Q: Are you going to use specialized lightweight materials?A: (TP) “Some. The car will be more conventional than it will be groundbreaking in mass”..“We ordain use selective items where we feel we can manage the risk.”..“it would be shame if the battery came in in time but the…’aluminum hood’ was late”
Q: Is there any possibility of this car coming our in 2009?A: (TP) “No.”A: (DG) There’s another factor when it comes to time frame. As Tony mentioned this battery doesn’t exist. These battery suppliers have to build manufacturing capability. They undergo to build plants they have to build equipment and they have to go through their trial and error of tooling this battery as well and that takes time.”
Q: Will multiple range battery sizes be offered?A: (TP) “Not in the first version.”.. “We can imagine a day when the customer has a choice or check box. give me a 20 mile range…because maybe it will cost less”..“There is an important issue. We find going above the 40 (mile range) from what we know today is kind of the limit for us. Then you get to the point where mass and cost of the battery is already expensive.”..”Then you fringe on the areas where we don’t want to compromise. Certainly everyone (who wants and can afford one) can go out and buy a Tesla”..“We imagine that in the future with cell advances that in that space we made for the battery maybe we can get 50 (miles)”
Q: Would you get more range if you removed the range extender from the car as it adds mass?A: (TP) “The 40 was chosen based on a lot of studies. Driving behavior the cost and mass of the battery etc. A battery the size of this table gets you 40 miles a little 8 gallon fuel tank gets you 400 miles and this is that delicate balance (of design). We have ripe in our minds the EV-1 experience of ‘range anxiety’”..”We feel it’s a minority of people who would not want a range extender. (removing the ICE) would affect range ‘not much’”..”Mass is not as big of a driver as aero and electricals.”
Q: Is it possible that a third companies battery could make it into the Volt?A: (DG) “I’m just hoping that two make it (laughter)”
Q: Are you working with EEStor maker of an ultrcapacitor?A: (DG) “Yes. We have been working with them the last couple of years via USABC. There are a lot of companies that undergo a paper analysis of what their chemistry can do. We tell them come on in. We have a standardized spec sheet for every battery application remember we undergo a whole portfolio of battery needs from the mild hybrid to the Volt. We undergo an open-door policy. I have yet to find a company that has the wherewithal to handle all of those types of needs.”..“We’ve had EEstor in we’ve had communications.”..“They have our specs questionnaire”..”We say (if they pass the questionnaire) we’ll buy a sample and we’ll test it in our lab under these conditions and share with you the results.”..“We maintain a separate facility and moneys. give me a single cell and I’ll test it. It’s an open door policy”..“The ultra cap is good for bursts because all the energy is stored on the surface. It charges quickly and releases quickly”..“R&D projects are looking at supercaps in conjunction with other technologies in order to provide you with the overall performance. Still in the very early stages.”
Q: How to you simulate on the cyclers (battery bench testing equipment) 10 years of driving in a short time frame and how long does that take?A; (DG) “It will be patented one of these days. It’s not public information. You use a lot of temperature because temperature accelerates the molecular chemistry per cycle”..“We also have to test the other components such as the electronics and plastics ability to withstand extended use”
Q: Do you have any working mules?A: (TP) “We do not have any yet that have a pack. We have some vehicle-based hardware that work has begun. The lithium-ion pack and the car will converge some time in the near future”
Scratch that- the Volt’s gas tank will hold 12 gallons. I knew the 400-mile range on the ICE seemed low. 640 miles on the ICE will allow for a much more flexible vehicle anyway.
mykallb- While more pure EV options on the market would be nice. I agree that the RE on the Volt will be preferable for the general population. The RE will round out the vehicle to allow it to be used for more things.
“this battery doesn’t exist. These battery suppliers have to build manufacturing capability. They have to build plants they have to create equipment and they have to go through their trial and error of tooling this battery as well and that takes time”
“He (Bob Lutz) is quoted as saying the Volt team said “2010 is an impossible target”.”-U. S. News and World Report/L. A. Show.
