Despite the North American International Auto Show taking place in GM’s back yard, no new Voltec models are on display, but extended-range electric vehicles are definitely being promoted there and around the world.
This week GM did have a Volt with advanced connectivity at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And besides this, VIA Motors is talking up its E-REV trucks at the NAIAS, Fisker is making progress, the Ampera is generating UK and European headlines, and Infiniti wants in on the EREV act too.
Volt
A “second-generation connected research vehicle” in the form of a first-gen Volt was displayed at the CES this week by OnStar and Verizon Wireless.
The research concept boasts “a comprehensive in-vehicle experience” via streaming content from the Cloud enabled by the Verizon 4G LTE network and building on OnStar’s Advanced Telematics Operating System (ATOMS).
Included were: rear seat infotainment management, video chat for passengers via Skype, OnStar demo of smart grid capabilities, real-time diagnostics and Eco Routing, and home energy management.
A press release says the vehicle offers “a more holistic cloud connected in-vehicle experience.”
“These applications are just a glimpse of what is possible when you combine the cloud computing capabilities of OnStar and the power of the Verizon 4G LTE network,” said OnStar President Linda Marshall. “Moving forward we want to continue to provide our customers with a comprehensive suite of connected services and create a seamless in-vehicle experience.”
VIA is actually a 10-year-old-company and for its first year of E-REV sales it is taking fleet orders for its $79,000, one-ton Chevy Silverado-based plug-in pickup.
It says it has 30 signed sales contracts, expects to sell 2,000-2,700 pickups this year, and as previously reported, will later offer an SUV and van.
The two- or four-wheel-drive pickup uses a 4.3-liter gasoline-powered V6 generator (not a smaller I-4 as previously reported), plus A123 Systems 24.4-kwh batteries, 300-kw (402-horsepower) motor driving the rear wheels. Electric range is 40 miles, total is 400, and 100 MPGe is still said to be possible.
VIA says its VTRUX can serve as a substantial electric power supply. Four on-board 120-volt outlets and one delivering 240 volts are enough to “power an arc welder all day.”
Bob Lutz, GM’s retired vice chairman and now VIA board member, said transportable power is also useful for such varied purposes as three-day camping trips and outdoor parties.
“I do believe the industry is about to be transformed,” said Lutz, explaining that vehicles like the Volt and now those by VIA offer broad possibilities. He said the paradigm change to electrified vehicles “is going to happen, no matter what.”
VIA’s early adopters include electric utilities, among other companies, and plans are to begin production in the third quarter.
Unlike Lutz’s former employers, VIA is already divulging prices will drop – in this case to $69,000 by 2013, and $64,000 by 2014. Apparently future savings are no deterrent to decisions made for corporate and institutional purchasing accounts.
Fisker
Fisker has doubled its Series D fundraising target from $150 million to $300 million, and thus far has secured $243 million this round. Key backers include Advanced Equities, a private equity firm, and venture firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and NEA.
“We have always said that as a private company, we want to stay ahead of the financial curve,” Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told gigoam.com. “In the current market situation, we thought it prudent to continue this policy and raise money that was potentially available.”
The company has now raised over $866 million in private funding aside from the $529 million Department of Energy Loan from September 2009.
Meanwhile, Fisker says it has nearly resolved the loose hose clamp issue for 239 recalled Karmas – be they customer cars, in inventory or on the docks. To do so, the company is either repairing the defect or exchanging the entire battery pack with a new one that includes a modified hose clamp.
The process has been comparatively painless, and Ormisher said Fisker is still on track to build $50-60,000 Project Nina EVers in Wilmington, Del.
First order of business at its refitted former GM plant will be assembling prototypes late in 2012. Ormisher said plans are to start selling production Ninas in mid-2013.
Regarding various PR issues Fisker has had to contend with, Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, was quoted as saying he believes the company that’s expected to bring 1,400 direct jobs to Delaware will overcome.
“They will survive this and will move forward,” he said.
