JAN 07

Chevy...welcome to the game. It's about time. I've been a Chevy driving Texan my whole life and now we're talking about the right kind of technology for the future. Nice stories Hank.

I wish it would show up in 5 years. But there was that little caveat (mentioned in the NYT article) about the battery technology not being there yet. I'm guessing 10, which I admit is a very depressing number.

My first new car was a Prius, in October 2001. 74,000 miles and I'm still a proud owner. Sure, there have been a few recalls, but I haven't had to pay for any of them.

I'll get more information on that five years figure, but I'm not sure if it's too far off. The Sunday Times reported "By the end of the decade" but I don't know where the heck they got that information.

I'm pretty sure that Toyota will have a plugin hybrid out before this comes out. Honda likely will as well. Chevy is playing catchup and this little announcement is just to make us not give up on them.

I'm all in favor of a plug-in hybrid (I've been driving a Prius for six years), but some thought should be given to the power plant that will drive such a car. Is it a coal-fired plant or electricity generated by a wind-turbine or ...? Breaking the gas/oil habit in our vehicle fleet is crucial, but we still need to ensure that the electricity used to power plug-ins is produced in an evironmentally sound way.

Actions speak louder than words (or pictures, or concept cars). GM is late ... so let's hope they put their pretty picture on the road.

^^to Carolyn

While electric motors still essentially have a tail pipe at the coal-fired power plant, the power plant is a lot more efficient than the gasoline engine. Lots of studies show that electric cars get much more miles per ton of CO2 emitted. The Tesla Roadster, for instance, emits the equivalent of a 135-mpg gas engine, according to the EPA.

Think about it... the electric companies have always had an economic motive to make their technology more efficient, they buy the coal. The car companies have had no economic motive (aside from recent consumer demand); they don't have to pay for the fuel.

I've always wondered about the environmental trade-offs between a gas-engine and a plug-in, but hadn't run across any numbers on that before. Thanks for filling me in! I'll keep my fingers crossed that our domestic car companies finally start offering the kinds of solutions that a lot of us are looking for. Even if they don't, I suspect Japan will soon...

All gas cars I've ever seen use the engine coolant to heat the car, what does an all electric car do? My best guess would be to run the AC "backwards" such as home air-conditioner systems do

Inspiring but it's already being accomplished by Tesla Motors. I hope it doesn't take Chevy 10 years to achieve something that wil released next year by a bunch of Silicon Valley geeks.

Still doesn't beat the GM EV1. Using today's battery technology that thing could get a 300-mile range. The oil companies just don't want to be cut out of the game.

now we can build more power plants to produce the electricity to power the 'clean' cars. Woo Hoo.

The Tesla is a niche car, priced at over $100,000, and the car still only goes about 100 miles on a charge. The Volt hopes to be the price of any mid-size vehicle, around $20,000, with a range of 600 miles on a tank of gas, and 40 miles on a battery charge. The difference is very significant. Not that the roadster isn't goddam cool...it is, and GM is taking notes for certain. But pure electrics aren't quite feasible yet in the American market, but the Volt is definitely better on the environment than tradtional hybrids, so I'm all for it.

We had a EM1 and it was cool at first, we though we were doing something great for the environment and all... In the end that was purely masturbatory. The car was a total drag to drive, especially during our hot summers. Running the air conditioner (and radio) cut our battery life in half. Mapping your driving so that you didn't drive too far from home was a huge issue... We were so glad to get rid of that hunk of junk...

I wonder how many people would sell the modular ICE engine and add batteries to the car instead. It might be a good trade off if you can get a couple grand for the gas engine and use that money to buy more batteries to the equivalent cost, or weight of the gas engine. It might kill the range, which is unlimited with the generator installed, but it would make for a sweet fully electric car.

I've built my own EV, which I intend to charge from solar cells, eventually. But I'm committed to buying the first plug-in hybrid on the market that'll hold my family (five people) and get at least 40 miles on pure electric. I don't care which car company does it. I'm going to be an early adopter in this case.

Comment to Omar,

The difference between the Volt and the EV1 is that Volt has an engine so that if you happen to drive a distance in excess of the battery capacity you have a way of getting home.

This car is a big deal. It will be like the ipod..accepted and purchased by the masses. It will arrive.
There's a new enthusiast website:
http://www.gm-volt.com

I don't see how electric cars help the environment. What we need are more efficient cars whatever fuel they run on. We need drive smaller vehicles, drive them less, share transport more and choose more fuel efficient vehicles.

Electric cars just help to clean the air in the cities and transfer the pollution to the power plants that nobody wants to live near.......which forces the power plants further from cities and makes them less efficient.

I'd much prefer to see people getting excited about more fuel efficient vehicles that run on old-fashioned gasoline than on these electric cars.

The problem is not that we are using gasoline or diesel or coal. The problem is that we're using so much of it so quickly.

Solar panels are not magic either. They require a lot of energy to build and don't last forever.

It seems to me that the biggest impact we can make by far is by reducing our use of energy, and the fastest and easiest and surest way of doing so is by improving fuel efficiency, not by changing fuels.

I know it's semantics, but there's no such thing as an electric "engine", it's a motor!

And my sensors tell me that it's the bullshit alarm that's going off. Do any of you actually think that this car will be built in such a way that allows the driver to (theoretically) never purchase a tank of gasoline? Do you think the big-oil corporations and the big-oil government will allow that to happen? Call me cynical if you will, but I highly doubt this car will every be produced en masse.

I know it's semantics, but there's no such thing as an electric "engine", it's a motor!

erm nope its a "prime mover" in engineering

but what is the environmental impact of manufacturing the batteries ??

For more Volt discussion, please see the Volt Yahoo Group at
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/chevyvolt/

I agree with Steve. This may be bullshit. Just a deperate attempt to get all the EV1/green activists off GM's back. I hope that's not the case. Go watch the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car". Big oil OWNS GM. Big oil owns us too. I would love to see this car in showroom, sign me up.

This car sems to have it all, if they sold one I would buy it. And for those that say we just would need more power plants, it has been said that if everyone drove electric cars and all elecrticity came from coal plants it would produce 1/3 to 1/2 the co2. So if you put solar pannels on your roof, or your power comes from hydro electric like were I live, that would go a long way to reducing co2 released into the atmosphere.

THey never should have stopped production of the EV-1 :(
it was an excellent car and they should have made the 4 door 4 person model and that may have saved it, in addition to saving it they should have made more charging stations across the country

I would gladly buy an all electric vehicle, but when you run out of batteries and use a gas generator to propel yourself you are in a world of hurt. Will the emissions from these generators be held up to current vehicle emissions standards or will they be rated like the generator you have in the garage for power outages? I think that with the push for hybrid and electric vehicles, the latter case would be true. When you burn gas to generate electricity you have losses. the generator running around 30% to convert the energy in the fuel to mechanical work, the generator converting this work to electricity at around 80%, storing the energy in batteries 92% (consider rechargeable batteries as a leaky bucket) then transferring the electricity back to mechanical work with the motor 80%. So 0.3x0.8x0.92x0.8=.1824 or 18% efficiency. My standard Honda civic 1.5L with its 1993 technology gets 40-42MPG without all the strings of batteries, motors, regenerative braking, etc. Lets try something, take the electric vehicle, remove all the electric vehicle components and put a gas engine in it geared for the load and see what we can do. I guess I am just a frustrated engineer who cannot invission the future or wishes his hybrid qualified for the rebates, afterall a standard car will propel itself on the starter before the engine comes on. Think about it, let the clutch out while you are cranking, we are all driving hybrids now

If one wants the eco-friendliest way to get around, one should ride around in a horse-srawn buggy. And that's not technology. I'm glad that Chevy is working on giving me a another choice in alternative transportation.

I applaud GM for even trying but this is either a novice attempt or a distraction. Lutz admitted they are in new territory, so maybe the Tesla people were right for now that car companies know cars, not electronics.

