The Chevy Volt and "Strong" Looks

While I'm sure some car companies are going for "aggressive", to me they look "bloated".

I think there is something to designing the front end of a car to look like a face. The new Honda CR-Z or CR-X or whatever they're calling it looks...mean. The squinty headlights and front end just look....mean. While I don't mind the overall shape of the car (and I *LOVE* the hatchback), the car looks angry. I don't want to drive an angry car.

I also do not like chrome. There is no reason for chrome. It serves no purpose but consumption. The less chrome, the better. I like my 2005 because the only chrome is the badges and emblems, and there aren't very many of those. Very discreet.

I am glad to see the shape of things to come is hatchback all the way. After all, why waste that aerodynamic shape? Stick a door on the back end. I'll never drive a car that isn't a hatchback again.

 

So far I'm somewhat unique that I think the Prius is ugly, I'm not "proud" of driving ANY gasoline car... and I don't like the stying of the Volt.

Everybody has to work harder for ME!

 

That video never should have been made for 2 reasons:

#1 The car sounded clunkier thank a box of Duplo block!

#2 The engine was way too noisy.

Fix those issues before making a video with sound. lol

 

unfortunately i think mass market it the key. once Gm sells the idea, then we can begin to fine tune the technology and sell things that are Acutally closer to what we dream of in the way of FE and shape. One step at a time, I suppose it is better than a new H4.

 

i wasn't very impressed. i definitely don't trust a normal extension cord plugged into the side like that. i don't have a garage and i hope rain won't be a problem while charging.

that video sucks. lol

was that supposed to be a fully working model? my golf cart puts off less noise than that. They should have taken in sound when developing this car. the prius is geeky.. everyone loves it for that. we don't care how it sounds. gm sport fan base won't be too happy with something that sounds like that at low speeds.

another soccer mom car. wait.. not enough room for the kids. *shrug*.. and the way the car is set up.. it doesn't look very versatile at all. pure commuter car.

 

I voted that I don't feel glad when I drive my Prius because I'd rather be driving my RAV4 EV. In some ways, I feel "more glad" when I drive my gas guzzling Isuzu Trooper. I figure it's because I only drive it when we're going some where far, hauling lots of people, or hauling/towing something big and heavy.

So, I guess the reason I have glad feelings when I'm in my gas guzzler is because at those times, I'm going on vacation, it's filled with friends and family, or I'm accomplishing something (completing a project).

Nothing compares to driving an EV. Nothing.

Nate

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boulder Bum @ Oct 27 2007, 06:23 PM) [snapback]531340[/snapback]</div>

Doesn't it look....crosseyed?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boulder Bum @ Oct 27 2007, 06:23 PM) [snapback]531340[/snapback]</div>

I wondered why it was driving so slow throughout the entire video. Not very impressive. They'd have done better to keep their mouths shut until they really had something to show and they surprise everyone. That would have knocked everyone's socks off. As is, by the time they finally release an incarnation of this thing it will be ho-hum, finally.

In looking at the 'blueprints' it looks like four passengers only with that battery pack running down the middle. And no cargo space to speak of with the ICE in the trunk. And with that low sedan profile there's just no room. And what all do they have to cram under the hood to justify that big, boxy front end?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 27 2007, 06:47 PM) [snapback]531347[/snapback]</div>

Not to me, I don't try to give automobiles human characteristics. I really like the Honda CR-Z and Honda FCX. I would be one of those that think the Prius is rather ugly. The hatchback in nice but the overall shape is nothing new. The Europeans have been doing hatches for years and do it better.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 27 2007, 06:47 PM) [snapback]531347[/snapback]</div>

I really don't care if the Volt only seats 4 instead of 5. Really who sits in the middle seat of a compact car anyway? The ICE is in the front under the hood. That is how they justify the boxy front end. The Volt chassis:



GM has shown a hatchback version of the Volt for the Europeans called the Opel Flextreme.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jhinton @ Oct 27 2007, 07:20 PM) [snapback]531356[/snapback]</div>

Um, no. According to the little animation I was watching the little ICE with the fuel tanks is in the rear. The electric motor et al is in the front and the batteries run down the middle.