Ampera
The Volt’s slightly more upscale Ampera twin – badged as a Vauxhall for the UK – is now officially available for customer ordering in sunny England.
The entry-level Vauxhall Ampera will include a DAB radio, seven-inch touch-screen control monitor, cruise control, alloy wheels, and will sell for £29,995 ($46,045).
This price and those following include a government-provided £5,000 plug-in car grant.
The middle-level Positiv trim package includes leather, heated front seats, front/rear parking sensors, rear-view camera, and will sell for £32,250 ($49,507).
The Electron adds a Bose infotainment system with voice-controlled satellite navigation, DVD player, 30GB hard-drive, telephone and music system with touch-screen control. Vauxhall is asking £33,995 ($52,185) for this one.
Recent news for the Opel-badged Ampera is that it is a finalist for a prestigious European “Car of the Year” award.
The deciding jury consists of 59 auto journalists from 23 European countries. They have selected seven finalists from a field of 35 cars that started selling in 2011. Criteria looked at centers on innovative technology and efficiency.
The winner will be announced at the beginning of the Geneva Motor Show on March 5.
Infiniti
Not a whole lot is known about the curvaceous extended-range sports car based on Infiniti’s Essence concept and to be built around a mid-mounted 1.2-liter generator plus powerful electric motor and battery.
The company has been revealing enticing teaser images – juxtaposed recently with a rather uninspiring, but somewhat informative video.
More inspirational is that Infiniti is committed to making a zero-emissions car with track-ready performance.
Infiniti says it will thus be guilt-free greenness rolled into a scintillating package, and it’s believed it will be revealed in March at the Geneva Auto Show.
Electric Cars 101
Lastly, we thought we’d tack on this U.S. Department of Energy video. It features electric cars including the Volt without calling them by name.
It’s a good tutorial to send to friends who may want to get the low-down on plug-in vehicles.
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This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 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.
+15
Jan 13th, 2012 (6:31 am)Let’s make a deal.
Instead of spending about three thousand dollars on all the infotainment for the kids, how about an extra fifteen miles of electric range (in a CUV) before the generator cuts in, for us working professionals.
Since in the fifteen months I’ve owned my 2010 Element, I have not listened to the stereo once. Not even once (except to make sure it worked when I bought it). Not the CD player either. For these last two Christmas seasons, my favorite Christmas CD remained unplayed in the glove box.
A flat plastic cover for the resulting cavity (instead of the Bose and nav) in an EREV CUV with a clock would be great instead. I spent more time resetting the clock in the Element the last three time changes than anything else. The clock works well. (lol).
Peace and quiet while thinking of the next scheduled appointment are what I need. So, all that infotainment is just so much completely wasted money.
But I would use a fifty five mile electric distance every day. That would be outstanding!!!
So, for us folks that love our work, please loose the Bose and the navigation tech. The monitoring of systems for the battery monitoring and systems monitoring would be fine, but no high priced audio or video or internet capabilities when someone uses the vehicle for their profession.
That twenty seven hundred plus dollars (plus about two hundred for tax) for the Bose system is what would get the cost down by half of what it needs to come down, so it is a conflict of interest to not have that option to delete that cost. (Getting the other costs down such as the battery would be the other half of this critical difference, so, it would be great to get an idea of when these considerations could be implemented for planning.)
+4
Jan 13th, 2012 (6:55 am)Bob Lutz, GM’s retired vice chairman and now VIA board member, said transportable power is also useful for such varied purposes as three-day camping trips and outdoor parties.
With that kind of power available, you could have an outdoor concert! Complete with pickup to haul the equipment in. Imagine the amplifiers you could build with 300v 100amp output stages.
+20
Jan 13th, 2012 (7:46 am)More range would be a great option for those that need it. I really don’t. Only one day per week do I go over the CD range in my Volt. I have put gas in the car twice in four months.
My radio, however, is on every day! I have loaded up the hard disk, and listen to jazz on XM all the time. I am curious why this car didn’t have HD radio.
