GM still sucks. I'll wait for a japanese car kthxbai.

watch "Who killed the electric car." makes you wonder why GM doesn't just put out an all ELECTRIC car since they had the technology years ago. Oh yeah money.

The power button is probably for the stereo, and every in-dash CD player out there is slot loading, you twit.

Apathyap,

Electric cars are only good for driving around the city. Driving long distance is out of the question. Unless you wish to spend 5-6 hours every few hundred miles recharging the batteries, a gasoline engine is much more time efficient. Secondly, only the wealthy can afford two have one vehicle for long distance travel, and one (electric) vehicle to drive just around town. The rest of us have to deal with just one type of car, so that still gives us the gasoline engine as the power for running our vehicle and getting us where we need to go.

Perhaps the electric car killed itself because it isn't viable for at least the reasons I've mentioned above, forget some so-called conspiracy. Maybe, in a couple of decades, with the help of some technological breakthroughs, the electric car will make a come back. Maybe.

This isnt JUST an electric car. it's got a gasoline engine running at a constant speed to charge the electric motors, which do all the work. so no accellerating means better gas mileage! and you get some plug in benefit as well, altho not much. so maybe 100mpg? best hybrid model i've heard yet.

Whats the matter with the Ipod white dash you guys seem to get all hot and bothered about anything that even resembles an apple of somekind.

One of the first production electric cars was the Fritchle electric car produced in 1905, it had the range of 100 miles. It did cost big bucks $2,500 compared to the $700 gas car. Fritchle also produced a electric/gas car. You would think someone would had developed a better version.

I am glad that GM has the guts of perusing this (the Volt).
Everybody is a critic, few are doers.
I see some heavy duty R&D in the works here. Keep it up, results will follow.

America needs a different energy source or kiss the a$$ of Middle East for another 30 years.

weebork - your an idiot.

it you would learn about the topic your talking about, you would know that the Volt as 2 power options, electric and gas. even on longer road trips the car is still an electric car, but it has a small gas engine to keep the batteries charged up. its an in-genius system.

UPDATED: The following post has been left here for all to see, but disemvoweled by the DVICE staff:

FCK LL F Y MTHR cnt FCKRS

Weebork, I'm not sure where you're coming from with the line "...only the wealthy can afford two have one vehicle for long distance travel, and one (electric) vehicle to drive just around town." I know plenty of people who make $40K (and less) who have two cars each, and some have Prius hybrids. Regardless of whether or not that makes them fiscally smart, they are definitely not wealthy. Heck, the 20-yr old kid next door to me has THREE cars, and he works at McDonald's!

40K...what have you been smoking? Unless I've missed a press release, GM has maintained the base price of the Volt will be 20-25K.

The volt is real but the battery technology used on this prelim model is old tech. Meaning it does not meet the specs GM wants prior to marketing the vehicle. Cutting edge battery tech is available but GM does not want to market at 40-50K. They know the average person will not be able to afford one at those costs. Also battery service and replacement are as bad as that on a Prius. The car is not quite ready. At least not for the mass market. Maybe in a year or two they will get it down to the 30000 range and sell a few.

Wow, a few of you are dense.

"UBERLORD: GM still sucks. I'll wait for a japanese car kthxbai."

Why? Do you get paid in Yen?

"APATHYAP: watch "Who killed the electric car." makes you wonder why GM doesn't just put out an all ELECTRIC car since they had the technology years ago. Oh yeah money."

No, consumer needs. Everyone rips GM because they pulled the EV1 from the market. Well, so did Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Ford. GM crushed the EV1 just as Nissan crushed the Altra, Honda crushed the EV+ (even some brand-new ones) and Toyota crushed most of the RAV4 EVs but sold a few to save face while GM sold the S-10 EV and Ford sold the Ranger EV.

The EV1 lives on in the Volt as a lot of the EV1's engineering is in the electric drive system of this car.

