JAN 08

It's a shame that the truly sincere target buyer will most likely not be able to afford it.

True, the initial price will be high (as are all introductory products, such as blue-ray), however the price will come down once economics of scale are applied as well as the maturity of the product (again, such as blue-ray)

Good to know the Volt is responsive and quiet. Those early video clips showing the car slowly creeping along with a loud hum left me with a bad first impression. Hope GM will still be on track for 2010 production.

4o grand for a Volt who are they kidding thats an 800 dollar a month car payment the Cadilac is only 52. They keep that up they will go under for sure.
Why two years? Large Capacitors capable of 250 amps are here, fast charging clean and relatvely cheap, you don't need the gas engine hybread at all.
WE NEED CHEAPER CARS THAT WE CAN FIX OURSELVES WITH STANDARD PARTS AND STANDARD TOOLS

Bad English. Wrong facts. The price of the Volt will be 30K, not 40K. If the Cadillac monthly car payment is 52 v. the volts 400, they the Cadillac would cost ~1/8th as much. Since when does Cadillac sell a $5K car (by your 40K figure)? Large Capacitors being able to supply 250 amps are not the factor here. They also have to be able to hold the power required to move the car. Amps are not power, they are current. The capacitors required do not yet exist. For a pure electric, as you seem to say they should build, you would need a way of recharging them away from home. Is there currently a way of doing so? Only if you buy gasoline or diesel and use a generator to recharge them. There is no vast distribution of electric charging statiions as there is with gas and diesel.

Finally, you say we need cheaper cars and ones we can fix ourselves and standard parts and tools. What does that have to do with building an electric car over a gasoline one?

Your post is written in poor English and phrased in such a way that it seems you want them to fail. Perhaps you are a foreigner who has a vested interest in seeing the US continue using oil? Say, someone from the middle east or China?

Woops, one math error. The cadilac would have to cost $2,600, not $5,000 for that payment information to be correct. I mistakenly used $400 for the monthly car payment instead of $800. Of course, this also assumes that an $800 monthly car payment is correct.

I'm pro-Volt when it comes to concept, but when it comes down to touting its "silence" as a pro we run into some major problems. Simply put silence is deadly; as pedestrians we rely on engine and gear noise to predict the distance and speed of oncoming cars around the bend, by eliminating all noise of the engine one drastically increases the probability of a collision with unaware people on foot and on bicycles. It has been proposed previously that an artificial sound chip be added to hybrids and electric vehicles to reduce this risk, but this seems like a waste of energy. Somehow though, be it a cowbell or speaker, some measure must be taken to protect the public.

The Volt is the car of the past. It would have been a success if it was launched a year ago. No one will buy this car while gasoline is $1.50 per gallon. Many years from now when gasoline prices start to increase there will be excellent electric cars available from foreign competitors.

@EV I appreciate you taking Lee down a notch (though I would think 15 year-old before I thought "foreign".) Generally good not to take car innovation tips from someone who talks about Hybreads.

And @Twist...it seemed odd to me that they talked about the silence as well. The production Volt will make noise...with speakers, actually. In fact, they've even talked about letting drives choose between several "engine noises." So, we can assume, it won't be deadly unless modified by the owner.

Though I agree with your other points Lee is correct regarding price. I'm not sure where you're getting $30k, GM has said the Volt will cost around $40k, GM employees have quoted the price around $40k, and the video above also said around $40k.

If you're referring to the proposed (maybe already effective?) tax credit - that really doesn't lower the price, only the consumer hit - and assuming you purchase within the time period.

Is it just me, or does the "Volt" not sound very appealing in terms of a name for a car? If I am going to buy a $40k car, at least the name should sound interesting.

There is a pledge on Cars at LayZgreenPeople.com, you might want to join, its an interesting way to green your existing car and habits.

Adding artificial engine noise for pedistrian safety is just ludicrous. This reminds me of when the automobile was introduced over a hundred years ago, some laws required a person to walk ahead of it with a flag to warn pedestrians of this strange but deadly horseless carriage. It was ridiculous then and is so today.
I live on a county highway, and my ear knows a car is coming by its tire noise. Many of the modern cars have such a good exhaust system, that the engine/exhaust noise is almost non-existent. It is the TIRE noise on a busy street that is heard.
If the speeds are so low that tire noise is low, then the safety is increased anyway due to the low speeds.
It is everyone's responsibility to look out for each other: the driver needs to be wary of pedestrians, and the pedestrians need to keep their "head on a swivel" and actively look for vehicles. For blind persons, they should NOT rely on engine noise for safety... there are better ways to cross a road than rely on hearing. What do we do with the blind/deaf persons??
The folly can just be strung out ad nauseum with more and more "safety laws", that do little for safety and just cost more and more money. Why not just install pedestrian airbags on the hood of every car? See how this craziness can just get out of hand?

I don't know what Bill is talking about. Gas isn't $1.50 a gallon. It's $1.75 and rising each day. Besides, if you're buying a hybrid or an electric car to save money on gas, then you're not a smart person. It takes years, if ever, to pay back the cost premium for hybrid and electric cars with the fuel savings. Only with gas at crazy $4.00+/gallon would some Prius owners come out ahead--if only the gas prices stayed like that for a few years. But they didn't.

People buy these kinds of cars for the technology, to use less gas, to reduce tail pipe emissions, for the image, and a whole host of other reasons beyond saving $$ at the pumps. And it'll be a while before a foreign maker introduces an electric car of the Volt's Caliber, and by then the Volt will be cheaper and more refined.

Get a clue.

The Volts "Target" Price is what GM says is "In the Neighborhood" of 40K.. I have heard that before! I will wager a totally "STRIPPED" Model will go for about 45K and by the time they add all the Bells and Whistles, the Price will be closer to 50K. I am not Against the Volt, but I will bet the only way you will see any on the road it will be driven by Corporations trying to make a "Green" Statement, the VERY wealthy, or the Hollywood Elite. This car is NOT for the Middle Class American, and despite what one will hope, the Price will NEVER dip more than a couple thousand dollars. In fact if GM upgrades the Battery Size, which they will be pressured to do, the cost most likely rise. The only way to bring the price down would be to put a smaller, lets say a 20 mile Battery, then you may see a 38-42K vehicle. These Lithium packs most likely will run tens of thousands of Dollars for the next 10 or perhaps 20 years! No doubt GM will sell every Volt Produced, but only the Rich, Corporations, and the People that have far more disposable income than most Middle Class Americans. I HOPE GM will sell Millions of them, but I suspect some other Manufacturer will Clone it and sell one in the lower 20K bracket. Then the concept will sell.