The only option I really think that is missing on my Volt is a 110V AC outlet or two, that could be used in an emergency during a power outage. That could really be useful.
For the first few years, I assume GM wanted to keep the options to a minimum, just to make sure everything worked. Now that they know it really does, the question is: will they strip down the Volt and make a large option list, or will they leave the Gen-1 Volt as it is, and do that with the next EREV vehicle they introduce?
And by the way: Where is that next vehicle?????? Come on, GM. You own this market! Don’t let it slip out from under you!!!! Forget about Fox News. Get a real advertising company to work on this project, and sales are going to take off. Especially if Iran does something stupid in the Straight of Hormuz and gas prices hit that $5.00 per gallon mark. We Volt owners are going to look much smarter than we already are, when we can continue to drive our normal patterns, while everyone else can’t afford to take their cars out on the road……….
I would buy an MPV5 for my wife in a heartbeat. The only thing I would need it to do would be to have a towing capacity of 1,000 lbs, so I could use my small utility trailer for supplies, etc.
Get the GM Volt Team back into action and show us again what you can do!!!
C-5277
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:15 am)Via needs to update their video. Two inconsistencies are the size of the ICE and the old raser name on the e-drive.
+4
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:32 am)VIA says its VTRUX can serve as a substantial electric power supply. Four on-board 120-volt outlets and one delivering 240 volts are enough to “power an arc welder all day.”
Bob Lutz, GM’s retired vice chairman and now VIA board member, said transportable power is also useful for such varied purposes as three-day camping trips and outdoor parties.
————–
Winner
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:36 am)The Volt’s slightly more upscale Ampera twin – badged as a Vauxhall for the UK – is now officially available for customer ordering in sunny England.
——————-
Does OnStar work in the UK?
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:38 am)Great post Jeff and a really awesome truck!
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:41 am)That may be the price, but that probably isn’t the cost for GM. I don’t think the cost of putting in a CD player is very much. You can get a head unit for $50 nowadays.
Jan 13th, 2012 (9:44 am)While that’s correct about the Bose/Nav wholesale price to GM, it would still remain part of the retail price to me.
Also, fleet owners/buyers who buy lots of vehicles from GM would also not want it. So, it’s not like there would be a whole new production line at all, as many budget customers could want just a slightly improved exterior to be distinctive from a fleet unit.
But if I had to choose from a stark fleet unit from something on the regular production line, (with all the other toys installed) I would very definitely go for the stark fleet unit.
Regarding a 120 volt inverter, the best thing to do is to have a very strong 30 amp 12 volt supply port in the rear of the Volt/CUV, so that you could install either a cheap modified inverter yourself to run resistance loads, or your own pure sine inverter to run sensitive electronics loads of 360 watts or less. (Your residence refrigerator might be that low of a draw if it is one of the newer models). (Also, an electric blanket in emergencies in the winter needs a pure sine inverter). “Digital” inverters are the new marketers ploy to confuse the issue between these types of inverters, but they are the cheap modified sine wave inverters, not the more costly and higher quality pure sine wave inverters. Getting the vehicle cost down is the most important thing now.
Also, an empty ***place*** for an extra gel battery in back that you install yourself (with a good diode isolator and circuit breaker “kit” (new option hint-hint-hint) purchased separately when you are ready for it) could be helpful for some circumstances, yet the empty battery well compartment could just be called an extra “tool well compartment” near the power port.
+2
Jan 13th, 2012 (9:59 am)Is there any possibility that a cooperation between VIA and GM can eventually result in an EREV option offered through Chevrolet dealerships? Seems like there would need to be some cooperation in order to mod the Silverado in the first place. Also, a common denominator of the companies is Lutz himself …
Does the cost include the original Silverado, or just the conversion?
The video states that the long-distance MPG is twice that of the unconverted Silverado because the smaller engine runs only at it’s most efficient speed. Even though it lacks the mechanical connection of the Volt, this is better than current Voltec. It seems to me that this must reflect deeper battery buffering in CS-mode than the Volt. I had assumed that more resilient batteries would have to be developed before this was possible, but perhaps A123 batteries are already this good? On the other hand, what will the warranty be for the packs?
