts, but last week a few tidbits were revealed about both Generation 2 and 3.
According to Alan Taub, GM vice president for global research and development, Chevrolet is “on track” to cut production costs, while GM’s R&D people know for certain that efficiency and electronics for the next two generations will be significantly improved.
This was reported by the Detroit News from the sidelines of the SAE World Congress last Wednesday, and it fits with a mandate GM CEO Dan Akerson previously made to cut the Volt’s production cost by $10,000.
The Volt has won more awards than can be squeezed into a normal-length photo caption, but it appears that GM already has a good idea of what it will do for an encore.
“We have a cost reduction plan all the way through 2020 and Generation 3,” said Taub, “In fact, we’ve been challenged by our new leadership team to pull those earlier in time, and we’re on track to meet our new cost reduction targets.”
From these statements, it would seem clear Taub means that GM has closely analyzed the determiners of the Volt’s cost, including its engineering and production requirements for the next nine years.
Taub did not reply when asked whether the expected cost reduction would specifically be $10,000, but he did say the Gen 2 Volt will be altogether better.
“It’s got a lot of improvements. It’s not just cost,” Taub said. “It’s got a lot of improvement on efficiency, on batteries.”
These statements essentially mean a more advanced Volt is just waiting for the present version to go through its cycle. Taub also said Generation 3 will come along by no later than 2020.
Taub gave no details about what he meant by “a lot of improvements … on efficiency and batteries.” Could he mean GM already has a Volt prototype with more EV range, or a less expensive version that would not erode profit margins?
Getting the Volt’s production costs down is a mandate GM says it will meet.
If we read Taub’s statements accurately, these implications would not be hard to believe. Improving the breed is what automakers that want to stay competitive do as a matter of course.
But if GM does have a clear road map to the Volt’s next decade, unknown is how it would respond to a sharp kink in the proverbial R&D road. For example, what would it mean if promises of superior energy storage were to become a reality? Could GM respond without costing itself too much from having already made financial commitments to existing designs?
We have no idea, and do not have enough facts to make reasonable predictions. All we will say is talk of R&D objectives and design plans through 2020 being met mean GM is spending significant time and money toward the Volt’s future.
In any case, when we followed up with GM spokesman Rob Peterson, he offered no elaboration on specifics, but did clarify a few details.
“Much of what we do on cost reduction is part of the normal life cycle of any vehicle,” Peterson said.
“First a manufacturer gets the vehicle in production and on the market.” he said, “Then you look for ways to reduce the cost of it over its general life cycle.”
The first-generation Volt is a solidly engineered car. As with any new technology, the argument always presents itself whether or not to wait. Good reasons could be presented for either proposition.
While Peterson was not familiar with Taub’s comments, he said he knows no details to tell, even if he wanted to, and said it might be a bit of a leap of faith to connect what Taub said with Akerson’s previous cost reduction target.
Peterson also reiterated the difference between “cost” and MSRP.
“The price is based on the current market conditions – supply, demand, and things along those lines,” he said, “They are definitely separated.”
We replied this was understood, but as for future upgrades it seemed quite leading what Taub had said. We also said we did not know why he was talking about Gen 3 when Gen 2 was not even yet known about.
Peterson did not deny the first half of our statement, and to the second half, he laughed. “You just asked the question I was going to ask Alan Taub the next time I see him,” he said.
Source: Detroit News
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+6
Apr 19th, 2011 (6:59 am)I imagine they will also be working hard on both the battery and the generator to make it more efficient, and to run on alternate fuels (such as E85). Whilst the volt is primarily an electric car, and any improvement there will come from better battery technology, the generator should be running a bit better than it does with regards to efficiencies. A lot of people are comparing it to a prius when running on the ICE and perhaps deservedly so – once the battery is depleted, the Volt is running on an ICE in tandem with the battery as it recharges through regenerative breaking; as does the Prius.
I’d love to see regenerative shock absorbers implemented though!
+5
Apr 19th, 2011 (7:18 am)Very nice article.