Most of their efforts seem to be to keep the ICE engine no matter what, ie hybrid, E85 flex fuel etc. Everyone needs to realize that translates into gas ICE.

If you buy a E85 flex fuel vehicle and you live in say nevada, where you gonna get the ethanol mix, Iowa. If you drive more than 40 miles in your volt your back to gas again. This thing is a joke compared to an all electric. Electricity can be produced by so many sources that is the only true flex fuel, and it is available everywhere. It is way cleaner to produce even with coal than everyone in an individual ICE car.

In the Volt you got an electric motor with battery pack, a gasoline turbo ICE with 2 small gas tanks, a diesel generator. I've got a left over sink from a remodel I can throw in there. How many things can go wrong with this thing ?

The point is, the beauty of all electric is simplicity, maintenence free, effeciency and performance. With this car, all of that goes away and that is part of the cost. People with all electrics change the tires, that's it.

I know that Tesla and others current production cars are more in price, but that has to do with the current model and it's target market(Tesla roadster $100,000 but goes 0-60 in 4 seconds, 250 mile range per charge, awesome styling) They are working on a BMW type sdn that is around 50K that will compete with it and then a lower price comp to the camry/accord etc. My point is that they are doing it now. By the way, the Tesla roadster 100K, is less or around the same as most serious sports cars in price with similar styling but kicks there butts in performance. Ya some might say it doesn't have the top speed of a gas model, but who is going over 130mph. I'd rather have a 0-100 mph car than a +130 car. At least the performance is useable. Check out Wright Speed on google, or Tzero or White Zombie etc etc, all electric cars kick butt in the 0-100 mph 1/4 mile range.

The reality is the technology is there. The ones who are keeping it from us is the major car companies, who unlike Tesla, have the major production capabilities now. They are either unwilling or afraid. Either way that is BS excuse in my view and Un-American as well.

Good luck wherever we end up..

What I don't get is, why did the EV-1 electric car go more than 100 miles per charge with the Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries, and that ten years ago. yet today, GM keeps talking about 40miles per charge in all electric mode, with a more advanced Lithium Ion Battery that cannot achieve even half that distance without first starting the Liquid Fuel Engine. I don't buy it. My Toyota Prius Hybrid gets more than 50 miles per gallon, GM says they want to be at the top of the Automotive game, yet all they do is make promises without actually giving the consumer anything they can buy today. The Saturn Vue Green Line, GM's latest Hybrid Technology is not even a Full Hybrid. It's a stop start Hybrid. thus the minimal fuel saving benefits of the Vue Green line. GM wants to compete with the New Automotive Leader, yet they make nothing to compete with the now distant leaders product, the Toyota Prius. I've achieved, from 50 up to 74 miles per gallon in my Prius Hybrid. What does GM have on the road today that competes with the Prius? Nothing. Talk Talk Talk. Boring, GM. You made the EV-1, you crushed it for one reason, you made the car too well(actually you commissioned Aero Vironment). it didn't ever need maintenance, thus your dealerships couldn't make money maintaining them. You want to push Hydrogen, but the cost of Hydrogen will be near $10(up to $20)(and still being produced using and from fossil fuels) per equivalent gallon of gasoline. what's the point. And why are you always fighting against higher fuel efficiency in a court of law. Why? if you care so much about our Planet, Our World, it's been one hundred years of Automotive Business as usual for you. I'm just grateful I have the choice of buying a car that today, redefines the Automotive industry. And that race is lead by Toyota. And as of right now, I can't even imagine GM, Ford, Chrysler doing much better than you are now. I would wish you luck but I wouldn't mean it. I'm sorry you've chosen to be so dishonest in your business practices. as you can see, you're paying the price. no longer is the consumer.

GM needs to stop doing back of the envelope calculations. 68 years? come on most chevs rust out in 25 years. 600 miles on a tank huh? Other sites quote the tank size as being a 12 gallon tank. miles per gallon is calulated as miles divided by gallons, so 600/12= 50! so where did 60 come from? a brand new vw passat diesel acheives 47 with less maintenance. oh yah and has more weight capacity, higher resale and a bigger fuel tank so you can go 200 miles further down the road. what sort of milage will we get when we turn on the heater or the AC or will we be starting the ENGINE to use those features?
I am waiting for the VW Rabbit hybrid. Yes they are working on it.

Say waht you will, but the Volt is pretty amazing and frankly with a price point below the Prius, I'd rather be driving the Volt. I saw a few videos here http://www.chevy-volt.net and think it is a pretty nice ride

I would love to own an electric car costing less than $ 15000 with a range of 40 miles. i will extend the range using a portable honda generator to reach home.

The Volt is "pretty" but this so far is vaporware.
The Prius is real!

I bought a Prius, love this car. Toyota is Ten Years ahead of GM. What are you guys doing? I'll have my Prius converted to be a Plug-In Prius- and with Solar Panels(photovoltaics) before GM comes out with an electric car, or Plug-In Hybrid. GM seems to be all talk. and why did you guys sell your Battery Patents(Nickel Metal Hydride) to the oil companies(chevron/texaco)? Game Overs For General Motors. Too much confusion and lies. Not Interested in you guys.

You know who had a pretty nice ride? Batman. unfortunately like the batmobile the volt is mostly special effects and it was never a production vehicle.
My ride is pretty sweet, all the bells and whistles. 10 year old vw passat, 48.1mpg bought it for $2,500.
Atleast they aren;t trying to put hydrogen in the fuel tank. you get in a crash, that compressed tank explodes, violently! Think Hindenburg. Is it worth being burned alive save a few bucks on gas? Why do you think that the trucks which carry hydrogen stop for every railroad crossing even when the signal indicates no train?
The solution is more city and intercity busses.
Electric vehiles aren't new, remember when city busses were electric?

The Volt is an impressive concept. I hope it becomes a real car and if it does I hope to have one.
From an environmental perspective, when power generation is moved to an electric power generating station, it's a lot easier to deal with any pollutants, so that's a big plus too.

Why is it that the so called Major Auto Manufactures are so far behind the times? By the time GM starts allowing the public to purchase a Volt, it will have to geer-up the plants to produce the parts, create their own assembly plants, produce the product, and get it to the market. You know, years. GM is saying that they are waiting for the battery industry to make better batteries. Get a clue GM! If you wait that many years to get the Volt on the street everyone who can afford a hybrid will already have one, and you will have lost out once again. Try this on for size. You start making the Volt using the current batteries that you used to produce the cars that you have been showing in your concept models and when the battery manufactures improve their batteries, you have them built to replace the current batteries and do a recall with an owner loylty price adjustment and as long as the car owner knows about the battery replace fee when the car is purchased, you may be able to stay in the sales game along with the other hybrid manufactures, although a couple of years behind already. If you think you are going to stay in the market place by waiting for someone else to produce a better battery, remember, the battery industry is still selling battries while you probably are not selling enough cars to keep your company in the black while other other car manufactures like Toytoa are can't keep up with the current demand.

Put some freaking solar panels on your house. Enough panels to power your car for 40 miles will only set you back about 5K without rebates even less with the rebates offerd. Then who will be laughfing?

See zapworld.com on the all electric in development. The only downside is the 60k cost but I suspect that will go down. They are also talking about a 45k sedan. Its an all electric with 350 mile range and can charge in ten minutes. Now Im sure thats some special charger intended to be in the garage but I suspect power stations could easily be placed anywhere and it wont cause EPA issues like trying to get new gas stations built. See this page for info on the batteries http://thefraserdomain.typepad...rnano.html

As for hydrogen, its not necessary to have large high pressure tanks on board. The hydratus at hydratus.com could eventually allow for hydrogen production on demand by mixing magnesium (easily found worldwide) and water. Not that I want us to go from dependence on oil companies to dependence on hydrogne or magnesium distributors. I prefer solar power on rooftops of all homes and businesses (price is coming down) with back up power from the grid.