+4
Jan 13th, 2012 (10:25 am)http://wardsauto.com/vehicles-amp-technology/gm-veteran-lutz-plugs-motors-erev-pickup
EXCERPT: “The vehicles will be assembled mainly with purchased parts, including the bodies – called gliders – from GM and the battery and controller from A123 Systems, says Joe Katuna, the engineer in charge of validation and another GM veteran.
Via’s intellectual property includes integrating the parts and developing the drive system for the inverter, traction motor and generator.”
+21
Jan 13th, 2012 (10:52 am)C’mon Fisker, hoover up those private funding dollars, you glorious disaster.
Mmmm, “battery and controller from A123″—tasty
…loving the ’roundup’ article today Jeff. If I could offer one small criticism?
/needs more llamas
Jan 13th, 2012 (10:57 am)Didn’t I read a couple of weeks ago that GM was delaying the sale of Ampera’s until the whole battery-fire issue thing was resolved? Or is it considered resolved with the “recall” that’s supposed to happen in February? Has the NHTSA concluded their testing? What’s the latest news on getting our batteries reinforced?
C-4386
Lifetime Avg MPG = 183
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:04 am)Electric progress is being made, which is continued good news. I thought the electric news of the show was the Fusion variations. I don’t know the prices yet, though. But if they’re reasonable, look out world.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:13 am)The Volt has a fairly low CD and a fairly low frontal area. Still, it needs a 16kwh, 400lb pack to get a nominal 35 miles of range.
The VIA truck undoubtedly has at least half again as much weight, a higher CD, at least half again as much frontal area and more friction losses in the 4wd drivetrain. At a guess, a minimum 32kwh, 800lb pack is going to be needed for that truck to get a nominal 35 miles.
That’s quite a lot of battery, even in a pickup truck (it’s almost half the payload of a Silverado crew cab pickup). GM’s truck hybrids and the Saturn Vue hybrid had significant packaging and GVW issues in accomodating much smaller cells.
As for the convenience of VIA on-site power, yes, that surely is convenient. However, the cost of a robust generator plus a fleet pickup is going to be considerably less than the price of a Via and the generator can be left at the site while the truck goes to Jimmy-John’s to pick up lunch.
GM offered on site power like this, years ago, in their first shot at a hybrid pickup and it generated a ton of enthusiasm and no sales.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:21 am)GM should partner with VIA before someone else does. They are apparently missing a huge opportunity here. I bet a 400HP electric Corvette, Escalade, and CTS would be pretty popular.
+5
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:21 am)Yes, yes, yes….. definitely more llamas are needed! For us semi-long timers here a proper amount of llamas is an essential component of Volt/EREV marketing that the newbies probably will never understand.
If I lived in a perfect world I no doubt would have already created the perfect Volt marketing campaign that would have sold a zillion Volts by now. Llamas doing the Volt Dance! It’s perfect on so many levels. Think about it and I’m sure you will agree! I’m sure I could become the head of GM marketing with that idea.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:31 am)#12
No s__t! +1
Have those venture capital guys lost their minds, or is there some way they can leech on to the DOE money or something? I REALLY don’t get it.
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:33 am)#15 Charlie H,
Well doggone it Charlie, I’m going to have to agree with you again, LOL. +1
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:35 am)#17
LOL for sure. “A for the day” +1
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:49 am)I don’t get the “llama” reference. Can someone explain?
Also, it must be a cold day in hell because I actually agree with Charlie H. (#15) today. No offense Charlie….just usually a difference of opinion.
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:50 am)Is that Harrison Ford’s 84 year old brother in that Infiniti video?
An important piece of info missing in the Vauxhall Ampera segment was, does it have RHD?
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:52 am)All of them are in quite different market segments. However trend to extend the range is very promissing. If it would become around 500miles one day – far enough to comute around the country.
