VIA Motors VTRUX (Volt like powertrain)

I think it is more like Lutz was the guy that did that final push to put GM into bankrupcy. Wasn't the EV1 the gm car that is iconic for electrification, and didn't the tesla get gm and nissan to electrify the fleets. Let's not play pretend time when it comes to this guy. Now he is getting paid to pimp the via, and he's on the board. Its not as if the lutz endorsement gets you to really sell profitable cars

That's all well and good, but lets look at the vehicles. 24kwh batteries that they think can get 35 aer according to the via spec sheets. That is good, but the price, is not $79K for a silverado. It is the only plug in truck that I know of other than those old rangers from the zev days, but that seems like a big premium over a f150 ecoboost. btw: according to the spec sheet the 120VAC outlets run off the batteries until they get low, then the engine kicks on to protect the SOC. It will take gm or ford, doing this in house with warranties and lower prices if phev trucks are going to take off.

 

From the link in the OP

A GM 2500 van is about $29K. If gas is $4/gallon, 9200 miles/year, 13 year useful life, we get $43490 in gas. This gets us to $72K. Buy it for $79K, with $10K tax credit if you are in california, and you have $3,000 to pay for electricity and maintenance problems. I guess that's why verizon's only buying 2 to start.

 

I like the line quoted in the first post "or energize a portion of a downed grid".

Sounds like a good first step to wider V2G technology.

For those of you looking at the price comparison to the Ford Ecoboost, I think you need to add the cost of a tow behind generator to be comparable (these are the kinds of vehicles that would have such equipment anyway), combining the propulsion needs and the auxiliary needs is really cool.

One of the things I really want to see in a future Volt generation would be a way for me to use the on board generator as a whole house back up in the event of power failure. I just can't bring myself to go buy a generator with a great one sitting right in the driveway.

A quick google search shows these towable generators going for $15-25k

 

They are trying the old car salesman trick, sure you can afford the truck its only this much per month, but....
they try to tell you the lease rate on the alternative is higher, that gas is more expensive than it is, you will go farther each year, etc.

A 15 KW generator is about $4000. The spec is not for a large generator you would expect to need to tow. If you need that power and size it may be more efficient built into the truck, instead of picked up from the depot and shared, but it doesn't justify a $50K price premium on a cargo van. IIRC verizon owns much more powerfull generators that they have run stores from. In that case its better to drive it to the store at power outage time. What the real premium is when they start selling these things is anyones guess, but they need to discount deeply from their PR price of around $79K to make it worthwhile. What is the warranty? Who can work on these things if there are problems and what will down time be. If I were a fleet manager, I might buy a couple as a PR thing, but I would want ford or GM to be building and servicing them before a nationwide roll out. You don't get fired if their are maintenance head aches and downtime then.

 

Lutz?

You got to be kidding!!!

He just does not get it when to give up.

DBCassidy

 

Unlike some haters I'll be first in line for one of these... maybe even the 2500 one they will make

 

Hey, you can give them a deposit now.
I'm not a hater of the vehicles, I like the idea.

I just think the company won't even be around in 5 years. If you have a problem you may be SOL. I am a little bit of a hater of lutz. Everything he touches seems to turn to crap. The price point is much higher than it would be if GM or Ford were doing the trucks, so if they enter the game..... its bankruptcy for another bob lutz company.

Wouldn't a voltec type design where the truck could add the torque of the engine make more sense?