burlapp car

Live pictures from the Volt Event

By  •  Published:  •  Last updated:





Well… That black roof doesn’t look like a glass roof does it…

It just looks like a black roof. Painted..
At least on this pre-production model.

Actual production is actually a bit over 2 years away. That’s amazing!
I can’t remember any manufacturer showing off a production car 2 years before it comes out…

Conversation 15 comments

  2. I agree with 8:18… solar panels would make a lot of sense for an electric car. Because an awful lot of people drive over 20 miles to work, to make it home it would be necessary for the car to charge while sitting during the day.

  3. I agree, solar panels would be a good idea.

    But they could only conceivably be optional on the Volt. If not, you know there are going to be home hobbyists putting them on their cars especially when electricity is de-regulated…and the prices rise.

    Speaking of which, when electricity prices rise per kilowatt hour, how much money could this vehicle cost to charge? A water heater generally uses up the most electricity in the average American home (hence the popularity of solar ones): about 5500 kwh/year. At standard rates, that’s about $440/year.

    This car should take about 10-24 hours to fully charge up, ready for about 40 miles of driving without a drop of gas. My question to Chevrolet is, how many kilowatts will this baby use during those hours? If electricity prices rise as much as PPL (my electric company) told me they will in 2010, that poses a problem for plug-in hybrids owned by average, suburban commuting Americans. Speaking of average folks, there are many middle-class families who finance or lease cars costing upwards of $30,000. That’s right under the average in my subdivision.

    This puppy is going to be $40-$50,000 when it hits the showroom floor in 2010 as a 2011 model. I hate to burst my own bubble (I love the idea of the Volt), but by then, considering the direction the US economy is headed… this car might be as many predicted at the start.

    Too little, too late.

    Inflation might mean that $40,000 will buy a fuly loaded Prius or a base Cadillac CTS. Or the US Dollar might continue to devalue so that the Europeans will be the only ‘regular folks’ able to afford the green car.

    Kind of puts the ‘mental’ in environmental, doesn’t it?

  4. I agree, solar panels would be a good idea.

    But they could only conceivably be optional on the Volt. If not, you know there are going to be home hobbyists putting them on their cars especially when electricity is de-regulated…and the prices rise.

    Speaking of which, when electricity prices rise per kilowatt hour, how much money could this vehicle cost to charge? A water heater generally uses up the most electricity in the average American home (hence the popularity of solar ones): about 5500 kwh/year. At standard rates, that’s about $440/year.

    This car should take about 10-24 hours to fully charge up, ready for about 40 miles of driving without a drop of gas. My question to Chevrolet is, how many kilowatts will this baby use during those hours? If electricity prices rise as much as PPL (my electric company) told me they will in 2010, that poses a problem for plug-in hybrids owned by average, suburban commuting Americans. Speaking of average folks, there are many middle-class families who finance or lease cars costing upwards of $30,000. That’s right under the average in my subdivision.

    This puppy is going to be $40-$50,000 when it hits the showroom floor in 2010 as a 2011 model. I hate to burst my own bubble (I love the idea of the Volt), but by then, considering the direction the US economy is headed… this car might be as many predicted at the start.

    Too little, too late.

    Inflation might mean that $40,000 will buy a fuly loaded Prius or a base Cadillac CTS. Or the US Dollar might continue to devalue so that the Europeans will be the only ‘regular folks’ able to afford the green car.

    Kind of puts the ‘mental’ in environmental, doesn’t it?

  5. 2 years before it is released?? By the time this it released it will be old news and stale. And outdated possibly.

  6. I remember Mercedes-Benz showing the first A-class two years before they actually started production… but not the full car like GM does with the Volt, bit with tiny teasers…

  7. The Prius ’10 will have a solar roof option but Toyota conceded it was more symbolic since the power was barely enough to power the AC for a short amount of time. The surface is just not big enough.

    GM said it would cost about 2cents per mile on electricity. Now if the energy comes from renewable sources then we’re talking… Otherwise we’re just shifting the CO2 problem to power plants…

    And yes, why can’t GM simply bring a Prius fighter out now without complex not ready yet technology (=Lithium Ion).

  8. “And yes, why can’t GM simply bring a Prius fighter out now without complex not ready yet technology (=Lithium Ion).”

    Thats a good question. I was thinking the same thing. I heard that Toyota offered GM a chance to help in co-developing the Prius but GM refused at the time. I hope GM doesn’t just hype a vehicle that may not meet people expectation.

    I heard the reason GM is showing the car so soon is due in part to them asking the government for Money and needs to show the government some evidence that GM is serious.

  9. That makes sense, though…that they would have to show the current government their progress so they can quickly get some money before “no earmarks” McCain is installed.

  11. They’re showing it 2 years early because its a PR stunt designed to pry billions in loan guarantees out of Congress. The bill is to be considered next week. This car will never be mass produced.

  13. You know, intentionally mis-timing the release of this car could be a killer secret plan for the Volt to fail.

    This is one of those lessons learned from “Who Killed The Electric Car”. With the EV1, GM engineered leases only on their entire fleet. All of them have been crushed (save for the non-functional one in a museum). The false rationale from GM for not offering the EV1 for re-lease was “lack of interest”. They willfully destroyed their entire fleet of electric cars even after 80,000 people offered to pay cash to re-lease or buy their cars from GM.

    By the time this arrives in dealerships, it could be “set up to fail”. Right now GM’s patting themselves on the back. “Look, we did it! We made one!”…In 2010, they may well be on the verge of bankrupcy and cancellation of the Volt in lieu of more pickup trucks is a forseeable scenario.

    “We just can’t afford to build it now, thanks to the economic downturn.”

    I really want to see this car in showrooms, on the road, and in my garage. I just feel like the company that forcibly removed thousands of EV1s from Californians should not be allowed to set up the failure of another revolutionary car.

  14. I totally agree. It seems Toyota and Honda don’t seem to have all these problems releasing a electric hybrid. Why should GM??
    Its sickening.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *