I like the idea of the volt, but the EV1 had a greater range. I'm sure they can get another 40mi if the just give the option of removing the gas/ethenol/bio-diesel/hydrogen generator in back and adding more batteries.

Posted by atomx I like the idea of the volt, but the EV1 had a greater range. I'm sure they can get another 40mi if the just give the option of removing the gas/ethenol/bio-diesel/hydrogen generator in back and adding more batteries.

i think they are going for the Insight/Prius marketshare with the Volt. Their competitors have the hybrid technology, so GM took a little further. Personally, I think that the system is better for the varied North American terrain than a purely electric powerplant. I mean, yeah, i like GM, sure, but this car seemed to be a little better thought out, maybe. The only thing is that they need to get their ad copy on board because I think that I read in one paragraph that it had a 1-liter turbodiesel 3-cylinder to backstop the electrical system and in another the turbodiesel was a turbo gas engine... (?)

Eh, we'll see how it turns out.

You will have your choice of a gas/ethenol/bio-diesel/hydrogen generator.

With a 12 gallon tank.

All in all if you drain the tank you will get 50mpg.

Posted by atomx You will have your choice of a gas/ethenol/bio-diesel/hydrogen generator. With a 12 gallon tank. All in all if you drain the tank you will get 50mpg.

and it looks like it has more space than an Insight or Prius... :oP

I'm looking forward to when my lease ends to be getting one. For summer driving at least.

Turbo Diesel for the win...

Gas Turbine would work great because you could run it on both Kerosene and Diesel

Posted by Agent Skelly Gas Turbine would work great because you could run it on both Kerosene and Diesel

Chrysler tried that in the 60's and the cars were not a success. One of the biggest reasons was the all or nothing powerband of the turbine. Off the line, the cars were dangerously pokey. Once they got to speed, they moved along ok.
Also, back in the late 60's early 70's Union Pacific Railroad attempted to run a JET ENGINE in a freight train... that too was a bit unsuccessful as there were cities that refused those trains entry!

Posted by Samurai Chrysler tried that in the 60's and the cars were not a success. One of the biggest reasons was the all or nothing powerband of the turbine. Off the line, the cars were dangerously pokey. Once they got to speed, they moved along ok. Also, back in the late 60's early 70's Union Pacific Railroad attempted to run a JET ENGINE in a freight train... that too was a bit unsuccessful as there were cities that refused those trains entry!

Well Chrysler in its "Turbo" editions had their own gas turbine design that had its own share of problems and actually fixed them mostly with the 3rd generation so the powerband issue wasn't the problem anymore.

What I am talking about is using an off-the-shelf turboshaft engine (from Caterpillar perhaps or even my beloved GE) which by nature can use either diesel or kerosene.

In all honesty, Skelly, I can't see technology moving in that direction. What I do is more and more synergy drives like the Volt, the Prius and the Insight utilizing small displacement gasoline or diesel engines to backstop the electric unit... What is the guiding rule of auto manufacture:

cost of manufacture per unit.

Posted by Samurai In all honesty, Skelly, I can't see technology moving in that direction. What I do is more and more synergy drives like the Volt, the Prius and the Insight utilizing small displacement gasoline or diesel engines to backstop the electric unit... What is the guiding rule of auto manufacture: cost of manufacture per unit.

Thats the guiding rule in any company that does mass production.

But I could see it happening with SUVs. While the demand has dropped for SUVs in this day and age, there still is a demand for them and well people want them to have great mileage. Putting an something along the lines of an aircraft auxiliary power unit allows them to have both.

Actually for GM it's rule has been, profit from replacement parts.

GM's main source of income came 3 years after the original purchase.

However with the introduction of the EV1 they saw that the replacement parts were brushes. And that's about it. That I can see was one of the major reasons they canned it.

Posted by atomx Actually for GM it's rule has been, profit from replacement parts.

i disagree.
i've owned nothing but GM's for over a decade and they do not fall apart as you are implying. I'm calling bullshit on this statement, atomx. Besides, GM sells the rights to replacement parts anyways. Now, Dodge/Chrysler on the other hand... When the Ram pickup came out, the spindle/ball joint assembly was weak, they knew it was weak and as a result, they lasted say 40,000 miles, maybe. In fact, I've seen them fail in as little as 15,000 miles! That was why for about 5 or 6 years after the introduction of the new Ram, you had to get the spindle/bearing/ball joint assembly FROM Chrysler and Chrysler only... to the tune of $400.00+!!!!

i will give you one thing about GM and one of their design blunders was the W-Body (Lumina/Grand Prix/Cutlass Supreme/Regal)... the rear transverse leaf spring and the sliders on the rear brake calipers... yup, they sucked so bad there was a class action lawsuit over them which GM lost... my brother got a check for $100 over that (he was the 2nd owner of a 93 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe).

You may have no problem with GM but I've never seen a dealership repair shop empty or a technician busy.

How much does Oil and a Filter truly cost?

Over the years how much does the non-handy person pay for oil changes over the life of a car?

I don't remember when I heard this but Honda was know for engineering in break times for parts. I wouldn't hold it against GM to do the same.

The Saturn Vue CVT is know to die at 100,000km and they won't replace it or look at it untill it shreds itself.

If the Electric Car is brought out by GM they will loose this parts and service profit.

I agree that it's not all their income.

Posted by atomx You may have no problem with GM but I've never seen a dealership repair shop empty or a technician busy. How much does Oil and a Filter truly cost? Over the years how much does the non-handy person pay for oil changes over the life of a car? I don't remember when I heard this but Honda was know for engineering in break times for parts. I wouldn't hold it against GM to do the same. The Saturn Vue CVT is know to die at 100,000km and they won't replace it or look at it untill it shreds itself. If the Electric Car is brought out by GM they will loose this parts and service profit. I agree that it's not all their income.

ANY CVT is junk... this is why most of the Japanese and European manufacturers abandoned it. I could only roll my eyes when I saw the Vue equipped with it. In fact, my friend Pete has one of those CVT Vues and he hates it.

Using the dealership my brother works at as a barometer, I would say that most of the cars that they work on are cars that are pretty thrashed on. Northern New York has some pretty severe roads and weather... it beats the shit out of cars. Everything from suspension to engine to electrical, it's open season! And another thing that those silly import companies don't want you to know is that their cars are just as prone to breakage here as any of the other 'lowly' domestics. I've worked on just about all of them and this area chews cars up!

For the most part, in my area, the cars to stay away from are Fords, Chryslers, Mazdas, Kias and Hyundais.

Mines been decent. I hope it doesn't go after the warranty. A like the face that getting onto the highway the engine stays at a constant rpm as long as I do a constant acceleration.

Posted by atomx Mines been decent. I hope it doesn't go after the warranty. A like the face that getting onto the highway the engine stays at a constant rpm as long as I do a constant acceleration.

you have an Aveo, correct?
or was it the Canadian Pontiac version... (had to google this), the Wave?
The E-tec in those cars is not too shabby. I drove one a couple of summers ago and it was peppy, handled like a little bumper car and was reasonably quiet for a car it's price and class.

I have a Vue and a Wave.

And yes, I like driving the thing. Great in the snow, fun.

A guy in a GrandAm tried to race me, heh, I guess he had the I4 in his.

Amazing that GM somehow made a good product out of a Daewoo

My GM only has 177,000 and is falling apart. Wtf? the two before it did too....

I don't trust them. Ford killed GM's decent, haul ass with four trailers in tow, lineup with Excursion. If you're gonna burn gas, burn it right.