I don't carry passengers often, but when I have, half the time there have been three in the back.

Now I know what the Honda reminds me of. STITCH!

 

There's too much aggression in the world already; why our cars have to be increasingly aggressive makes no sense to me. (this from the woman who just added Touring wheels and overkill tires to her Prius; go figure)...

Anyhow, as it is, I feel like I'm in the crosshairs...every time a Dodge pickup pulls behind me!!
[laughing]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 27 2007, 05:54 PM) [snapback]531363[/snapback]</div>

oy! A WOMAN AFTER MY OWN HEART.

 

The big-grill-hole thing has gotten kinda ridiculous, from the
chrysler 300 on down... retro is one thing, but looking like a
woman with way too much [chrome] lipstick screaming her lungs out
is a bit much. The audi and subaru copycats are just pitiful.
.
If I had to choose a style, which is really secondary to outright
*practicality* to me, it would be all those mid-eighties angular
"star wars imperial destroyer" looks. Probably NFG for aero, though.
.
Anybody remember the, I think it was Caddy ads for the Escalade, with
an upward frontal shot of the nose and a huge caption, "YIELD" ??
They pulled that one, but the thoughts are clearly still there.
.
_H*

 

What's funny is, a while back, the trend was to make the grille openings as small as possible, for aero efficiency...

...Today, I can't count the number of different cars with *fake* grille openings! Some Mercedes and Chrysler products, especially, are looking like cheese graters up front!

Next: why, exactly, does a HEARSE need quad chrome exhaust tips?!?!
[laughing]

 

Poll answers: Yes, No, Yes. Both cars look okay. I don't care how a car looks.

To paraphrase Nate above: I don't feel good driving a car that burns gas. I feel good when I'm driving my Xebra. The smiles and shouts and waves I get make me smile, as does the fact that I'm driving electric. When I drive the Prius I feel a little bit ashamed that I'm burning gas.

Now as for the Volt video:

Crappy video. The people speaking are so out of sync that I wonder if they were even speaking the words in the audio. And the Volt itself makes more noise than the hydraulic loader I drove sometimes on the dairy farm to scoop manure into the spreader. That's dreadful!!! And even my Xebra has better protection for the plug socket.

But I don't care what it looks like, as long as it works. But that's a moot point because they'd have to actually build it before it can work or not work.

I didn't like the looks of my Prius when I bought it. But I got used to it and now I think it's fine. I didn't like the looks of the Xebra at first either, but once I drove it I loved it so much that it started to look real nice.

 

When are people going to realize that this Volt is all about GM PR? First, this car was going to be hydrogen/electric. Now it is "supposed" to be a 1.5 gas/electric. First it was supposed to be out in 2009, then 2010, now they are talking 2011 because they don't even have the facility built that will build the batteries to go in it. This video has been out for quite a while now. It is very deceiving to show the car driving under electric power, though at the time of this video, GM stated that they didn't have the battery technology yet for the Volt. Of course we all know that was a lie since they had it years back with the EV cars. I'm sorry for this little rant but I'm tired of hearing about GM and their "We're Green" b.s. They are the opposite of green.

 

1. The Volt looks like a Joker-mobile. The color scheme should be lime green & purple.
2. I'm impressed Chevy got it to run for around 3 minutes without shorting out or catching fire. If it is running on lead-acid batteries there are high school kids who are doing better.
3. Looks like the electric scooters at the AF Museum or large stores can beat it in the 1/4 mile.
4. Will the trim piece that covers the electrical outlet last 3.1 years or 37000 miles (whichever comes first) before it breaks off?

There is nothing more beautiful than THE Prius at the bus stop when one has returned cold, wet, tired & hungry after a 12 hour day in NYC.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BORNGEARHEAD @ Oct 28 2007, 10:31 PM) [snapback]531788[/snapback]</div>

I think we here at PC are on to 'em!