Is The Volt The Car Of The Future?

CBS Evening News: GM Says Electric Car Is Designed To Lead The Troubled Company Into Its Second Century

(CBS)  To say General Motors has a lot riding on the Volt is both a bad pun and a big understatement.

GM says this electric car is designed to lead the company into the second century - if it is to have a second century.

But when GM invited reporters to experience the Volt, what they actually drove was the Volt technology stuck into a conventional car called the Chevy Cruze, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds. The real Volt is not yet ready.

The rush to showcase the technology was clearly designed to generate publicity for the car and public support for the federal money GM needs to stay afloat.

"What makes the technology so significant is actually what is under the skin," said Frank Weber, with GM.

What is under the skin is a 6-foot-long battery that you can recharge every night by plugging it into your garage socket.

Battery power takes the Volt 40 miles. Since most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, GM says the Volt will use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions. When the charge wears off, an on-board gas tank can power the car and extend the trip 400 miles, addressing what's know in the trade as "range anxiety."

"The current Prius doesn't deliver that," said Brian Johnson, an industry analyst with Barclay's Capital. "The current Honda doesn't deliver that, so they are trying to leapfrog the competition in that respect."

"This is a livable vehicle," said Tony Posawatz, a vehicle line director with GM. "It's not a golf cart or whatever. This is something that people could buy in quantity … particularly if we can get the cost down."

Perhaps way down - because the sticker price will be about $40,000 - for what GM calls a spunky car that can go from zero to 60 in less than nine seconds.

The Volt is due in dealer showrooms by the end of next year, which is itself a show of optimism about GM's future. But there's a problem: sales of existing hybrids have been plummeting for months because the price of gasoline has dropped. If that consumer attitude holds, it could mean that GM will be bringing out the right car at the wrong time.

[Iaveabrain]

The British government have announced today an Electric car subsidy plan which will give consumers incentives of between £2,000 ($4,000) and £5,000 ($10,000) to buy an electric car from 2011.

[db5y]

I'm a former Detroiter and have relatives in and retired from the auto industry. If GM is pinning its survival on the Volt, it will fail miserably unless they get the price of this vehicle significantly under $30k. If they can't do that, they'd better hope that gas hits $10 / gallon, otherwise the ROI will take too long, and might never be realized during the lifetime of the vehicle.

As I see it, it's a boutique car for those wealthy folks who need to shed their environmental angst.

[maggiemoran]

It has taken two decades for GM to come up with a replacement for the EV1 it sabotaged and trashed. They could have lead the world in the production of the electric car but chose the status quo for no other reason than their desire to stick with the known money makers in the form of gas-guzzling trucks and suv's. No doubt their greedy partners in crime, the petroleum industry applied the right amount of pressure and/or incentive as well. It would be nice to get excited about this latest version but when profit is the only motive does it stand a chance?

[incog-nito]

Yes, the Volt is the car of the future, if they drop the price to $25K, not 40. By the time they're able to do that other automakers will have come out with their own cheaper versions. In fact, Toyota is also coming out with a plug-in Prius in 2010 that will cost much less than the Volt.

In other, the Volt is NOT the care of the future.

[guest173]

I do hope chevy sticks with the volt, you can't give up so easily to bring change. perseverence will win out, if they can last that long and not just be greedy

[guest173]

I would not call Chevy anything "cars of the future." I owned a Chevy and it broke down and wore out way too much for me to appreciate it. I believe Chevy follows Japanese automakers, which are much better and more reliable. I also believe the japanese work ethic and longterm planning is much better and more efficient than american, no offense intended. I am half japanese and half american and that is just how I see things having lived in both countries and being both.

[geena5]

I am not taking public transportation as much as possible. It takes all day long just to get somewhere that will take you a 25 minute drive in a car, also you have to deal with the weather while waiting at bus stops (that could be in bad parts of town also). Life is too short to wait for the bus and million bus transfers.

[geena5]

the car industry needs to stop thinking about the quick buck and take seriously the long investment and the good of the environment. They should get some satisfaction that their product would be better for our air quality and not stop making them just because gas prices are down and people are buying the cheaper car. Are they just going to keep relying on Toyota to do that and then go get a government bailout when gas prices go up at Saudi Arabia's whim

[sjc_1]

We could do a lot to reduce oil imports by looking at the large consumers. Trucks, buses, taxis can all run CNG. Commuters can telecommute, car pool or live closer to work.

[TRX10]

forget the volt.

watch this video instead:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/shai_agassi_on_electric_cars.html

[FlyingPie]

LOL @ "designed to lead the company into the second century". As this is the 21st century, it seems that GM has a lot of catching up to do. ;)

Seriously, I think the Volt is promising, but one issue we'd need to face with plug-in cars is that there are a lot of people who live somewhere where an electrical outlet is not available where they park their cars - For example, people who live in an apartment complex have to park their cars outside, using apartment-provided parking, where electrical outlets are not available. For these people to buy a plug-in car, apartment complexes would need to install electrical outlets for their residents.