I hope to see the next generation Volt soon before I get too old to drive, unless Gen 3 is autonomous, and can drive itself. With advanced GPS guidance (down to one cm), electric steering and controls, and sonar and laser collision avoidance, the next Volt could become the first robotic vehicle. The final touch would be that it could search and plug itself into its charger (like a human-sized Roomba). Then it can come to you or park itself by remote control of your latest smartphone (iPhone 7?).
Raymond
+30
Apr 19th, 2011 (8:10 am)From the article:
According to Alan Taub, GM vice president for global research and development, Chevrolet is “on track” to cut production costs, while GM’s R&D people know for certain that efficiency and electronics for the next two generations will be significantly improved.
I suggest caution here.
I’m all for cutting costs, but not at the expensive of quality and reliability.
Please be careful with this.
+17
Apr 19th, 2011 (8:26 am)=========================
My Feelings Exactly!!!!!
+1
+7
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:05 am)You took the words right out of my mouth. +1
+17
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:33 am)One simple approach to taking out costs is doing what they’re doing with the 2012 Model — making standard equipment optional. The Nav and the hard drive and the Bose sound system will be options on next year’s model. ONSTAR can be trimmed. Etc. Etc.
I hope they do three things in the next generation, none of which involve cost cutting: (1) improve performance and handling (perhaps by taking off some mass); (2) increase AER (35 miles is a little short); (3) spend some MORE money on the interior. Improving MPG in CS Mode would be nice but no big deal, especially if they increase AER. Oh yeah, and fix the integration of the NAV with the radio. How they came up with a system where you can’t turn the radio off is beyond me.
The Volt is a premium product and GM should work to keep it that way. Aim it to compete with BMW not Toyota (though it will in the process kill the Prius). As mentioned by several here, fussing about cost is always great but let’s not make the Volt into a Leaf. Leaf buyers were deliriously happy about the price but now that they have the cars in their hands there is discontent about the quality of both the build (which can be fixed) and the parts (which can’t). GM would be making a huge mistake to compromise on the quality of the Volt to save a few thousand bucks.
+6
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:36 am)When are we going to see Gen 2 is the question I’d like answered (or another Voltec vehicle)?
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:46 am)I wonder if GM is going to make available to owners the possibility of upgrading their existing vehicles (or if you buy a used one). Basically how are they going to make the existing vehicles worth something in 5 years? I think the Volt itself would be worth something due to the quality, but if you need to add $10,000.00 to put in a new battery, that would certainly diminish the value. It would obviously be very cool if such an upgrade were fairly reasonable, but not so cheap as to significantly erode buying a new one.
+9
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:55 am)Today I get to take the demo Volt to a local “Earth Day” event. I’m not sure what other vehicles or dealers will be there. If it’s interesting, I’ll get some photos. At least I get out of the office for 4 hours.
And for the record, our demo car has 222 miles on it, 183 EV miles, with an average 179 MPG.
+3
Apr 19th, 2011 (10:05 am)I owned a gen I prius and worried the same thing when the body style changed and Gen II came out. But the truth is it was a great car that lasted forever and was good value to me. Also, there is a big secondary market out there that really wants a volt and just can’t afford it yet. They will snap them up in 3 yrs as the leases run out, and value will be based more on their demand than what other new models are available.
+3
Apr 19th, 2011 (10:42 am)I think all the worrying about lowering the quality of future generation Volts is nothing to worry about. The new GM is not going to come out with a poor quality car. A lot of cost cutting can be accomplished with making stuff optional, engineering improvements and efficiencies, etc. without lowering the quality of the vehicle. For those of us that have to wait on a lower price, this is all good news. And try to remember–what’s important is getting EV wheels on the road. The whole “quality” issue is really very subjective. What some might consider poor quality would be for others a really good car. In my mind it is unthinkable that future generation Volts won’t be even more wonderful.
+5
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:03 am)Thats a good point Don.
