Comments on: Captured Chevy Volt photos show updated look

Production versions of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, showing a different design than the concept car, are picked up from the GM Web site but then are pulled by GM.

[mel_inc]

Here's another 'fitting' example of GM design (yes this thing was actually being sold in the last couple years):

http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=10200811

[stlwest]

For $40,000 from what I've heard. I think Toyota can re-work it's Prius into a Plug in for $30,000 and will soon be buying GM after it's liabilities fall off in a few years. Anyway I guess we've got to wait and see, that car looks like a Honda to me.....

[txag98]

The volt concept was a very exciting car to me and I was planning on buying one... this thing looks like yet another ho-hum economy car which is, frankly, quite boring.

[diddleupdrs]

Why can't compact car manufacturer's come up with a totaly electric car that can get milage out of there batteries like testa and the new british lighting GT are boosting about at around 200 miles on a 3.5 hour charge instead of 40 miles on a 8-15 hour charge and speeds at 130-135 mph instead of 40-75 mph.
I'm beginning to think the electric companies are getting in cahoots with the car companies like the gas companies were & still are. Putting in charging stations like parking meters all over the country so every 40 miles you have to stop and pay to get home or go further, that's a joke. You should be able like the testla but cheaper go 100 miles out and 100 miles back. You should have to pay 300,000 to get a car that will take you to work and home if you live in the valley and work on the coast.

[skrubol]

Not to defend GM, but the Tesla is a 2-seater, which costs about 2.5x as much as the Volt. The volt also has the weight of a gas engine/generator. The Tesla probably has about $30,000 of batteries in it.
Unlike gas vehicles, overpowered electric vehicles (like the tesla) don't necessarily get worse mileage. Electric motors get less efficient as you push them harder. The motors in the tesla could actually run more efficiently than in the Volt, the only drawback (to efficiency) is the extra weight of the larger motors.

[mirmillion]

Things they have done right:
1. Lithium Ion Batteries (A123 Systems designed I hope),
2 Plug-in with small gas engine (presumably will convert to E85 or whatever)
3. Respectable overall range, depending on fuel consumption.

Things that they have done wrong:
1. Bland package - hope interior, at least, has iPod connect or USB pug-in
2. Featured their design-build team (although all very presentable)
3. Quoted no performance specs - why do it?? Because 400 Mi on a tank is, again, bland.
4. Quoted no cost of operation.
5. Price seems like first mover penalty - get real, don't try to replace SUV profits with this car.

[jemiller0]

GM did the right thing. The original car was impractical. IMHO, they need to bring the price down so that it's comparable to that of the Prius.

[VoltDude]

The concept car looked like it could an addition to the Corvette line.

The redesign looks like an anemic off-the-shelf Cobalt with a dead battery.

How can GM grab defeat right out of the jaws of success??

[liveoilfree]

The VOLT has nothing to do with GM's finances or future. It's all a show and a shuck. Even if GM produces a few hundred of them, it won't be generally available (as GM testified to the NHTSB re: meeting mpg standards).

GM will sabotage it, just as GM sabotaged the EV1 with defectice GM-Delco batteries.

If anyone wanted to make an EV, they could do it now; non of this "wait for 2011" stuff, GM is STILL SUPPRESSING THE EV1 TODAY, volunteer engineers restored a gutted, museum copy and were told to keep it off the streets, that GM doesn't want it revived.

So for those who believe in the fantasy of the VOLT, keep on dreaming!! It's about as effective as trying to make icecubes in a blast furnace!!

GM is still not telling the truth about the EV1, and still insisting on inferior, short-lived and much more expensive unproven Lithium batteries.

Whereas, Nickel Metal Hydride or lead-acid are the proven, succesful EV batteries. There are thousands of EVs already built with 40 miles range, that's NOTHING. Just add range-extender, and it's an instant VOLT. So what's so special about the VOLT that makes it impossible for GM to do it??

LOL!

[skrubol]

The problem with the EV1 wasn't a conspiracy, or that it was artificially killed so much as that it sucked as a car. It was tiny, expensive and had limited range. It had close to 1000 lbs of batteries in the NiMH version, and more in the lead-acid version.
Li-ion batteries have, at worst 2x the energy density of NiMH and 4x the energy density of lead acid. They are also about 95% charge efficient, as compared to only around 66% for NiMH and around 80% for lead acid.
It is completely impossible to build a practical electric car with NiMH or lead acid batteries. The batteries simply cannot power their own weight far enough.

[cnetjunkie]

Wow... can't believe all the negativity. I'm beginning to suspect these are a bunch of Ford posters... I actually like the looks. The concept car was a concept car... this is a production car that looks a whole lot better than a typical domestic... to me anyway. Yes, there are other all electrics that look much, much better... But kudos to GM for making the first plug-in for the masses... BIG KUDOS!

You all need to quit your whining and realize that at least GM is doing something meaningful to help move the country to energy independence. Again, big kudos to GM for taking the lead with this vehicle!

[tyrantking31]

How to kill an electric car;

Step 1: Make it ugly. Check

Step 2: Make it $40,000+. Check

Nice.

[mf1048576]

OMG THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY LAME AND UGLY. I AGREE, THEY DESERVE TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS. ALSO, I WOULD NEVER PAY 40K FOR THIS CAR. IF IT WERE NOT ELECTRIC I WOULD VALUE IT AT 15K SO LETS SAY THE BATTIES ARE 30K OF THE VALUE. ALSO, WHAT DOES IT COST TO REPLACE THEM? NOT EVEN WORTH IT. I WOULD PAY NOT TO BE SEEN IN THAT DISGUSTING THING!!

[SpinozaQ]

Just 1/8th of an inch.... That's the total distance you have to move the little finger on your left hand to the left.... So you don't present yourself as a moron.

[Mike1300]

I don't like the looks of this at all. On the Chevy volt web site GM has asked if we would buy a Volt. I always said Yes. That Yes was based on the concept car GM would show on all of it's info about the Volt. If they promoted the production model I doubt anyone would would have said they wanted it. Sure it's an electric car but... you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig!

[11right]

I was looking forward to buying the Volt in 2010, The vehicle had appeal and a sports car look. Now it looks like a Civic or a Cirrus. With all the consumer research GM should know that although people want high MPG's, they also want a car with style - that's what separated the Volt from a Prius. The new Volt model may have gained additional aerodynamics boosting it MPG's by a small percentage but in the process lost half or more of its style - not a good trade-off. I'm disappointed it new model, but I'm still willing to take a look at it and take it for a test drive. I believe GM lost the high-end consumer on this one and I'm not sure what will be their base.