Despite Q2 Loss, Tesla Forecast Optimistic
By Huw Evans
On Wednesday Tesla Motors Announced that it had recorded a loss for the second quarter this year. Nevertheless, the $93 million GAAP deficit, at $0.89 per share is still better than Wall Street Analysts predicted; Thomson Reuters initially predicting a loss of $0.93 per share.
Following announcement of the figures, Tesla stock jumped in value by 3.7 percent in external trading; company investors such as Jeffries Group, Maxim Group and Needham & Company reaffirming their recommendations in the company. Barclays Capital also re-confirmed its overweight rating of Tesla stock.
Yet despite the better than expected performance and Tesla stating that it is still on track to produce 5,000 Model S orders by the end of the year, with 1,000 cars expected to be delivered during the third quarter; some analysts are concerned actual output will fall short. Theodore O’Neil at Wunderlich Securities even went officially on record, saying that he expects Tesla to deliver only around 500 Model S sedans for Q3.
Nonetheless, Tesla’s flamboyant CEO, Elon Musk is doing his best to deliver a positive message following the earnings announcement.
“We are thrilled that our customers, investors and the media have now had a chance to see for themselves just how compelling Model S is,” he said. “We are also excited to have delivered the first group of Model S cars. We continue to focus on our long term goals of increasing quality production of the Model S so that we can achieve all of our goals to deliver on our volume, cash flow and profitability commitments.”
Tesla also reiterated plans on Wednesday to begin repaying its $465 million in federal loans – of which just $33 million are left, and Tesla said it will draw these funds down in the next few months.
It also reportedly said that in response to a 10-plus month long Model S waiting list, it will consider increasing 2013 production from a projected 20,000 units to as many as 30,000.
In all, news reports with commentary on Tesla’s prospects have been mixed between optimistic and pessimistic.
That this company’s success would be a boon to the entire electric vehicle industry is without question, as it threatens to remain a prod to large automakers showing what a small determined start up can do.
Fisker Steps On The Business Development Accelerator
By Philippe Crowe
Fisker is stepping up its efforts and is now clearly in business growth mode.
First, Fisker announced Wednesday the appointment of Barny Koehler to the newly created role of Chief Business Development Officer, reporting to Tom LaSorda, CEO.
In his new position as Chief Business Development Officer and Co-Founder, Barny Koehler will move from his operational role of bringing the Karma to market to focusing specifically on strategic initiatives and new business opportunities. Key activities will include pursuing strategic alliances and partnerships, sharing advanced technology and intellectual property, and exploring manufacturing synergies with other global partners.
This announcement follows the recent selection of Jim Yost as Chief Financial Officer.
In the meantime, Fisker Automotive continues its expansion into new markets around the world. The Karma sedan, Fisker’s flagship model, is now fully certified for safety and emissions in the fast-growing automotive markets of the Middle East and China.
Fisker’s exclusive agreement with the Al-Futtaim Group, one of the Middle East’s most experienced automotive distributors, will leverage the group’s network of experienced retailers to establish Fisker’s sales presence in the region. Now that certification is complete, the path is clear to bring the Karma to customers in the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Egypt. Furthermore, certification of the Karma in China opens up the single largest automotive market in the world to Fisker Automotive.
Finally, Fisker Automotive is also launching a new corporate site: http://fiskerglobal.com. The corporate site will be the new portal for all business updates and corporate developments.
Ford Prices C-MAX Energi At $33,745
By Huw Evans
On Tuesday, Ford Motor Company announced official pricing for its upcoming C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid Multi-Purpose Vehicle. When it goes on sale this fall it will have a MSRP of $33,745 before subsidies.
The car is eligible for a $3,750 federal tax credit, which would bring the net price down to $29,995, and Michael O’Brien, electric vehicle marketing manager at Ford, offered his thoughts on the value proposition.
“The C-MAX Energi is within financial reach for those who want a hybrid, but is also something customers will want to reach for because of its unique look and amazing value,” he said. “It offers exceptional fuel economy, better features and a better price tag than a Prius plug-in hybrid, which we think will help make C-MAX Energi one of our most attractive vehicles for import customers.”
Ford says that cost savings on its current hybrid system are around 30 percent greater than the previous generation gas/electric powertrain; as a result, the company says it is passing those savings onto consumers. Greater commonality of components with other models also contributes to lower development and manufacturing costs for the C-Max.