I wil say that removing standard features and continuing to charge the same pricetag is a GM staple right across the product line, not unique to the Volt, or this ‘mandate’ to cut costs.
As for the mandate itself…I am pretty sure most of us equate that to just ‘talking things up’ before they have to adjust to starting to lose the gov’t subsidy in another 198Kish sales. I know I am not expecting to see any drastic MSRP reduction anytime before that $7,500 program starts to push up daisies.
That being said, and regardless of th US content, the USD is crushing production costs on the Volt, which is (as of this moment) strictly a US sold product…which is bad news for the bottom line.
Look for pricing to go up on May 2nd on the Volt…or at the very least, (very remote shot) for the MSRP to hold for 2012 with less options.
+11
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:05 am)For anyone who missed it, these are the changes for ’12:
New
(GAZ) Summit White exterior color
(GTS) Blue Topaz Metallic exterior color (late availability)
(AFD) Jet Black and White seats with Ceramic White interior accents
(AFG) Jet Black and Spice Red seats with Dark interior accents
(UP9) Chevrolet MyLink, includes Bluetooth streaming audio for music and select phones; voice recognition for phone, music and radio; Pandora and Stitcher smartphone compatible; Gracenote (Playlist+, Album Art); software updatable for radio software and Gracenote database (Not available at start of production. Requires (UFU) AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 playback.)
Passive entry for all doors and liftgate
Turn-by-Turn navigation included in OnStar
(RVF) 17″ aluminum wheels with Black inserts (late availability) [Color inserts available as a LPO accessory in Silver Ice, Cyber Gray and Viridian Joule]
(RXL) 110-volt/120-volt additional charging charging cord, LPO
Changes
Standard Radio: (UFU) AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 playback and 7″ diagonal color touch-screen display and (UZ6) 6-speaker system are now the standard audio system
Available Radio: (UFV) AM/FM stereo with Navigation, DVD-ROM and MP3 playback is now an available option and includes 30GB audio data storage hard drive and NavTraffic and Local Forecast and requires (UQA) Bose premium speaker system
(UQA) Bose premium speaker system is now an available option
New! (UP9) Chevrolet MyLink, includes Bluetooth streaming audio for music and select phones; voice recognition for phone, music and radio; Pandora and Stitcher smartphone compatible; Gracenote (Playlist+, Album Art); software updatable for radio software and Gracenote database (Not available at start of production. Requires (UFU) AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 playback.)
Cancelled
(AFE) Jet Black seats with Ceramic White interior accents
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:18 am)Nice stats, but what is missing is how many Volt orders it has helped make per mile it has been driven.
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:25 am)I’m hoping you’r right.
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:33 am)Take pics of the women next to the Volt!!!!
/:-P
+10
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:37 am)Broken record….
I want:
No Power Windows
No Power Adjust Seats
No Power Side view mirrors
No Power Sunroof (Actually No Sunroof at all!!)No Power Door Locks
No Power Trunk lock
No Radio (Remember that fiasco? – Get an iPod)
No Heated Seats
No GPS (My Phone has one and it WORKs!)
No OnStar!!! Yuk, Phoey!
Stripper Model
Back to basics boys!
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:10 pm)I do like the idea of a stripped down basic CUV Voltec vehicle like the AMP…
I just want to get to work… on electric…. and I want reliability.. durability… stainless exhaust .. galvanized metal body…. alloy brakes.
Chevy AMP.
+5
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:10 pm)I think that Mr. Peterson’s comments about the lifecycle are right on. People ask me all the time what year Corvette the is best to buy. I always start by saying “The newest one you can afford. they just get better every year.” Aside from the collector appeal of the older ones, the newer ones ar just light years better as actual driving cars.
So it will be with the Volt. I hope that it does evolve to the point that, a few years down the road, I “have to buy” a new one. God send that I will have the $$$ of course.
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:11 pm)#10 Well said. +1
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:12 pm)#11
Amen. +1
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:13 pm)#17
KISS. You go Captain. You know that I’m always there for that. +1
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:18 pm)#13
Plus longer battery warranty and/or better RE emissions so that you can get a carpool lane sticker and a rebate in CA. And you can use your GM card credit after November. All giant plusses IMHO.
Can you imagine my happiness to see that Summit White is now available after paying $995 extra to get a white 2011? Oh the joys of the “early adopters” LOL
Information is power. +1 Nice to see you here, BTW.
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:20 pm)#18
Amen to that too. +1
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (12:28 pm)Good article, Jeff. We will see what comes when it comes, as usual. Interesting feature list provided by Statik. Knowing most dealers, they will load the cars up anyway, unless you order from the factory and wait. Which is what is happening right now, but that will shift as production starts out pacing sales and dealer inventory starts to build. And as usual, GM will tie some options to other more expensive options so it will be difficult to save much money on a Volt where you think you can leave off “undesirable” options. IMO.
Apr 19th, 2011 (1:10 pm)OT…
So whatever happened to the “Jelly Bean” car?
iMiEV?
Apr 19th, 2011 (1:19 pm)OT: My biggest impression of the Shanghai Auto Show so far–massive oversupply is coming. Everybody and his brother is forecasting a doubling of sales in China by 2015. Better have something different, like a Volt to sell. Even with many companies’ stock prices recent declines, I may short some of them, especially when also considering rising input costs, rising gas prices, etc. Guess where some of that overproduction may head…
Another big shakeout looming?
Apr 19th, 2011 (1:28 pm)CorvetteGuy,
Corvette Guy, do you know of any dealers in the greater LA area that have a demo unit for test drive? Thinking near Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena?
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (1:49 pm)I think this will not be part of the 2012 Model Year Volt. GM has said it would apply for certification in 2012. Since this will be a lengthly process I’d expect to see a certified Volt in 2013. Plus of course there will be an extra expense for the extended 10 yr/150,000 mile power train warranty.
While cars generally get better and better with each model year, for the Volt I wouldn’t be surprised if Gen I isn’t the best in some regards. With each generation GM will find ways to cut corners, and that will mean that later generations will be less “tank like” than Gen I. But for sure Gen 2 and later will have more features and other goodies. My best example of this was the HP LaserJet I. No other LaserJet ever matched if for ruggedness. Like the Gen I Volt it was built like a tank.
Apr 19th, 2011 (1:52 pm)Statik, have you bought a Volt? Still waiting for local service? Decided to go with the Model S or the Karma? Or are you going with a Leaf with the cold weather package?
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (2:22 pm)My experience as an engineer (25 years) is that the first version of any new product, engineers are just trying to make it work, manufacturable, and make it reliable. That often means that things are more expensive than necessary, but engineers are often under huge schedule pressures just to deliver the first version. For the 2nd and subsequent versions of a product, the goals become cost reductions and performance improvements.
No surprise here about what GM is saying is their goals is for the 2nd and 3rd generation Volt technology. However, it was interesting that they stated the 3rd generation is due no later than 2020 – I would have expected 3rd generation to arrive much sooner than that. (Keep in mind my expertise is consumer and medical electronics, not the auto industry.)
I would have thought that GM would be presently developing generation 2 Volt technology, while doing preliminary planning for product development of generation 3.
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (2:34 pm)Well, making options optional is good (I don’t want OnStar, premium stuff).
I would like to see a Chevrolet “Spark” model (junior cousin to the Volt).
A Spark would be:
2-door EREV much like a Cruze with Voltec or perhaps GEO sized model.
Lower-frills options including cloth seats, basic CD-stereo, no backup camera, steel wheels, etc.
You need to have an “EREV for the masses.” mentality. This also brings in maintenance issues too. A lot of uninformed people will abuse the battery-packs by leaving the car in sub-optimal conditions (out in Fresno CA heat in the daytime). So, as the price comes down to a more “consumer” level the more apt you are to have issues like poor maintenance and abuses.