The volt is too little too late. It looks nice but they want to keep people at least partially dependent on some form of fuel distribution.

"The Tesla is a niche car, priced at over $100,000"

Don't post if you don't know the facts. The Tesla Roadster costs $92,000.

"and the car still only goes about 100 miles on a charge."

It goes a little over 200 miles on a charge.

"The Volt hopes to be the price of any mid-size vehicle, around $20,000, with a range of 600 miles on a tank of gas, and 40 miles on a battery charge."

Hoping won't get it to that price. GM can hope all it wants. Tesla released the price of their car; GM hasn't. So until then, don't try to guess or estimate how much it will cost.

"The difference is very significant."

It's less significant without the lies.

"But pure electrics aren't quite feasible yet in the American market"

What are you smoking? The average American drives 30 miles a day. The ZAP Xebra (available for purchase right now) can go 25 miles. I drive less than 10. Sure, the Xebra is pretty goofy looking, even one without the black and white stripes, but its mileage is good enough. What about electric cars makes them not feasible in the American market?

"but the Volt is definitely better on the environment than tradtional hybrids, so I'm all for it."

That's true. But I'd rather go for the Phoenix SUT or SUV instead of the Volt. Phoenix has GM beat when it comes to recharge time - ten minutes compared to seven hours, respectively. I might wait a couple years, not just because of the waiting lists, until the price comes down from $45,000, though.

Solar power's expensive, but that's just because of the equipment (panels). I think it's around $50,000 with rebates and stuff here in New Jersey. But on Tesla's website, it says you can get 50 miles worth of electricity daily with solar panels, which is more than enough for me.

I hate to break it to you Moose, but I could state a recharge time of 2 minutes. It will leave a crappy SOC (state of charge) on your batteries, but what you better be more worried about is the lifetime of your batteries if you can fully recharge in 10 minutes. These questions that sound so easy are actually quite difficult after you research them a little.
Question for you Moose: How efficient are solar cells? Last I remember they were around 18%. You live in Jersey and think you will get 50 miles per charge per day? How many batteries in the bank that you will use to store the charge when the solar cells are working during the day while you?re at work in your $40k electric vehicle. ?But on Tesla's website, it says you can get 50 miles worth of electricity daily with solar panels, which is more than enough for me.? Make no mistake. Tesla is stating best case. They?re in California and you?re in Jersey. Expect much less than what they state.
I hate to break it to you Moose, but if GM is targeting something, they will most likely not be more than 10% off of the mark. I think the Volt will become reality (my company was one of two that were awarded the development contract for the battery box). I like GMs approach of a serial hybrid rather than parallel. Ask a Prius owner about repair costs once their vehicle goes out of warranty. Good luck getting the equity loan. Series hybrids will be a fraction of the repair cost. They will also have much less assembly complexity. GM has a good direction and it will show in a couple of years.
The Tesla might as well be $100k. I think that was the remark he was going for. If you buy a Tesla please contact because you have way too much money and do not know how to use it properly.
To the rest of the blogs:
I won?t even address the bashes about the Big Three. These arguments are emotionally charged (people hopping on the bandwagon) and often draw on one fact (and one too many for some). I hope that all of your life decisions are not made by such reckless emotional reaction.
And you environmental junkies, how much pollution is produced when you have to replace your batteries? Many of your answers: there is no pollution because they are ?recycled?. Do a little research. How much CO2, SO2 and other noxious gases are produced in the electric plant to recharge your batteries? Any of you have those numbers because I?d love to see them. Mercury anyone? How much mercury is emitted in the average gas driven car?
Tradeoffs people. Life is all about tradeoffs.

Here is what I've learned from your site: The Chevy Volt has about 500 pounds of batteries and a 1.0 liter turbocharged engine running a generator that is powerful enough to drive the car all day at 70 miles per hour on gasoline, ethanol, diesel or combinations thereof. It can accelerate to 60mph in about 8 seconds and max out at 120 miles per hour.

My question: why do all auto geeks assume that, particularly in an eco-car, we need to accelerate so rapidly and drive so fast? How about ditching the 500 pounds of batteries, the generator and the electric engine and trade it for an efficient, multigear standard (worse, automatic) transmission for the 1.0 liter engine that, without the extra weight, could probably go 70mph (the legal limit in many states) and get 50 or 60 or 80 miles per gallon. It might take you 15 seconds to get to 70 and it might only go 90...but, hey, this is the vehicle to save the world. You could even trap the waste heat for winter use, a heater. Air-conditioning? How about a swamp-cooler? Come on guys, think a little less high tech. Make it simple and make it work. Hydrogen, give me a break...this makes me laugh!

I love this concept. If it is 20 G's I am very, very interested. No more gouging.

gm acts like the chevy volt cant be produced or put on the market but thats bs. we did have electric cars, they could do it they just dont want to because stupid oil companies. i hope honda or toyota beats them to it. we need a car company whos ready to change not stuck in the past greedy about money..what good is money going to be when we dont have a planet to live on? i wish someone could just go up to gm and call bullshit on the to their face. just be like we know you can do it so do it already geez!!

Hey guys,
I'm pissed at Big Auto too, but why don't we give GM a little credit here? They're putting a lot into this car and they're publicizing it like crazy. This could be the first electric (ish) car that is truly popular with the American public. I'm not at all familiar with the lesser-known all-electric cars that are already being produced by small companies, so I won't try to compare them to the Volt (which some people seem convinced they can do authoritatively). But I think it's safe to say that they haven't exactly hit the mainstream yet. What if the Volt gets more average people interested in the idea? It could benefit everyone. GM has huge resources to put towards this engineering challenge. Other companies have done it first, but GM could do it on a large scale, and with a platform that is more widely accepted by your average consumer. I think we should pay attention and hope that they are successful.

This is the kind of stuff we need in the marketplace. I am a muscle car freak .. so I admit that I love my big V8 cars that fly down the road and pin me to the seat.

But if this car works and performs as advertised or better, I think I would really enjoy owning one. If I can use this as my daily driver, I can keep my garage of muscle cars ... right?! :-0

anyways if they would just start offering Butynol for sale. Butynol can just be dropped into your gas like gasoline and it's a lot cheaper. As an added bonus it can be shipped throught the same pipelines as fuel is now...unlike ethanol with has to be trucked, railed, or barged in. AND, butynol is made from the same stuff as ethanol. So basically we've already got all these plants aready built for making the stuff. DEMAND BUTYNOL !

As much as I would love to see all car manufacturers go to alternative energy cars, I am not going to believe any of the GM lip service until it is actually out. They have a long history of promising the moon and stars and delivering a streetlight.

Tesla gets 250 miles per charge not 100!

Say, all you guys that give high praises to Japanese auto companies should rethink your position about condemning American auto companies. America was the one the rebuilt Japan after WWII (using American tax payers' dollars)and put our own industries last when it came to modernizing it's manufacturing plants, while American companies got nadda. When Chrysler got US government loans back in the 80's everyone was against it (why are we always for spending our money on foreign countries and not helping our own)Chrysler paid the money back, not Japan or Europe for that matter. So who is the better world citizen here, us or them? When foreign cars are imported to the US, they only pay a 7% tariff, while on the other hand we pay 30%. Where is the fairness in that?
Anyway, you young people, how about laying off the slams. Write GM & Ford and let know how you feel? Let them know that you want better more efficient cars now and write to your congressmen and let them know you want them to push for more fuel efficient auto and to stop reducing the requirments instead of increasing them. It's time for action instead of words, lets demand of the world, not just America.

Well as to the Tesla going farther I'm sure if you took the generator and gas engine along with the tank of gas you would be reducing the amount of weight of the car by I would imagine 500 pounds if not more. Chevy should release two versions one electric and one hybrid.