“In particular he (Lutz) gave the first specific PRODUCTION date for the Volt now more detailed than ever. It will be November 2010″
I’m worried that the expectations delivery are way to high. This is alot of retoric already for a car that is 3-3.5 years off.
They could just be nervous and trying to manage expectations and/or add in some room for failures but it seems like if you take the ‘guesstimates’ we are being given today and then analyse aginst the ‘guesstimates’ we were given only a few months ago they are realizing that maybe this car is going to be a doozie to actually get out.
So in that animate I will pin my hopes on late 2011 to receive one. Doesn’t look like any other viable major electric projects are any closer. It’s like they are all playing chicken waiting for the first person to give a actual ‘release’ date…or muchless open a waiting list.
GM is HOPING to get the car to around $30,000. The only indications that they will approach make or come under that target are from Lutz’s “I have a dream” off the cuff remarks. Refer also to:1) The battery is ready.2) 60K to 100K units first year3) It would take a disaster for this not to come about.
I’m loving all this “reality” we get when Lutz is taken out of the picture. It shouldn’t be too desire till one set of information gets muzzled… unfortunately it probably won’t be Lutz.
On one hand it must be terribly exciting to be given such hold back over such a potentially ground breaking project.
On the other hand it is obvious that GM always intended for the Volt to be a PR tool and a car second (if at all). GM and Lutz are making many vocal promise much too early and expecting everyone else to pull it off (or not).
I’m pretty sure (and Lutz seems to undergo confirmed it lately) that GM has realized that their boycott of hybrids was the wrong strategy and now has a serious case of Prius-envy. They believe that they need a halo car like the Prius to save GM. Unfortunately their boycott has them so far behind in hybrid cars (see the dismal Aura hybrid) that they are shooting for the moon.
GM and Lutz’s intention is to talk up the Volt to such a point that you forget about GM’s recent attitude and their present situation. They want you to forget the Volt doesn’t exist (they already have put out TV ads!) and may never exist.
GM has damaged the hybrid industry when they should have been leaders. Now they may damage this industry by pretending to be leaders. My hope is that one of the other manufacturers that is scrambling to respond to GM manages not to screw it up. You also have to admire Toyota and Honda for continuing to execute their established strategy of producing incrementally exceed hybrids in the face of this three-ring circus.
Just saw the Spark EV Comet website interesting indeed. I work in a composite shop for a major airline and carbon fiber is definitely the way to go for lightweight and strength. Only thing is it’s definitely too “Buck Rogers” if you know what I mean. I like it but most people would shy away from it.
Just goes to show that EV’s are definitely coming down the pike. The next 5-10 years will be interesting that’s for sure.
This car is likely to be the most important invention of the 21st century thus far. Politically environmentally and economically it is tremendously important. The US government realizes this which is why they’ve approached the Volt aggroup asking how they can help. Surely there will be substantial rebates. If the MSRP could go in at say. $33,995 with a $4,000 government rebate they could advertise it at $29,995. Getting it under $30,000 is huge.
One thing I’d suggest for all you Volt enthusiasts is picking up the GM credit card. 3% of your purchases can go to buying a new car. By the time I buy it and I surely will. I’ll be able to use my student bonus and well over $1,000 in GM dollars.
The range on this car is tremendous. 1,000 km range would get me from Toronto to Boston without needing to stop for gas.
I trashed my GM Card the day they got rid of the 5%/unlimited. Now it’s 3% expires in 3 years…meaning whatever you earned today you couldn’t put towards a Volt because your points would be gone before you could take possesion.
AND GM limits what you can spend on individual vehicles…low margin cars are $700. Who says they will even let you use them at all?
I only use 1 credit card for everything (including all my business expenses)…thats a 2% dividend card…always end up making around $3-$5K a year IN CASH.
