Am I the only person that is very excited about the new Chevy Volt?

[yeswecanseattle]

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

This car sounds amazing and it is made right here in the US! I have always been a German car guy but I can't wait for this car!

<snip>
The Extended-Range Electric Vehicle that is redefining the automotive world is no longer just a rumor. In fact, its propulsion system is so revolutionary, it's unlike any other vehicle or electric car that's ever been introduced. And we're making this remarkable vision a reality, so that one day you'll have the freedom to drive gas-free.

Chevy Volt is designed to move more than 75 percent of America's daily commuters without a single drop of gas.(2) That means for someone who drives less than 40 miles a day, Chevy Volt will use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions.(1)

Unlike traditional electric cars, Chevy Volt has a revolutionary propulsion system that takes you beyond the power of the battery. It will use a lithium-ion battery with a gasoline-powered, range-extending engine that drives a generator to provide electric power when you drive beyond the 40-mile battery range.

Chevy Volt. Fully charged 2010.
</snip>

[Uben]

1. No way!

There's another guy in Zimbabwe!

[msongs]

2. all of chevy's income from the volt will be used as payback for the bailout lol nt

[End Of The Road]

3. What's the MSRP? I heard $40K. If that's true

I'll never be able to afford one.

[dysfunctional press]

4. too pricey for us to consider at this point.

we can't go more than 25K for a car- perhaps 30-32K if it were entirely electric.

[Bluzmann57]

5. Probably

Most posters in here seem to hate American cars of any kind. And on that note, beware. On electric cars the battery that sits in the trunk is heavier than the engine that sits in front, creating a wheelie effect. Not a good thing unless you are some kind of goofy crotch rocket rider.
For those of you who may not know what I mean by crotch rocket, they are Japanese made motorcycles (mostly Suzukis) that are the fastest production motorcycles made, and the kids who ride them seem to be compelled to do wheelies at stop lights. And generally they can't handle something that fast. Buy American! Harley Davidson!

[Fumesucker]

24. Funny...

I have a Yamaha crotch rocket made back in 89, an FZR400, I'm 58 and if I wasn't so aware of my mortality I could keep up with a lot of the modern literbikes in the really tight twisties where it's not so much sheer power as power to weight ratio and flickability that counts.



Wheelieing from a stop light is nothing, doing stoppies is where it's really at.

[TheWraith]

6. I'm starting to get a little excited.

The fact that I sure as hell can't afford one doesn't really bother me: my last car crush was the Tesla Whitestar, which would be running $50 to $65k, even more than the Volt's high 30s. And I've gotten used to the idea of it having the range extension instead of being pure electric.

[jeff30997]

11. "$50 to $65k"

I'll take the $50 one.That's only one hour of lettuce picking. :P

[uppityperson]

16. Hey, I'll buy it from you for $79.99! You'd make a profit!

Woohoo! I'd get a car and you'd make $29.99!

Throw in a ginsu knife and I'll buy 2.

[jeff30997]

21. Lol!

It's a deal! :)

[screembloodymurder]

28. I've heard $40,000 and for me, that price is a deal killer.

Quite frankly, I prefer the Prius and the new Honda Insight over the Volt. The Volt was a cool concept, but GM managed to remove all styling in the latest version.

[bunnies]

7. If you can afford it... good for you.

I cant.

My last car was a 1995 Dodge Intrepid... and its dead. Cant afford to fix it. Cant afford a new car. Excitement? Not from me. Sorry.

[SoCalDem]

8. or from me..

we have a '91 Accord EX, an 88 Dodge pickup and an '05 Kia Amanti.. these are the last cars we will ever have (barring a wreck)..

A $40K car will not solve our fuel crisis.. a $10K car WILL.. Until people can afford to part with their OLD cars, they will continue to drive them..it's just economics..

[bunnies]

9. Bingo.

Nail meet head. You've summed up the issue in a way I couldnt. Completely agree.

[dkofos]

10. I see a car that should not cost more than 25k. Not 40k

Where is the extra 15k.
Coolness??
Electric motor??
Electronic controls??

I don't get it.

[SoCalDem]

13. It might help to go back to the way cars used to be built

make a basic stripped down version, and then charge for all the extras..like power this & that, AC, radios, carpeting etc..