The Amish get points for low carbon usage, but they are not neccessarily eco-friendly. I have several Amish neighbors and their oaters spread plenty of horse manure over the paved roads I drive. They have objected to the "diaper" solutions Central Park and other urban areas have imposed. Since it is rural, it is not a large problem, but I wouldn't want to bike through it.

its funny you know, the earths ice has been melting for thousands of years , most likely from cavemen screwing around making fires , i can see it now , one of the cavemen telling the others that the camp fire is melting the ice and water would soon cover the earth ,and they'll all be sorry then,just wait and see!
looks like the cavemans relatives did survive afterall.

I say, kill the carabou, turn Alaska into 1 hugh oil rig and to hell with your eco vehicles. Winter sucks bring on global warming

It's almost hilarious to see how invested the left-wing zealots have become in hating the companies that they insist are "baddies"...

Of course you can't just admit that Chevrolet is taking the clear lead in getting us off oil with initiatives like the Volt; you've spent so much time making them your bad-guys while bragging about your "conscience approved" companies, that your eco-egos will never accept the kind of bruising that they will get once it's realized just how wrong you are....

Michael Moore has taught you well...

Too bad you can't see beyond your noses now...

I don't trust Chevrolet.. but I can't deny the fact that the car looks great.. It looks like the 350 z and the Chrysler Fire.. Nice anyway..

i own a 2004 malibu classic. it's a piece of shiznit. seriously. 36k miles and the strut mount plates are bent, A/C switch broke, random sputtering w/check engine light... so forgive me if i sound a bit skeptical that chevy can do ANYTHING right, especially when they can't even get their GAS-fueled cars to function properly, let alone electric/hybrid. although i DO love the old camaros.

to:David

Tesla Motors' website already explains the pollution question emitted from the power plants. Tesla roadster is still more efficient than the best hybird cars. And most plants use natural gas or nuclear energy to produce electricity in the U.S. Only a portion of the plants uses coal. In China most of them use coal so that is a problem as cars become more popular there. I got some info from "End of Oil" by Paul Roberts


to:George

One thing that you've been mislead. The Big Three get incentives and write offs from the U.S. government that keeps them from going bankrupt. Japan has been the biggest financiers for wars that the U.S.(ironically for oil) has been doing, so the debts are returned in a different way.

The tariffs I won't argue with you because I don't know but even if they were true it is irrevelant. Do you really know the REAL reason that not ONE GM car makes it to Japan? GM doesn't make cars with the steering wheel on the right side. LOL. That's why. The tariffs doesn't mean much. GM doesn't know how to cost produce effectively to meet markets in Japan especially when you are required to have much much smaller cars that GM doesn't specialize in.

to: Heh

You claim and blame leftest people for being short sighted but how are you not the same? The Volt is not the leader in cutting down oil usage. Electric cars are so go check out Tesla Motors' website at www.teslamotors.com, at least for to-be-produced-cars. Plug-in hybrids are far superior at this point since NO specifications are given for the Volt, no mpg, no acceleration info, nada. And it really goes across the political spectrum. I'm moderate but I don't want to be using oil as much as the environment people don't want to but for different reasons. There will be no need for war in iraq and waste my tax dollars while I get asthma.
FYI the Volt is very much under performing since a 40 mile range could be achieved decades ago and a 1996 EV1 could go 200-300 miles if it had lithium batteries.

So why is Chevy building a car with technology that is inferior to what is really out there? And furthermore making it from ground-up AGAIN?

I have to agree with David's comments.

I do think it's pretty bad when people here in America bash American companies for moving ahead no matter what it is. Quit bashing American companies for trying to make progress.

If you don't like the car, fine, shut up and buy whatever you like. AMERICA gives you that option. You don't have to buy it or like it. That's OK. Good God. Give it a break. It's only a concept right now and you would think, by some of the comments, that it was the Anti-Christ.

If it does come out and is affordable for most people to buy, unlike the Tesla (which is also a nice car), then I guess you'll just have to deal with it. If you can't, get a Therapist. It sounds like some of you need one.

Having stumbled on this site by accident looking for info on the volt after seeing an advertisment while watching nfl football im sure my next comments are not going to be received with a great applause...atleast I gather that by the name of the site; ecogeek. Let me start by saying im not an "ecogeek", yes, I am very concerned about the enviornment, and would like to see us do much more to stop destroying it and possibly even reverse some of the destruction we've already caused. But im more of your main-stream American I think than some of the other opinions. And thats why my opinion on the car is:

If this car goes 40 miles without using even a bit of gas, and (as its been said several times so far in this blog)the average person has less than a 40 mile commute today...doesnt that mean that "most people" will virtually eliminate their use of gasoline? I mean, im no engineer, but if "most people" drive FEWER than 40 miles in their day, and this car will go 40 miles without using gasoline, then most people would never use gas or use it very little compared to now. Sure, they will use more electricity, but I would assume that would have far less impact on the inviornment and it would have a TREMENDOUS impact on our economy. As I said, im no "ecogeek"...I care about my wallet as well as caring about the enviornment. Id like to have some sort of compromise there, if everyone drove this car it seems it would significantly decrease dependancy on oil and also virtually cut us off the multi-billion dollar oil tit...freeing up all that money back into the american economy.

Also, the car looks good. Why is it that many of the hybrid vehicles that get such great mileage have to scream "im an ecogeek" when you look at them??? Wouldnt more people who are NOT ecogeeks (like myself) buy these vehicles if they were more stylish? I know that sounds selfish, but lets face it, most people are, most people DO care about what the vehicle they drive looks like. It seems to me that the previous hybrids and eco cars were both engineered and designed by the eco geeks...cant they let the eco geeks figure out how to make it efficient but still let the style guys that come out with cars such as corvettes and mustangs design the exterior?

Acceleration is good. Yes, I want to help the enviornment, but I dont want to have the little old blue-haired lady driving 45 giving me the finger because IM holding HER up! I do want some power! I do want some passing ability! Once again, I know its selfish, but im speaking for the average person...and if were gonna actually make big strides in getting people to buy more efficient vehicles they must appeal to the average person...not just the ecogeek!

I might actually want to drive more than 200-300 miles in a trip! What if I want to go on vacation? What if I travel distances to see relatives?...Do I have to have two vehicles if I want to own a fully electric car? One to drive daily (electric) and one for the chance that I actually want to have the ability to drive distances? The fact that I can actually stop at the gas station and put gas in it if I need to drive more than just to the office and back is important!

So if this car, or others to come, have style, acceleration, has the ability to be fueled and go long distance when you do want to...AND it can virtually eliminate "most peoples" dependancy on gas on their average day...I say YAY chevy!

The battery technology has been around since 1996 (and earlier) when the first EVs were made by GM... then Toyota. Interestingly, GM sold the world wide patent rights for the NiMH technology to Texaco in 2000, which merged with Chevron six days later. In just a few years, GM had recalled most of their EV cars and crushed them stating that they were not profitable. Chevron also sued Toyota in 2002, which had come out with an EV series of its own. Car manufacturers ended production of any new EV cars, but some are still on the road today working with the same factory batteries. A new car manufacturer called Tesla Motors came out with an electric car in 2006 that runs on lithium ion batteries and can travel up to 245 miles without recharging. Check it out at teslamotors.com and get on the waiting list. :P

CONSIDER THIS;;;; A123 SYSTEMS BATTERIES RECHARGE 90% IN 5 MINUTES--- PRODUCTION BATTERIES ARE ON THE WAY-- THIS CAR CAN TRAVEL FROM NEW YORK TO CALIF. WITHOUT REFEULING BECAUSE OF THE FAST RECHARGE... ALSO O TO 60 WILL INCREASE TO 5.4 SEC. ALSO TOP SPEED WILL INCREASE TO 190 MILES PER HR. WHOW WHAT A CAR...YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PEAL THE RUBBER OFF THE BACK TIRES...

I think the Volt is a great idea. I'm not an environmentalist or some kook that thinks cars cause global warming. I'm more interested in dumping the middle east and all of their oil. With the Volt, we can have energy independence. I'm all for that. I'm going to buy one.

