Chevy Volt pricing

NYSpeed Automotive
141

This country’s stance on nuclear power frustrates me beyond belief. We are so naive and ignorant to the benefits of nuclear power. People just base their “I don’t like it” attitudes off the notion that they are all going to blow up like a bomb. Nuclear power is one of the cleanest and most effective forms of power we have to date.

Hydrogen seems to be an iffy point though, we can produce it in some quantities but the problem is that yes, the infrastructure is not there. The US has a bigger problem though, political gains. The country right now is living and breathing off of the oil industry, we may very well be at the point SOCIALLY to revamp the entire country, but we are nowhere near economically and politically, we are tied to fossil fuels here.

I can’t remember the source but I read in a magazine once that the owner of a some emerging “green” company was asked why he choose to drive a Hummer H1 if his company was devoted to protecting the environment. He responded by saying “I drive a Hummer because it gets 13 mpg, the world isn’t going to realize we need to stop using gas until it’s all gone, I’m just helping it move alone”

142

I don’t know what the logistics are, but the web page says that an extra battery can be swapped in 5 minutes.

What you have posted there is not a battery that can be swapped in 5 minutes, so I don’t know what’s up with that. I am just going off of the literature on their website.

143

lol, “can be swapped in 5 minutes with a lift and an engine hoist!”

144

That’s the battery pack. There’s @ 6800 battery cells in the pack.

145

Exactly. The stuff about swapping it in 5 minutes talks about building specially designed service stations. It is not something you swap yourself like a cell phone battery.

So one last time… A TOY, not a A CAR.

146

So can you pop one out and throw it in your laptop?

147

If it takes 18mm diameter by 65mm length Li-Ion, possibly :stuck_out_tongue:

148

The Govt. spends a ton of money on such programs through the DOE.
I was working on a hydrogen production platform that was supposed to take up a parking space and could be located at a gas station… But there is no need for such technology in the consumer market in the near future.

149

NIMBY…
Would you like a nuclear plant in your neighborhood?

Maybe if there was a no charge McDonald’s on the property that was open to the public, you could get authorization to build a plant.

150

I still disagree, since it works as a DD for 95% of the miles that the average person drives.

151

And everyone is soppose to buy a second car for those other 5% of the miles? That’s not very efficient.

152

Most families have 2 cars. That isn’t an excuse though, I know.

If you can afford this car, you would probably just fly anyplace that is >300 miles away.

153

I skimmed through most of this thread and a few things that aren’t taken into account most of the time because they are related but beyond the initial scope of this niche in the industry are the impacts of hybrids and electric cars on the environment and policy persay.

The mining for the precious metals that goes into making these batteries has proven to contaminate local water tables. Much of the minerals that are used to make the batteries (and a lot of our electronics and semi conductors) are mined in China, which has been putting limits on exports of these due to domestic development. This is going to drive the cost of production up and has the potential to put us at an economical disadvantage in the future if and when China decides to make a major effort at mass producing an affordable car worth buying.

If the volt and other hybrid/electric cars want to properly quantify their emissions and mileage then the EPA should be evaluating them based on an Oil well to wheel instead of tank to wheel standard. If they calculated the emissions and mileage claims with this kind of standard then the ratings that are given would be much more realistic considering where the power sources are coming from. The only way they could remain closer to the top of their claims is if they were to obtain their power from renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydro or geo-thermal.

That’s my thoughts on the subject other than that I don’t see a problem with attempting to do better than we have before. Now if only we would subsidize the land and wind turbines instead of corn…

154

They are working on nanotech capacitors, that will be able to hold 1000x the amount of energy of a current capacitor.

Its still in its baby stages, expect it in the next 5-7 years.

Granted you can buy a 100 Farad 12 volt capacitor for about $400 retail. And thats quite a lot of juice.

155

It has less to do with public opinion than it does with the economics of it. The initial investment of nuclear is HUGE compared to coal. The operating costs are about equal. And with every ounce of coal coming from the USA and all the jobs that are created because of it…I don’t see nuclear going very far in this country regardless of it being “cleaner” (nuclear waste?).

156

Isn’t there some work going on in regards to clean coal technology? Making it emit nearly water vapor? Saw something about it on the History Chanel. Coal is something that is very abundant too. Although if you can get rid of the all the spent nuclear stuff its the cleanest energy source by far.

Also if they were going to stick that price tag on the Volt it, they should have made the Volt into that Cadillac Concept, sold starting near 50K first and trickled down to a chevy version once they can afford to start it in the mid 20K’s

157

Chevy Volt Pricing: The War of the Asterisk
The New York Times
By Jim Motovalli
Jan. 20, 2010

How much will the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt actually cost? Is it the low $30,000s? Or is it around $40,000? Call it the war of the asterisk. The growing confusion over the pricing of battery E.V.'s and plug-in hybrids has to do with a $7,500 federal tax credit available to purchasers of cars with battery packs of 16 kilowatt-hours or more. With high prices made unavoidable by expensive batteries, carmakers are sorely tempted to simply lower the price by the amount of the credit, then add an asterisk and fine print reading, “Price includes a $7,500 federal tax credit.”

Both Fisker and Tesla cite prices that include the tax credit. That’s one way to get the price on coming models down to $39,900 (Fisker’s Project Nina car) and $49,900 (Tesla Model S). Khobi Brooklyn, a Tesla representative, said the company used this approach on coming products because it “does bring the price down, and makes the cars sound a bit better.” She said that the company cited the full price in Roadster literature, referring consumers to both the federal tax credit and state incentives.

G.M.'s chief executive, Ed Whitacre, set off the latest round of speculation by citing a possible low Volt price in an interview with GMVolt.com. Mr. Whitacre said the 2011 Volt “is going to sell in the low 30s.” And he added, “We’ll get a margin on that.” But don’t get too excited. According to Rob Peterson, a G.M. spokesman, Mr. Whitacre was including the tax credit in that estimate. “We haven’t announced Volt pricing yet,” Mr. Peterson said. “There’s been a lot of speculation and chatter, with some people saying it might be $50,000 or $60,000, but most are focusing around $40,000.”

Mr. Peterson said that G.M. would cite the actual manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the Volt but feature the rebate prominently. “Some retailers might do it differently, though,” he said.

Nissan will take the same full-disclosure approach to pricing the 2011 Leaf battery car, according to Mark Perry, a Nissan spokesman. “Most consumers we’ve asked that question recognize the tax credit as cash, but we don’t want to misrepresent the price of the car,” he said.

Pricing of battery-electric cars offers a further opportunity for confusion because carmakers sometimes cite figures without the actual battery included (especially if the packs may be leased). It may be that pricing of electric cars eventually becomes standardized, but today it is still largely uncharted territory.

158

Mr. Peterson said that G.M. would cite the actual manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the Volt but feature the rebate prominently.

That sounds like the only fair way to do it to me.

159

Do it the Sunday paper Automotive section style

NEW BMW 3-SERIES $29,999

*Price includes $5000 cash or trade

160

So I was just reading about how initial GM studies have concluded that most drivers will rarely ever need to use the gas engine in their volts. What are they going to do about gas going bad in the car?