[voltman]

0-60 in under 6 is pretty damn good. My friend is so proud of his 200hp jetta gli. Cant wait to race him.

 

[AES]

0-60 of 5 or 6 seconds really isn't that surprising, honestly. If the Killacycle develops over 400 horsepower using less than half of the batteries that the Volt is planned for, then the maximum discharge rate from a 16kWh pack would be absolutely colossal.

"No replacement for displacement" seems equally applicable to PHEV's and EVs as it is to ICE cars.

side note - "No, you would not want to wipe your face. Although lithium... you know, if you're bipolar, you can eat your battery."

Lutz is a real gem

 

[Brian2]

dont care about too much about 0-60. dont care at all about 120 mph. dont care at all about 100 mph.

do care about the 30,000. its too high.

do care about the release date 2011, not soon enough.

do care about the appearance. i thought the larger tires were going to be part of its cool look.

sadly, most if not all of this news is disappointing.

 

[Ziv]

Nice 0-60 speed! Kind of disappointed in the 'late 2010, early 2011' part, not to mention the failure to state that the total price for the car and the battery would be 'nicely below $30k'.
I really want to buy this car in 2010. I bought an I4 RAV4 in February, big disappointment, I was prepared for the slow, but the bad gas mileage was a bit of a surprise. Traded in a V6 Taurus, thinking an I4 would be much better on the gas, it wasn't, and then I turned on the AC...
My mistake, but I am really hoping to get either a plug-in Volt or a plug-in Escape within 3 years. Ford has the SUV and if you add a bit stronger motor and LiIon batteries to match...
One can dream...

 

[Keith_Rogers1]

I’m sold on the LARGE wheel wells for the big rims (deluxe package maybe?). I heard the Chrysler 300 sells well because of the room to add big rims! Large wheels give an aggressive, fast, powerful look… as opposed to the small GOLF-CART looking tires on that unique, but ugly Prius. I hope the wheels are at least the same size as my Mustang (not baby Prius size)!

The EV-1 engineers covered the rear wheel wells for less wind drag, but that took a big toll on the sex appeal of the car. When “Who Killed the Electric Car” was filmed - most camera angles where low and from the front to hide the car’s frumpy wheel covers.

To me the Volt concept looks like a smaller, sleeker, newer Chrysler 300… boy is it hot!

 

[kent_beuchert]

No pun, but that's a shocker from out of the blue. Why did it get around earlier that the car would take 8.5 seconds to get to 60? Is this claim accurate, or was the reporter mistaken? Can Lyle verify this?
I thought the motor had around 160 HP. That
won't get you to 60 in any 5 or 6 seconds.
Confirmation needed.

 

[AES]

One concern with making the car a "hot hatch" is that it's front wheel drive. They may decide to electronically limit the power and torque to prevent spin outs and understeer, but I suspect there will always be people perfectly willing to void their warranties in return for an adrenaline boost.

 

[kent_beuchert]

I'll tell you. The way oil prices are bouncing up, Lutz better make plans for two or three factories to produce these E-Flex cars.
I'm also intrigued by the possibility that the EnerDel batteries could be used for the VOLT. They claim they will be in cars in 2 years, plenty of time to make it into the VOLT. I wonder if that's a possibility?

 

[AES]

"I thought the motor had around 160 HP"
"Why did it get around earlier that the car would take 8.5 seconds to get to 60?"

For comparison purposes, the EV1 had 137 horsepower, and got to 60 in 8-9 seconds. They may have estimated that 8.5 based on their past experiences. If it's an official goal/estimate, the 5-6 second range probably takes into account not just the bigger motor but also the vastly larger power produced by Li-ion cells.

Designing a more powerful motor to cope with the battery output may actually play in GM's favor in terms of both image and efficiency. The acceleration would be a definite image advantage over a Prius, but also, if you design an electric motor (especially AC induction) for high peak output, you can actually increase the efficiency at lower speeds and loads.

 

[kent_beuchert]

I think I may know understand the acceleration times more clearly - the 120 KW motor should have around 165 HP, but will have around 400 ft/lb of torque, so tons of HP at lower RPMs. 400 ft/lbs of torque should definitely get you into the 5 to 6 second range for the 3000 pound (or so)
VOLT. Diesel locomotives actually use electric motors to drive the wheels, after all.