The C-Max Energi employs a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine and a battery driven electric motor that collectively, generate 188 horsepower (195 hp with a full battery charge). With this setup, it is expected to be able to cover distances of more than 20 miles on pure electric power, with a total range of 550 miles on a full tank of fuel and a full battery charged.
The basic C-MAX, from which it’s derived, has sold more than 144,000 copies in Europe since the MPV’s debut there in 2010. And with conventional gas, hybrid and Energi models, Ford is betting that its C-segment MPV will attract a similar following here.
In California, the C-MAX Energi is expected to qualify for ZT-PZEV status, meaning that not only will it be eligible for solo motoring in carpool lanes; it will also qualify for an additional $1,500 state rebate. This; along with the high profile rep currently being enjoyed by hybrids and plug-in vehicles, will likely serve as a good promotional tool for helping generate interest and potential sales.
Volt Rated Most-Loved Compact Car
By Huw Evans
According to J.D. Power and Associates’ latest U.S. APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) study, the Chevrolet Volt was named the most-loved compact car, ahead of the Volkswagen Golf and Honda CR-Z Hybrid. In fact among the awards for each class of vehicle, Chevrolet received the most accolades of any one brand, with the Avalanche and Sonic also garnering most-loved status in the large pickup and subcompact car categories.
The APEAL study is designed to examine how gratifying a new car or truck is to own and drive, using owner evaluations of more than 80 different vehicle attributes. For the 2012 study, data was gathered from over 74,000 different vehicle purchases and lessees between February and May this year. These motorists were survey after owning their vehicles for approximately 90 days.
The APEAL study, which is designed to supplement J.D. Power’s well-known Initial Quality Study, highlighted some fairly industry trends for 2012; notably that 27 percent of new vehicle buyers downsized when trading in.
According to David Sargent, J.D. Power and Associates’ vice-president of global automotive, a significant factor for this is due to the fact that “new-vehicle buyers who downsize aren’t making the sacrifice they once were. Automakers are heavily focused on providing [the U.S. market] with smaller models and buyers may be surprised at just how good they are.”
Interestingly, the Volt was the only EV to make the 2012 list, the only other significant “green” vehicles being the CR-Z and Toyota Prius v, both of which ranked third in their respective categories.
Volts Racking up the Miles
On July 17 the monitored Volt fleet crossed 100 million cumulative miles, and now 10 days later it is in the vicinity of 116 million.
We’ll have July sales figures for you ASAP, but suffice to say things appear to be accelerating.
Yesterday’s screen shot of the Volt’s Web page was taken at 9:35 p.m. Eastern time and it’s a sizable jump forward from the 98,970,879 miles reported 10 days prior on July 16.
On the 16th also, the ticker showed 62,417,876 EV miles compared to 72,731,682 on the 26th, and 3,296,446 gallons of fuel saved compared to 3,821,124 gallons shown on the 26th.
According to this data collection, the growing Volt fleet over the past 10 days covered somewhere around 1.6 million total miles per day on average, and of these around 1 million per day were EV miles, and roughly around 53,000 gallons of gas were saved daily.
At this rate, how long do you think it will be before they just change the sign to “billions and billions served?”
This entry was posted on Friday, July 27th, 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.
+27
Jul 27th, 2012 (6:28 am)After a week away, I’m delighted to discover such well-chosen topic articles for the forthcoming weekend. After visiting gm-volt.com for nearly 5 years, it’s gratifying to see the site I believe has had a pivotal role in EV development continuing to do so. Kudos to you and your co-authors, Jeff!
+6
Jul 27th, 2012 (6:47 am)great topic today. I also like the new meter for miles driven for the Volt.
Interesting how the new ford C-MAX Energi is using a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine. Rumour mill has it that the Volt will be getting one of these in 2014. For those who know, how do the 2.0-liter Atkinson compare with the current 4 cylinder engines used in the volt? Further, for those who have a volt, would a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine mean the 1.4 L would not have to rev as much to maintain electric output? (I.e. will it ultimately be less wear and tear, and use less petrol?)
Thanks
+9
Jul 27th, 2012 (8:15 am)Tesla is big time dreaming if they think they can sell 20,000-30,000 Model S’s in 2013! The only EV that has a chance to do that is the Volt. It will be the sales leader in the EV category for a long time to come much like the Prius in the hybrid category.
