auggybendoggy June 12, 2008 Share auggybendoggy Member June 12, 2008 http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/ you guys see this. It's expected to hit the market. At least its the beginning to smart electric vehicles which will reduce our gas consumption. If we're gonna pay OUT THE NOSE for fuel at least lets make it clearn LOL! KEEP YOUR GAS MIDDDLE EAST !!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discom June 12, 2008 Share discom Member June 12, 2008 I predict that we will just start drilling for oil on mars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner June 12, 2008 Share Demoner Member June 12, 2008 (edited) LoL Discom. I was wondering when something like this was going to happen. Now when do they actually plan on having this car on the market and I wonder what kind of price you should expect to pay for it. Edit: Although we haven't said exactly when the Chevy Volt will come to market, we've set our internal targets to complete the vehicle by the end of 2010. Edited June 12, 2008 by Demoner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auggybendoggy June 17, 2008 Author Share auggybendoggy Member June 17, 2008 chevy had DUMPED tons of money into it and pulled like 600 engineers for it. Their release plan is for 2010. But who knows it might cost 50,000 buckeroos! Aug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie June 17, 2008 Share mookie GC Alumni June 17, 2008 How long before the first lithium-ion car battery blows up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner June 17, 2008 Share Demoner Member June 17, 2008 i wonder what their plan is to do with those lithium batteries once its time to for those cars to be taken off the road. are they planning on being able to recycle them for reuse or is it something else that is going to end up in a landfill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boiler June 17, 2008 Share boiler Member June 17, 2008 (edited) i wonder what their plan is to do with those lithium batteries once its time to for those cars to be taken off the road. are they planning on being able to recycle them for reuse or is it something else that is going to end up in a landfill. They're planning to throw them at Al Gore, then shout "Now what?" Edited June 17, 2008 by boilersax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auggybendoggy June 20, 2008 Author Share auggybendoggy Member June 20, 2008 I don't know what kind of battery the volt will use but my guess is it's lith. What ever the case it's a smart move of chevy to acknowledge an electric car does not have to go far on a battery. Very smart move on their behalf. Aug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew June 20, 2008 Share Brew Member June 20, 2008 it will never be released. they just wanna pretend to care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner June 21, 2008 Share Demoner Member June 21, 2008 it will never be released. they just wanna pretend to care lol, are you thinking back when they did this before than took away the cars and destroyed them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacher June 21, 2008 Share Preacher Member June 21, 2008 i wonder what their plan is to do with those lithium batteries once its time to for those cars to be taken off the road. are they planning on being able to recycle them for reuse or is it something else that is going to end up in a landfill. They're planning to throw them at Al Gore, then shout "Now what?" ROFL $50,000 wouldn't be that bad really. Considering if you use it only for commuting to work or what ever you'll save the difference in gas alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew June 22, 2008 Share Brew Member June 22, 2008 it will never be released. they just wanna pretend to care lol, are you thinking back when they did this before than took away the cars and destroyed them? yea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwEEziL June 22, 2008 Share dwEEziL Member June 22, 2008 I saw an add for this car recently: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auggybendoggy June 23, 2008 Author Share auggybendoggy Member June 23, 2008 Toyota and Honda are hot on the electric and fuel cell trail. I don't think Chevy is playing with this one. Perhaps you are right and it's just a ploy to buy some time for some other idea (piece of junk) they'll throw out on the market. But I tend to believe this one is real. IMHO GM has invested far too much to pull the plug on this one. I think their idea is profound and they know it. When everyone (toy, hond, dodge, ford) all have been trying to solve the electrical problem....A electric car can't go far enough for it to be taken seriously, GM thought..."what if we made it go short runs completely on electrical and long runs on gas". It's so simple and if they throw that thing on the market and devolope a car like the Aveo that is similar, they'll have a HOT HOT seller on their hands. Emptying the gas tank may be a problem however. From what I understand gas goes bad. It seperates in time and cannot be remixed??? I've been told that so I don't know if it's true. What ever the case in a couple years we'll find out. Aug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner June 23, 2008 Share Demoner Member June 23, 2008 I saw an add for this car recently: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/ I like the idea, I just wish it wasn't