GM Chevy Volt

[thelastdeadmouse]

Unless they're drastically reducing range, there's probably still battery pack under the rear seat as well. About half the battery pack is under the back seat in the current Volt. My guess is that it has a 1 or 2 inch hump in the floor for high voltage cabling and cooling lines to connect an under seat battery to the rest of the drivetrain up front.

 

[JRP3]

They have been talking about a smaller pack/shorter EV range version, so that could be it, though I'd be surprised if they built a different body pan for that version of the car. It's possible that they are now more comfortable using a larger percentage of the pack capacity and can get by with a smaller pack in both versions. Or it's just a test car and the appearance of the back seat is misleading.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

That's good news. I guess they shrunk the pack to just the hump between the driver and front passenger?

The more obvious alternative would be that they made it a rectangular pack instead. Volt 1.0 used the T design from the EV1, an old 1.4L and a modified trans from two-mode. I hope that this time GM isn't as cash-strapped so they've takenca fresher approach. Of course, it's also possible that they've disguised the hump.

 

[John Luciano]

If they could just get the Range up to even 50 or 60 miles on battery. I , and many other people , would be all over it. At a price of under $40,000 it would be just what people would be after... The Tesla S is a little out of the average consumers line of sight. Looking at the amount of Volts I see for sale in the $ 13,000 / $15,000 range with relatively low miles on them. I think many find the 28 winter / 35 summer battery range a became a burden.

 

[RobStark]

. Looking at the amount of Volts I see for sale in the $ 13,000 / $15,000 range with relatively low miles on them. I think many find the 28 winter / 35 summer battery range a became a burden.

I went to cars.com. I searched for Volts within 150 miles of my zipcode.

The cheapest was a 2012 with 84k miles for $16,999.

 

[Rifleman]

If they could just get the Range up to even 50 or 60 miles on battery. I , and many other people , would be all over it. At a price of under $40,000 it would be just what people would be after... The Tesla S is a little out of the average consumers line of sight. Looking at the amount of Volts I see for sale in the $ 13,000 / $15,000 range with relatively low miles on them. I think many find the 28 winter / 35 summer battery range a became a burden.

While I completelly agree that GM needs to up the range on the Volt, as a Volt owner, I can say that the 28/35 mile range is not a deal breaker, and anyone buying one knows going into the transaction what range it can achieve. The transition to gas on the Volt is so seamless that its really a non issue. If you want to do 100% of your driving on electric, you dont buy a volt, you get a leaf. The Volt is typically purchased by a person who wants to drive as much EV as possible, but is willing to burn some dino juice to get a vehicle that can meet their needs in their price range. As the range of the leaf increases, the number of people who need more range than a leaf offers, but cannot afford a Tesla will decrease, and the Volt will be forced to improve or die.

 

[Park2670]

I have yet to drive mine in the cold winters of Utah, but am regularly seeing 48 miles of range on the battery in the 85 degree heat. Its doing just fine for my daily commuting and such. Also was able to take it down to Pasadena CA for Bimmerfest this weekend and averaged 40.5 MPG. Not bad in my eyes.

 

[dpeilow]

2015 Chevrolet Volt Has Larger Battery, Drivers May See More Range

Should actually be over 40 miles EPA.

 

[Rifleman]

Nice, this is a good improvement for what will hopefully be the last year of the 1st gen Volt. I guess the big question is going to be price, it will be interesting to see if GM holds the line on price, or has a small drop for the 2015 MY.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

2015 Chevrolet Volt Has Larger Battery, Drivers May See More Range

Should actually be over 40 miles EPA.

View attachment 53840

No. 2013/2014 battery was already 16.5kWh.
38*17.1/16.5 = 39.38.
But that assumes the also expanded the usable range in proportion. Observations from people who seem to have the new battery suggests the usable bump might only be 0.3kWh. From a GM spokesperson's comment it doesn't seem like they're going to up the rating, maybe just because it's not the magic number.

 

[ggies07]

Well here ya go:

GM Says New Volt Is Coming, But It's 'Not A Mass-Market' Vehicle Anymore

I'm not sure how to take this.....either GM has given up from going from a plugin to an all EV or they are just giving up right now and are waiting until some battery technology works for them somewhere after 2017. Either way, it shows the company does not care on doing whatever it takes to move forward in the EV revolution.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Well here ya go:

GM Says New Volt Is Coming, But It's 'Not A Mass-Market' Vehicle Anymore

I'm not sure how to take this.....either GM has given up from going from a plugin to an all EV or they are just giving up right now and are waiting until some battery technology works for them somewhere after 2017. Either way, it shows the company does not care on doing whatever it takes to move forward in the EV revolution.

