Production version of GM Volt unveiled

[TimBikes]

Looks great - the Volt is just what GM (and this country) need. I wonder how readily they will be able to adapt the drivetrain to other vehicles or if it requires a new design from the ground up. I'm thinking the latter.

[Rybold]

Awesome! The media is swarming with news on this right now.
I searched Yahoo News (a search engine for media news), and there were over 1,000 articles written on the GM Volt just yesterday.

So what is the current "promised" date that it will be on dealer lots?
"Production is scheduled to begin late 2010." That can't be right. They already have a working car (photo below). Honda said their new car will be here in Spring 2009. why is it going to take GM two more years before the Volt arrives?

image source: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slides...316691693.jpg/

[Zythryn]

Has the final production version gone through the government safety tests?
Is the production line ready to go, or was the first one hand-assembled?
There are lots of things that take a fair amount of time. I won't give GM a hard time for the delay between the first 'production' vehicle and full production.
I will remain skeptical until I actually see these for sale on the showroom floor

[cycledrum]

Wow that Volt looks pricey. Sure seems to have a wider track than the Prius.

There was a full page ad in the local newspaper today also.

At $40k, the car won't be affordable to a great many people.

Let's hope it turns out to be a good car that sells pretty well, 'cause the US needs a boost.

[tripp]

Good news. The first vehicles like this won't be super affordable. It's rare that a new tech comes out and is instantly cost competitive, esp for something like a car. I just hope that they don't fall flat on their faces. If GM is able to pull this off, it will force a lot of naysayers to take a serious look.

[Rybold]

GM now has advertisements for the Volt on
various websites. This screen shot was taken from finance.yahoo.com

[john1701a]

Originally Posted by Rybold

GM now has advertisements for the Volt on
various websites.

Only 10,000 will be available the first year and only in select states... which means the average joe will be waiting a minimum of 3 more years before getting a chance to follow-up on that advertisement.

Then in 2012, they are anticipating a production capacity of just 60,000.

They promote a green image but won't have an inventory to match. What else will consumers be able to purchase?

.

[Zythryn]

That is why they call it "a vision of the future", you can't get one today

[efusco]

Originally Posted by john1701a

Only 10,000 will be available the first year and only in select states... which means the average joe will be waiting a minimum of 3 more years before getting a chance to follow-up on that advertisement.

Then in 2012, they are anticipating a production capacity of just 60,000.

They promote a green image but won't have an inventory to match. What else will consumers be able to purchase?

.

That's a good point John. Clearly they're not fully committed to this project and I have little doubt that Toyota will be scaled up with some sort of PHEV by then that will be cheaper and more widely available if not with the EV range of the Volt. Would like to see something closer to 50k available the first year and in 49 or 50 states.

[Dion]

I love my Prius but, the Volt interior looks great.
The next Prius better look this good.
There has been a great deal of automotive electronic advancement since the Prius was released.

That spy shot of the Prius interior looks awful compared to this.