Apr 19th, 2011 (2:46 pm)I’m with you. As soon as I heard “must cut $10,000″, I started to write this thing off. That’s essentially a demand to cut corners. The car is really, really good right now because they sucked it up and paid the bill to do it mostly right. The facts don’t change – it has a really expensive battery and two motive sources. The battery won’t magically get dramatically cheaper since just the materials are expensive. If they try to cost cut themselves to some arbitrary number, they end up with a slightly less expensive crap pile instead of an expensive nice car. I would MUCH rather see them improve the car at the current price point. 60 mile AER, 45MPG in CS mode, etc. Put on their Big Boy pants and keep making it right rather than to an arbitrary cost.
I hope I’m wrong but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy #777.
Apr 19th, 2011 (2:56 pm)No, I have not bought a Volt…yet. Another manufacturer (who shall remain nameless, lol) filled my mantra of “I will buy the first electric car with at least 4 seats that can be serviced inside its electric range” just after Christmas last year.
It was kind of a pain getting things done long distance and getting it into the country (Canada), so I am waiting out the Volt to go on sale here in July (theoretically)…provided it is priced reasonably (in the next couple weeks) compared to the US, otherwise I will probably import it too.
Speaking of costs and the US dollar collapse earlier, I had pencilled in shelling out another 3-4K CDN to cover the exchange, but ended up paying less on the currency by the time it arrived…only thing that saddens me is that it would be even better at today’s rates. (USD is worth .957 today) /can’t win them all
-1
Apr 19th, 2011 (3:37 pm)“…a few tidbits were revealed about both Generation 2 and 3.
According to Alan Taub, GM vice president for global research and development, Chevrolet is “on track” to cut production costs, while GM’s R&D people know for certain that efficiency and electronics for the next two generations will be significantly improved.
This was reported by the Detroit News from the sidelines of the SAE World Congress last Wednesday, and it fits with a mandate GM CEO Dan Akerson previously made to cut the Volt’s production cost by $10,000.”
Golly Gee …. Looks like my comments were correct.
I noted the headwinds for the VOLT were over promise under deliver and they needed to bring the costs down ( we do assume quality will be just as good).
Now GM plans to improve efficiency and reduce costs (the price of batteries alone are expected to keep dropping)
Anytime anyone wants to give me minus numbers on that go ahead. :+} as I note by GMs own comments I am correct.
This car will go from a cool car to a really great car.
Apr 19th, 2011 (3:47 pm)#29
From your lips to God’s ear, LOL. +1`
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (3:52 pm)#32
Me too. Smaller and lighter = better AER and mpg IMHO. +1
Apr 19th, 2011 (4:05 pm)Hi Statik,
I wonder want Nissan was thinking when they announced the price of the Leaf in Canada.
38 395 $ for the base model.
Why would they charge more in Canada while our currency is worth more than the USD is beyond me.
If GM Canada goes for a price at par with the US, they will sell the Volt 50 to 1 in comparison to the Leaf.
What’s your take on that ?
+3
Apr 19th, 2011 (4:16 pm)Well I bought instead of leased, because they killed the EV1, because they may put mileage meters that communicate back to the government in new cars someday, because they may legislate that idiotic artificial noise in future electric cars and because if all goes well I’m hoping to add an MPV5 as a second car for the family in a few years. Last thing I want is to take on 2 new obligations at the same time (ie. Volt 2 + MPV5).
I recognize that the downside of owning instead of leasing is that I’m “stuck” with Volt 1, as new and better technologies are introduced. HOWEVER, it’s my secret hope that by the time the battery goes bad they or some aftermarket company will have a much better replacement battery that can be “popped” in by a qualified technician.
After owning the Volt for a month, 40 miles is great, but honestly I do think at least 60 or more miles would be a better target for a 2015 or 2016 EREV. Lets you drive more aggressively, lets you blast the AC/Heat, lets you live further out, lets you rely on liquid fuel even less (gas may be $7 by 2015 at this rate).
+3
Apr 19th, 2011 (4:16 pm)I’d love to hear that Gen 2 of the Volt will have 60+ miles of range, a 0-60 mph time of 6.5 seconds (in Sport mode), improved battery life, improved warranty and a price that is $10,000 to $15,000 less.