only in California... so I guess just means they get first chance to try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auggybendoggy June 24, 2008 Author Share auggybendoggy Member June 24, 2008 The clarity is a nice one too. The only drawback is this fuel cell stuff. If honda could do with this what they the volt does and extend the range from 50 to 100 miles THAT IS THE ANSWER : ) meaning the clarity would run 100 miles off battery and when the battery is low the fuel cell runs to generate power for the car and recharge the battery; all while maintaining clean emissions. AWSOME, plus for most driving (to work and home or around town) you wont hardly ever need the fuel cell recharged becuase your running 100 miles off the battery. now its keeping the cost of a battery down that will matter : ) Aug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner June 24, 2008 Share Demoner Member June 24, 2008 (edited) Sorry but I disagree Aug. Having a car that you plug in isn't really cutting back your emissions you put in the air. When you consider the energy to recharge your battery in your car is coming from most likely coal power plant. Sorry the only thing you did is change your expense from gas to coal and overall the two are pretty equal pollution wise. It might be the step in between getting the US away from supporting OPEC and the like but definitely by no means the answer. Another thought, I have is to have the government encourage more renewable resources for power. Or up their regulations on % required by X years. Electric battery car is a good idea if its getting all of its energy from renewable sources. Plus I must say this also would be a benefit to the industry I am currently working in power. Edited June 24, 2008 by Demoner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auggybendoggy June 28, 2008 Author Share auggybendoggy Member June 28, 2008 Demoner, You may be right. I am no expert in air quality management. It seems that having all cars run on zero gas and all electricity may have greater benefits, due to finding a new generator source. For example nuclear power is available if we wanted to. Though I'm not crazy about that Idea, there are different ways of using wind, ocean (like france using the tide), cleaner burning fuels to run the power plants. Just seems like there are possible alternatives (dump coal in other words). Aug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick July 8, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member July 8, 2008 (edited) Just wondering if you guys have been keeping up with the Volt news? I never actually noticed this post and I've been avidly reading about this thing since I saw it at a car show almost 2 years ago now. Here are some updates you may not know about: -They are definitely using Lithium Ion (for those of you that don't know--Lithium Ion is biodegradable unlike the Nickel Metal Hydride batteries in modern day hybrids) -The timeline is now set in stone. GM has approved and set an actual production date and they've already started to set aside assembly area -Prototypes have been built into Chevy Mailbus, and have been successfully tested meeting all of the performance requirements. That means the engine, batteries, and drive train are all squared away -Engineers say that now they're past the major stuff, they need to concentrate on reinventing the small things, i.e. windshield wipers that use significantly less power to run That's right, it's on like Donkey Kong, and GM is looking like it will beat the other manufacturers to the punch with this one. Even if Toyota comes out with their upgrade at about the same time for the Prius, the range is projected to be shorter (not using Lithium Ion) and it's going to cost A LOT. Also, FYI, the price should be just under $40k from the way things are looking now. See, the government incentive programs offer rebates to the manufacturers so that they would essentially be selling the car for $50k, but you'd be paying something more like $33 to $38 at the dealership. Not too shabby, eh? Not to mention YOU then get a tax break on top of that. Oh, and gas does break down, but I'm not sure how long it takes, and I'm curious as to whether or not the constant motion from the driving will keep the chemicals mixed. Gas will separate in an idle vehicle over the years, but it's sitting still and not constantly being agitated. Edited July 8, 2008 by [LaW]Maverick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner July 9, 2008 Share Demoner Member July 9, 2008 here's an interesting read of electric cars that will be going to Portugal http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articl...bf7.htm?cnn=yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick July 9, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member July 9, 2008 That is pretty interesting, but they seem...strangely quiet about details. I mean, if I were an automaker and facing the media juggernaut that the Volt is quickly becoming (well, there's new stories on the 'net about every 8 hours or so and hype will really take off in September), I'd leak as many details as I had to combat the Voltness. In other words, I'd be telling the press things like range, performance capabilities, and so on as well as showing pictures of prototypes even if they're just mock-ups. So what I'm really worried about is how far they've actually come on