After the EV1 &2 scam, how can anybody trust GM? They had a great thing and "canned" it. Now they're promising something good while others are already building them, if only in small quantities. They sold their interest in fantastic battery technology to an OIL COMPANY. Full size hybrid?...not sure what the idea there is. FYI...There is even a viable car in Europe that runs on AIR ! Where did they have to go to (finally) to find a manufacturer??...INDIA!! Wow, I'm ranting. I'll stop now. Thanks for listening...I feel better now.

The answer is no. It is hilarious to see commercials for a product that you can't buy. What a strategy to enhance a brand image!! I bought a used Civic Hybrid 2.5 years ago, I get average 47 mpg and I can actually get in it and drive it unlike the Volt. Ever since I sold my awful, crappy GMC Jimmy in 1988 for a Honda, I have waited for the US auto companies to make a car that I would buy. No luck so far. Since then, I had a Honda for 8 years, a Subaru for about the same, and now the 2003 Civic Hybrid. I have had almost no maintenance on any of those cars and I like that. What's up American Auto Manufacturers? Don't you think that I would like to support our union workers and have them make an efficient, reliable car for me? Can you not really design a car as well as Toyota/Honda? Pathetic!

I'm still driving my 1991 Ford Escort wagon, and still getting 35mpg in the city, 40 on the highway.

Surely getting the same mileage with a 2007 hybrid isn't anything to brag about.

I think it all boils down to teaching America to like 0-60 times of 13 seconds or more.

Plug in electric cars renewable energy = the win

Just do me one favor, don't compare the EV1 to the Chevy volt, there is no comparison. The Chevy volt is one hell of a machine and may even give the Prius a run for its money. Why? One word, architecture. We are talking about a 1 liter turbocharged engine putting out just better than 70 ponies that is fully committed to running the generator to charge the batteries. Battery technology is getting better, the only reason it has a 40 mile electric range is because of the demand from the 160 HP motor to take it to 60mph in just 8 seconds. You want more range, fine, change the gear ratios, make it top out at 95mph. Put in a 140 HP motor. I agree with what everyone said about how there is loss involved, because there is, nothing we can do about that. Oh, and one other important thing you might want to know, the gas engine runs at constant low RPM to maintain optimum efficiency, last time I checked, hybrids don't do that. . :)Any other questions, GM take it all the way
CAN'T WAIT!

Maybe it's just me but I really don't see these two concepts, sports cars and green energy working together. We're beating around the bush here, the only way we can bring about change is to stop wasting fuel on useless car rides

yea, keep buying foreign cars, keep driving the dollar down idiots.

American cars are coming back and in a big way. Look at the latest JD power reports...American car companies took most of the top 5 in terms of reliability. Buick even tied Lexus. Right now, European cars are crap. I hope GM makes this Volt quickly. Can't wait. Support your country, folks. There is really no excuse not to nowadays. Sure...the Camry, Accord are made here. But where do those profits go to?

You can do it GM, you can do it America. GM can bring a decent, fuel efficient car to the masses which will be the vanguard for our decreased dependence on foreign oil. American ingenuity is at work at tesla, aptera, and yes, GM.

For those of you that are worried about having to burn more coal to make the electricity to run these cars, please consider this....CO2 is actively being trapped at newer coal fired plants for re-use in things like commercial greenhouses...it is also providing American jobs....when you drive a gas powered vehicle, ALL of the CO2 enters the atmosphere and instead of Steve having a job, Rasheed has a job.

I am an automotive engineer, and I have owned a 2005 Honda Civic hybrid five-speed and a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid with a CVT. I have driven both cars in city traffic, and on long trips up to 1000 miles.

For the vast amount of the driving on both of these hybrids, most trips were 34 miles or less. Real-world mileage on both of these cars driven under moderate conditions is about 42 miles per gallon. At current gasoline prices, this amounts to approximately seven cents per mile.

The Chevrolet Volt, andat my current electric rates, would cost about 2.2 cents per mile. this is based on an all electric, 34 mile round-trip.

For my driving style, there is no doubt that the Chevrolet Volt would provide far superior economics.

The 2005 civic had a measly 13 hp motor/generator. To maximize the regenerative braking, you had to decelerate at extremely slow rates. The 2006 was much better with a stronger generator, however, the deceleration rates to capture the kinetic energy were still very moderate.

By increasing the size of the motor/generator, normal deceleration's should be possible while still capturing the kinetic energy of the vehicle.

Both of the Hondas actually achieved about 36 miles per gallon when driven like a "normal" car. when driven like a hybrid should be driven, normal miles per gallon was around 42. If you drove these Hondas like a grandfather engineer, both could be pushed to achieve 63 to 65 miles per gallon on 70° days with minimal stopping that could be achieved by anticipating traffic lights up to a quarter mile away.

I would expect the Volt to reward its driver similarly. In other words, if you drive it very conservatively, you will probably get the full 40 or more miles without the fossil fuel power plant ever coming on. I would expect if you drive it aggressively, you may only 20 miles before the fossil fuel power plant life to kick in.

The Volt electric motor has 160 reported horsepower. This is greater than the combined gasoline and electric motors of the Honda Civic. There is no way the Honda Civic would ever do an 8.5 second 0-60!

I have owned many Honda motorcycles, and 63 cars total. The two Honda hybrids were the only two Honda cars I have ever owned. I can honestly say I was not impressed with the quality, the creature comforts, looks, or the drivability of either of these vehicles. In fact, I would say that 2006 Honda hybrid is probably the most troublesome vehicle I have owned in the last 10 years.

I hope for the consumer's sake that Honda,Toyota,Ford and many others follow suit and come up with plug-in electrics with fossil fuel range extenders as Chevrolet is planning!

Once you understand the economics of generating electricity, you will understand that the off-peak hours during the evening offer the capability of generating electricity at much reduced rates over the peak daytime hours. This should offer the consumer reduced off-peak hour electricity generating costs. Many metropolitan areas are already offering lower rates for off-peak electrical usage. The reasons are actually quite simple, in that many of the electrical generating facilities in this country are operating at very inefficient load generating capacities during the evenings. This evening generation capability has to exist to meet the demands during daytime peak loading due to business and air-conditioning needs during peak daytime hours. Increasing the evening generation capabilities balances the loads for utilities, which should ultimately reduce the overall cost of electricity production costs by amortizing the huge capital investments over increase production and sales of electricity.

The Volt is on target!

Folks ! Remember the Hydrogen fuel cell cars they promised to bring out in 2004. Yeah ! That was to avoid stricter fuel economy standards and to fend off the mounting outcry. Remember how they crushed the EV1 ? I don't know how the engineers at the big three can go home to their kids and look them in the eye while they are not doing what can be done to improve the future. I have no expectations from the corporate fat cats of 'big oil' or 'big three'! They must maintain their Gulfstreams and fancy yachts at our expense. I hope these big ones will whither and hundreds of small car companies will come up who will be genuinely interested in doing what is needed! Technology is here! That will be good for the consumers ! That will be good for America! That will be good for the world! GM, you have only vaporware ! I am not buying!

I wonder how the highway depts. will get their cuts.. for repairing roadways and bridges, if we only use electric for driving..
i read a lot about global warming, being a reason for using a electric car... you know, the guilt thing..
as if humans are causing global warming.. here on earth and on mars..
somewhat like slavery.. as if i made a decision to have any effect on any of it..
i like the idea of an electric car.. for the economics of it.. and if i wished to make a long distance drive, can buy some gasoline..
plan to buy a volt, if i can afford it..

I can't help be see how many people think that this is just a way of shifting our dependancy from oil to fossil. Didn't anyone see the specification that the car can be charged via SOLAR? That would make it free energy - and it will always be there. Granted, there may be cloudy days, but if the sun stops shining, we'll all have bigger problems then our cars not running. Here is a thought: instead of using that big silver "sun-shield" in your car, prop up a solar panel that would recharge the battery while you are at work. ;D

Sounds great........bust just wait till you get the bill for road use taxes after an annual check of your odometer. Save on one end and get screwed on the other.
Electric/solar users should be given credits, incentivesm, free use!