Find your charging station (evmaps.info)
+3
Jan 13th, 2012 (12:21 pm)Someone finally agrees with a Charlie post? It must be Friday the 13th, Attack of the Llamas.
Jan 13th, 2012 (12:28 pm)So in England they put a $20K tariff on the Volt then give $5K back?
Why not just let GM sell the $# car!
+13
Jan 13th, 2012 (12:55 pm)Back in the day, when I wrote an article here once a week at GM-Volt (and also when writing for ‘other’ EV websites), I would occasionally pepper (or subtely photoshop) in a llama or two into the headline picture…and always would when I used the word roundup in the title, lol.
/too much time on my hands
Jan 13th, 2012 (1:00 pm)Jackson,
Also I believe that VIA’s electric drive train is based on a considerably higher voltage than the Volt. I think this is part of the reason they don’t need any direct linkage to the ICE.
+2
Jan 13th, 2012 (1:08 pm)Kent,
See Statik’s response but you can also type in “llama” in the Google search function on this site and get a good feel for the history of the llama here on this site. Just perusing some of the comments with “llama” in them made me chuckle. “Even a llama knows….” “Volt (sales) outpace llamas…” Good times and fond memories!
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (1:21 pm)mess’n with Susquatch
Jan 13th, 2012 (1:47 pm)This is a one ton truck. Fairly high gross weight compared to a 1500-series. (1/2 ton).
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (2:37 pm)I thought Harrison Ford was 84, but I guess he’s only turning 70 this year. Must have been the carbonite freezing process that aged him.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (3:21 pm)I looked it up. Payload for the 1500 is 1700 lbs. Payload for the 2500 is 3385 lbs. Chevy doesn’t seem to exactly make a one-ton truck anymore. I find it hard to believe VIA would start with a 2500. The 2500 has an extra half ton of curb weight, too. More battery required.
Those figures were for the crew cabs. If we consider regular cab pickups, things are a bit different. The 1500 Regular Cab has a 1937lb payload, in part because the vehicle curb weight is lower. That puts the 1500 into the one-ton class, even when it’s really 3/4+ton in crew cab guise.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (3:37 pm)#33
The “one ton” is the 3500. They still make that.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (3:39 pm)Here’s the first post referencing the llama (AFAIK), from December 2010. It was poster “Airton” who noticed the llama in the background of photo that lead to this long running inside joke. I find it funny his post has a +54 rating. Is that a record?
http://gm-volt.com/2010/12/18/op-ed-so-now-evs-are-actually-on-the-road-what-happens-next/
Jan 13th, 2012 (3:40 pm)“I do believe the industry is about to be transformed,” said Lutz, explaining that vehicles like the Volt and now those by VIA offer broad possibilities. He said the paradigm change to electrified vehicles “is going to happen, no matter what.”
Battery technology is really moving forward fast. Both Chinese and American engineers are developing nano lithium batteries which recharge faster and travel further on a charge.
BTW: I have a female cousin who married a Lutz. Uncle Bob?
Jan 13th, 2012 (3:52 pm)With higher capacity batteries, hopefully the cost would come down. That could allow people the possible of owning 2 batteries and keep one charging at home all the time. Public battery swapping is also an option vs. high speed charging. (FYI – I don’t have the energy on a Friday afternoon for anyone wanting to do a battery-swap debate)
Jan 13th, 2012 (4:16 pm)#35
Actually, if you scroll down that thread to #6, it got a +59, LOL.
Jan 13th, 2012 (4:27 pm)It doesn’t have to be a battery swap. You could have a house battery that discharges DC-to-DC at a high rate to charge your car. Meanwhile, it can recharge at a lower rate and act as a whole-house UPS!
/ Better have good insulation in those gloves and boots. The cable would probably be huge.
Jan 13th, 2012 (5:00 pm)If you charged the Volt at 1C (which is kind of normal for some Lithium batteries) – that is a 1 hour charge. About 12kW rate for an hour. 12,000W or (360V @ 33.3A) A nice high voltage DC circuit could give you a 1-hour recharge. Maybe less than 12KW due to no AC/DC and inverter stuff going on causing losses.
