They're on their way back. If you actually look at the models they've come out with and are still developing you can see it. IMO they're in much better shape than Ford.

6/12/2008 11:41:42 AM

toyota and honda will have had hybrid car models for 10 years by the time the volt is released.

Are you really in denial that they short funded engineering directed towards a growing sector of automobiles (hybrids) to get immediate gains on the SUV craze?



[Edited on June 13, 2008 at 12:30 AM. Reason : .]

6/13/2008 12:29:32 AM

gg chevy

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/19/chevy-volt-plug-in-hybrid-priced-at-40-000/

6/19/2008 3:21:07 PM

^^so what. We get it, you hate GM. But a sales slump of SUVs and increasing demand for hybrids has very little to do with the real reason GM's been in financial trouble for a while. Good lord you're nothing but a broken record.

^its more expensive than regular hybrid tech, are you surprised? Toyota and Honda already lose money on every hybrid they make.

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 3:29 PM. Reason : k]

6/19/2008 3:28:32 PM

it looks similar to a $40k caddy =)

technology doesnt come cheap, people.

If you want a cheap hibrid, consider TATA's "FartCar"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7241909.stm

6/19/2008 3:33:57 PM

You know, GM's shares are really down right now (<$15). I'm thinking about buying a little chunk of them and holding on for a while...

6/19/2008 3:38:15 PM

yeah seriously, soon as I get some extra cash to invest GMs on my mind.

6/19/2008 4:46:27 PM

[quote]so what. We get it, you hate GM.[quote]

I've never once said I hate GM. None of my posts said that. You wanted me to say "gm sucks". I said their management poorly focused their engineering staff. It's not like I went out on a limb, look at their fucking product line.

You're just like every other Honda fan boy. You want to appear unbiased (by backing GM, I mean come on dude) but we all know you would give your left fucking testicle if Honda designed any vehicle even remotely classed to compete with BMW (Read : inline 6 / turbo, RWD).

6/19/2008 6:00:55 PM

ok so you hate GM, love BMW, and cant figure out how to quote..

we get it

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 6:08 PM. Reason : sarcasm]

6/19/2008 6:08:37 PM

6/19/2008 6:14:59 PM

I don't know why you finger me a Honda fanboy. I'm not and I haven't shown any bias towards them.

Geez, now I know how C&Der feel.

6/19/2008 6:46:12 PM

Whatev. The only thing that's kept me from buying a hybrid so far is that there is no solution out there with any kind of style. This beauty will change that for me.

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 10:44 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2008 10:44:20 PM

high gas prices and current state of li-ion battery technology got things moving. looks like a few startups jumping on the electric car deal. open-wheel roadster, sport sedan, pickup truck, castrated airplane, and a 3-wheeled enclosed scootercycle - id say we'll be seeing some diversity. i'd keep my fingers crossed, since this category is known for not following through from concept to production.






all this according to the communits news network http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0806/gallery.electric_cars_now/index.html

6/28/2008 3:53:02 PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/14/gm-releasess-new-production-volt-teasers/

8/14/2008 8:18:37 PM

I have to admit that if the Volt ends up being everything it's cracked up to be, I will seriously consider buying one. My commute to work is short enough that I could easily get there and back on one battery charge.. Ultimately it could pay for itself.

8/14/2008 8:45:40 PM

it looks like they are building panels for it like american choppers.

no wonder this shit falls apart

8/15/2008 7:11:35 AM

I get that people want less gas and less airborn polutants, but no one seems concerned with the environmental impact and long term cost of batteries and battery manufacture. I don't intend on buying a hybrid purely because of that. I mean look at the aftermath of farming for the nickel to make current technology batteries

8/15/2008 7:29:45 PM

^ yep. i have convinced my dad that it's a bad idea. you can recycle batteries, but you still have the most toxic parts that can't be reprocessed left.

8/15/2008 7:44:22 PM

I wish they'd get that dang venture1 on the road. I've been on the "buyer" list now forever it feels like.

