GM Chevy Volt

[vfx]

This headline is a bit sensational (I know, that's what makes it good) but it's not exactly what he said. He even started out by saying he wants the Volt to do well. He just ended by saying that at the time the generator is charging the batteries that is an underpowered vehicle.

This (very long) interview has a few good Tesla tidbits.

 

[stopcrazypp]

This headline is a bit sensational (I know, that's what makes it good) but it's not exactly what he said. He even started out by saying he wants the Volt to do well. He just ended by saying that at the time the generator is charging the batteries that is an underpowered vehicle.

This (very long) interview has a few good Tesla tidbits.

Business Insider did that with Siry's article last time. They try to find the most sensational quote and use it has a headline. Then all the people will focus on that one quote. Can't see video right now, but I'll check it out later and see what's what.

Elon probably shouldn't comment so much on competitors. It's not helping Tesla since all it's doing is pissing off fans of those cars and Tesla needs all the support it can get (there's a growing anti-Tesla backlash it seems).

 

[vfx]

Bloomberg

GM Volt Cost May Limit Value to Drivers, Study Finds (Update1)

A rechargeable auto with the Volt’s target range of 40 miles on electricity is “not cost effective in any scenario,” a study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found. Plug- in cars with smaller batteries may be a better value, according to the study, which doesn’t cite the Volt by name.

With lighter, cheaper batteries, a plug-in with 7 to 10 miles (11 to 16 kilometers) of electric range or a conventional hybrid may provide the best mix of price, faster charge times and efficiency, Michalek said. His study was accepted this week for publication in a future issue of the journal Energy Policy.

Debunked?

 

[Takumi]

Why is Elon doing PR? Didn't Elon hire people who are good at that? He doesn't even make an effort to correct incidences such as this?

 

[malcolm]

Why is Elon doing PR? Didn't Elon hire people who are good at that? He doesn't even make an effort to correct incidences such as this?

He wants his name to be the one everyone associates with Tesla. No surprise there.

But I do worry that in choosing to make himself readily available to the press, something else has to take a back-seat.

There's no I in 'team'. There is a me, though, if you jumble it up. Dr Gregory House

 

[vfx]

There is no "I" in "team" but you will find "at me" when you look hard enough.

 

[vfx]

The always well spoken Chelsea Sexton has a new blog. First Post s on driving the Volt.

Poker faces… « evchels

 

[graham]

From vfx link:

I persisted, assuring him I’m familiar with pre-production systems, but he remained stoic, until I finally pinned him- “what is so wrong with this car that you won’t let anyone drive it with the engine on?” He paused, and admitted almost sheepishly, “well, when the engine comes on, you can hear it.”

This lends itself to the conjecture we have had previously that the engine must make more noise than they are comfortable with. And the reasons for many of the design decisions have been to a) keep the engine off as long as possible and b) if you turn it on, try to not run it full tilt if possible.

 

[Tdave]

It may not be all about the amount of noise the engine makes, but also that it doesn't rev relative to speed or throttle input. It therefore probably sounds like it's racing, or that the throttle is stuck. Our reaction will be instinctively be that something's wrong. It's just not a natural sound feedback.

 

[TEG]

And how will the Fisker Karma do in that regard?

 

[vfx]

An obvious benefit to the sound of the ICE motor kicking in is that it will be a reminder to the driver that they are now running at up to five times the transportation cost and are now polluting, importing foreign oil etc.
Just by buying the Volt it means they care about some combination of these causes. The sound will teach them to head home and not wander, combine trips, make shorter runs, always plug in and generally drive more conservatively.

A nice primer for when they go full EV

 

[TEG]

They should just have open pipes to blast the announcement that they have failed to drive the Volt as an EV and have fallen from grace back into internal combustion land. :tongue:

 

[TEG]

Wall Street Journal Wants GM to Abandon the Volt : TreeHugger

 

[TEG]

GM Defends the Volt, Attacks Smaller Electric Car Start-Ups (Tesla, Fisker, etc) : TreeHugger

 

[vfx]

GM Hybrid circa '69

 

[DaveD]

Conflicted GM has a lot riding on Volt - Washington Post- msnbc.com

 

[vfx]

Jalopnik - GM's Lutz: Chevy Volt Will Use GPS To Determine Distance From Home, Adjust Engine Accordingly - Chevrolet Volt

 

[TEG]

Will Use GPS To Determine Distance From Home, Adjust Engine Accordingly - Chevrolet Volt

We had the foresight to propose that idea already.

REEV concerns

If you started on a drive from SF to Tahoe and flipped the "try to keep my battery at least 80% full" switch as you left, then the ICE would come on sooner, and you would start uphill past Sacramento with plenty of charge to 'make the grade' uphill without problem. The possible problem (as I see it) is the weak ICE coupled to a strategy of "drain the pack first" with no option to override.

Another option would be to have it GPS/Nav coupled and it calculates what you need based on the destination you programmed in at the start of your trip.

 

[TEG]

Here is another idea for the future - certain GPS areas would be "ICE free" zones, such as pedestrian heavy city centers. The GPS/Nav would make sure to keep the ICE off in those areas.

Curiously there is an effort to say that electrically driven cars are too quiet around pedestrians, but I had not so long ago seen the counter argument that ICE vehicles cause too much pollution (both noise and soot) in city centers, and so some European cities started banning gas engined cars in certain areas.

Zermatt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...To prevent air pollution which could disfigure the town's view of the Matterhorn, the entire town is a combustion-engine car-free zone. Electric vehicles are allowed...

 

[dpeilow]

BBC - Ethical Man blog: Test driving an electric car in Motor City

Very good segment on the Volt and GM.