This is a tall order, but if GM wants to have people clamoring to buy hundreds of thousands of Volts per year, it would certainly help A LOT if they could do it.
I want GM to STAY on the cutting edge of electric cars and be the first company that has the big innovations. Keep on making the Volt better and better.
GM should listen to customers and the car reviewers carefully. Details matter. They need to improve the interior styling, exterior styling, AND what’s under the hood as much as possible. Make sure everything works like it’s supposed to and STAYS that way. People have long memories about quality and reliability. GM needs to get those high ratings on Consumer Reports every year on ALL of their cars.
I want to see GM have a reputation for quality and design excellence more than being the big sales leader or whatever. Make fewer vehicles if necessary. Make the ones that ARE in production as good as possible.
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (4:53 pm)statik,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations Jay on your purchase of the LEAF! I’m dieing to hear your impressions so far! Will you be doing any guest articles or interviews over at your old site, Nissan-Leaf.net? Sharon is doing a great job over there but sadly her readership seems excruciatingly low. You were the rock star, LOL~!
Did you have the startup problems many are experiencing? Someone in my Area, north of Seattle has recieved delivery of a red one – I saw it about three weeks back and again yesterday – each time, I’m going somewhere and can’t stop – but I hope to “run down” the owner soon to get their impressions/experiences. The more I’ve researched and reasoned, I just can’t see myself in a 100 mile BEV – From experiences I’ve read and the fact that in winter – one may get 60 miles or so AER just kills it for me – along with the air cooled pack and a few other things. I’d consider a LEAF ( once they get the bugs worked out ) if I could afford a 3rd dedicated around town/commuter, that would work fantastic for my wife who drives about 14 miles total roundtrip commute to work and it sits around in a parking lot all day. For me – a Volt is worth the price difference ( or at least a few thousand ) due to it’s versatility. Volt does need a larger back seat though, or a small crossover/truck spinoff soon. When I drove the LEAF I put both small kids in booster seats in the back and there was zero room left for anyone in the middle. Without the boosters – same deal – it really feels narrower and tinnier ( appropriate word? ) …. more “compact carlike” to me. As a Prius driver I took to the Volt’s user interface like a duck to water, but the LEAF hit me as really complex compared. Lots of graphics to remind you the battery will let you down and then you’re stuck – and all the circles, trees and gizmology would take a few days to sink in.
There’s no doubt Volt will have to have more pricepoints – perhaps as range options. I do agree with Jay that decontenting the current Volt is not such a great idea for GM, but….sadly predictible and understandable. One shining star for Volt was that it gives the Chevrolet division a crowning achievement model that comes decked out to the gills. I think that was great strategy as most Prius owners are used to a lot of frills like passive entry and nav and steering wheel controls.
MyLink will fix the radio issues, hopefully GM is listening and will give the 2012 model a rear window wiper like Prius and not wait until gen 2. 2012 Volts should have a repositioned ( higher ) backup camera as that has been a gripe I have heard much of from owners. Passive entry is also a must – I will miss it greatly from Prius if with Volt I need to pull out my key fob every time I get into the car – Passive entry spoils you as does the Toyota’s bevy of steering wheel controls for HVAC, Bluetooth, nav and now “TouchTracer”. Beyond that though – it’s ( obviously ) Volt’s tech that sets it WAY apart from ANY Prius!
+1 Xiaowei ( post #1 ) for the regenerative shock absorbers! BRILLIANT!
RECHARGE!
James
P.S. – GM, could you consider for the top dollar Volt baking in the Live NAV Traffic? It’s such a useful tool yet a real ding to have to pay a monthly fee for it.
+2
Apr 19th, 2011 (5:08 pm)I think it is pretty straight forward really.
For starters, the LEAF was/is already sold at a discount in the US compared to the rest of the world, because anyone who is serious about getting into the EV business knows that the US is place where these cars are going to be sold.