Whats the incentive?

The incentive is that you get to clean up your emission footprint. In addition, you get to drive an amazing car made in America. Do you really need an incentive to do something good for the country look here for a few more "incentives" chevy volt

This isn't only a hybrid, look at the design.

The Honda and Toyota hybrids are normal, gasoline fueled automobiles with what amounts to an oversized alternator.

Don't misunderstand, this does work to give their vehicles better mileage. However, it is more and adaptation of current technology rather than an evolution.

Rather than play catchup, the Volt leapfrogs over the current hybrid technology by building a true electric vehicle.

Rather than taking a gasoline vehicle and slapping a electric motor onto the side, the Volt is an electric vehicle with a gasoline motor added.

However, that gasoline motor isn't germain to the vehicle. When you look at the Volt, you are quite possibly looking at the World's first commercial Fuel Cell vehicle. All GM has to do is pop out that small, gasoline engine and its fuel tank and put a Fuel Cell stack with its fuel tank in their place.

This design could easily be adapted for any vehicle GM makes. As the happy owner of an almost classic -- just one more year -- 1989 GMC Sierra half-ton pickup, I'm drooling over the thought of a pickup with this type of drivetrain. Having more torque than a diesel at 5 mph would be pretty darn sweet. All with 25 to 30 miles per gallon (have to count the extra weight vs. car) on unleaded gasoline.

We haven't even talked about what this design could do for a crossover like an SUV.

In 15 year, every car sold will be built in the image of the Volt.


Another Innovation Brought To You By American Technology (A Division of American Chemistry)

Nobody beats us on a level playing field, our egos will not allow it.

This car RAWKS!!! I will buy one if it ever comes out. Come on GM help us out with this gas issue Americans are having. Plus it looks cool. The Prius looks like crap! I have no idea why they have not put this into production yet. This is the car Americans are waiting for.

What happen to the GM's ev1 project which started nearly 10-12 years back. I bet if we had embraced the ev1 when it landed 10-12 years back, we would have had at least 10 times better technology regarding battery powered vehicle, milage and the better looking car than this chevy volt. It would have been a lot lot lot more better for world economy, peace and prosperity.
(pls, google ev1 or 'who killed the electric car').

I have been observing the uprise of the hybrid since the Honda Insight, and to tell the truth they all ugly as crap. I can pull something prettier out of my butt than the Prius. But finally Chevy came out and said enough is enough and they have conceived a sexy, hot, sleek, awesome looking car that is also a hybrid, I love it.

To all those who keep on bashing GM for only having a 40mi range while other cars have longer, batteries aren't the most eco friendly thing to produce. It would make sense to me to have enough batteries to satisfy 'most people' on 'most days' and burn a little gas when one surpassed the 40mi electric range then to manufacture three to four times as many batteries as are needed by most people which will just go bad in time and need to be replaced.

I think they are right on target with the 40mi range goal. Besides if they make it modular like they've said as batteries improve and super cap's get less that will increase. People have a tendency often to look at something and say we need a little of this, then go completely overboard in that direction. I think in this case GM is really trying to hit the mark. We will of course see when the product is finally released.

This auto is ahead of all the concepts out there, however, american auto makers are so so slow getting to market. It should already be at the dealers. If it is the computer type of upgrade GM describes then give the buy a promise of support in the future or money back. Electric is the way to the light and a car that can be upgraded is the best method as tech changes.

Does the car use the electric train method of breaking by generating power with the motor. This power could also be used to charge the batteries.

When is it going to be sold. 2008 or 9?

stupid americans kiss japanese ass again. all the japanese do is copy others style and technology and take credit for it. remember america gave japan the transistor and they made a portable radio. the camry is just a poorman's bmw. wake up. prius is american technology done poorly. it will fail. batteries are toxic waste. if you have any knowledge of electric motors they burn up.

A good looking hybrid that is long past due yes but is here and soon. Yes electic motors and batteries burn out but the amount of savings to the enviroment and your lungs is it not worth it? I feel it is past due yes but they were the first to offer the flexfuel and hopefully it will take off too. We deffentally need to imbrase these efforts and build on them. I will be one of the ones to buy one. I will trade in my gas sipping 4 cylinder car for it. Great reporting and great work GM!!!!!

If we devolpe the e85 to power the gas engine generator in the Volt from corn and all drove a Volt we could totally cut of oil from the middle east saving billions and maybe the stock market wouldnt go up or down on oil futures and prices and not give so much to the Japanese for cars we would turn our economy around. Farmers would be back in biz americas car manufactures would be back in biz and maybe just maybe we will be able to breath just a bit easier becuse of our air oh yes and the economy,WOW what a concept there Chevy!

It will be great. I can install large mud tires on it and go 4 wheeling in the country with my electric SUV. On my way home I will stop at the local rest area and run my 100 foot extension cord to the nearest 110 volt outlet. Six hours later I'm on my way home. Can't wait. At least I didn't use any gas.

I hope this car makes it to the market because his a great way to save fuel that we use everyday in this world. I can't wait untill it happens because I would really like to have this car....except I would like for it to be in black :)

I think the Volt is an awesome idea and I can't wait for it to get released. I also think it looks awesome, although the two-door thing is a problem when you have guests (I'll deal =). I think the Prius is a nice car but I find it rather ugly. I'd rather get a Civic hybrid, at least it looks like a normal car...

I'm digging the Dodge ZEO right now, except the wheels are just too huge - 24's I believe.

cars.com did an interview of a GM guy and he said that the car would be released in 2010 but i agree with everybody elses comments how are they gonna musster up the battery power by 2010 were just not there yet in technonlogy(i cant wait till this car comes out though)!!!!!

The best solution offered to date is to make light weight cars with a very small gasoline or deisel engine that have slow acceleration and a top speed of 80 miles per hour. It would probably get 50-70 miles per gallon. I would prefer to drive this than a box of extremely high tech high maintenance parts with a host of battery limiting usage factors. The fuel saved would bring down the cost oil. I now drive my much higher powered car like it only had a 60 horsepower engine in order to save gas and would find no problem driving a car with a small engine. Most don't realize there is a loss of efficiency producing power by mixing technologies due to heat generation. And most don't look at the trade off of battery cost/maintenance/disposal/environmental concerns and future shortages caused by mass producing them. If Detroit focused on efficiency instead of racing performance great strides could be made. Maybe $6.00 gasline will make consumers demand it! Hopefully foreign countries won't capture the market before America wakes...i.e. as with cameras, tv's etc.

I think the Chevy Volt is a great idea! But I would want GM to seriously consider replacing steel parts with carbon-fiber composite parts (hoods, doors, roof, trunk, frame, etc.). The lighter and stronger car would probably get 60 - 80 MPC (miles per charge). Now that would be a sweet car!

well i see we've moved on to batteries and elctricity but we clearly aren't seeing the big picture one electirc car does not change prices ppl are still gunna drive gas pickups,SUVs, vans not everyone wants a 2-4 seat car ppl need room and furthermore whats gunna happen? everyone drives a volt nope ppl are gunna drive gas im tellin yah GM is just trying to stay in buisness!

The 1987 Honda CRX got roughly 57 MPG! What happened to that Tech and with things built better these days why must we move towards batteries? Something wrong with the math. Check out the company listed on the stock exchange that goes by SLAT. They are making the 200 mile battery.

40 miles on nothing but electricity is good. Recovering electricity when you break is better. Good excelleration and top speed of 120 MPH is great. If I had the money and it was available, I'd buy it now...maybe... I need two more things in this car that I have not heard about. One is climate control (A/C and heat). Number two, I live in Florida and the Sun is free. Why isn't the hood, trunk lid and roof of the car covered in photo-voltaic solar panels? Why can't the car charge while driving? Why can't it charge all day in the parking lot at work? If my electric company is still using coal, gas or other natural resources to produce electricity, what good is this going to do when gas is $12 a gallon? I'm right back where I started from now with 30-40 MPG at $4 a gallon.

