Consumer Reports: GM's Volt 'doesn't really make a lot of sense'

 

 

 

"When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy," said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. "This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer."

Good job, Government Motors.
Here's a take on it by someone who saw this train wreck coming back in late July last year. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/opinion/30neidermeyer.html

"So the future of General Motors (and the $50 billion taxpayer investment in it) now depends on a vehicle that costs $41,000 but offers the performance and interior space of a $15,000 economy car."

 

"Quantifying just how much taxpayer money will have been wasted on the hastily developed Volt is no easy feat. Start with the $50 billion bailout (without which none of this would have been necessary), add $240 million in Energy Department grants doled out to G.M. last summer, $150 million in federal money to the Volt’s Korean battery supplier, up to $1.5 billion in tax breaks for purchasers and other consumer incentives, and some significant portion of the $14 billion loan G.M. got in 2008 for “retooling” its plants, and you’ve got some idea of how much taxpayer cash is built into every Volt."

Views: 104

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 1, 2011 at 12:10
I wonder how long those batteries will last before they need replaced and what the cost would be?
Permalink Reply by ledlights on March 1, 2011 at 14:59

Good question - what is the projected lifetime for the Li-ion batteries?

 

Same question loomed large about the Prius batteries early on, but turned out to be no issue at all.  Although the price for their Ni-MH batteries has gone from $8000 or more down to $2500 there have been virtually no replacements necessary for ones that have been driven 200K miles other than ones damaged in wrecks.  I have heard that there are Prius cabs with many more miles than that on the original batteries.  Consumer Reports recently reported on early Prius with 200K miles that they tested - performance/gas mileage was very close to the original stats of the car when new. 

StevewPermalink Reply by Stevew on March 1, 2011 at 12:37

They will have good sales at first. They could be very good for commuting in a city.  If your work was 25 miles away it would be a good deal - but how comfortable is it?

 

Most early buyers of the volt will be people who like to show off - sorry, that's true. It will be a status car for awhile. I think its' real world limitations will kick in within a couple of years.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Parkdota on March 1, 2011 at 15:31
I read where some dealerships in CA are charging 20k above the list price due to demand.  I thought that was wild to pay roughly $60k for the Volt.
Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 1, 2011 at 15:33
The price difference would certainly buy a lot of even high priced gasoline, huh?
Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 2, 2011 at 2:28
Well if you could afford a $60,000 electric car perhaps you could plug it in to your $90,000 solar generator, right?
Permalink Reply by JHH on March 2, 2011 at 5:25

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

we'd need some govt subsidies!

Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 3, 2011 at 3:10
Yes, those solar generators probably have a terrible resale market value, huh?
Permalink Reply by JHH on March 2, 2011 at 1:06
DUH! And what do you do to those nasty batteries after they're dead? Plus, new ones are expensive!
Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on March 3, 2011 at 21:03

There's a lot of metal in the batteries for a single car.  The metal is relatively expensive.  I suspect that there will be a brisk recycling business, even without government incentives.   Heck, people might even start stealing the batteries to sell them for scrap.  

Permalink Reply by Max on March 2, 2011 at 5:46

Recharging cost estimate @ .85 cents.

 

Charger cost: $2500.....(furnished by the DOE)

 

http://www.brighterenergy.org/17690/news/transport/michigan-takes-c...

 

Huh, wonder how many Federal workers will have to be fired to keep shoveling money to these and other corporations? 

 

Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 4, 2011 at 3:55
I wonder  if these electric vehicles got real popular, if it would cause an issue with the power grid if everyone plugged them in to charge all at the same time?

RSS

Support GoHaynesvilleShale.com

Top Content 

1 Looking Back At The Haynesville Shale - A Retrospective

Looking Back At The Haynesville Shale - A Retrospective
2 Pending Public Oil and Gas Hearings

Pending Public Oil and Gas Hearings
3 Arkansas Smackover Lithium Play

Arkansas Smackover Lithium Play
4 Aethon looks for Buyers of its Haynesville Assets

Aethon looks for Buyers of its Haynesville Assets
5 Notice Emails Are Back! Please review how they work.

Notice Emails Are Back! Please review how they work.
6 Comstock October Presentation

Comstock October Presentation
7 Haynesville Has 12.5 Years of Sub-$3 NatGas Inventory - Enverus

Haynesville Has 12.5 Years of Sub-$3 NatGas Inventory - Enverus

Blog Posts

The Lithium Connection to Shale Drilling

Shale drilling and lithium extraction are seemingly distinct activities, but there is a growing connection between the two as the world moves towards cleaner energy solutions. While shale drilling primarily targets…

Continue

Posted by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher) on November 20, 2024 at 12:40

Not a member? Get our email.

Groups



© 2024   Created by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher).   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service