If someone truly wants a vehicle, and not a "luxury condo on wheels", they could afford it :)

[madrchsod]

14. but the dealers do not make any money on stripped models.....

well that`s not really true....the datsun dealer here started with three cars and 500 dollars in parts in a one car showroom in 1968. he retired a very wealthy man 20 years later.

i`m rebuilding a 87 crx...40 to the gallon

[Snotcicles]

18. CD players were $600.00 when they first came to market.

I paid $2500.00 for an early 486 PC with 32mb of ram.
Price goes down as production goes up.

[gristy]

12. Yes, you are the only one.

B-)

[RedCappedBandit]

15. Not for that price!

I would appreciate more of a movement towards fuel cells.

[ToolTex]

17. SO .. what is exciting about thousands of camera batteries in a plastic wrapper,

a couple of electric motors, a lawnmower engine, and a generator, for $50k plus dollars.

Just where is the revolutionary breakthrough in this, GM? Lithium-ion batteries have been known for years now, and the rest could have been done 35 years ago!

I'm on the grid, supplied by a coop, and the rates have gone up so much I think I'd rather buy gasoline.

Do you have a vested interest in the auto industry, yeswecanseattle? If not, just why are you excited?

[leeroysphitz]

19. Forty grand??? Fricken HOUSES don't cost that much anymore.

The big three could have been working towards this goal for decades. The forty thousand dollar version of this for the early adopters could have been introduced and the more affordable production versions could have been rolled out in time to save the big three, our environment and economy all at the same time.

What were these fools thinking? What have they been doing for the last thirty fricken years?

[AndyTiedye]

23. Houses < $40K? Maybe in Detroit

[Orsino]

20. "Launch targeted 2010."

Translation: we still don't have an electric car.

Last I heard, the excuse was that the battery technology wasn't ready. What's changed--other than bailout power being about to fall into the control of an Administration committed to alternative vehicles?

[AndyTiedye]

22. The Volt Excites Me

I wanted an EV1. Couldn't afford it when they came out. By the time I could, GM had repo'ed them all and sent them to the crusher. :grr:

[Initech]

25. The Volt will be my next vehicle.

[Rydz777]

26. Pricey, 40 mile range, and how much will the electricity cost? My

electric bill just went up.

[TheWraith]

31. It's not a 40 mile range, it's a 40 mile ALL ELECTRIC range, 50-100 miles per gallon after that.

A full battery and a full fuel tank would take it about 640 miles. And a complete battery charge would cost you about $2 at peak rates, or 4.8 cents per mile.

[alfredo]

27. Will GM still be with us in 2010?

[galileoreloaded]

29. Plug ins are currently absolutely worthless for half the country. The hot half.

Show me a deisel electric hybrid w/ bluetec or similar, and I buy. Past that, you couldn't pay me to own one. Why do you think the EV1 died, really died, not the way the movie claimed. They tested them at the AZ proving ground, and mileage was cut in half with the AC on, and blew cool, not cold. Actually had to time set the AC to start cooling while on the charger, an hour to two hours before you drove in the summer. Trust me, spent ALOT of time with the Impact (predecessor) in 91/92 at the APS shop in Phoenix. If the AC in the Volts sucks as bad as the Impact, and there is no reason to think it wont, you might as well be driving a fast golf cart. Half the country is hot in the summer, think about it.

The fucked up part of this whole conversation is that Nissan had a Sentra in the late 90's that had less emmisions parked, than a regular one had driving, and they were very low emission vehicles.

The Volt and other plug ins will FAIL as a production vehicle, trust me.

[javadu]

30. I Love The Car

I drive a BMW. I love the car. I bought it used for around 13k. I would gladly give up my bimmer for one of those cars, but I can't swing that payment right now. I know that this seems funny from someone driving a BMW, but as noted above, I can't afford a new bimmer either.

Things to like about the car --- I heard it is very similar to the Malibu. My mom had a 2002 Malibu that was horrible, but the new Malibus are VERY NICE CARS. I know their reputation is poor, but believe me, even car enthusiasts are happy about the new Malibus. If the Volt is esstentially a Malibu with an electric drivtrain --- that will be a good thing.

What if Chevy goes into conservatorship? I really don't like bailouts, but the bailouts of the Big 3 could and should be the first step toward a new GREEN economy.

[flvegan]

32. I was, until they took it out of the reach of the average buyer. $40k?

Are you kidding me?

I'm happy that they're making it, I hope I'm wrong and they sell a million of them. I won't be one of the buyers, sorry.