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (8:37 am)I think Tim is being a little harsh. If* there is a demand for a Sport EV, Telsa fits.
“Tesla Model S: $50,000 EV sedan seats seven, 300-mile range at 55mph, 0-60 in 5.6s”
GM will have serious egg on its face if this car manages to sell 20,000 units.
Then they will have to produce an SS Volt.. i think
Oh, cool! (Optional 20 kW capable Twin Chargers increases input compatibility to 80 A)
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/specs
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (9:29 am)Yesterday’s screen shot of the Volt’s Web page was taken at 9:35 p.m. Eastern time and it’s a sizable jump forward from the 98,970,879 miles reported 10 days prior on July 16.
—————–
Another 2 records set today.
Most EV miles in 1 day: 3,059,336. (previous record was yesterday at 2,549,477)
Highest Daily EV% = 80.95% (previous record was 71.10% on 6/28/2012)
Today’s totals are:
Total Miles = 120,734,406
Total EV Miles = 77,100,388
Total Fuel Saved = 4,044,497
(i’m working on getting my charts updated, but meetings keep getting in the way
)
+5
Jul 27th, 2012 (9:57 am)The Tesla Model S and Model X models are only the beginning of production from Fremont, California. An economy model will appear in the future that should be very popular. GM E-REV and Tesla BEV will provide great choices for EV buyers for the foreseeable future.
+5
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:05 am)I can report high satisfacation with my 2012 Sonic. Hoping as the technology improves the price will come down on electric/hybrid vehicles. Should be ready for our next vehicle around the time the next generation of Volts are out.
+8
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:26 am)GM, where is your Prius V/ Ford Cmax line competitor ?
Tesla and Fisker : Love both of them, they seem to be making history. Tesla seems doing things in reality now a days.
+12
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:29 am)Excellent variety of EV and EREV news today!
I do wish success for Fisker, Ford, and Tesla, because they may be competition for Chevrolet/GM, but more domestic electric vehicles are needed to reduce oil consumption, eliminate imports, and continue the electrification of American transportation.
Elon Musk is a genius and I know he will make Tesla Motors profitable by next year, which will be the moment all Volts will reach the billion mile mark. And I hope by this time I will have my own Chevy Volt and add a few thousand miles to the count.
It is good new for all!
Raymond
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:51 am)“According to this data collection, the growing Volt fleet over the past 10 days covered somewhere around 1.6 million total miles per day on average, and of these around 1 million per day were EV miles, and roughly around 53,000 gallons of gas were saved daily.”
How many Volts have been sold that is monitored by the Volt ticker? Approx. 16,000? If so, 1.6 million miles per day / 16,000 Volts = 100 miles per day average. Does this sound right?
#4 ““Tesla Model S: $50,000 EV sedan seats seven, 300-mile range at 55mph, 0-60 in 5.6s”
I thought the $50,000 model of the Tesla only got about 160 miles of range. Am I mistaken?
+7
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:54 am)California makes no sense! GM had to bend over backwards to get the Volt to qualify for its little stickers, even though it burns no gas for most people most of the time. Ford’s product, guaranteed to burn gas on the on-ramp of all expressways, is already getting the blessing of the weenies in charge of these stickers. I am not in CA, and it makes little difference to me, but it sure does seem like some backdoor deals are taking place.
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:03 am)Kent,
Kent – regarding your post the other day about the MyVolt.com not working. I just noticed this on the web page. It says “soon” you will be able to see efficiency and mileage. So technically, it’s not supposed to work yet. Now, the next question is when is “soon”, and GM would reply with “stay tuned”.
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:08 am)Yesterday the Volts registered 3 million EV miles according to the OnStar data. That would mean if every Volt drove 100 miles on electricity, there would have to be 30,000 Volts out there. Hmmm, I think something screwy is going on w/the data.
+3
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:27 am)Kent, you are correct. Add $10,000 for a 230 mile range battery and another $10,000 for the 300 mile range battery.
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:33 am)#3
I can only agree. +1 I hope I’m wrong.
+3
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:34 am)#8
Good question. +1
+2
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:37 am)Obviously there is a problem. But we don’t know if the problem was with the earlier data which is now being fixed or if it was correct before and now it’s gone off the rails.
I will say that web applications and OnStar interfaces do not seem to be GM’s forte.
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:40 am)It took Ford and Toyota 12+ years to go from the first sedan to the larger versions. I think GM needs to concentrate on selling the Volt.