It doesn’t matter that the Chinese are going to buy 20 million light vehicles to the EV game because the average transaction price for a passenger vehicles is not that far north of 10K.
Secondly, Nissan set a price for the LEAF in anticipation of the USD/JPY dollar trade being at a certain level, and unfortunately for them (and all manufacturers importing cars) they got slaughtered this year.
USD/JPY 2 yr Chart:
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=USDJPY=X+Interactive#chart2:symbol=usdjpy=x;range=2y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined
Just allowing for the change in currency since the car was introduced the car should retail in the US for about $39,900…which of course would make the Canadian price, which was just announced, make sense at $38,400…considering the Canadian dollar is worth about $1.05 US.
Which leads to a couple questions:
1) How much of this disparity will Nissan continue suck up for upcoming years? How much will the price go up for 2012?
2) Why as a Canadian don’t you just buy the car in the US and save $7,000? (Note to anyone who wants to do that who lives in Ontario…do NOT get your car registered/plated in the US or you won’t get the $8,500 rebate)
I’d wager the base model of the LEAF is short-lived, and we get some decent sized price increases going forward.
Apr 19th, 2011 (5:10 pm)Well, if this article is any indication on which direction they’re going….
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/18/report-chevrolet-looking-to-trademark-crossvolt-moniker/
Looks like their going bigger. Still a big market for Baseball/Soccer/Basketball moms. Personally in an SUV like this, highway miles are more importatnt but a 25AER will cover many travels to other fields within counties.
Now all they need to do is get some fast chargers at those fields!
/Jeff, sorry if this was a planned thread….
Apr 19th, 2011 (5:27 pm)When I drove the LEAF at the Nissan event, a guy came with a full sized cello and plunked in into the back to see if it would fit – it did! Still, the nearly two foot dropoff from fold down rear seats to “trunk area” really made it seem much smaller than my current Prius. I think I can put two full sized cellos in back with a couple flats of Costco bottled water ( to make more LEAF seats with when recycled
) with seats folded up and have a flat load floor when folded down. I can also seat three across in back if one passenger is, indeed, a kid. Fold down the seats of a Prius, Prius V , Ford C Max Energi, Honda Insight or Volt and there’s no awkward dropoff. I’m not dissing the LEAF – only pointing out some of it’s many limitations.
I saw a Carver recently http://www.google.com/search?q=Carver&hl=en&prmd=ivnsubm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=SP2tTeHpGJS4sQPGzNSSAw&ved=0CIUBELAE&biw=1266&bih=644, and read that they’re looking to build a hybrid version in the Midwestern USA soon….Now THAT would be a ROCKIN’ commuter ( even an EV version )… Even a plug in Hybrid Piaggio 250 scooter would be an option vs. LEAF. There is just no way a LEAF can be an only car for a family – just think if an emergency ensued and you had to be somewhere when your car just wouldn’t do the task?! I have a Go-Ped electric scooter ( stand up-sit down , goes on the bus with you ), but when I researched all-electric motorcycles and maxi scooters – I came to the same conclusion – it’s got to be a hybrid to keep one from being very disappointed with range limitations and anxieties.
Jeff, I hope we can discuss Volt’s competitor’s and similar platform vehicles ( Fisker Karma, Lotus 400E Evora, Tesla Model S ) and other plug in hybrids on this site – Those are always interesting to compare and discuss.
RECHARGE! ,
James
Apr 19th, 2011 (5:49 pm)It would also be nice to discuss how much the Volt will cost in other markets… seems too many people not affected by unfair trade don’t care about how many Americans get laid off…just as long as they got their piece of the pie.
Apr 19th, 2011 (6:41 pm)You can get what has to be the best accessory in the world which turns the drop off area into something of a trunk and makes the back completely flat. Highly recommended. See a pic of it here if you scroll down — cargo organizer. http://www.nissanusa.com/ev/media/pdf/accessories/accessories.pdf
+6
Apr 19th, 2011 (6:51 pm)[Back from Earth Day show]
It was my understanding that just about every dealer has a ‘demo’ available by now. I don’t know anyone out by Pasadena. I would call them all. If none out there, stop by here. We have one.
