Archive for the 'General' Category
GM Pauses on Future Truck Development as it Faces Unprecedented Economic Challenges
In following the Volt enthusiastically, one cannot help being struck by the significance of GM’s current financial challenges.
The company had been in the midst of a turnaround effort when VOLT was first introduced. Since then many significant economic hurdles have been presented. Not the least of which is the rapidly slumping sale of trucks and [...]
Popularity: 41%
Lutz: Almost No Reasonable Doubt Chevy Volt Will Work as Planned
Reuters just published a report outlining an interview with Bob Lutz today on the Chevy Volt.
GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz continued to exude confidence that the Chevy Volt engineering should work out as planned, with a battery supplier to be named shortly.
Lutz said “I would say there’s almost no reasonable doubt in our minds anymore that [...]
Popularity: 58%
Who Killed the Hummer?
These recent days events truly represent a profound watershed. Since the early 90s when gas used to cost less than $1 per gallon, Americans have become obsessed with SUVs, bigger is better. Carmakers not only helped cause the boom but have continued to supply those cars and profit from them. None more [...]
Popularity: 67%
New 40 mpg Chevy Compact Car to Debut Next Year
Word is trickling out that GM will debut a new compact Chevy vehicle to be built on the Delta global compact car platform (same as the Volt) at an auto show later this year, and will begin production as early as next year.
The vehicle may appear alongside the Cobalt and go by a different name. [...]
Popularity: 81%
Do We Believe the Volt’s Batteries Can’t Deliver on its Promise?
An article was recently published in the Sacramento Bee discussing plug-in hybrids. The story emphasized the development of the AFS Trinity which is a plug-in Saturn VUE conversion using lithium-ion batteries and ultracaps which has a 40 mile EV range and range extender.
In a provocative assertion, the author references a UC Davis study noting:
“The [...]
Popularity: 70%
Renault-Nissan To Spend $1 Billion Building Electric Cars, and Already Shows One Off
Making the news again lately are the efforts of Project Better Place, a company moving to implement electric cars and an electric car charging infrastructure in Israel and Denmark, and hoping to spread from there.
The automaker charged with building the cars is Renault in partnership with Nissan. Coming out of this is the admission that [...]
Popularity: 39%
The EV-1 Wasn’t Killed, it Was Dead on Arrival
MotorTrend’s Angus MacKenzie has published a provocative and thoughtful piece on the inadequacies of the EV-1. Many new visitors to GM-Volt.com seem to get here after seeing Who Killed the Electric Car, something I ascertain through many of the emails I get.
In the Motortrend piece it was explained that the EV-1 evolved from an earlier [...]
Popularity: 42%
GM-Volt.com Readership Survey Results
Several days ago, many of you were gracious enough to take an advertising company’s readership survey. As promised, I have the results. This can give you an idea of who is coming to this site and a little bit of their behavior.
The survey results in detail and graphically represented are HERE.
689 people responded. [...]
Popularity: 34%
Continental CEO Thinks They Have Good Chance of Winning Volt Contract
Continental Automotive and A123 Systems are one of the two Volt battery-making partnerships, pitted against LG Chem and Compact Power. Conti CEO Manfred Wennemer told Reuters that his company has a "good chance" of being awarded the Volt’s battery contract. He also said "it is not going to be decisive for the future [...]
Popularity: 37%
More Details About the E-Flex Opel Program
More good news for our European friends, GM CEO Rick Wagoner gave out some more details about the Opel E-Flex program.
For one thing, he seemed to acknowledge a shift in plans, noting the Opel Flextreme would go on to production and interestingly have even more interior room than the initial concept.
Also he told reporters there [...]
Popularity: 34%
Gas and the Chevy Volt: Change Your Fuel, Not Your Oil
As we know, the Chevy Volt should be able to drive for 40 or more miles on pure electricity when fully charged. Since most drivers travel less than 40 miles per day, it is quite possible gas could sit in the tank without ever or hardly ever being burned. Indeed, GM engineers decided [...]
Popularity: 41%
J.D. Power: 300,000 Chevy Volts Will be Sold by 2014
There is an interesting and thoughtful article about A123, and how it went from a handshake between an entrepreneur and a scientist into a company with 1000 employees and a chance at being GMs Volt battery supplier.
Buried in that story is a striking statement that I have never heard or seen.
We debate and wonder how [...]
Popularity: 35%
Recent Posts
- Update: EnerDel’s Chairman on the Cost of the Th!nk Lithium-ion Battery Pack
- GM Marching to a New Beat: Expect Mutiple Volt Versions
- Exclusive: Interview With EnerDel Chairman Charles Gassenheimer
- Wall Street Journal Opinion - Chevy Volt Just a Political Tool
- GM on June Sales: Asia Doesn’t Have a Monopoly on Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
- Artist’s Estimation of the Production Chevy Volt
- Should GM Skip the Volt and Just Make More Efficient Gas Cars?
- Continental Says Chances Good of Getting Volt Battery Contract
- Lutz Explains Why the EV-1 Can’t Simply Be Reintroduced
- Ford Calls the Chevy Volt a Hail Mary Play