 

[Ron_Erickso]

I emailed the link of the Bob Lutz release to my kids with the caption, "This is my next car - 2011". Hope it comes true. It will be a perfect car for me. Fast, affordable and cool.

 

[Brian1]

kent-

you are absolutely right. most people see EVs as slow compared to throaty muscle cars, but that low-end torque can just blast you off the line. i can't wait to smoke some fool in a riced out civic with my Volt.

 

[Judy1]

I don't think your buyer will care about speed just saving the world for his or her grandchildren. keep the car big and cheap. make your profit selling volume. go bold -first edition one million units. make em all bright green with a choice of personal color stripe on the side. Can you imagine a Big Chevy within the budget of most drivers hitting the highways by the hundreds of thousands? People would be ashamed not to buy one-What would be their excuse? don't just think outside the box - take the damn box and turn it inside out.

 

[Steven_B]

I love this! So GM! So Americana! Not exactly my way of being, I prefer to choose to have my cake or eat it, not both! But this is just like GM to come out with some amazing product that wows the market, is unnecessarily powerful, and is a marvel of modern engineering.

Thing I don't get though: why is it that people take hybrid and EV to mean slow and low-powered? Truth of the matter, the Prius and most, but not all, other hybrids are advanced economy cars. They are designed for efficiency, not power, that's why a Prius seems like an extraterrestrial Corolla. But it's just because it's a high=tech economy car.

And people impression of EVs: yes it's like an electric golf cart. But ICE-powered cars are like gas-powered golf cars. I think that if we can get people to start thinking apples to apples about that fact, then we can turn a lot of people onto the Volt, E-flex, and other EV's. Just like a full-function EV is like a big electric golf cart, point out that the Volt is like a Cobalt SS, except electric. Maybe then others will get the point. I love this car!

 

[DaveG]

Not that much news here. With the motor and battery specs we’ve seen, I expected them to lower their 0-60 times, but not by that much. We'll see where the production car lands.

As for making the car look unique so that people know you're green - yes that worked for the Prius at first, but now Toyota is already branching out to other sized cars in the Prius line. So by the time the Volt comes out, I hope GM is well prepared to expand the E-Flex line quickly.

For example, in 2011, if Toyota has 3 Prius PHEVs in different sizes and GM only has the Volt, I think most people will just buy the car that best fits their lifestyle, and never bother to understand the details of electric range or serial vs. parallel hybrids.

Personally, I would like something a little taller than the Volt with a rear hatch and some room behind the rear seats. Something like a Subaru Outback, only less ugly. This would be a family car, so 0-60 in 5-6 seconds would actually be bad for this market. My point is that GM could probably build a somewhat larger car using the Volt platform (i.e. same chassis, electric motor, batteries, and gas engine) and the resulting decrease in acceleration would still be perfect for a family car. The electric range would be a little less, but still way better than anything else I can see on the horizon.

Judy - What box? (humor)

 

[Brian1]

Judy -

GMs goal should be selling the Volt to the average American, not just the greenie American. That means a lot of power, not a weak motor and a green paintjob (no offense meant).

 

[Michael_Gier]

Where will I put my bike rack?

We all know BL was inspired by the Tesla Roadster, so he's going to be pushing a "sports" car. And I'll buy one, sub-$30k is a good price for a car with decent performance and super-high mileage.

My hope is that the _concept_ takes off and I can trade my Volt in two years later on an Outback-like (utility) plug-in-electric vehicle with unlimited range. The first one of those will outsell the Volt 2-to-1, once the Volt opens the door.

 

[OhmExcited]

I'm pleased to see that Bob Lutz is energized in the twilight of his distinguished career and still open to big change. He made a strategic decision to make bold pursuits in design and technology. Smart move. Just ask Apple. Creative innovation is one thing Americans are good at, and we certainly aren't good at everything. Motivation doesn't always come easy or cheaply around here. Kudos for taking a chance, and if you have the energy, don't let this lag until 2011.