+3
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:45 am)Opel Ampera not participating miles count?
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:50 am)On the “most loved” award for the Volt, there seems to be a certain attitude one gets when driving one. My co-worker said he saw me driving my Volt the other day and said I was getting that attitude. I told him it is the well known Voltatude !
+2
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:59 am)I don’t think they have OnStar in Europe …. yet.
I found this from February
OnStar Partners With Telefonica For European Expansion
When it expands to markets outside of the United States, Canada, and China, OnStar will use Telefonica and its GSM mobile network, the company announced today. By comparison, OnStar relies on Verizon Wireless in the United States, Bell Mobility in Canada, and China Telecom in China to deliver its services.
“Earlier this year we announced that OnStar is growing its global footprint,” said Jon Hyde, director of OnStar Global Expansion. “This partnership is one of the vital first steps in that process. Telefónica’s expertise in the global mobility market will help ensure our mutual success as we move forward.”
The inaugural agreement between the two companies, the length of which was undisclosed, aims to offer current OnStar services such as Automatic Crash Notification, Emergency Services, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Diagnostics, Remote Mobile connectivity and more. The agreement “has the potential over time to include the development and creation of future offerings between the two companies.”
Telefonica owns the O2 wireless carrier brand, which provides fixed, broadband, and mobile services in the UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. O2 competes with such firms as Orange, Jazztel, Vodafone, British Telecom, and Jazztel, among others. Telefonica is the third largest broadband and telecom provider in the world and is the former public monopoly of telecommunications in Spain, with its headquarters in the Distrito Telefónica in Madrid.
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/02/onstar-partners-with-telefonica-for-european-expansion/
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (12:05 pm)OT:
A123 stock tumbling today to an all time low. It was below 50cents/share at one point this morning.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a123-systems-announces-resignation-of-dr-paul-e-jacobs-from-board-of-directors-2012-07-27
A123 Systems Announces Resignation of Dr. Paul E. Jacobs From Board of Directors
+4
Jul 27th, 2012 (12:20 pm)Looks like the data changed late in the day yesterday, so I updated my spreadsheet with the data that my program automatically logs, for yesterday. Here’s the raw data for the last 10 days. You can see the sudden increase in miles. Also, notice the fishy thing is that the daily EV% is exactly 67.46% for the last week. I think that may be the source of the error.
Jul 27th, 2012 (12:47 pm)kdawg,
My screens are different than yours, probably because your account/car is still new. On my Efficiency tab, it says “Unable to update efficiency information” and on the Mileage tab, it says “Unable to update mileage information”. I was going to do screen shots for you, but I couldn’t get it to paste here.
Jul 27th, 2012 (1:41 pm)Kent,
I took those screen-shots before logging in. Once I log in I get the smae “unable to read” messages.
UPDATE:
I logged in, and today is the first day I actually got the data to display. Maybe its working now?
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (1:53 pm)GM had better begin evaluating cells from other suppliers for use in the Spark EV (would be surprised if they aren’t already). The other shoe may be the announcement that the Spark EV rollout will be delayed …
They had also better nail down this OnStar data snafu before it gets caught up in the Right-Wing anti-Volt echo chamber.
“As a scientist, Throckmorton knew that if he were ever to break wind in the echo chamber, he would never hear the end of it.”
http://gpsinformation.info/main/Bulwer.txt
Jul 27th, 2012 (1:56 pm)Nope, it’s still not working for me, but OnStar has told me (several times now) that they are aware of the problem and is working on it. So apparently I’m not the only one.
However, I do advise that you look at the data closely and make sure it’s accurate. When I first got my Volt, data was appearing in my Efficiency tab, but the data was wrong, which I reported to OnStar. For example, when I had the car for only 18 days, the “Total Miles” under the “Last 30 Days” section showed 744 miles while the “Total Miles” under the “Vehicle Life” section showed 1,260 miles. In theory, these numbers should have been the same (except for maybe a few test miles driven at the factory).
Jul 27th, 2012 (2:07 pm)Kent,
You need to host the images somewhere like photobucket and link to your post.
Jul 27th, 2012 (3:14 pm)I’m still not sure what you’re talking about. It doesn’t look like what KDAWG did in #12 above. I didn’t see a link in his post.
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (4:51 pm)If you’re going to use gas all the time, why bother with a plug?
