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From: Bob Cooper on 10 Aug 2010 16:48
In article <4g5166pcuqg4ri7sujgtkasdemtlo8tlq7(a)4ax.com>,
pgranzeau(a)cox.net says...
>
>
> Let's assume the Volt gets about 40 mpg when the engine is running. If
> you drive 400 miles a day, you get 10% better gas mileage, or 44 mpg.
> And if you drive 100 miles a day, you get 40% better gas mileage, or 56
> mpg.
>

Although much about the Volt isn't known, one thing that seems pretty
clear is it is targeted at consumers who drive about 40 miles a day, but
don't want to worry about being stranded with a dead battery, want the
ability to take occasional longer trips, and have a place to plug in.
That's a pretty big market.
Since it's motivated purely "electrically" it may not be suitable for
continual long distance driving with basically an ICE generator powering
electric motors to propel it.
The Prius is "mostly" driven forward by mechanical torque from its ICE.
From what little I've read the Prius has no issue with cross-country.
Don't know if that will be true with the Volt.
I might be wrong, but that's how I understand it now.


> I agree, $41,000 is too much for me, but I've always driven inexpensive
> cars (the current Prius is the most expensive car I ever bought, and the
> only one for which I ever paid more than $20,000. In fact I only paid
> more than $10,000 for two other cars, one of which I still have).
>
> GM needs to amortize the cost of developing the car, in the first place.
> They are using technology that American automakers have never used
> before. No part of the electric drivetrain has been made in the USA
> previously, nor have batteries of the type the Volt will use, either.
> While components of the Volt may never be reduced in cost to the level
> that we will be buying $18,000 Volts, surely the cost of production will
> fall as time goes on.
>
> When I still owned a home, I might have had the infrastructure to own a
> Volt--a 110V outlet and a power cord. I now live in an apartment, so
> owning an electric car I would not be able to charge is, unfortunately,
> not something that makes sense, and I'll just have to keep on driving
> the Prius.

All good points. The big questions are how the car will perform, and
how soon the price will come down.
It strikes me as a real good idea for a commuter/grocery car within its
battery charge range.
Just doesn't seem right for long range, but I could be wrong.
Offhand, the 10 or so commuters in my family travel 12-60 miles a day
but 3 live in apartments without a place to plug-in.
Don't think any of them would want the Volt at the suggested price
though.
Right now it's just promises.
Has to prove itself in the marketplace, and I won't bet either way.
This car could make or break GM.
Very interesting.


From: in2dadark on 10 Aug 2010 20:14
On Aug 9, 3:50 am, "Sharx35" <shar...(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> "john" <johngd...(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:4fd01bbd-59a1-4f0f-bd19-b2fb813e9a75(a)z30g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
>
> > "So you think the Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost too much? Tell
> > that to the Chevy dealer who has already decided to charge $20,000
> > over the sticker price.
>
> > That's right. Months before the first Volt lands on a showroom floor,
> > there's enough excitement that the dealer -- who earns a living
> > calculating what the market will bear -- is charging nearly 50% more
> > than General Motors' asking price for the revolutionary car.
>
> > If that's any yardstick, the 2011 Volt is drastically underpriced.
> > Supply and demand, baby. It's the free enterprise system."
>
> > Read more: Mark Phelan: Dealers' extra charge for Volt is simply
> > supply and demand | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
> >http://www.freep.com/article/20100808/COL14/8080504/1331/business01/D...
>
> Proving that there is a silly sucker born every minute. HELL will frigging
> freeze over before I pay ANYTHING over sticker for anything.

Especially now.
From: Agnasty Shagnasty on 11 Aug 2010 11:03


"Michelle Steiner" <michelle(a)michelle.org> wrote in message
news:michelle-98EC02.15383110082010(a)reserved-multicast-range-not-delegated.example.com...
> In article <MPG.26cb76f71bed6181989694(a)news.eternal-september.org>,
> Bob Cooper <bc(a)nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>> From what little I've read the Prius has no issue with cross-country.
>
> I've driven a Prius from the Phoenix area to San Francisco and back,
> stopping only for fuel and food. It's about an 800 mile drive from my
> house.
>
You mean you can drive a Prius from Phoenix to San Francisco and back?
Amazing. It's a wonder what they can do with modern vehicles today.

On two occasions, I drove a vehicle from Tucson Arizona to Seattle
Washington! Would you believe that the vehicle was in good shape once I got
there?

I wonder if anyone has tried to drive from Los Angeles to New York?




From: SMS on 12 Aug 2010 11:59
On 08/08/10 9:16 PM, john wrote:
> "So you think the Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost too much? Tell
> that to the Chevy dealer who has already decided to charge $20,000
> over the sticker price.
>
> That's right. Months before the first Volt lands on a showroom floor,
> there's enough excitement that the dealer -- who earns a living
> calculating what the market will bear -- is charging nearly 50% more
> than General Motors' asking price for the revolutionary car.
>
> If that's any yardstick, the 2011 Volt is drastically underpriced.
> Supply and demand, baby. It's the free enterprise system."
>
> Read more: Mark Phelan: Dealers' extra charge for Volt is simply
> supply and demand | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
> http://www.freep.com/article/20100808/COL14/8080504/1331/business01/Dealers-extra-charge-for-Volt-is-simply-supply-and-demand#ixzz0w4xWT0ce

The Volt would be fairly priced at around $25K. I would not be surprised
to see electric cars with their own ICE powered charger available for
around that price within five years. There's nothing difficult about it.

For under $5000 you can convert a Prius to a plug-in hybrid with about a
30 mile range (but only at lower speeds). It's a rather clever approach,
simply using the additional batteries to charge the factory traction
battery. For $13,000 you can get 40 miles of range up to 52 mph (it
requires a suspension upgrade, included in the price).

Long term, it'd be good to see a modular system where you can choose to
have the trunk full of batteries for sufficent commute range and higher
speed for commuting, while removing the battery packs for more cargo
space for longer trips. The problem with the hybrid Camry is that the
Camry's otherwise cavernous trunk is tiny because of the battery packs.
From: Tom on 12 Aug 2010 12:03


"SMS" <scharf.steven(a)geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4c641a5b$0$22157$742ec2ed(a)news.sonic.net...
> On 08/08/10 9:16 PM, john wrote:
>> "So you think the Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost too much? Tell
>> that to the Chevy dealer who has already decided to charge $20,000
>> over the sticker price.
>>
>> That's right. Months before the first Volt lands on a showroom floor,
>> there's enough excitement that the dealer -- who earns a living
>> calculating what the market will bear -- is charging nearly 50% more
>> than General Motors' asking price for the revolutionary car.
>>
>> If that's any yardstick, the 2011 Volt is drastically underpriced.
>> Supply and demand, baby. It's the free enterprise system."
>>
>> Read more: Mark Phelan: Dealers' extra charge for Volt is simply
>> supply and demand | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
>> http://www.freep.com/article/20100808/COL14/8080504/1331/business01/Dealers-extra-charge-for-Volt-is-simply-supply-and-demand#ixzz0w4xWT0ce
>
> The Volt would be fairly priced at around $25K. I would not be surprised
> to see electric cars with their own ICE powered charger available for
> around that price within five years. There's nothing difficult about it.
>
> For under $5000 you can convert a Prius to a plug-in hybrid with about a
> 30 mile range (but only at lower speeds). It's a rather clever approach,
> simply using the additional batteries to charge the factory traction
> battery. For $13,000 you can get 40 miles of range up to 52 mph (it
> requires a suspension upgrade, included in the price).
>
> Long term, it'd be good to see a modular system where you can choose to
> have the trunk full of batteries for sufficent commute range and higher
> speed for commuting, while removing the battery packs for more cargo space
> for longer trips. The problem with the hybrid Camry is that the Camry's
> otherwise cavernous trunk is tiny because of the battery packs.

another would be car designer without a clue

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