8/15/2008 10:29:46 PM

^^^ Well, if you read into that more, that's a site that's been a mine for well over a century, that had shoddy environmental standards (because nobody gave a fuck until later on in the 20th century), and that is now improving its standards quite a bit. The site is a wasteland simply because it's been treated like shit for so long.

^^ Nuclear power has a similar problem.

8/15/2008 10:57:37 PM

Quote :

"Nuclear power has a similar problem."

true...but the amount of power generated versus the amount of waste is higher than it is with batteries (i think)

8/16/2008 8:58:24 AM

^ yes, that's why i don't mind nuclear. how i feel about reprocessing that is a different topic altogether.

honda is releasing a prius killer soon. in the $20,000 range. if i EVER considered something like that, it would most likely be a honda. ya gotta wonder though, why they would release something that would be cheaper than their civic hybrid?

8/16/2008 12:02:00 PM

^^ I'm just saying that emerging technology might not be super clean and we already live with some toxic waste that we're hoping future technology will be able to treat/reduce with some success.

I'm not a big fan of everybody buying cars that leave around toxic shit that'll probably get sent to India one day for some ghetto recycling, but it is an important step in vehicle design to have cars that can operate off of multiple fuel sources and that increase overall efficiency in how they use those fuels. There will always be people who object/protest stuff for some batshit crazy reason, and I'd like to at least give cars like this a chance before shooting them down as biosphere-killing crapwagons.

8/16/2008 1:09:11 PM

Quote :

"ya gotta wonder though, why they would release something that would be cheaper than their civic hybrid?"

hum maybe bc they could sell a shit ton of them?

just a guess

8/16/2008 1:22:36 PM

yeah that and 60mpg instead of the prius' 40 is all good too.

8/16/2008 1:54:29 PM

Quote :

"ya gotta wonder though, why they would release something that would be cheaper than their civic hybrid?"

also, IIRC, the new car is less in the way of performance and styling (i mean, the prius isn't exactly pretty, but it's pretty aerodynamic)...you buy the new car for mileage only, not for pretty or even minimal performance (comparatively)

8/16/2008 9:31:43 PM

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/07/29/2009-honda-hybrid-system-cost-to-be-cut-in-half/

8/17/2008 12:59:12 AM

^ very niiice

8/17/2008 1:12:11 AM

http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx/

8/17/2008 8:54:04 AM

do you realize how expensive NGV vehicles are to fuel? yeah, my heating bills are expensive enough without having to add a fill station onto my house line and worry about people trying to steal my shit.

it takes 16 hours to refill an almost empty tank. 220-250 miles on one tank. wow that's bad.

heating bill in winter: $150.

w/NGV vehicle?: $450.

gasoline is still more cost efficient and i'd rather drive a 60mpg diesel.

8/17/2008 12:09:42 PM

Quote :

"I'm just saying that emerging technology might not be super clean and we already live with some toxic waste that we're hoping future technology will be able to treat/reduce with some success."

we can already reprocess more that 95% of the bad stuff out of nuclear waste

8/17/2008 12:15:17 PM

which france does, we're just too afraid to do because we don't want weapons grade plutonium powering out homes

8/17/2008 1:51:49 PM

which after about 30 days in a rector there is too much Pu-240 to use it to make a weapon

8/17/2008 2:11:34 PM

Quote :

"we can already reprocess more that 95% of the bad stuff out of nuclear waste"

Which is exactly why we shouldn't look at this new vehicle technology as a bad thing. It's just something that has to be regulated a bit so that companies/mechanics/assholes don't dispose of it in a landfill and so it gets sent to a storage facility. Part of the cost of maintaining that facility can simply be factored into the price of the car and nobody ever had to worry about it. Drives me nuts that people just love to freak out about shit due to scaremongering people with nothing better to do (about nuke power, cars, and whatever else is out there).

