Heard from an inside source: Chevy Volt is real

Okay, pardon the pun, but I just heard from someone on the inside that the Chevy Volt is actually coming to market, and soon. Basically, as soon as they possibly can, using nex-gen LiIon batteries available now.

The 2012 date being spouted out is just to keep the other carmakers at bay.

The biggest issue is crash testing, the batteries are indeed good enough and will be the safer LiIon style (no thermal runaway).

The timeline is three years, but is likely to be accelerated to two. Basically, GM may have this thing on the road in mid 2009.

It is a real project, a real platform, with the enough resources committed to making it happen.

Frankly, I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't heard from a trusted source.

All of you know how much I hate GM. I'm still trying to get over my initial shock at hearing this information.

malorn, you may see me driving a Chevy after all.

Nate

Rock on! Competition is always good. I fully expect a plug-in of some sort to be my next car, so I'm hoping they succeed and get these out there sooner than later.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Jan 25 2007, 02:51 PM) [snapback]380767[/snapback]</div>

I told someone on here it was real, and promised from on high. I have been telling you that GM has drawn a line in the sand on every front. GM and Toyota will be duking it out in the US and around the world. Ford and DCX I am very worried about, at least in the short-term.

Kewl! Now if they can only achieve and maintain a high level of quality...

If this is true and thy deliver the car around 2009/10 then they will have a killer car on their hands! I hope toyota is having nightmare about it right now and decide to make the 09 prius plug-in as well.

I wonder what price they will be looking at?!?

Still vague rumors always float on the internet and I have little trust in GM as they already have destroyed on of the coolest cars on the market.

GM, if you're listening: "I WILL NOT LEASE A CAR FROM YOU!"
That said if you bring this to market then you will have a killer product!

I've said this before, so I'll say it again:

If GM comes to market with a plugin before Toyota does, and it has reasonable specs (how to define this? Let's say about a 40 mile range), I will buy it.

NO, I will not lease it. Sorry GM, I don't lease cars.

Nate

I agree the first reasonable speced car (say at least EV20, preferably 40) and under 45k I will buy! We're looking at replacing our 2nd car in 2-4 years and this car is def. making the list!

I don't understand the "over the top" look of the car. It doesn't seem practical for the people that would be interested in buying it, starting with the 21" wheels, extravagant interior, and the complicated glass. If this car were to be put into production, I believe that the real thing will look completely different from the prototype pictures we see. Or maybe Chevy will put a huge price tag on it, nobody will buy it, and they can say"see, nobody is interested in this technology." If Chevrolet truly wanted to redeem themselves, they would bring back the EVs. I'm not buying it, figuratively and literally. I'm waiting for the 08 Prius.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BORNGEARHEAD @ Jan 25 2007, 08:39 PM) [snapback]380883[/snapback]</div>

Ya, it's kinda...um...revolting, isn't it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BORNGEARHEAD @ Jan 25 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]380883[/snapback]</div>

Not sure what you mean by this. A sporty four door sedan with the effeciencies they are claiming would sure interest me, and I suspect many other people.

I agree that the production model would probably look a lot different, but that's frequently the case with show cars.

If this thing truely pans out I will have to seriously take a look at a GM car, something I thought would never happen.

Personally, I don't like the thin window/low visibilty thing, but it does have a cool name.

If the thing goes faster than the 3mph that I've seen it operate at, I'm all over it! And yeah... lose the pimp-mobile look, and give me a real sedan that I can see out of, and we're set. And how about an option where GM keeps the ICE and installs a few more Li-Ion cells in its place?

EV2, here I come.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SomervillePrius @ Jan 25 2007, 04:15 PM) [snapback]380793[/snapback]</div>

No Plug? No Deal!

Lease? No Deal!

Own? Quality? Performance? ... DEAL!

GM and Ford have failed for 40 consecutive years to match the quality, vehicle for comparable vehicle, of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and, in the cases of some specific vehicles, Mazda and Subaru. "Our" engine technology has never caught up with theirs.

Why would anyone think that, on its first try with a new technology, GM could produce a car superior to what the leading Japanese manufacturers will sooner or later produce? Is GM suddenly going to jettison half its marketing force in favor a quality engineers and quality-control people?

Talk is cheap. I'd love to be surprised, but what reason is there for optimism?

Come on you guys. Do you really think the GM Volt is going to be offered at a decent price? I'm NOT buying an EV car at $40,000+. If I wanted to do that I would already be driving a Rav4 EV.

I guess I will be waiting a LONG time if I need 2 things out of a "regular" EV vehicle.

1. The price for me needs to be $20,000 or less.
2. I need an EV truck

Didn't they say that the EV Volt as it's sitting now is $200,00? If so how are they gonna get that down enough in price for people other than actors to buy it. I mean I would LOVE George Clooney's Tango but the price tag he paid is WAY WAY to high for me. And IF I wanted to I could financially afford to buy it. Just won't do it.

I think to get a decent priced EV where gonna need the manufacturers to be duking it out like efusco is saying. Price would be one of the best punches!

The VERY frugal side of me is already beating me up for buying a Toyota Prius. I just don't drive a vehicle enough to be paying $30,000 like I did. I live and work in the same building. 90% of the places I do business are within blocks of me. I grew up poor so I'm not spolied for luxury cars. (I'm currently drive a Gem NEV that bounces around like crazy! :unsure: )

It's hard to consider the badness or goodness of a car until it's here, much less the price. I think $20,000 would be an unrealistically low price point, after all, I paid more than that for a Prius 2 years ago, and to convert it to plug-in operation would cost another 10 or 12 thousand.

Speaking of plug-in hybrids, wasn't a Saturn Vue plug-in promised as well? Anyone have details on that, like estimated price?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Jan 26 2007, 10:42 AM) [snapback]381056[/snapback]</div>

Yeah that's what I figured. Oh well the electric vehicle I'm driving now is working out ok for me so I will probably just stick with that unless something hits my fancy.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jan 26 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]381061[/snapback]</div>

What about Stan from the documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car"?