GXT Perhaps you are too pessimistic. Big corporations can put a lot of go across — meaning money talent time— behind an idea when the corporate top level is saying “make it happen” and the lower levels are saying “we will do it”. As an idea gains traction it becomes hard to stop because egos and careers get tied to making it work. Yes a lot of things can possibly go wrong but the outlook does not be that way right now. If whatever problems come up — and no doubt there will be some — can be resolved with a few months on the schedule that’s OK. Let’s encourage the project on through our interest and hope they are successful.
GXT says“GM and Lutz are making many vocal promise much too early and expecting everyone else to pull it off (or not).”
With greatest respect this is what the top level corporate executives are supposed to do — set big goals and make them happen. I’ll bet that “everyone else” at GM is enjoying working on this project as it is something visible and big that’s going to make a product where people can say “I worked on that.” And of course it is not just Lutz saying it it is Waggoner and no doubt GM Board Members too. For the first time in a long time we are seeing automotive leadership from GM in terms of design and that’s great.
I find it enlightening to see that any and all battery makers undergo easy access to compete. Of course it’s in GM’s best interests that an open door policy be followed. That is so un-Japanese where supplier contracts be to be based on personal relationships. It’s obvious that GM hasn’t overlooked any of the battery makers although those who are shareholders of Altair and others affirm otherwise.
@ gxt 15. 16. &17 amazing three posts in a row i really have no doubts that toyota is paying people to troll on here this car (the volt) is really not a big deal it’s my understanding that harley has been making golf carts under the same concept for years?my god all we are talking about is an electric motor with a small gas generator the plan is so simple that i can’t accept that there is anyone who can’t see how easy this should be and yes capacitors ordain eventually replace batteries hopefully sooner than later thanks gm for this great car…
If you consider a superior product that competes with Hybrids “damaging” then that’s your problem. Make no identify about it theVolt is an EVRx or EVRE and not a Hybrid.
LOF. Maybe you should go back to that Toyota dealership again and pester the poor hard working salesman and his manager as to why Toyota doesn’t have any Range Extended EV’s and exploit them on your videos a second time ;).
Type #1———-GM will definitely get a kudos for technical triumph. Volt will be engineering merit well earned.
Type #2———-This is where Toyota has a massive lead on GM: production volume. It’s that simple. This type of leadership is measured by actual sales. If GM has suppliers well lined up and consumer expectations set realistically they too will do well.
to 29 bruce g…bruce the great thing is that there are many companies (and individuals see you-tube) getting involved with electric type vehicles including motorcycles (my personal favorite) therefore as these vehicles hit the market and as demand grows and as competition grows batteries (and hopefully capacitors) will be greatly improved and it won’t take as desire as it may be once this whole thing gets moving it Will be exponential!
James,I dont experience anything about battery chemistry but I do note the effort required to produce a small vehicle such as the volt. Would we need new chemistry to produce 7 seater SUV for example with a 40 mile range or an eighty seater bus. Its seems to be a matter of power and energy density. I dont know if A123 chemistry will ever allow such a vehicle. Large amounts spent on research now may allow larger mass produced vehicles when they are required and that may be soon.
@ john35 see jimmys37 point you did not say toyota’s hybrid’s are ahead of gm you stated toyota’s production volume is way ahead of gm the point is gm wasn’t interested in hybrid’s the volt is Not a hybrid and it is going to blow toyota’s hybrids sh*t out of the water i wish you paid toyota trolls would either get your facts straight or get the h*ll of the come in!bruce g38 i don’t experience battery chem either but i do know business and faith once these things start they change exponentially (sp.) (like a snowball) what gm has done/is doing is starting that increase i’m not positive but i think there are already large fleet busses running on total electric or electric with a generator extender could be wrong i read so much stuff on this lately hard to keep it all in tact anyway bruce totally agree with the last line of your statement.
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http://www.gm-volt.com/2007/11/18/your-questions-answered-by-top-chevy-volt-executives-part-2/
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