[whatwouldtylerdo]

man, so many of you people complain. the fact that these kind of cars are not only on the drawing board but actually in production is promising. the majority of the people here who talk about it "only" being 40 miles and how YOU drive much more than that should really should stop for a second and take note: who the hell cares? YOU are not the majority of the car driving population and as much as you'd like to think that you are, you are not their target demographic; those of you in your little country towns or townships or backwater hallow mean absolutely nothing to them (or the rest of the country actually). this car is meant for people who actually matter -whose opinions and money are sought after and coveted-those people are the ones that shape opinion and direct favor.so when those of us, for whom this car IS made for, see what it can do -and what no other car manufacturer has yet to do -we WILL be impressed and turn our favor and our valuable opinions toward their new endeavor. the rest of you can continue to ***** and moan about how you wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't spend that much or ever buy such a monstrosity or could build a better electric car with your superior intelligence,duct tape, and spare parts from the old pickup you have sitting up on blocks in your barn....go ahead and complain because your tiny, little, insignificant voices will be drowned out by those who actually matter and to whom everyone, is actually listening....

[jamesguy]

There are two huge problems with plug-in car technology:

First, they mean a shift away from Saudi oil to Korean batteries. The whole life of the battery, from the mining of the materials, to the eventual disposal as toxic waste, is a story of ecological disaster.

Second, our power grid runs off an average of 70% coal-produced electricity. There's no such thing as "clean coal", so this means your electric car will pollute far more than a gasoline car with a catalytic converter. If you opt for a green electricity plan at your house to avoid running your car on coal, you'll just pass the coal use off on someone else.

The solution is to buy a long-lasting, clean-burning, powerful, quiet, modern diesel car or truck, and run it on sustainably produced biodiesel.

[hagan_arnold]

"But there's a problem: sales of existing hybrids have been plummeting for months because the price of gasoline has dropped."

Could it also be that the recession/depression has people going with the status quo. Scary is the price.

[geminispyder-2009]

The future is public transportation not more private transportation.

We do not need more cars on the road.

We need mag-lev transportation for goods and people.
Posted by whitemale08 at 5:38 PM : Apr 14, 2009

Unfortunately, maglev has been identified by the scabs in washington as pork spending.

[geminispyder-2009]

If Americans are so fickle and shortsighted as to go back to depending on oil for their present and future, they just deserve whatever they get.
Posted by sincity_q at 7:18 PM : Apr 14, 2009

GM is dead. And rightfully so. A corporation that has made as many bad decisions (especially with the EV-1) as it has needs to be put down.

Chevy Volt = coup de gras for GM.

[walt1944]

General Motors is pinning its future on the "electric car", the Chevy Volt.

What they don't tell you is that the range of the electric charge on the Volt is only 40 miles round trip. Beyond that, there is a gas tank that that you have to fill and which is supposed to kick in where the electric charge gets low to extend the range of the car to 400 miles.

This should make those people still working who commute over 20 miles to work one way breathe a bit easier.

Another thing you aren't being told about the Volt is that its price tag is $40,000. How is the average car buyer going to afford something like that? You could buy a Cadillac for that kind of money and you would probably be safer in it!

You have to plug the thing into your electrical outlet overnight when you get it home. Would you like to conjecture what this is going to do to your monthly electric bill???

Finally, I can remember back in the late 50's when Ford had financial problems and pinned all its hopes on a brand new product Ford developed!

It was THE EDSEL!!!!!

HAILOBAMA!!!!

[Slrman]

Electric cars will not be the "solution to pollution". The real problem is heat pollution. All energy production, storage, and use creates heat. Also, the production of the batteries and the cars themselves is a polluting industry. The real problem is too many people! If the world population were reduced by 1/2, many of the environmental problems would disappear.

That's why uncontrolled breeding advocates like the pope and the mormons are environmental criminals.

[rf35]

BTW, gas is already going back up and is expected to top $4.00 per gallon again this Summer.

With my current driving habits, I'd have to plug the Volt in only twice a week, except for the occasional trip to London; then the gas engine might actually get some use.

[anitaymoore]

I watched this story last night and laughed all the way through it. This car can go approx 40 miles before needing to be recharged right? The person they interviewed stated "most people drive approximately 40 miles per day"...where? In what state does this happen. My round trip drive to and from work alone is over 40 miles, not adding in the side trip to day care for my son, or ANY of the extra errands that I have to run every day after work or during lunch; I easily drive twice their "approximation". Even when I lived in the city I still drove more than 40 miles each day. Then on to the price of the car!!! Are they kidding?!!! $40K?!!!!! There is NO WAY I would pay anywhere near that for that car. I would consider paying in the $20's for it, but $30's or $40's....NO WAY! Once again GM is behind the curve putting forward a car that is not only too late in coming but is also out priced for the majority of American's....this is a recession remember?