The Volt is not like a regular hybrid, the gasoline engine, E85 engine, diesel engine nor Hydrogen Fuel-Cell power the wheels, only the electric motor that is powered by the batteries which are charged by a power outlet or the onboard generator (engine or Fuel-Cell). If you want it to be electric only then never put gas it it, but it won't go further than about 50 miles. GM is also talking about a pure EV model Volt for those that will pay more for batteries and don't want a range of more than 150-200 miles. The Volt's E-Flex powertrain will not be limited to the Volt, rather any car platform designed from here on out will be able to accept it.

weebork, I must be a millionair because I have 2 cars. One is very economical and one is bigger (small SUV). My wife and I trade depending on who needs which vehicle. I WOULD buy an all electric car because I, like most humans, drive under 150 miles per day. When was the last time you drove over 150 miles in one day? I bet it wasn't that recent and when you did it, you probably had another car available if yours did not work for some reason. 100% electric is the way of the future. We must have it as an option if we want to save money and energy. Solar cells on a house roof w/a direct connection to the grid can offset the energy it takes to charge the car in the evening. By the way, it takes 1.5-2 hours to charge a car to 95%, not 4-5 hours. Sure, we will need the ICE car, but we also need the option of an EV.

The BEV's are coming. Hybrids, I suspect, will be around as an interim, but they are too costly to be practicle. The VOLT is a hybrid, recently moved to a 2010 release and with a plug to woo the EV crowd. This was because Nissan will release a BEV in 2010. Mistubishi also has the iMiEV which is being tested by utilities in California. L-ion is ramping up worldwide, Matsushita [Panasonic] is spending a billion dollars to expand in effort to keep up with Sanyo. Things are changing fast, but don't expect to see serious competition till about 2015.
The EVs are coming, offering the choice people want. Electric Energy Storage using Chemicals has been slow due to lack of demand. Energy storage and production are major growth sectors for the future, especially for automotive. Only time will show how far it will go. Ex: Stanford U says they can increase Li-on density 10 times. If we get a third of that, we have the 300-400 mile EV and the Tesla Roadster will go 600+. And if Project Better Place has Agassi's way, you may buy Kilowatts like you buy cell minutes.

yeah so now the next movie will be called "who killed the volt's battery pack", the plan is to sell you the car,but lease out the battery pack, that way you can still have the car when GM decides to repossess your battery pack and send it to the crushers that crushed the EV1s!

I can't stand the idiots that reprint the lie that the Prius' batteries need to be serviced or replaced, never happened even OONCE freaking republican liars and fools oil company shills

So, were those _really_ low profile tires or was the thing running on flats?

Anyhow, yes, all batteries will wear-out eventually, the question is when and then how much it will cost.

IIRC charge time is one of those "it depends" sorts of things - for example, how big an electrical socket does one want to use? Just a plain 120V 15A circuit, or a 220V ?A stove circuit. Want the thing charged to 100% or will 80% suffice?

Taking even an hour to charge means that one has to be a bit more diligent with a "pure" electric than gasoline even if just driving around town - have to remember to keep the batteries charged each night because you cannot just nip into the gas station when the little orange light comes-on when you are between the cleaners and Joanie's soccer practice. That sort of thinking ahead and such is probably a good thing though.

40K for a boondoggle like these hybrids. Make one the people can afford and maybe you will have a car not just a high priced toy. Personally I will wait for the 17.8k air pressure car from zero pollution motors. American manufacturers as usual a day late and a dollar short.

I still can't understand why people don't utilize a motive technology that is more than 150 years old and is already available, inexpensive, healthy, far more economical and doesn't contribute to urban congestion the way the all of these over sized, over priced, over polluting behemoths do...

It is called a bicycle!

No need to wait 20 years for some pie in the sky technology to be discovered. You can get a nice one today for less than the average American pays for just car insurance for one year! For the same cost as a new compact car you can get a really really nice one...

The new design sucks. Once again they take a great looking concept, dumb it down, and make it look generic. There are already plenty of stupid-looking green cars. They had the chance to create some sizzle, but they chickened out. Cowards! Take me off the waiting list!!

You guys are a bunch of tards.. You dont need a second vehicle for long distance trips in an all-electric vehicle, All you have to do is tow a portable generator, which companies like U-haul, or car rentals would most likely be more than happy to rent out. Yes, its an extra step, yes, its annoying, but how often do you go on long trips? Hybrids with built-in gas motors are a waste of time, money, and energy. You can already see 200miles per charge on some pure EV's, and the majority of america doesnt even drive that far in 3 days.. If your too lazy or forgetful to plug your car in once, in that time, you deserve to be stuck on the side of the road. Hybrids suck, get over it. Theyre not the answer they claim to be.

TASCMAN really you mean the Japanese companies are copying the Americans again? NO WAY! I don't believe you!

