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The Volt: Saw it ~Touched it ~ took pics

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by hill, Sep 28, 2008.

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  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    I knew this was coming. :p No, I haven’t gone mushy. Far from it. What really took away some of my aversive feelings for GM were the nice folks of plugin-america at the party. After all, many of them were leaseholders on the EV1’s. I was just a one time rider & on the wait list. If prior EV1 leaseholders can soften towards (tho I’m sure not all have) GM for the criminal/waste they did by crushing electric cars built on the back of taxpayers, then heck, I can at least take a wait & see approach. I’d still be way too leery to take one of the early Volts, with GM’s reliability/quality issues, but I’d do the wait & see. Even so, if my spot (around 1,500) on the Aptera wait list comes up first? Then I’d go the aptera way, even though 4 wheels will get you a $5K tax credit. Fact is I sent out letters to the manufacturers (wishing everyone would) letting them know our family will not buy a new car until it’s got a plug … and not just for the EBH. I encourage others to make the same commitment if they can.

    IMO the urgency to get ANYTHING on the road that plugs in is paramount. Sometimes things (like peak oil) get so desperate you realize you may have to sleep with the enemy. And yes, we are each others hot spouse in the pics :p
     
    #21 hill, Sep 29, 2008
  2. txtabby

    txtabby 2011 Prius 4

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    What, no EV-1 at the event??? Oh, that's right, they 'don't exist' anymore...;)
     
    #22 txtabby, Sep 30, 2008
  3. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    oic... a car show... i thought you had seen one driving around...well that is what i am waiting for... but a demo is ok... now the real question...

    was this the model that passed the wind tunnel test??
     
    #23 DaveinOlyWA, Sep 30, 2008
  4. Mormegil

    Mormegil Member

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    I also made the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica. According to the GM rep, that Volt was a drivable show car. He said that is the final chasis / body design, but it didn't have the production battery in it, just a conventional non Li-Ion battery.

    Of course he also said when the battery runs out, the ICE kicks in to FULLY CHARGE the battery - which contradicts the news reports that it keeps the battery at 30% charge. I was very specific, and even mentioned the news article, but he insisted this version fully charges the battery.
     
    #24 Mormegil, Sep 30, 2008
  5. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Does the hot *brunette* still drive the rav4-EV?
    .
    _H*
     
    #25 hobbit, Oct 1, 2008
  6. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Thanks for the perspective. I'm glad to hear the Plugin America folks are behind it. I think the Volt and its business plan have a lot of issues, but I'd still much rather see it made than not. If there are no other options, I would probably have to consider one. I fully expect the Toyota offering to be much more appealing though.

    Rob
     
    #26 miscrms, Oct 1, 2008
  7. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    #27 zenMachine, Oct 1, 2008
  8. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    So what you saw at the show was not a Volt, and certainly not a production car. It was a thing with a Volt name plate on it. But of course now a lot of people will believe they've actually built one.
     
    #28 daniel, Oct 2, 2008
  9. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Our future is in safe hands then?
     
    #29 patsparks, Oct 2, 2008
  10. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    I sure as heck hope NOT!!!!! Two of the GREAT things about the Prius:
    1) NOT having to look THROUGH the steering wheel to see the instruments.
    2) NOT having a stupid console mounted 'right down left down' shifter

    I'll be VERY mad if Toyota gets rid of the joystick shifter or the 'at the windshield / dash' display in any future Prius. Both are leaps in driving ergonomics.

    I saw some pictures of the (released when??) Venza and I was VERY unhappy to see:

    1) NOT a hybrid
    2) Notched console mounted shifter IN THE WAY of the controls - between the driver and the climate control section of the console
     
    #30 bruceha_2000, Oct 2, 2008
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    ok, i see no pic... i need to know if Chrome is at fault here
     
    #31 DaveinOlyWA, Oct 2, 2008
  12. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    The article is flawed:
    Wrong. AND, since 75% of people drive less than 40 miles in an average day, the 'after 40 miles' MPG is important only to the other 25%. Plus, it is STILL better than most vehicles on the road once it goes into ICE electricity gen mode.

    Which has what bearing on the value of a vehicle? As gas goes up, people will stop 'needing' quick 0-60 MPH and want 60 MPG. You don't get that by hauling around useless horsepower just so you CAN do 0-60 in under 8 seconds. Which, by the way, no one ever really NEEDS to do and very few ever use their 7 seconds 0-60 in normal driving.

    My prior vehicle was a '95 Odyssey, listed as 0-60 in about 13 seconds. I never had a need to see if that was how long it actually took, nor was there ever a time when I NEEDED to get to 60 faster. In fact, just to see, I checked the average 0-35 time in traffic before I picked up my Prius, about 10 seconds.
     
    #32 bruceha_2000, Oct 2, 2008
  13. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    #33 bruceha_2000, Oct 2, 2008
  14. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    The dinner event was a fundraiser for Plug in America.

    Trying to figure out WHICH blonde Patsparks is asking about.

    And here, Hill, I'll see your "stars" and add... well, the same ones:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    #34 darelldd, Oct 2, 2008
  15. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Wrong in one other way too ... it's cost as a death blow, because a $30K- ish Prius would cost $40K too, if it had a 40 mile range li-ion battery pack. The hope of both Toyota & GM ought to be that initial high production will eventually lead to affordability, after us early users buy initial R&D costs. Isn't that how Toyota has already done it with the Hi-hy, the hy-cam and various Lexus hybrids?

    I am honored to almost be outsmugged by Mr. Smug himself. But keep lookin' over your shoulder. I'm comming after your title. :p
     
    #35 hill, Oct 2, 2008
  16. asjoseph

    asjoseph Samuel, '04 Ruthiemobile

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    ... that car is going to be bug city. I'm not touching it with a ten foot pole.


    Regards,
    ~ Samuel, '04 Pruis
     
    #36 asjoseph, Oct 5, 2008
  17. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    This hot blond, [​IMG]
    If this is your spouse I'm happy for you, very pretty lady.
    I also wish GM every success with their second venture into plug in cars.
    Maybe the US government could make any financial assistance or tax breaks conditional on no perfectly good cars being destroyed by GM this time.
     
    #37 patsparks, Oct 5, 2008
  18. PRIvUS

    PRIvUS New Member

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    Wow, I'm digging the front. I love how aggressive it looks. I'm definitely suprised.
     
    #38 PRIvUS, Oct 5, 2008
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    The GM dude told me it was a 'working prototype'. He never said how fast it'd go, but that everything was as it will be delivered in the showroom, "minus the battery pack". So what ever kind(s) of batteries it had, they weren't what buyers will get. Here's a vid link of the dinner:

    Viddler.com - 2008.09.27 Plug In America Fundraiser Party - Uploaded by iStef

    Towards the end you can see 'em moving the car around, and get a couple more views of the car.
     
    #39 hill, Oct 22, 2008
  20. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    I think "working prototype" may be a bit of a stretch. The Frontline that was on last night had a small bit about the Volt, where they had been invited out to a GM photo shoot to see it in person. They unloaded it off the truck, it struggled to climb a gentle grade at ~10mph for the cameras, then conked out all together. The GM folks suggested to Frontline they could speed up the film to make it look normal speed ;)

    Rob
     
    #40 miscrms, Oct 22, 2008
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