If you’re going build a car that can run off battery alone, why limit speed/accel, and use such a small battery the range is meaningless?
I think the Volt hits the sweet spot for EV/Gas Driving
I think the Cruze Diesel pushes the limits of efficient gas driving (50+ mpg?)
I don’t see a spot for a strong hybrid that uses gas all of the time. Seems like a step backwards from the Volt.
But… i’m not a marketing guy.
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (5:43 pm)YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!!!
Damn Broke azz Cali!
/btw, the PIP qualifies too.
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (5:54 pm)#30
I dunno, they’re selling the h__l out of Priii in my area. It’s all a pricing issue and the Package 2 Prii are going for under 22K. I’m not saying to abandon the Volt, just that a cheaper Prius fighter makes sense to me.
Jul 27th, 2012 (5:55 pm)#31
Hey Cap’n, how ya doin’?
Jul 27th, 2012 (5:55 pm)Waz’ Up Dawg?
From humble beginnings…
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (5:59 pm)#18
Well yeah, I’m thinking more about a straight up Prius fighter. See #32. I haven’t seen too many Prius Cs around yet, but they scare the h__l out of me.
Maybe the Cruze diesel will do the job as kdawg suggests, but I don’t see it competing on price with the Package 2 Prius and diesels still aren’t that popular yet. AND diesel fuel costs more than gas in SoCal, which is making a lot of my diesel pickup truck owning friends think twice.
Jul 27th, 2012 (6:31 pm)There’s a boatload of them here in Downtown Sacratomato (Sacramento). In the parking garages where there are charge ports, I mainly see Leaf and PIP. Have yet to see a Volt in there.
Ever since they started selling the HOV Volt, I’ve been seeing more of them on the road. That dang HOV sticker must mean a sh|tmore than I thought!!!
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (6:44 pm)noo way, I hate diesel , Too much polluting.
Cruze Diesel hybrid would be a better word
and will be on 80 mpg , 5 seats and at $22k (2k more than eco ) 
-3
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:01 pm)The affordable 75-100 MPG market is becoming increasingly more apparent.
Jul 27th, 2012 (10:18 pm)Pricing & other issues, not the technology/design. For example, if Volts cost the same price as Prius’s in your area, I still think the Prius would outsell it. And that’s just sad. (yes, i know many Prius’s were traded in for Volts, but I stick by my statement) Along those same lines, if GM made a Chevy Prius, and priced it $1000 less than the Toyota Prius, the Toyota would still take all of the sales. Of course, like I clarified earlier, i’m not a marketing person, but this is just how I see it. GM needs more time to establish it’s green halo & it’s technology halo more, and when it does finally start to settle in to the mindset of those on the coasts, that is when you will see the tide turn. It may take a few years, but in the meantime, the cost of the advanced technology used in the GM design will have come down significantly enough, that it wouldn’t make sense for a consumer to try save a few bucks by buying old technology. (To me it doesn’t make sense now). So, basically, my point was, give GM some time w/the Volt, and people will eventually realize the Prius is dated technology, battery & technology costs will come down, and GM will not have wasted time/energy/money designing a knock off of a car who’s time did come, but has now left.
(I should also say; I think GM should throw E-assist (standard) on more vehicles. Maybe a Cruze w/E-assist could be your Prius fighter. Note this is just assisting the gas engine. IMO once you are powering the car on battery alone (like a Focus/Prius), just make the battery big enough and throw a plug on it instead).
+1
Jul 27th, 2012 (11:05 pm)Think about what happens when Li-Ion density goes up and price goes down some more. Most people focus on the high-end, overlooking an affordable choice for the masses in the near future.
Toyota already has a 4.4 kWh system that doesn’t require liquid cooling. Transferring it into their smallest model Prius to offer that choice is fairly difficult to argue against. It seems a very sensible business move.
Remember, the “killer app” is rarely the one which performs the absolute best. It’s whatever is adopted in such high volume that it becomes almost ubiquitous. That means being affordable is essential.
+3
Jul 28th, 2012 (11:18 am)john1701a,
I think you are missing the point(s).
+6
Jul 28th, 2012 (11:25 am)I started praying for electric vehicles long ago. When my Air Force wife was crying tears of good bye while readying to deploy to Kuwait, a country where every citizen made more than any one of our soldiers, yet we were there protecting them. Oil made no sense the day we started importing this stuff. We’ve spent nearly $8 trillion dollars on protecting and importing something we can do for ourselves and create jobs right here at home.
