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Chevy Volts should have made GM stock go up 500% by now.. Why isnt it catching on yet?? It is not about gasoline prices.. it is all about excitement driving Volts , a different kind of car than Priuses and those copy cat hybrids all over!! Volts is unique and I know that 99% of readers are still clueless about Volts! Will Volts be built as quality cars that will beat Toyotas and Hondas? This is a very important question that needs to be answered now and fast! So buyers will know and hold on wallets until 2010! Go GM!

If GM stock went up 500%, then GM will be able to walk to creditors to borrow billions at low rates to expand Volt manufacturing fast! Volts may become the Car of the Century and I would not be surprised. What surprised me the most is those columists' half hearted descriptions of Chevy Volts which is a shame to begin with...

Note that they did not mention price. That is the bug-a-boo as the current platform, mass produced is still in the 40,000 range.
Worse, even at that price the profit margin will be slim.
They know how to make the vehicle, but they don't know how to make it a profitable vehicle - yet.
This is a very,very big issue with all of the automakers as he who get there first will get all of the apples.

If GM got this car to a 200 mile range I would want one tomorrow.

If GM made this car with a 200 mile capability, I would want one tomorrow.

What is so strange about clean air afficandos is that they are so strung out about automotive emissions levels while not so about their respective fireplaces that spews pounds and pounds of soot and particulates not to mention obscene amounts of carbon monoxide and stuff! Now, I dont look at Volts as an purely electric car but one with a giant capacitor or massive lithium ion battery pack that is the most expensive component in Volts. I would be very happy to have a Volt with only 5 mile range instead of 40 mile range. 5 mile range should be good enough to tide Volts over the hills or passing cars. The gasoline engine/generator should be supplying plenty of electric juice to go along with the smaller battery pack (5 mile range). I can add an optional pair of lead acid battery as a power booster for drag racing or something like that...

The biggest error I see being made these days is when people evaluate the Chevy Volt, or any electrically propelled vehicle, on the basis of cost. You folks are missing the point completely. If it were simply a matter of cost, $4 gasoline
is far cheaper than any electric car. And to believe that the Volt needs to be a muscle car is about as dopey a statement as I've yet heard. GM already has two more variants in the pipeline - probably from Cadillac (to hide the cost more easily) and either Pontiac (performance oriented version) or Saturn (going for the environmentally ultra-conscious).

I may be wrong about 5 mile range as sufficient. if it is better and practical to have 10, 12.5 or 18 mile range , that is fine with me . I just want a minimal battery pack to get around... I dont want GM to market Volts as a pure electrical commuter car that has a gasoline engine/generator to boost mileage range. I see Volts as a gas powered electric car with an extra battery pack to give it extra oomph so to allow the smallest gasoline engine displacement possible as practically... The idea of a possible 750 cc gas engine to power the Volts with battery pack strikes me as a real killer car that can capture 25% of the car market easly!! I hope it will transcend into something lije 50-60 mpg Volts if i am correct. Moreover, the gasoline engine/generator will be outiftted with the most minimal emission control system required because of its limited throttle activity as it is an automatic throttle used to crank the generator only and free of any lead feet manners commonly found in drivers!!! That is what Volts is all about!!! I like Volts

I dont think Volts need a huge costly lithium ion battery that costs $20,000 and is vulnerable to thefts!! GM need to rethink its marketing angles... Volts is supposed to be shown clearly in pictures and diagrams to the general public to help them understand the "new/old" concept of the powertrain inherent in Volts... The general public is not really mechanically knowledgable and is easily manipulated by opinion columinists who are jealously guarding hybrid techology . Volts is not a hybrid car nor an electrical car... Volt is a "constantly charged battery powered car" with a smaller than normal gasoline engine that crank a big generator or alternator used to keep the batter pack charged at all times. It is not worth the hassle to charge Volts with a cord . You can go to gas stations as usual in Volts... The idea is to keep Volts simple and cheaper... Volts doesnt need expensive 40 mile battery pack!!! Too expensive and unprofitable... GM needs to make profits now and fast!! If possible , introduce Volts in 2009 not 2010 without the silly expensive lithium ion batter pack worth $20,000 on top of it...really silly necessity for krauted out environmentalists!! I will be very happy with the minimal battery pack possbile as practically... Most of you readers are still so clueless about Volts!!! GM is still fumbling up with marketing Volts ... GM need to make one million Volts as cheaply as possible. The sweet price is $20-25 K each...not $40K which is ridiculous!!

