The Chevy Volt Will Get 50 MPG When the Battery is Drained, According to GM

Is it true that GM is planning a smaller version of the Volt called the MilliVolt?

Sorry, it was an EE joke.

Tom

 

To paraphrase Yoda, Do or do not; there is no "could".

There's another saying that begins with "fool me once..."

I am not skeptical about GM because I woke up grumpy and spun a huge wheel-of-fortune type wheel that has company names and it happened to land on "GM" this morning. I'm skeptical about GM because anyone who isn't is a hopeless Pollyanna.

 

Yes, but have you ever lived in Michigan? I can't afford two cars. I used to live in Ohio - the cost of insurance on my Prius was only $485 per year. Now I live in Michigan - it costs $925 per year for the same coverage. (Yes, I shopped around - this was the cheapest I could get).
I don't know how much they charge in Washington - but insurance is crazy expensive here - thus, the Volt will allow two cars for the insurance cost of one. (At least I hope the Volt doesn't cost $1850 per year - otherwise owning a Zenn and Prius might be cheaper).

 

No, but they will be producing a "MegaVOLT".

Beijing 2010: Chevrolet Volt MPV5 crossover revealed - Autoblog Green

Maybe KillaVOLT is more appropriate since it's only a mid-size.

 

i am sure u have as has others and lets look at this relatively speaking. the simple fact is, GM has done a lot more to deserve the hate, PERIOD

 

Is it only for Chinese market or is it a global vehicle?

 

The article says China only. And it has a shorter EV range and a bigger gas tank. (Than the Volt.)

 

90% less of the most expensive part equals "much less expensive" in my book. The EV bits aren't expensive. The battery is.

Yeah. What Tom said!

I know they never said it couldn't be done. They said it wouldn't be practical, or desirable, or financially feasible. The volt isn't expensive because it gets 50 mpg in CS mode. The Volt is expensive because it has a big ol' Li-Ion pack! Take that that pig pack out, and you don't think the car would be significantly cheaper to make? Electronics are relatively cheap. ICE's are relatively cheap. Batteries are expensive.

I'm having trouble with the math here. Do we agree that the battery pack is the single most expensive part of the car? I guess it all comes down to the definition of "expensive." If the car we'll be getting ends up costing $40k, most people call that expensive. If we chop the battery pack, and the car ends up in Prius price territory of <$30k, do we still call that expensive?

I hope they can survive that long. After so many years of laughing off all forms of hybrids, this whole process has been a bitter pill to swallow - for GM and the consumers.