Jul 28th, 2012 (11:47 am)Tesla should be optimistic. They build a car that would work on Mars, and are well on their way to having the hardware to send one there, through their sister company SpacEx.
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:00 pm)Not sure what’s going on, but Chevrolet’s mileage count rolled back. Now reads 109 million miles. And electric is lower too. Get ready for Faux News to pounce.
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:02 pm)I will say, Chevrolet should get in front of that substantial backtrack. They can’t state, “reads directly from Onstar stats” and then drop millions of miles off.
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:10 pm)If the Volt cuts it’s battery size, lest we forget, there goes that full $7500 tax credit. In all, the price doesn’t change much after all rebates. And at least here in Colorado, our $6,000 credit would also cut in half.
+3
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:11 pm)I think an entirely separate car, like the Spark, is the best answer. The Volt to me isn’t a competitor to the Prius. The Volt is a FAR superior car in every way, from drive, to range, to efficiency, comfort, road noise. This is a standalone car despite the press’ constant comparisons.
+3
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:18 pm)#39
God send that it shall be true. I would love it. +1
+1
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:19 pm)#39
Or a Sonic. And/or a Spark. Bring it on! +1
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:19 pm)Makes me think all those deliveries of the 2013 volts counted while on the delivery trucks. The Onstar, turned on, would read those as highway (non-electric) miles. I notice the EV percentage went way down as the miles spiked. The trip per car is hundreds of miles and a spike definitely would happen.
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:21 pm)#38
Well I’m 100% Chevy all the way, and not about to buy a Toyota in my lifetime, but it’s still hard to argue with that. Hi John.
+2
Jul 28th, 2012 (12:22 pm)#42
Amen. +1
Jul 28th, 2012 (1:28 pm)Without a TMS, I think the battery would be too cold to operate.
(sorry couldn’t resist)
Jul 28th, 2012 (1:42 pm)#53
LOL! +1
Jul 28th, 2012 (1:43 pm)Yes, it appears “they fixed the glitch”. (office space reference lol)
I updated my data with the new data I could get for the past 2 days. The few days before that are still incorrect, but i have no way to get that data. May just have to do a linear regression. So for now there is a spike with the bad data, then back to status quo.
http://www.kdawg.com
(today’s values are 69,961,937 EV miles; 110,152,627 Total miles, 3,680,783 gal of fuel saved. However, I’m not totally convinced the glitch is fixed because the EV % is still 67.46%.. which is what it has been stuck on for a week)
+2
Jul 28th, 2012 (2:03 pm)Went to the gas station today for the first time since I got my Volt. Don’t worry, I only went there to get a couple beverages.
195 miles so far and 0 gallons of gas used
+1
Jul 28th, 2012 (2:05 pm)Looks like there is another official 2013 Volt on voltstats.net
http://www.voltstats.net/Stats/Details/1581
+2
Jul 28th, 2012 (2:34 pm)Maybe this is the reason more South Korean brands (such as Hyunday and Kia) are being sold than Japanese brands here, because they can offer same or better value for less prices. I see than Japan has lost its quality, technological, and price leads. The Koreans will be the next automobile leaders, and they are offering hybrid vehicles that prove my point.
Maybe this is also why GM buys the Volt battery from LG (Lucky Goldstar) and has used its Korean manufacturing (once known as Daewoo) to produce their smallest vehicles, and one of then is the next EV (Spark) which is presently being thoroughly tested under extreme temperature conditions as the Volt was.
Finally, South Korea has been a better political and financial ally of the U.S. than Japan, which only wants our money as revenge for nuking them twice. If the U.S. stopped Japanese imports, the nation goes bankrupt, which is more effective than nuking them again.
We may be soon saying: Goodbye, Toyota!
Raymond
Jul 28th, 2012 (3:27 pm)And Korea looked good against Mexico in round 1 of the Olympic Football, with Japan beating Spain! So maybe we will see Japan v Korea? (long shot)
Sorry…..More seriously though, once you get above 40mpg, and you are burning gas all the time, it’s somewhat meaningless. The next stage is 250mpg to ~infinity, where the driver is not really using gas at all except in rare occasions. This is apples & oranges. 40mpg v 50mpg is still apples and apples. Creating a middle child, by putting a small battery in the car and a plug, that gets somewhere between 50 and 150mpg, but still burns gas consistently requiring trips to the gas station, is non-sense. Even the ‘affordable” argument is non-sense.