the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner July 9, 2008 Share Demoner Member July 9, 2008 No offense but I have the feeling the Volt isn't going to meet up to people expectations. I think it might be bust if it can't go farer than 40miles on a charge right now. I bet that wouldn't be a sufficient distance for most people driving to work cause you would still end up using gas. This technology is finally coming around to the demand too bad its a few years behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick July 10, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member July 10, 2008 No offense taken, however I tend to disagree. They are already getting a minimum of 40 miles on the prototype vehicles which are just the last body style of the Malibu with the Volt power plant. For me, now that I moved, the volt would mean I would rarely ever buy gas--only when I went on trips, that's it. I drive 18 miles to and from work round trip, before that I drove 38 except for a short period of time I was going 91. Even with a 91 mile commute, 40 miles of that would be battery. Ok, that means I go 51 miles on gasoline. With the volts tested mileage, that'd mean I'd consume a gallon of gas a day (right now they're getting 50 mpg out of the thing). That sure beats the living crap out of everything else on the road. When the Volt is running in "hybrid" mode, it's the most efficient of its kind. That is because the Volt's internal combustion engine doesn't power the wheels at all, it works solely as a generator to keep the batteries charged and the system running--that's it. So there's not spikes in efficiency because the motor runs steady. It's an ingenious design, and I feel comfortable telling all of you this because they have working prototypes for the engine and battery set ups that already achieve their targets. Do I think the Volt will come out? Yes, I'm about 90% sure it will launch. The 10% is because GM might run out of money before 2010 if they don't do things very carefully. Do I think it will be all they promised? Yup, because it already works. Do I think it will come out ON TIME? That's my biggest worry--if they're even a little late with the thing, it would kill the company--the proverbial last nail in the coffin. That's why they built a whole building to house the project. When asked why they built the building and pulled so many engineers GM said that they didn't want them to be distracted by ANYTHING. When they stop to stand by the water-cooler, their only interaction should be with other people working on the Volt and they should talk about the Volt when they're doing it. It makes sense and is a sound plan--hopefully they don't screw it up. Oh, and as soon as there's a waiting list for one of these puppies, I'm signing up. It gets decent performance specs (instant torque from the electric drive) and is efficient as all get out (not to mention it looks sweet). As long as GM stays on track, I think this car will make the Prius fad look like the pet rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner July 10, 2008 Share Demoner Member July 10, 2008 http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fort....071008.fortune cars like this make me disagree granted these will probably cost a bit more than the Volt but all electric. A little disappointed they didn't talk more about how far you can go but still shows how the car industry is behind and how a few guys managed to make a sports car that is all electric.... now why are these new "electric" cars by GM going to need gas? Yeah if all electric cars dont have 100% torque there is something wrong because they are electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick July 10, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member July 10, 2008 (edited) Teslas have been out for a few years. They're sweet, but only 2 doors and they cost $95,000: http://www.teslamotors.com/ The goal of the Tesla project is to first sell the car as a rich guy toy, then, if they can sell enough of them, mass produce them for significantly less. The Volt, on the other hand, should come in just under 40k. Why can't they make it all electric and give it a 200 mile range? I have no idea except the technology to do so seems to be incredibly expensive. Oh, and in case you didn't know, GM is still developing their fuel cell technology (all be it without as much fervor as they should have) and they are making the generator engine in the Volt modular. In other words, they're hoping that once they get the fuel cells ready for the market, they'll be able to literally swap the internal combustion engine out of the Volt and slap in a fuel cell generator that will connect to the electric motor. Seems like a good idea to me, though I can see why you're skeptical. I think that fuel cells are a more viable answer than the electric car, and I'm rooting for those. However, if vehicles like the Volt take over for a while, we'll be miles closer to the goal than we are now. Oh, and even with the EXTREMELY limited production rate of the Tesla, there's still a waiting list. I hope GM doesn't make the same bloody mistake with the Volt. Incidentally, if you want to watch a pretty sweet video on the Tesla: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_...html?vid=229378 Edited July 10, 2008 by [LaW]Maverick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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