http://gm-volt.com Real-time news, information, and discussion about the Chevrolet Volt. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:36:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of the unknowns in determining how much the Volt or any electric car should cost, is determining the automaker's cost for the lithium-ion battery. A number that has been put forth by experts in the field is $1000 per kWh installed in liquid-cooled pack. If this were true, the ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/05/update-enerdels-chairman-on-the-cost-of-the-thnk-lithium-ion-battery-pack/ With SUVs fast becoming obsolete and Americans making the Europe-like shift to small cars in the face of unyieldingly high gas prices, GM has to act fast to adapt to this new marketplace. Obviously the Chevy Volt is the key in this regard but its still 28 months away. Per a new ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/04/gm-marching-to-a-new-beat-expect-mutiple-volt-versions/ EnerDel (Amex: HEV ) is a U.S. based lithium-ion battery maker that has recently delivered a functioning 28 kWh battery pack for automaker Th!nk, for their upcoming Th!nk City electric vehicle. I had the chance for a follow-up interview with EnerDel Chairman Charles Gassenheimer. Its been almost a year since ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/03/exclusive-interview-with-enerdel-chairman-charles-gassenheimer/ Occasionally an opinion piece is written about the Volt that comes out negative. These are unconventional pieces as the vast majority of journalistic work paints the car in a positive light. The Wall Street Journal has just published an article by editorial board member Holman Jenkins that was particularly harsh. The ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/02/wall-street-journal-opinion-chevy-volt-just-a-political-tool/ On July 1st, GM released its June 08 sales figures. Due to a tightening economy, consumer credit squeeze, sky-high oil prices, and plummeting truck demand it was widely expected that GM would experience a greater than 20% drop in June sales compared to the year prior. It turns out, all ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/01/gm-on-june-sales-asia-doesnt-have-a-monopoly-on-fuel-efficient-vehicles/ GM has yet to show us the final complete design of the production Chevy Volt, which we know will be different than the concept. GM has shown a 1/3 scale model heavily camouflaged. Above is the expert rendition of Captain Jason Cullinane of the U.S. Army who thinks ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/07/01/artists-estimation-of-the-production-chevy-volt/ It's glaringly clear that GM (and Ford and Chrysler) have rapidly slid into serious financial peril. Revenues have depended heavily on trucks and SUVs. The current oil price spike has fundamentally and profoundly shifted consumer behavior across the boards. People have abruptly stopped buying SUVs and trucks in ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/30/should-gm-skip-the-volt-and-just-make-more-efficient-gas-cars/ A couple of weeks ago we heard an interview with Compact Power CEO Prabhakar Patil in which he indicated his company and LG Chem had a good chance at getting the Volt contract and that his packs were the one's running in the prototypes. It was also indicated that ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/29/continental-says-chances-good-of-getting-volt-battery-contract/ After GM first introduced the Chevy Volt concept in January 2007, there was a lot of ire and skepticism from the former EV-1 crowd.  Most vocal among them was Doug Korthoff who appeared in the film Who Killed the Electric Car? Doug has since filled the web with extensive anti-GM rhetoric ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/28/lutz-explains-why-the-ev-1-cant-simply-be-reintroduced/ Ted Miller is Ford's senior manager of energy storage. He outlined to Bloomberg News Ford's cautious approach to plug-in vehicles. Balking at the idea of what GM has done with the Volt he said "if there's going to be a true plug-in hybrid market, we're going to be there. It's ... http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/28/ford-calls-the-chevy-volt-a-hail-mary-play/