Most of you readers' criteria on Volts is off the point ... and any of you still so clueless about Volts...
Let me rephrase Volts as "wireless electrical car" if it is a catch buzzword that you can like... I hope... Really, Volts is the kind of car that runs like an electric car you see here and there but it doesnt require you to drag out a power cord out of your home to charge it .... Volts is an electric car that burns gasoline as normal cars!!! Volts is much less complex as far as emission control systems go because there is no gas pedal in Volts... Sounds weird to you, but true...
That is how Volts work.... It runs great!! and you will love Volts! I guarantee it!
Those columinists are really dragging their asses on Volts as if they are hoping that GM will go bankrupted soon!! That is not true..

Volts is nothing like the EV-! electric cars that GM stopped making a decade ago. Volts is more advanced and more sensible than EV-1 !!
We still dont have a battery pack that can go 300 miles per charge but only 40 miles or so. You will need expensive advanced computer systems to stretch the electric power further like we have in Teslas ($100,000 each)
Volts can be built and sold for less than $40,000 with my idea of much smaller battery pack and an optional cheaper lead acid battery pack to give an extra couple of miles , I suppose.
GM is wasting too much time perfecting lithium ion battery packs not to mention untold billions in losses every quarter!! GM is driving me crazy enough to say " GM, hurry your asses up!!"

Car I invented gets 100 MPG.
You can email me for more info.
..alfredschrader @ aol.com

Alfred
Hurry and make a million 100 mpg cars now!!

Gumbo, you are out of control the volt is a hybrid, gas electric hybrid, and plugging it in is a good idea, if you don't plug it in it is just a hybrid, not a plug in hybrid, and as a hybrid you'll get maybe 50 MPG as a plug in you'll get 100MPG equivalent for a 60 mile commute maybe

GM is a liar about the VOLT. Either lead-acid or NiMH batteries are more than sufficient to power it over 100 miles in all-electric mode.

Lead and NiMH are the cheapest, best, proven and only batteries that work in EVs.

Lithium has problems; it's expensive, and doesn't last long. GM doesn't have a clue about these problems, and is postponing the VOLT based on waiting for a battery that doesn't yet exist and may never exist.

The fact is, GM has admitted to NHTSB that it won't make many, if it makes any at all, and that the VOLT won't be worth counting it GM's supposedly desperate attempts to meet MPG ("cafe") standards.

So what's not a lie about GM? GM's VOLT story is ALL lies!!

Right Doug, I'm sure GM is lying about Volt to make it look worse than it is. Why would they want to use cheaper batteries (your lead acid) and go further?
You seem to forget they once built a lead acid powered electric car. It's range sucked (and it was a small 2 seater).
Don't you hate it when the facts don't support your great opinion.

Sherman, the Volt will have a 200 mile range. Actually more. It just will need a gasoline boost to get there.
Or you can stop every 40 miles and plug in.
I think GM's approach makes more sense than waiting for a 200 mile battery pack than may be years away.

"Oh the Volt is so sweet, it gets 100 mpg and has a maximum range of like 200 miles..."

I can't believe people are still hyped up on the Volt. Ever heard of Aptera? Their car gets 300 mpg for 350 to 400 miles!!!

Glad someone is FINALLY talking sense. The Volt is the wrong design to make great things happen for GM - by itself. It's rather expensive and has VERY little functionality. It's the next generation when that drivetrain is used in the Saturn Vue or a mini van platform that a meaningful market will appear.

After reading the comments from others,I can only draw one conclusion. GM is wasteing tons of money on the Volt that they will never bring to market. The only thing GM has going for themselves is their propaganda department. They are blessed with idiots running the show. If GM wanted an electric car on the market ,they have several smaller cars that could be converted to electric at the factory and sold for less than the gas powered version of the same vehicle. They(GM) could have electric cars in the showrooms by the end of the year if they were truly and honestly interested in putting out an electric car. I have every expectation of seeing GM go belly up before they ever put out the first Volt.