Just wait and see if EESTor makes good on their technology - it will shatter what we currently think of for electric cars. Too bad they sold exclusive rights to ZENN for 4000 lbs and under - maybe the big 3 (or is it 5 now?) will license the technology from ZENN since they have the mfg capacity. Still, EEStor hasn't proven their supercapacitors will work but every 3rd party test so far has been good. Very exciting times - too bad our blind Gov't can't put a few billion into this technology - we seem to be able to find $400B per year for Iraq/Afghan fighting but next to nothing for revolutionary technology.

honestly,
your a giant douche if you comment on the internet. yes, myself included. go spank yourself to sleep.

Politicians have a single excellent reason for supporting the use of gasoline powered cars. They collect an incredible amount of tax from fuel levies. Electric cars stop that revenue stream so don't act surprised if your government doesn't like the idea.

Who knows when they'll ever get this thing on the road. Toyota will come out with a plug in prius in 2010, Prius owners will be saving thousands in gas money while Volt fans continue to wait and hope Chevy will ever get their act together. for example, they are offering "employee pricing" in Tahoe's.............. yeah, I really want to get 12 mpg.

I like what GM is doing finally. Combined with home solar panels that are subsidized homeowners need not tap the grid to "refuel". The Volt is a giant step forward. Easy problem to solve when taxes for fuel are not collected. Weight and milage traveled sent via "Easy Pass" technology will allow direct billing of taxes to support highway and bridges maintenance. Find reasons why rather than why not and it will be done.

Why buy a $40,000 car in 2 years when you can buy a toyota prius for $22,000 put in 3 more batteries and get 100mpg with electric. Plus Chevy is known to make cars last 100,000 miles and die. I trust Toyota over American junk!

Boring design Volt will never make a profit. Prius was distinct, exciting and recognizable.

At least a very nice design though.

$40,000 target price ?

Is GM begging (again) for failure.
If this push does not begin below a 30k point that is exactly what they will have - failure.

$40,000 for a chevy? I'll pay for the gas

A few years past we had an electric energy shortage in Seattle. Seattles' people in the know asked everyone to conserve thier energy consumption. We did it so well that the energy companies charged everyone a surcharge, because they didn't collect enough.

My point here is that the cost for fuel now is an added tax. We spend our money for fuel or things. Things create inflation but make everything look robust. Don't you even think about retiring what with the cost of gasoline heading through the clouds. People are always upset about taxes and the money they spend for fuel is just one of those things.

The electric car is a do-able thing now just as in 1907. You also will have a surcharge to repay your road tax. This is the way as i see it.

wildbillhickoch has a good point, the governments will loose tax revenue and start adding surcharges to make up the difference. CNG cars are used in some States, if you fill up at a filling station/center, you get taxed, if you buy a "Phil" for around $4,000, you can connect it to you home natural gas lines and refill without paying taxes, for now. In some areas, you are also allowed to "sell back" unused electricity from your car to the power company, just like "selling back" unused power from home solar collectors.

Fritchle electric cars produced in 1905 ran for 100 miles on a charge, Todays GM Chevy Volt runs for 40 miles on a charge. Fritchle did run one of his cars from Nebraska to Chicago for the World Fair to promote his cars. Yes, it did take a few days, with no air conditioning, radio, .... but it made it. Fritchle did end up working for Buick, go figure.

I wish GM would take it one step further. An electric car where one could pick different recharge systems (gas, diesel, fuel cell...etc) and allow one to remove the recharge system to reduce the weight or when not needed.

I think electric cars are the best long term solution. Who is to say electricity won't be 100% clean in the next 30 years... Electricity can be produced by several methods, some of them clean. Why wait? Electricity is more readily available than any other form of energy.

If we wait for the "perfect product" to come out, we would rarely see new products. Today it may be only 40 miles, but in 5 years it could be 100.

Imagine no more trips to the gas station.....

tazmon96: "It is called a bicycle!" Sure, works great for the 3 blocks that are my neighborhood. But, my only road out is a narrow, 55mph, 2 lane Hwy, with no shoulder. I live in the country, Farm country. You all being part of the "Better safe that sorry" crowd will understand why I'll continue to drive my Pick-up into town. Additionally, it's hard to tote materials in a bike. If you needed some lumber, or potting soil, or solar roof panels, what would you do, maybe hire a big, "expensive, un-healthy, far less economical and contributes to urban congestion the way the all of these over sized, over priced, over polluting behemoths do..."

Paying for the blown trans on my sienna at 44,000 miles really turned me off when my malibu going strong with 158,000 miles. I like the new style volt, can't wait to get my hands on one!