I agree, can’t get excited about anything GM does until it’s rolling off the assembly line, they shift gears too quickly over there.

They then decreased the tank size and now have the 360 mile range which will still rarely be used.

What I like about the way GM is handling the Volt is that they keep putting all the info out there for us to read how the development is going. Unfortunately the idiots come out and complain about “bring it out already” while those who are interested can see how the development proceeds. For a completely new tech in an auto the 4 year lifecycle is darn short.

Also, anyone that thinks Cadillac could not make a car, based on the Volt’s electric drive system, sporty is absolutely out of their mind. Until you’ve actually driven an electric vehicle, you cannot understand the amount of torque that is available from a stand still. No power band… wait, ALL power band. The difference in design approach to hybrid propulsion gives this technology a decided performance advantage. Nothing like those wimpy hybrids that are on the market today.

Batteries that can go 300 miles in a regular vehicle are not going to be here for at least 10 years unless there is some kind of breakthru beyond what we are seeing now.

Biggest breakthru would be 10 minute recharging but then we would need the infrastructure and even if we found a solution in the next 2 years it would be another 5 years before it would be available to the public with a charging infrasturcture.

If they only had the Stones to build the Sixteen…………
They’d have the POTENTIAL to be a Tier 1 brand

That’s a mighty big if
DrFill

Where are you getting this 100 mile range? The Volt (and presumably this Converj) can extend their range with the backup gasoline engine giving you essentially unlimited mileage (as long as you can find a gas station).

But even then you have to look at the big picture – these are first gen products. While 100 miles is in fact good enough for most people’s daily drive, the mileage numbers are only going to go up from here with each successive generation. There has been a tremendous amount of battery breakthroughs just over the past 2 years – once some of that tech hits the market in a few years, driving range is going to be a non-issue for all but the most demanding drivers. Most people that today would buy a car that is strictly an EV (thus no gas motor for extended range), would probably buy it as their 2nd car and/or live in a congested city.

Fold up a box and whalla..you have a caddy….

GM. An American Embarrassment !!!

If chian’s BYD brings their EVs to market soon, they will top 100+ mile range at 1/2 the price of GM, so I don’t see a good business case for GM… unless the Fed gives them more of our money for tax credits to make this junk more affordable…

i said electric motors (capable of using more electricity when needed to produce more power), I said the gas (engines) backup engine would probably not help with performance. batteries would also help as you said, amusing the electric motors could take the power.

FINALLY GM is understanding the power of badge engineering… this is how it is supposed to work – use the higher-end divisions (which presumably would sell at higher profit margins) to help pay for the R&D on high-end technologies.

That way you don’t have to try selling $30+k cars like the Volt at a massive loss in a market segment which should be selling closer to $20k. Give the technology to Cadillac, wrap the car in some gorgeous sheetmetal, use some seductive advertising to entice richer folk, and raise the price to the point where you will help pay for the technology a lot faster. Then let that technology trickle-down to “lesser” brands like Chevy.

And if GM is already working on the 2nd gen voltec technology, that is good and all, but I’d prefer the first generation to be released before they start working on a 2nd gen…. doesn’t show alot of faith in their current technology

hope the don’t changer to much for the production version.

A4, are you still going to be that enamored when an Aveo kicks your ass at a stoplight?

carstuff,
“If it does come out two years after the Volt it will use gen 2 components which will greatly reduce the cost of the components.”

I seriously doubt that considering there would only be close to a 2 year gap between the two…GM is NOT that fast at upgrading!!