Comments on: Electric Chevy Volt debuts with lofty ambitions

At its centennial party, GM unveils the production Chevy Volt, an electric car that can reach 100 mph and be driven for less than a dollar a day.

[lobo1967]

Here in the Northeast, electricity costs about $0.19 per KW which means it will be $1.44 to recharge it. Also we are suffering from a lack of power now, so we had better start building some nuclear plants now so they will be ready to power all these electric things in 2025. (They may not be able to build AND APPROVE them that fast.) but time will tell.
PS What ever happened to the cars being powered by induction coupled motors with wires in the roads such was written in Colliers magazine and Popular Science around 1955? Oh -- I forgot--They can't even PAVE the roads without the induction system or the automatic de-icing with electric heaters!!!

[Nutcase2]

I am really surprised that this post drew so many experts on automotive design. With all of this talent around, why aren't we leading the world in this industry? Perhaps I miss the points of what transportation is and whether we should try to take steps beyond the internal combustion engine.

On another point, it seems quite a bit less than a year ago that I read where GM was still working to develop batteries that wouldn't be a fire hazard. I don't recall hearing of a breakthrough since.

[bob1xxxx]

Honestly Im glad gm change the volt from the silly not design for humans concept car to a more pratical form factor (ie can hold for people and has a trunk of grocerys or luggage) . Unlike the completly impratical tesla (nice if your Verne Troyer and his rent a date), GM designing a car for real people with real world needs. So I really dont care if it looks like a Malbu (which isnt that horrible of car) So what really going to make or break the car is gas prices and if it realiable or not. The actual price of the car itself will be a issue if were still in a bad recession in 2010 then el cheapo high mileage yaris econo boxes will stil be ruling the day. Who know but it is nice that GM first new plug in will be a pratical design that will have some chance of selling decent number and not a roller skate with a battery like the tesla 200000.00 pratical jokes.

[wmclover]

The only way the United States can hope to become energy independent from the use of foreign oil and stop the outflow of billions of dollars to unfriendly foreign dictatorships is to switch to electric plug-in automobiles. Forty miles a day at the speed limit is sufficient for most of us to commute to work and perform daily errands. If you can plug in at work, that mileage goes up to 80 mpd. Like all innovations, that mileage range will improve over time. The price of oil will sky rocket as demand increases for the growing middle classes in China, India, Russia, etc. Plug ins are the future and several foreign companies will have plug in cars available within the next two years. Most American cars are replaced after 7 years, so if the Volt and other new plug ins work, the federal government will have to mandate the switch for our economic survival.

Our public transportation should convert to natural gas. Engines should be developed for our trucks to convert commercial use to hydrogen. Our commercial buildings will need to be powered by solar or hydrogen generators. Green and energy independence work together.

[tipoo_]

So I just read a news story about the Volt that said that GM decided to use LG battery cells instead of A123 cells.


Does anyone else wonder why battery manufacturer is simply called A123?

- "So what do we name our new company?"
- "Oh I dunno, how about BattTek?"
- "No, that makes us sound like we manufacture Batman's entire line of equipment."
- "Well, I'm out of ideas. How about we just call it A123... like all my passwords."