GM's 100% EV, the Chevy Spark

I assume the base listed for the Spark is also a manual.

 

Bought one in Denmark. Matiz/Spark starting price of $14k - Diesel iQ starts at ~$30k, but tops out at $43k.

The smart thing about buying a car in a highly taxed country is that the dealerships are easy to negotiate with, and you get the tax back if you export

 

In GM defined a timetable for the volt with a 2011 model year roll out by end of 2010, which is exactly what they did, e.g. see
GM VP: Chevy Volt Ready in 2010
It did take some nearly 4 years to go from concept to production but that is fast by auto standards.

 

i wish i could buy a Ta Ta Nano ($2000) in the usa

 

In that whole design... Where's the trunk?

 

GM Unveils Concept Car That Gets 80 Miles A Gallon

It also could not even come close to epa emissions levels. This was part of Al Gore's moon shot to build really efficient cars that were too expensive for anyone but a few to buy. The fact that pollution was so high was just part of the problem with this boon doggle.

If you go back the prius could be just an extention from that 1911 porsche gasoline electric hybrid. There is nothing new under the sun.

Let us give credit where credit is due. The volt was put in production because of the tesla, at least that is what those who pushed it said. If it was the prius it would be a very different car. They also said that reaction to the crushing of the ev1s had a lot to do with it, and that ev1 program, not the precept would have come up with the car much sooner. But lets judge the project from when it came on line, it did complete exactly when it was promised. They have sold fewer cars, but many of us expected that.

The spark ev, is a lot like the rav 4 ev, fit ev, focus ev, etc. It is a half measure to get evs on the road when CARB is dictating them. Only Tesla and Nissan are putting a full effort in to get these BEVs on the road, and Nissan has missed their numbers on the leaf by more than gm has on the volt.

 

Although, was the Leaf's numbers more due to the fact that their production centers were basically killed off due to last year's earthquake/tsunami disaster that required majority of the factories to shut down for power conservation while Fukushima was melting down?

 

I posted news about the leaf in a different thread. Nissan blames the disasters only a little, the bigger problem for them is the strong yen, which pushed them to raise the price and slow exports. They say they will be increasing exports in September and the american plant will be making them in December. Until September they say 600-700/month.

 

lol. When the car is meant to be a government prototype, it doesn't need to actually have things like a trunk.

The Green Brigade - Car Comparison - Feature Article - Page 4

Note this far from production badly conceived concept arrived about the same time as the Gen I prius was being imported.

The volt with its rechargeable pack and storage space is much less exotic less expensive and lower polluting than the precept could every be. You do have to remember to plug it in to use less gas than the precept though.