GM Voltec Electric Propulsion System Drive
Here’s some video we took during a recent Voltec electric propulsion system drive we did for the broadcast media. Enjoy! - Will Stewart, blog editor
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I applaud what you are doing. I recently bought a new Corvette, which is the first GM car I bought since 1991. I have a Prius and the driving experiences you describe are similar to mine in “stealth” mode. I have two suggestions. First, the base price of a Volt needs to be less than $30K without appearing cheap. Second, the dealers need to not act like they are selling “Gold” as they did when the C6 Corvette came out a few years ago. Provide good value and be honest with us as American customers and we will come back.
“Second, the dealers need to not act like they are selling “Gold” as they did when the C6 Corvette came out a few years ago.”
GM, do you have a plan in place to prevent Chevy dealers from “gouging” customers and selling Volts at a premium markup when they finally hit the showroom?
I recommend some type of plan allowing Internet orders directly from GM at a fixed MSRP with delivering at the nearest dealer and that dealer then sharing the profit.
This seems like a silly question to ask,
I understand that these Volts are extremely quiet when running. Almost silent in fact. Does the car make any audible sound or visually alert the operator while the systems are engaged that informs the driver that touching the “gas” will put the vehicle in motion?
From a safety perspective, would a hearing impaired individual know that they are sitting in a potentially dangerous situation if they can’t hear the engine running? Worse, would a pedestrian outside the vehicle know it’s operational as well and knows when not to cross in front of or behind a Volt?
Not silly at all Mike. Obviously the Volt will need some kind of aural warning system ~ especially to warn pedestrians and bicyclists in urban areas.
Hikers in Glacier National Park wear jingle bells to warn grizzly bears of their approach. Perhaps something similar for the Volt.
I would think you would still end up putting this in a forward or backwards “gear” wouldn’t you. In which case, no audible signal would be necessary. I’m imagining a digital dash is going to turn on also,
Colin Smythe-Faversham: “Hikers in Glacier National Park wear jingle bells to warn grizzly bears of their approach.”
Those bells mean, “Lunch is ready.”
I heartily agree that the Internet should be utilized much more as a marketing tool. I don’t want to have anything at all to do with the sleazy local dealers except arranging a test drive, then picking up the vehicle after I’ve arranged the financing and closed the sale on the Internet. I also want to have warranty work done at the dealer of MY choice- some dealers (GM and others) around here are crooks, pure and simple.
as a stockholder , i think you guys are way off base thinking the masses will want or afford to spend the 40k on a “new” electric car, why don’t you put this technology into say the malibu for somewhere closer to 20k ? this volt looks to target the upper end consumer and in the end aren’t we really more concerned with quantity ? also with all of the concerns @ the battery hasn’t anyone considered installing wheel driven generators to actually power the vehicle and recharge the battery ? what @ wind propeled generators to capture charge upon movement? p.s. if you use my ideas i want compensation
Langdon
I would agree that dealers should not mark up the Volt and leave it a MSRP if consumers will agree
to pay list price for every other car on the lot.
I never ceases to amaze me that its ok for the customer to negotiate the price down but the dealer can not ask what the market will bear for a hot product.
“I never ceases to amaze me that its ok for the customer to negotiate the price down but the dealer can not ask what the market will bear for a hot product.”
Because it’s the retail price the manufacturer has set. If it’s really a hot product, then the manufacturer should have set a higher MSRP. The dealer is supposed to be the manufacturer’s representative to the public, not someone who takes product from the manufacturer and then tries to gouge the buying public.
That was one thing refreshing about GM’s Saturn division when they started it. Why can’t GM do the same for the Volt?
I for one wish GM had not tagged the Volt as a Chevrolet, but instead just called it the General Motors Volt, and then allowed all GM dealers to handle Volt deliveries after consumers placed their orders directly to GM over the Internet.
I’d like to see what they’ve figured out for after the battery is drained and the generator turns on….
Frankly I can’t understand how the car has the same battery power as the EV1 yet will only go a 1/4 the distance, is it that heavy with a higher drag co-efficient they can’t get any higher?
I have a question. So you say I can get 230 Miles a gallon commuting to and from work if I plug my car in every night, and let’s say my commute is a tad over 40 miles (round trip) so I would only be dipping into the gasoline energy a bit which makes sense. Now, the question is (and you’ve gotta ask yourself this) what is that going to do to my electric bill? Well, I thought about it and I figure at $.14 per killowatt hour, in order to expend only 50 HP (37.3 kW) of the available 150 horses (111.9 kW) over my 40 useful battery miles and traveling at an average velocity of 40 miles/hour, this would cost me around $5 bucks to commute per day on my electricity bill ($.14/kWh x 37.3kWh). This cost is to travel 40 miles? That’s like 20mpg if gas is $2.50 per gallon.