What's the point??

Yahoo. ^

[lonster]

our power grid is already taxed during the day, now it's going to be at night as well. what's the point??

[theFIRMbss]

[throwback]

I'll wait for the Japanese, thanks. I'm too familiar with Government Motors' product quality. Besides GM is really a Chinese company, and I try to avoid buying Chinese products.

[SeminoleSoldier]

So it can run errands around a city, how nice. Basically replaces a scooter, and at what price?

I dont see anybody who has to do any real traveling, a large family, or needs to take a car into anything besides flat and 55 mph or less roads using this.

Be interesting to see how easily it gets squashed in a collision with a regular car.

[wolfpat]

Having to back the power plants down at night and on weekends is a problem for electric utilities. They have large money invested in the plants, and if the plants are not running, they’re not making money.

The ones that have a heavy investment in nuclear power have the biggest problem, since nukes run best wide open, and even small changes in reactor power can cause minor headaches.

This isn’t as much of a problem during Summer and Winter, because power usage is still pretty high at night. But in the Spring and Fall, the load dispatchers sometimes have a problem trying to justify keeping the nukes at full power.

[Izzy Dunne]

The first-generation Volt is expected to cost near $40,000

If I take that $40,000 and buy a $10,000 car with it... that leaves $30,000.

Even at $3.00 per gallon that's 10000 gallons of gas.

At 25 MPG, that's 250,000 miles

I wonder it the electric will last for 250k?

[chrisser]

I stopped following the Volt after the GM Bankruptcy/Bailout. Not sure how the production version will fare compared to the prototype.

However, it isn’t all that bad of a design. The Ecotec is a proven, and quite capable powerplant. That was supposed to be the gasoline power source. The rest of it was basic electrics, assuming battery tech was up to the task.

You don’t have to charge it, since it’s a hybrid. You can run it on gasoline all the time if you prefer. But since most peoples’ commutes are within the all-electric range, it gives quite a few people the option of either gas or electric - you can choose the more economical or convenient choice.

The concept was supposed to be a four passenger sedan with a decent amount of room. Mileage is as limited as any gasoline-powered vehicle so it’s practical in just about any setting.

Now, whether the old or the new GM can actually build it, at a reasonable price, and to last long enough to drive it off the lot, are altogether different stories, but the Volt design itself, as originally conceived, has much going for it.