+1
Jan 13th, 2012 (5:29 pm)Also, went the first Volt was delivered, for some strange reason there was a llama in the background of the photo.
http://nissan-leaf.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/1volt-600×394.jpg
I wonder if STATIK had something to do with this photo?
WVhybrid
Jan 13th, 2012 (7:27 pm)#39
Or LA to New York in a Volt non-stop. Bring it on! I love it! +1
Disclaimer – I’m from Missouri, as always.
Jan 13th, 2012 (7:31 pm)#40
I wonder how much SPX would charge to put one of those in my garage, LOL? Do you think that the Edison transformer across the street would handle it?
+6
Jan 13th, 2012 (7:37 pm)Look closely at the link the photo you mention was in (http://gm-volt.com/2010/12/18/op-ed-so-now-evs-are-actually-on-the-road-what-happens-next/) —you’ll note that statik wrote that article and I’m sure he also supplied that photo, which he (or someone else) had “planted” the llama in the background of as what I’ll call a “visual prank”. I think the consensus is that’s when the “invasion of gm-volt.com by llamas” all started and statik was unofficially crowned as our certifiable prankster.
/No offense, statik —to the contrary, llamas are just ONE reason we all love you so much!
Jan 13th, 2012 (7:57 pm)I liked the llamas so much I went and bought one. And a llama is my avatar in the forums. But I never understood that they were all plants by statik until tonight.
WVhybrid
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:05 pm)Francois Bancon did a pretty good job of explaining why the EPA and or GM need to allow a hold mode in the US. Why pollute our center cities? Not to mention that it’s un American to not let the driver decide when they want to use their grid power..
+2
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:11 pm)Literary gold! That dude could write.
…except for all the spelling errors
…and hideous grammer
…and the use of internet speak
Sidenote: Just to be historically accurate, the ‘hidden llamas’ were a transplant when I was over at NLN (and when people apparently actually read it)
First sighting here (Aug 2010):
http://nissan-leaf.net/2010/08/08/weekend-roundup-all-the-leafev-factoids-from-the-week-that-was/
Then they moved into another couple of freelance pieces I did around the webs (ironically some very mainstream sites have since stolen a couple of pictures I took and used them…avec unseen llamas-which always makes me smile)
After that, they showed up here at GM-Volt.com…but just once. I believe the ‘llama pos’t in question was actually the ‘last yarn I spun’ here at GMV (about a year ago now), so I thought I’d just throw one in for fun.
/ah, good times
Jan 13th, 2012 (8:43 pm)You sure? The payload for that is over 4000 lbs… more than two tons.
Jan 13th, 2012 (9:16 pm)The idea was good but execution stunk. Basically an oversized alternator gave minimal fuel economy improvement and 2kw or less 120v power out. This did little for a job site or other serious application. Significant fuel economy improvement and 5kw or greater power out has value on both counts. Portable, construction grade generators are not cheap.
Jan 13th, 2012 (11:56 pm)Why is Tesla stock down 20% today?
Jan 14th, 2012 (3:38 am)Lost 2 execs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/tesla-loses-two-model-s-executives-before-sedan-makes-debut-shares-slump.html?cmpid=msnmoney
+3
Jan 14th, 2012 (6:47 am)May I suggest sending an email on EVs to your friends & family? Here’s the text of one I just used for that purpose —use it, lose it, butcher it up or forget about it…
“Hi Everyone -
“Most of you know I’ve been closely following the development of electric vehicles (EVs) for a few years now. You probably also know all-electric vehicles have had a rough go the past year, despite hype and hope surrounding them. Still, as the current 24th annual North American International (Detroit) auto show reveals, major world-wide automakers are continuing to make big bets on electric cars.