I think the problem is that the sales results (esp. recently) have been largely disappointing despite large price cuts. So they may have to change their sales strategy.

 

[ecarfan]

GM seems to believe that a majority of American car buyers don't want an a EV, even one with an ICE range extender. From the article:
---------
“But the reality is that there’s a finite market for Volt, and it’s geographical. California is the epicenter; it’s not about selling Volt in Oklahoma.
---------

While I concede that there are many car buyers who resist any kind of change and think that even a Prius type hybrid is just too "different" for them to consider, I think the low sales of the Volt are because it is not a compelling value proposition for most people. Too small and too slow for the price.

 

[dhrivnak]

I think the problem is that the sales results (esp. recently) have been largely disappointing despite large price cuts. So they may have to change their sales strategy.

I fully agree. If people bought them in numbers GM will respond. Overall EV sales have been disappointing in the USA. Even Tesla is losing money each quarter.

I am trying to do my part by helping to sell 2 Model S, 2 Leafs and a Volt. I fully believe if we buy they will sell.

 

[ggies07]

I think the problem is that the sales results (esp. recently) have been largely disappointing despite large price cuts. So they may have to change their sales strategy.

To me it seems more like company atmosphere than anything. They don't seem to want to put in a ton of resources to try and make the Volt even better than it is so that the public will be wowed with the second generation. They are fine with it being in a niche market. Where's the "We're going to make the battery even better" "We're going to make the car even better" "We're going to build on top of this car to make a great mid-priced EV"?????????

 

[ecarfan]

Agreed. GM lacks the will, the vision, and frankly the knowledge and skills to make a great EV. They point to the Volt and say "See, we're green and we get it". But the reality is that is not the case.

 

[stopcrazypp]

There's many factors to it. General market demand for a certain segment, marketing, the specifics of the car itself, pricing/specs, etc. all play a part in the sales.

At this point, without knowing about the car specs it's hard to say what GM's new strategy is yet. Sometimes what PR says initially may be wrong or can change in the future.

I think the best strategy is like Tesla: offer different battery sizes. Make it so people willing to pay more for more electric range can do so, and those that can't also have a lower cost option.

 

[ecarfan]

I think the best strategy is like Tesla: offer different battery sizes. Make it so people willing to pay more for more electric range can do so, and those that can't also have a lower cost option.

The Volt appears to have been designed to accommodate only a single battery size. In contrast to the Model S which was designed to handle different battery capacities within the same size pack (yes I know the now defunct 40kW was a software limited 60 but the 60 contains fewer cells than the 85, I believe).

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The Volt appears to have been designed to accommodate only a single battery size. In contrast to the Model S which was designed to handle different battery capacities within the same size pack (yes I know the now defunct 40kW was a software limited 60 but the 60 contains fewer cells than the 85, I believe).

The Volt didn't need much more in the way of battery. It's EREVish, not BEVx.

GM is not even trying to sell them. They've essentially had two commercials:
- You don't go the gas station much.
- It's really confusing to understand whst the car is.
That marketing has been completely crap and a marked contrast to Nissan.
So, I have to wonder whether they're just trying to make it better at high margin and accept small volume, they simply don't feel Gen 2 has cut costs enough, or they're going to have cheaper PHEVs under a different model, and leave the Volt as full-power PHEV. Or maybe even that they have changed their mind on BEV and so will go national with BEV instead.

 

[RobStark]

Overall EV sales have been disappointing in the USA. Even Tesla is losing money each quarter.

When legacy auto companies lose money it is because sales have fallen, advertising and/or incentives have increased to maintain market share or some combination of the three.

The implication in"even Tesla is losing money" is that Tesla in a similar situation. It is not.

It is a niche manufacture spending money on infrastructure and R&D to become a Major Manufacture.

Tesla may "lose" upwards of $300M this year but spend $950M on infrastructure and R&D.

It selling cars at a 30k/year rate right now while investing in the future as if it were an auto company selling one million units per year.