So I spoke with about 100 people today at the event. There are still TOO MANY people who do not understand how the Volt is different from any other Hybrid car.
If GM can cut some costs off the Volt — put that money into better TV ads to explain it!!!
Get ‘Tim the Toolman Taylor’ in front of the camera! make it funny. Make it educational.
Apr 19th, 2011 (7:12 pm)I suppose this means that cheaper EREVs will come from someplace besides GM.
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (7:37 pm)OT but In Wheel Motor checkitout…
“you can install a pair of the motors into a traditional ICE vehicle so that the motors offer a way to easily hybridize any vehicle on the road today. This way, you can get three drive modes – engine-only, electric-only or through-the-road hybrid – out of any car or truck.”
And
“they weigh just 31 kilograms/68 pounds each but offer 110 horsepower ”
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/19/sae-2011-protean-electrics-in-wheel-motors/
Apr 19th, 2011 (8:09 pm)Now that’s an ecoturbo!
Thanks, Capt.
+1
Apr 19th, 2011 (9:43 pm)NoPlugNoSale
Apr 19th, 2011 (10:41 pm)Raymondjram,
Thanks.
N Riley,
Thanks.
CaptJackSparrow,
Not a planned post this time. I drove down to D.C. tonight for the EDTA conference for the next couple days.
James,
I’d be open to comparing cars. Ultimately, doing road reviews would be interesting as well.
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:03 pm)Hey James,
Nice post. I did a ‘big-ol’ reply, but it got lost in gm-v limbo, and I don’t have ‘the juice’ to pull it out…nor the energy to re-type it right now, lol.
Just wanted to say I checked it out and will try to muster up the energy to reply again when I have a quiet moment, (=
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:09 pm)Lots of great news regarding cost reductions.
RE: the garage fire, I’d bet that really impressive contrasts **will** result from the investigations.
(Long, enjoyable workdays are back for me, lol. Nice compositions Jeff.)
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:11 pm)Dan Petit,
Thank you.
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:26 pm)Jeff,
How are you liking how the site works nowadays? Is it easy to maintain?
I really like all the improvements.
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:50 pm)Dan Petit,
It’s OK by me. It’s WordPress, you know? Spam gets caught by a filter. Hopefully not too many legitimate posts are being grabbed. It’s otherwise pretty simple to layout and publish.
Jeff
Apr 19th, 2011 (11:56 pm)If a filter snags something I’m attempting to compose, I just rethink a better and more concise and often more relevant way of making the message. It’s really a great way to improve composition, I think. I don’t think anyone ought to take a “filtering” personally, they just need to rework the idea or message to fit better.
Apr 20th, 2011 (12:00 am)Dan Petit,
A few people have commented on it, and I was able to find their suspended posts and approve them. It’s a balance to keep out unwanted comments. Not a perfect system, but glad you are being philosophical about it.
Apr 20th, 2011 (12:03 am)Need to wake up in 6 hours for another long day,
See you all later.
+2
Apr 20th, 2011 (12:11 am)Lower cost, never quality!
Apr 20th, 2011 (9:50 am)As Noel would say, Amen to that +1
lol
Apr 20th, 2011 (4:44 pm)Hey that’s a great feature! – too bad it’s an option – I wonder if price-profit margins are so tight that it can’t be included as standard equipment? Many minivans are out there with the LEAF’s trunk/fold down seat canyon situation. Anybody out there with entrepenuerial ambitions could make a killing selling such “cargo organizer” gap fillers to owners of Odysseys, Siennas and Caravans.
RECHARGE,
James
Apr 22nd, 2011 (11:39 am)There are savings in mass production, like Nissan is planning with the Leaf once the TN battery plant comes on line.. GM just has to commit to electrics, at least they are doing better than Ford in that dept, Ford is relying on third party suppliers for everything.