So back to your comment about Korea; I’d like to see KIA make a plug-in EV, comparable to the Volt. Put at least 16KWH in there, and allow the car to run in EV mode in all driving conditions. Just skip the “non-sense” version I mentioned above (aka PiP and CMAX plug in).
(Looks like they missed this date, but who knows whats in the works?)
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/10/11/report-kia-to-offer-extended-range-plug-in-vehicle-by-2012/
Jul 28th, 2012 (5:06 pm)As a long time fan of the Volt and this website, I would love to buy a volt but unfortunely I live in New Zealand and I am not rich enough.
The Holden Volt will go on sale in New Zealand this December for NZ$85,000. That’s about US$66,300 if you use a exchange rate of 0.78 How can Holden GM justify that!
Big rip offs in the south pacific!!!!
+3
Jul 28th, 2012 (5:21 pm)Walked into Kia dealership and looked at optima and their SUV …both priced at $$ north of 30k loaded to some extent but geez these are regular gas cars … and folks complain about Volt price and now Tesla S price .. Same was true of my walk about at a Nissan dealership last week their new 2013 Altima priced slightly below $30k … Folks still think they can have new ICE cars at $20k sure basic model but just add the features Volt has and now you are $30k plus .. Just a perspectve of prices of new ICE cars…
Jul 28th, 2012 (6:36 pm)Dave K.,
Wow, that seems like forever-ago.
Jul 29th, 2012 (12:35 pm)New OnStar Volt-mile data today…. EV% still stuck at exactly 67.46%, so I don’t trust the data yet.
+1
Jul 29th, 2012 (4:02 pm)Eco, you are overlooking the fact that are no fast chargers on Mars. What good does all that battery do you if you can’t charge it in less than 30 minutes!
Rats, I see kdawg beat me to the punch.
+2
Jul 29th, 2012 (4:59 pm)I just found out a co-worker bought a new Honda. I asked him if he considered an EV. Yes, he wanted one but he went to his local GM dealer and was shocked at the $40k+ Volt price. I pointed out to him that he qualified for $10k rebate. He was totally unaware of this, and the dealer had not mentioned it. Why do some Chevrolet dealers discourage people from purchasing a Volt?
Jul 29th, 2012 (5:11 pm)Talk to your government (and Austrialia’s). They have high tarrifs on imported cars, and these Volts are made in USA. When Holden makes them locally, they will be much cheaper.
Jul 29th, 2012 (5:37 pm)Actually, I’m sure you guys remember the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), which was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover designed by GM & used to explore the Moon during the last three missions of the Apollo program. Obviously, it was space-qualified & “man-rated”. I’m also pretty sure the USSR had launched an EV to the moon even before we landed in ’69. And we’ve had several EVs (Mars Rovers) running around all over Mars more recently. Recharging? None needed because of the brief stay for Lunar Rovers. By solar arrays on Mars Rovers while exploring, testing soil, etc, at each new site.
+2
Jul 29th, 2012 (7:41 pm)Here is to Curiosity! May she have smooth sailing and a calm landing!
And thousands of miles of exploring, come to think of it…
After Spirit and Opportunity, she has big shoes to fill!
Jul 29th, 2012 (7:46 pm)Does Honda have a return policy?
+1
Jul 29th, 2012 (8:01 pm)I wish JPL and NASA much success with Curiosity, too.
Maybe Elon Musk will use SpaceX to send a pre-charged Tesla Model X to Mars, so the future astronauts can use it to roam across the surface in comfort and style? Then they can use Curiosity’s solar panels to recharge the Tesla battery (Model X must carry the correct charger cable).
Raymond
+1
Jul 29th, 2012 (8:11 pm)Yes, the USSR sent two Lunokhod remote vehicles to the Moon but after the Apollo 11 mission:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunokhod_programme
http://selena.sai.msu.ru/Home/moone.htm
Search for the “Tank on the Moon” documentary on TV, or watch it here:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tank-on-the-moon/
http://science.discovery.com/tv/tank/tank.html
I found the next showing of this documentary: August 10th on the Discovery Channel:
http://science.discovery.com/tv-schedules/special.html?paid=48.10776.118966.0.0
Raymond