I also have nothing against fuel cell technology, but the weight of a hydrogen tank or the equipment needed to generate hydrogen is the worst of all these solutions in a car. And ofcourse, every big 3 oil company sells hydrogen.

GM, you need to do better than this. I need my A/C and I should be able to drive all day or at least most of a sunny day using solar power to recharge the batteries as I drive or park.

whats wrong with having 2 cars? I cant justify spending 20K dollars on a new technology with a bunch of bells and whistles or a toyota prius which is only 10mpg more than a $1000 honda . why not just have a EV with less weight no I.C.E. good for the environment and more range for a daily commuter along with a cavalier or honda or whatever is stashed in the garage for long range trips. Mitsubishi is developing the i Miev all electric vehicle I would consider that over the Volt (cough cough . . eco cadillac). Cmon GM get with the program

i have read most of the comments on this page and find that most of you are expecting ALOT!! anyone who knows anything about these new vehicles and this technology knows that the gas companies are still influencing them...the EV1, when produced in 1995 worked great! people in that town of california loved it and even protested it when it was taken off the market...the people who protested it could've bought all the remaining 50 cars or so for a couple million dollars, and they even had written the check to do so! but the car company instead, wasted there investment in the EV1, had them all shipped off an impounded. The battery that was used in the EV1 was owned by a small company, and the majority of the stock in that company was bought out by...? you guessed it the gas companies! They shut down his technology and it has been in hiding for years after that and gone thru many court cases.
My point is this, everyone knows that the gas companies are looking out for their own investment, their oil, and they will do anything and everything to see that they always win.....this new technology that will be available in a couple years is really a leap in the right direction....imagine the barrier that had to be overcome when you have companies who's net worth is a couple hundred billion dollars or more!!! this new technology that will be available could be better, your absolutely right, but for the giant barrier that the gas companies have created this is definetly a step in the right direction.....and it can only get better.

Sure, Tesla is the new battery powered car, for a cost over $100,000! Somehow, I think that Chevy will do MUCH better than that. Here's a clue....if you can afford to pay that much for a car, go right ahead, but for that price the car better drive itself. Plus, if you've got that kind of cash, you can afford $4.00 for a gallon of gas!

Return on Investment period for a Prius with gas at $3.50 = never

You would get a million miles to the gallon, but that's because you're cheating with electricity. Efficiency = Output / Input. If you equated Input with gas AND electricity, you would finally be able to calculate what you get out for what you put in...and the situation would look very different.

If they made the "engine" diesel instead of gasoline, you could run it on vegatable oil (straight SVO or waste WVO) and there would be no involvement with big oil.

specifically, any "clean" form of energy storage and release is good IMO. so why not electric?

ok so people think that this is displacing the environmental-impact problem to the power stations. so what's so bad about that?! at least this means that power stations can be upgraded to use cleaner /greener technologies as they arise rather than having to upgrade an entire GLOBAL fleet of vehicles!

I'm not an engineer and I may not have a degree in nuclear physics but I have had enough experience with autos and electricity to know that this vehicle is definitely on the right track. It perplexes me that so many people want to shoot this vehicle down for any reason they can think of without even giving it a chance, or even better yet, looking at the existing technologies that this car is constructed from. Take for example the all electric drive train. I noted one comment above that questioned the maintainability. This technology is already widely in use in much much larger applications, namely diesel electric trains. They basically use a huge generator to power electric motors powering the wheels. Seems to work so well that the rail industry uses it almost exclusively. It has many less moving parts and much less to go wrong with it. Personally i could deal with replacing a set of $50 or so A/C motor brushes or maybe a bearing every couple hundred thousand miles or so as opposed to a transmission overhaul.

Another issue that really seems to be on many peoples mind is why not a larger battery and no generator? I don't know about you but the last time I bought a pack of rechargeable batteries, it wasn't cheap. I can only imagine how much it would cost to replace a pack that large. If the average person drives less than 40 miles a day great why waste extra money on batteries that you don't use. It seems that it is also well known that batteries aren't gonna make the long haul. Even with the $92k Tesla roadster you're at best 250 miles. Personally I don't have $92k to spend on a car that takes 8 hours (approx.) to charge. I don't even make enough to have a second car. Oh, yeah I'm also in the military so it's almost a given that my family doesn't live anywhere close to me. Solar panels would be great, but are very expensive. This has to be affordable to the masses. This brings me to the generator which allows me the freedom to travel anywhere you want without being tethered to an outlet for 8 hours or so while you wait for the batteries to charge. Now I know some fool is going to tell me that you should be able to charge the batteries to 90% in 10 minutes. I'd really like to see you try on any circuit in your house. An electrical draw that large would most definitely burn your house down and most likely cause your batteries to catch fire or explode with all the heat generated with such a fast transfer. Now back to the generator. I think that being able to go anywhere for a reasonable 50 mpg is acceptable. GM said the generator is modular so it can be anything from gas to diesel or whatever.
As a final remark, to all those who think they can do a better job, I invite you to do it. Go out there and invest your money that you would have spent on your Tesla and make something better. That's what this country is all about isn't it?

GM popped out another TURD. 40 miles, then the thing MUST run on piss-poor mpg generator without the possibility of a battery charge, in other words. Turd. So MPG in the toilet after 40 miles. Not to mention the new design looks no more like the concept car above then a zit on my RUMP.

All this for just 40,000,00 dumb looking car with bad gas mileage, yeah, right.

Looks like Toyota is going to kick GMs rear, too bad. Americans needed the boost. [removed]void(0);[removed]void(0);

GM was way ahead of Toyota and any other car company. My father works high up at GM and they produced the perfect all electric car. The problem. There was nothing to fix. Nothing was breaking down on it, like in gas cars they constantly need fixing and replacing of some sort. The result: they killed it. There is still one car they were not able to get back to destroy so someone is rolling around gas free out there. The Chevy Volt was a compromise, but no where near the technology they killed.

Nothing would make me happier at the moment than doing my part to stop sending money to those Arabs. I never thought I would be buying another new car, but I will be in line for this one. I can't wait.

This is a reasonable attempt by a conservative american company to come up with an eco-friendly and marketable vehicle, and they hit pretty close to that goal. 2010 isn't bad for this much new technology. but.. with $700B going overseas every year for oil, which is probably helping to buy weapons for the bad guys, not to mention contributing to our present credit crunch, we need to be a little more imaginative. Look around you when you commute: 3000 lb 4-6 passenger vehicles carrying one person, clogging up the roads and creating parking problems and lost productivity in traffic jams. We need a 1200 lb (or less) carbon fiber unibody 2 passenger hybrid (maybe tandem) that looks good and is comfortable. 40 mile range on all electric is good. Need on-vehicle energy storage to cover battery runout situations. Best storage (energy/lb) is still hydrocarbon fuels and distribution system is in place. Electric motors need to be integral on each wheel to simplify transmission and enhance reliability and generator feedback. engine should be a very small (say 15 KW) generator driven by a turbine (one moving part) that runs at 50-100 K rpm constant speed with generator on the same shaft. This is a scaled down version of current small "microturbines" used for remote power plants. high frequency electric conversion is a little challenging, but is currently being done. very reliable, very small and low maintenance. should be low cost in volume and can burn variety of fuels. auxiliary charging available from plug in to home units such as power grid or solar. could even have external solar cell panel for trickle charge when driving/parked in sunlight. don't need blazing acceleration or high speed.. can't use it in commuting anyway. the average commuting speed has dropped from about 30 mph to about 15 mph in the past 5 years or so. have 2nd vehicle for family, long trips, etc. the next time you are flying during evening commuting hours, take a look down at the highway arteries around any major city. all that co2 .. wasted time, wasted energy and harm to the planet. we need some out-of-the-box thinking and a little courage by GM and the like.