8/17/2008 5:57:11 PM

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/03/revealed-volksw.html

thoughts? even tho we'll probably never see it...

i'm still waiting for them to bring over the Polo

8/18/2008 3:08:03 PM

^ yeah, good luck ever seeing it HERE...also, NiMH battery? i thought most of the hybrids used Li-ION batteries since they were lighter and smaller (albeit more expensive) for the same capacity and better recharge times

8/19/2008 8:50:23 AM

Production version seen.

Reader Spy: Chevy Volt caught on set of Transformers 2
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/28/reader-spy-chevy-volt-caught-from-the-beltline-up/

Spy Shot: Production interior of Chevy Volt (maybe)
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/28/spy-shot-chevy-volt-interior-maybe/

8/29/2008 2:02:55 AM

what is it, classified as a minivan now?

maybe the pics are really bad, or they had to go for usual compromises due to the production costs and safety, but that production car looks a shitton gayer. even
saying it now looks like a scion would be a compliment.

gg GM thanks for going through with the deal, but why? didn't learn on the Aztec i guess

and BTW it suppposed to look 'cpensive if yall gonna go through with the price hike.

8/29/2008 1:57:33 PM

First Official Images of Production Chevy Volt Leak Out

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080908.017/first-official-images-of-production-chevy-volt-leak-out

9/8/2008 7:58:18 PM

hey dickhead, that happened last week.

9/8/2008 8:01:31 PM

You are wrong.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/AUTO01/809080428/1148/rss25

And learn some manners.

9/8/2008 8:27:32 PM

Quote :

"i thought most of the hybrids used Li-ION batteries since they were lighter and smaller (albeit more expensive) for the same capacity and better recharge times"

you thought wrong. do you know the price difference between NiMH and Lithium Ion? it's quite a bit more. just compare the price of a NiMH AA to one made of Li-ion. as an example, the prius would have exceeded $30k base if it used li-ion, which is quite a bit more than the $24k base price.

9/8/2008 9:26:56 PM

why do they always make the efficient ones look like shit.. Jesus Detroit do you really want to go bankrupt?




to



[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 9:38 PM. Reason : wtf]

9/8/2008 9:37:16 PM

Quote :

"you thought wrong. do you know the price difference between NiMH and Lithium Ion? it's quite a bit more. just compare the price of a NiMH AA to one made of Li-ion. as an example, the prius would have exceeded $30k base if it used li-ion, which is quite a bit more than the $24k base price."

fair enough, then...am i at least right in my understanding that li-ion is a more efficient battery, even if it's more expensive?

Quote :

"why do they always make the efficient ones look like shit.. Jesus Detroit do you really want to go bankrupt?"

i don't think they do it intentionally, nor do i think that they have a large range of options...the reason these cars are so efficient is because they're highly aerodynamic (look at the prius...they can't even add a sunroof to it because the pitch of the roof can't be modified enough to allow it without hurting the aerodynamics and damaging the efficiency)

or so i've heard...i'm by no means an expert

9/8/2008 9:46:20 PM

Hahahaha

This will be a greater failure than the EV1.

I'm actually a little saddened.

9/8/2008 10:07:26 PM

9/8/2008 10:35:27 PM

^HONDA did it!

Quote :

"fair enough, then...am i at least right in my understanding that li-ion is a more efficient battery, even if it's more expensive?"

yes. too bad it isn't cost effective.

9/8/2008 10:49:04 PM

They made it look kind of like the cross between an acura and a toyota prius with some of the normal GM styling cues.

It'll probably be a hit with their loyal customers. At its price point though, people could just go buy a prius.

9/8/2008 10:53:34 PM

^^then why the hell did they make the concept look badass. Just setting themselves up.

This "production" version looks smooth and thick. Good? No

^oh if you're comparing it to the Prius it looks awesome! The Prius is trash

[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 10:56 PM. Reason : fuck the Prius]

9/8/2008 10:55:18 PM

If you're going to complain an aerodynamic vehicle designed around efficient fuel consumption is ugly you may as well complain about how slow it is.

Have you guys ever engineered anything in your lives?

9/9/2008 8:03:44 AM