Looks like a Dodge Stratus.

Well not true, it’s semi-sporty. it’s quasi-sporty. it’s the margarine of sporty. It’s the Diet Coke of sporty. Just one calorie, not sporty enough.

So either the Cruze will be rather sporty, or they’re lying.

They used to affix Sport decals onto Ford Aerostars. The term sporty can apparently cover a very broad spectrum.

Hey Johnny – the Aerostar was at least RWD, something the last gen Camry “SE” couldn’t even say…

Take it easy guys. All Farah said is that the Volt chassis is sportier then the Pruis or Insight. Which is like saying, “I can run faster then a snail”.

No news here…move on.

Of course its bloody sporty: we bet 50 billions (with a B) for it to run. Have anyone seen 50 billion bucks horse? A football game fixed to that tune? It is sport; at least betting part.

05Z88Path is right. This is no real news. Sporty could mean a measley 10 more HP or a pinstripe. Woopee.

this is a non-story…these are all quotes from the press event last week…shame on you guys for the rehash ;P

Meh, it’s nothing important… moving right along.

It’s like offering a sport version of a family sedan. I have yet to see a sport version of anything under $40,000 actually mean something tangible in relation to performance.

Sportier than a Prius? No way!

umm, Kaizen, you might have been a bit rash in your statement, think of the Cobalt with the SS version for example (got very high praises from most of the car press and I personally have to agree with them), and that’s at the very very bottom of the scale you mentioned.

And no, sporty doesn’t HAVE to be RWD, it sure helps a lot, and adds to the fun and purity, but it’s not a requirement.

The truth is, sporty is both in the eye of the beholder and a sensation hard to quantify. Anybody can make the claim, but few pass the actual test…

Yeah, this really isn’t anything important…though it would be cool to be able to toss around the Volt like a ‘Vette or Camaro…but that wouldn’t happen anyway.

Sportier than the Prius is like Dumb and Dumber. Feel free to allocate which award goes to who.

Hmmm, Delta platform seems to be doing ok in the sporty department:

“On another glorious day for Chevrolet and following on from the triumph in Marrakech earlier in the month, the Cruze won both races of the Race of France that took place on the extremely demanding street of Pau in southern France, extending the team’s winning run to four. Drivers Rob Huff, Alain Menu and Nicola Larini secured top honours for the gold bowtie on May 3 in Morocco after taking the new car to the track for the first time in the opening round in Curitiba, Brazil on March 8.

The WTCC features cars close to regular production specification and the championship’s tag-line, ‘real cars, real racing’, encapsulates both the spirit of the WTCC and Chevrolet’s approach to competition. It is one of only three official FIA-sanctioned world championships, alongside Formula One and the World Rally Championship.”

I thought the Volt was an electric car, not a gas-electric hybrid like the Prius or Insight? So perhaps they mean their vehicle is sportier than the other 4-seat electric vehicles available for consumer sale.. the Th!nk Neighbor and the GEM!

Ok, so at $40k, it will have slightly stiffer springs than the $20k soggy waffle known as the Insight/Prius. Fantastic, lets move along.

Its an “electric-gas” hybrid rather than a “gas-electric” hybrid, zoomzoomer.

A4,

The Term “Gas-Electric” stems from the fact that the main on-board power source is Gasoline used to provide power. In the VOLT’s case, it is to run a generator to make electricity. To state it the other way, “Electric-Gas”, would mean that somehow electricity was being used to create gas. Ronn Motors claims to do this, to a degree, with their SCORPION sports car. But they are so far the only one’s to make this claim at all.

zoomzoomer,

The VOLT is a form of EV, but is often referred to as a Serial Hybrid. That is, the power train is in a series, one after another. The easiest way to explain that is simply an EV who relies on a gasoline-powered generator, instead of solely batteries, to provide electricity for the motor. The gas engine NEVER provides mechanical power to the wheels. The Batteries are there really for marketing purposes. They needlessly jack up the price. Without the batteries the VOLT would cost around $25k or less, be faster and lighter, and still get a happy 50-60 mpg easily. When the CADILLAC CONVERJ finally ships the increased cost for the batteries will be far less aggravating.

The PRIUS and INSIGHT are both Parallel hybrids. In short, they both have a Gas-powered engine and Electric motor attached to the same transmission. Both cars get great gas mileage by using underpowered engines for the application and even weaker motors to make up the difference for take overs, stop-n-go, and passing but are only just adequate for highway use. I have never been passed by or seen a PRIUS or INSIGHT pass anyone cruising down the freeway.

More than a few Naysayers have derided Hybrids because of the PRIUS and it’s lackluster performance. But what do expect from a car made strictly for fuel economy by a company not well known for making cars made for any real degree of enthusiasm, LEXUS not withstanding?

If GM wants to make a truly sporty VOLT, put the motor on the rear axle.. and call it “CHAPARRAL”, one of the possible names for the car that eventually became what we know today as the CAMARO.

Make it a Coupe and go nuts racing that thing, without the batteries. Sell it as a “Green muscle car” and bolt a 300kw (about 375hp) motor, with a max better than 10k RPM) in it. Of Course, people may see it as the next thing after CAMARO, but would that be a bad thing for those little tykes wondering what they will get to drive when they are old enough?

Now that would be sporty…

“Chevy Volt to be less sober than rivals”.
-Now you know why LLN did it.

New quality survey results out today. Corvette is #1 of all vehicles. What is interesting is that Toyota only had one vehicle (Venza) and Honda had two (Odyssey/Ridgeline) at the top of a segment. GM had four, Ford had one.

OF course this is another survey that is just a marketing scam;).

http://www.strategicvision.com/press_release.php?pr=35

“Volkswagen of America and Ford Motor Corporation were announced today as full-line corporate leaders in Strategic Vision Inc.’s (SVI) Total Quality Index® (TQI). Across their various brands, both corporations are consistently producing vehicles judged high in perceived quality and emotional delight, resulting in models that customers can love. Volkswagen of America also had the greatest number of TQI leaders across the segments being measured than any other brand: Rabbit, Jetta, CC, New Beetle, Tiguan and Audi A4. Ford has Focus as the leader in the popular Small Car segment.

The Total Quality Index® asks buyers to rate all aspects of the ownership experience from buying and owning to performance and driving – much more than simply counting problems.”

Just a comment on the survey. It says “perceived” quality. Does that mean Toyota/Honda do not have “perceived” quality from their buyers? I can get the low “emotional delight”.

I’m guessing the “perceived” quality might somehow be related to the perceived build quality of the car? Maybe the fit-and-finish if you will? That’s the only thing I don’t like about these surveys, they’re not very standardized (though it’s a bit hard to standardize some of these things).

This is news?

Sportier than a Prius simply means that a quadriplegic on a wheelchair is faster than the Prius.

Yeat Stix, but a quad would have an electric chair and those things are like greased lightning. Trust me I went to a very “accessible” school, they were everywhere. When you hear the whine of an electric motor coming up behind you, move off the sidewalk or you will be run over. No doubt that one could take a Prius in a 0-15 MPH race, even from a dig. They have headrests for a reason, my friend.

@lawnchair88

I know. Bad joke, I’ll admit.

My sister is technically a quadriplegic from a car accident, but she has a push chair, and she’s still faster than a Prius.

Good. GM needs a small, sporty/zippy car to help boost sales.

yeah i got that i was just illustrating the point that the car isn’t fully electric.

It is ugly and won’t selll for the price.