Don't you people realize those companies are always thinking for you? Designing the car 'American's want' while making billions in profit and damaging the environment. The don't care. I bet, if there were a company brave enough to create an self sustainable car (integrating solar and wind principles on the same car), I bet everyone would like one. And we will be in fact, going in the correct direction. The technology is here: solar cels, can be integrated on the car to recharge batteries while parked on sun. Wind technology by having small propellers generating electricity while cruising, besides the current breaking regenerative technology in place. They say the problem are the batteries, but are they spending enough money on research and development to improve its capacity? I have seen better improvements on 'garage experiments' with almost no budget than those mega companies....Hello...McFly....wake up....those companies are playing with us Americans. We need to send the message that it is enough!!!

This is awesome! I read some of the most stupid comments prior. Obviously a lot of people know very little about what they talk about. This car runs GAS FREE for the first 40 miles. Most daily driving never goes passed that. Therefore you could commute most of the time w/o ever using gas. The little engine kicks in to power the batteries up to an additional 600 miles until you can recharge w/o. The engine peaks the battery to a sustainable level. You could fill the 13 gallon tank up again and go another 600 @ 50 mpg, but if you park and charge it u go gas free. This is a great realistic trade off. Plus any future engine technology can be used replace the gas engine. The Prius uses gas on any speed over something like 30 mph. The potential on the Volt is to travel gas free most of the time except long trips. Idiots!

'small propellers generating electricity while cruising, ' I think this is by far the best idea here-
I don't see that this idea is really any dumber than an electric car anyway. Auto makers know fine well it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to appeal to the ideology. Like the Volt, Instead of burning the fuel to directly power your car- you're converting it to electricity, (losing efficiency) transmitting it through miles of lines (losing efficiency) transferring it to your chemical battery (losing efficiency) storing it (losing it) before finally using the fraction that is left... to go 40 miles! (new battery, flat road, warm day, not using heater, AC, radio or lights) what is being sold is not a practical alternative to anything, but a sense of self righteousness and superiority. Little windmills on the car would serve this purpose, while, like the hybrid logos, giving everybody a good laugh!
I don't think you have to worry about the buyer citing the 2nd law of thermodynamics- we are talking about people who think Co2 is a pollutant!
Not the most scientifically literate target market:)

If GM can actually get this car in production I see only two things that could limit its widespread success. The main problem would be cost. A $50,000 dollar car would not achieve a volume sufficient to affect our energy use. The other issue is the 60-mph speed after the battery has been exhausted. The American public will be unlikely to purchase in large volume a car with such a low speed on a long distance superhighway drive. Such a limitation would limit purchases primarily to fleet car buyers and individuals looking for a second car. This second car"city car" market has in the past proven to be too small to sustain even a single model.

Hey I'm all for saving money and being a good steward of the planet. The difference with me and some of you nut bags is I actually believe in God....I know right wing loon. The planet may be warming a tad, but we can't control the heat of the planet, no way no how. That's extreme arrogance. God is in control he gave us what we need to fulfill his purposes. People everywhere would do better to worship the planet less and God more...keep his commandments...do unto others as you would have them do to you....recognize and appreciate his place as our father in heaven...bottom line, worship him, not Al Gore, not the planet, not Obama. It's all about priorities and truth. You can't hide from truth so why try. Eventually it will catch up to you. Being green is good, but not if it's your god.

The Chevy Volt is a joke and the consumer the punch line. Did they not have the ability to do this a decade ago. They are targeting a demographic of people that are stuck cleaning up the baby boomers mess. It's hilarious to think that you are doing the earth some good driving your Volt while the guy driving his Denali is not. I am all for supporting domestic, just not the kind that takes tax payer dollars, has been found to be incompetent, and pretends that this car is ground breaking. We can do better than this dogmatic system.

Being a retired vet I would love to buy a GM...but they continue to deceive the US public...the car has been delayed several times and its hard to believe that they are going to trump Toyota or Honda...60 MPG is that it??? Thats a joke....no wonder they are in BK! It is a shame they let the UAW fool them into thinking that they can control the market.

On August 10th I got in my 1995 Mustang GT and step on the gas and drove straight to the Honda dealer and traded my V8 for an Insight. I went from 18 mpg to 50mpg (real world figures) and able to take along both my young children for $19,800. The US auto manufactures have the means to do better; they have the American public, the American worker and the US government behind them. The Volt seems a bit much for a healing economy and auto industry to place their bets on. Why Ford or GM don't have small hybrid cars on the lots is a big worry.

ITS TOO BAD THAT PEOPLE HAVE SUCH A SHORT MEMORY.IN 1995 WE HAD 5,000 OF THE THE BEST PLUDINS YOU COULD COME UP WITH. AFTER THE LEASE WAS UP GM CAME AND GOT THEM ONLY TO DISTROY THEM AND GET RID OF EVRY PART SO WE WOULD NOT KNOW HOW GOOD THEY WERE,. THEY WERE ALL CUT UP AND MELTED DOWN. THE PRICE WOULD HAVE BEEN LESS THAN 20K. GO TO ,WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR , AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

The EV-6 was certainly the best electric car every made,but it really was terrible as cars go. It did NOT cost 20k to make,it cost over 40k each. It had a range of 100-200 miles depending on whether you had the one with lead acid or the newer model with ni-cd batteries. It also had to recharge overnight,which meant you could not take long trips in it because it took forever to recharge. On top of that, you had to put a 1000 dollar charging station in your garage.If you lived in an apartment,you were out of luck. To top it off,it was only sold in the warmer parts of California and Arizona for a reason. The life of the battery and the range of the vehicle were severely impacted by cold weather so it was all but unusable in places where it got very cold in the winter.

There may have been waiting lists for the tiny numbers that were leased,but it would never have made it as a real product. Yes,destroying them was a giant PR mistake,but they did it because they could not provide service or replacement parts. They should have simply "scrapped" them and sold them to a salvager and let them resell them as salvage title vehicles to anyone who wanted them,but hindsight is 20-20.

Is anyone really using that grey matter here? Some of us want eco friendly transportation. Cars that plug into your home will use more fossil fuels. Now imagine everyone in the country doing that, how will our grid be able to handle that? Here's something...How about the car that runs on compressed air, look it up. Sure it will use a small amount of gas to recharge the tanks, but a few hundred MPG sure sounds a lot better to me. I'm sure US car manufacturers can make these. It's still a car. Of course, our dumbass government, Oil Companies, and people who don't care about what happens will crush it. Greed comes before anything else...right.

I bought my first Toyota hybride in 2003 for my wife and she loves it we had 80,000 miles on it and was out in Colorado tooling around in the mountains and the computer went out in 2008,red lights came on but we were still running ,took it to a dealership in Golden they installed a new computer that would have cost 1000.oo
and all I did was sign the paper that the work had been done.I called and emailed all the big three before I bought the Prius and asked how long it would be before they had anything in thier plans and got the same answer from all three,not in site.Now 7 years later I own 3 toyota Ptius's getting 50 miles per gallon driving like all the other craizes out there or if I want to slow down and take a leisure drive I can get better than 60.The European bound cars have an ev button only to push, the American version didn't have one till o9.I can push the ev button and drive till the big battery gets too about 25 % then the engine starts and charges.Toyota started talking 100 miles per gal by 2010 but no one was close enough to the fuel economy for them to bother.With the Prius there is no waiting on charging,there is no worry about heat,if you turn on the heat if the coolant is not warm enough the engine will start and warm it up,it even has a thermos bottle that stores 1 gallon of coolant and keeps it warm up to 3 days so when it starts it pumps it through the engine for faster warm up.The prius can ride 5 people comfortable with good leg room.The President of GM said the Prius would never sell now see where Toyota is at,and GM is being proped up by tax dollars.

IDT that american car maufactures can not build an electric vehicle, when there has been one on mars for years. Or we had to live in mars to purchase one.