“The US Department of Energy (DOE) also aggressively supports EVs and has just introduced a short video that highlights the benefits of electric vehicles, including improved fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and lower maintenance costs. Did you know an electric vehicle like the Chevy Volt is about 5-to-1 cheaper to operate than other cars and as quiet as a Rolls Royce — as well as non-polluting? Watch this brief DOE video…
http://electricdrive.org/index.php?ht=display/ReleaseDetails/i/26779/pid/11064
“For a better future world-wide,
(signed)”
/Aren’t we among the best people to keep others we know updated on EVs & the Volt in particular?
Jan 14th, 2012 (12:57 pm)Well, after two attempts to insert kdawg’s original photo of the Volt Dancers and the Llama, I have to admit failure… That was a rather funny picture, I wish I could share it.
Jan 14th, 2012 (1:37 pm)… and the battery portion of this “stop” hybrid was … wait for it …
… a 36 Volt Lead Acid Battery!
ba dump bump.
Jan 14th, 2012 (2:06 pm)Charlie H,
#47
Yup, I’ve got one. One stout mutha, LOL. The 1500 is the “1/2 ton”, the 2500 is the “3/4 ton”, and the 3500 is the “one ton”.
Also, I gave you a +1 to cancel out the -1, which I could not understand, LOL. I’m more than happy to give out “-1s” when I disagree, but I don’t do it just for drill.
Jan 14th, 2012 (2:10 pm)#50
The rats are jumping off the sinking ship, LOL.
+1
Jan 14th, 2012 (4:22 pm)I don’t understand this negativity against Tesla. Is it because of Musk’s arrogance? Still a lot of Audi’s, Bimmers, Mecedes, Lexuses, etc selling. Why can’t the Model S, which already has more $5k deposits than Volts have been sold, be successful.
+2
Jan 14th, 2012 (10:09 pm)Musk’s arrogance strikes me as justified. Tesla may not pan out but he’s done very well, otherwise.
From Wikipedia: “On 9 December 2010, the launch of the COTS Demo Flight 1 mission, SpaceX became the first privately-funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.”
That’s a pretty good accomplishment. The Rutan operation is purely suborbital which is a much easier project.
Maybe those execs didn’t leave entirely of their own volition, either. Musk has a history of pushing, doesn’t he?
One other thing, unless I misremember, Musk really commits. He puts a lot of his own money into his projects. I admire that.
+1
Jan 15th, 2012 (10:34 am)IMO, Tesla is 90% hype, 10% automaker…I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.
Love the Model S though (mmm, 300 miles of range). If I thought they could deliver as promised/on time I would put some money down. I told my dealer to give me a call when they get an orphan and/or stock. /he wasn’t impressed
+1
Jan 15th, 2012 (1:05 pm)ziv,
Here it is.
+1
Jan 15th, 2012 (1:14 pm)Just got back from the Detroit Auto Show. Lots of hybrids/plugins to look at. It was fun to eavesdrop on conversations around the Volts. Seems like people are learning compared to last year, but there are still a lot of misconceptions. I also enjoyed quizzing the booth babes on the hybrids & phev’s.
I figured out how the Tesla Model S claims seating for 7 people. There’s two little seats in the trunk that point towards the rear of the car. I don’t think I’d advertise seating for 7 if I were them.
There were some neat EV concepts from TATA.. but haven’t seen much press on the on the interwebs.
The Mission Impossible 4, BMW i8 was there. People (kids) seemed to recognize it only from the movie.
The Nissan EV van was gone. Apparantly it was only there for the media week, not the public week.
They had the electric course in the lower level again with several cars driving around on electricity. I understand the Volts & Leafs, but not sure how a Buick Lacrosse & Cadilac Escalade were driving around (maybe on eassist?). I didnt see any PiPs driving around.
Jan 15th, 2012 (8:26 pm)kdawg,
I was hoping for a wardrobe malfunction in that video, years ago.
Jan 15th, 2012 (10:42 pm)I don’t think Llama’s are prone to wardrobe malfunctions.
Jan 20th, 2012 (2:46 am)As being “purist” I am happy seeing pure VIA’s EREV design.