GM CEO Drives a Chevy Volt to Washington...Sort Of

Comment on the site:

Ash writes: So what we are saying here is the hybrid/electric car couldn't make it on it's own from Detroit to D.C.? Wow!!!

 

Well how far is the journey again? The volt supposedly has a 40 mile range before the gas engine fires up to get her recharged, and unless they changed things, you can't physically be moving when this charging is happening, so need to stop while it recharges each time.... yah lets just take the one that works.

But yeah, I'm pretty sure they don't want people to know the electric car couldn't be made without some serious compromises.

I'm curious how did the "volt" get there as well? Trucked in on a semi? or flown in and parked? Go GREEN! :cheer2:

 

It's a dog and pony show. A trucked in Chevy Volt prototype, driving a few miles...what a laughingstock.

How did he get the rest of the way from Detroit to Washington DC? I'm sure it wasn't in a Cobalt! Probably some big SUV Suburban or Hummer.

What a crock! Hope the public doesn't fall for this.

And while we are at it, what about the Chrysler CEO arriving in a Jeep EV vehicle? Where has that been?

This is so phony, it's laughable.

Congress...don't fall for this. It's all smoke and mirrors. Where are these vehicles in "real life"? Maybe if the Big Three had put as much effort into these type of vehicles, they wouldn't be in the predicament they are in now.

I say "NO" to any bailout! Not one more cent of my tax dollars to bailout greedy money sucking industry!

 

As for the bailout for them, I'm not saying anything one way or the other.

But as for the Jeep EV, Chrysler has 3 EV vehicles they have been talking about. The Jeep, Caravan and another car (forget its name) but it was a new sports EV car.
Last I heard they were planning to have at least 2 of the 3 in production by 2010.

As for Ford, he took the Escape Hybrid, which is in production.

 

I still say they should take the bus from Detroit.

 

Just for information: The volt does not have to stop to recharge. The onboard ICE keeps the baterry at a state of charge and that runs the car. Supposedly in this mode the volt will then get 50MPG, but I will have to wait to see that.

If it happens I will trade in my 2005 Prius, which I love, for a volt. Forty miles on a charge will just about make me gas free.

 

Why not go for the Tesla, it is out and you can go well over 100 miles between charges. Of course there is a wait list......but you can be in a Tesla a lot sooner than a Volt.

 

I have seen a video of the Volt concept driven on a public residential street at a whopping 5 mph. Very impressive!

 

Tesla Roadster is spec'd to go 244 miles on a charge.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

 

The Prius has been the target of all sorts of malicious miss truths spread by the ignorant. Let's not propagate them against other hybrids here.

 

With the $700B bank bailout, Congress has to vote to release the second $350B. They should tell The Big Three that they get 40% of the bailout now, and they will not receive the other 60% until they begin producing hybrids in X volume. If The Big Three don't stick to their promise to produce more hybrids, then they won't receive the rest of the money. It's that simple.

He rode in a Malibu Hybrid ... a production car that you can buy at your local Chevy dealer (if it's still there). It's been on every news station for the past two days. The Malibu Hybrid is getting a lot of free advertising and publicity. They showed the Volt also on the news. It had custom graphics on it, and it actually looked pretty darn cool !

Here is GM CEO Wagoner in transit to Washington:

Financial Crisis - Yahoo! News Photos

Just in case it has been a while since you've seen the interior of a
production Chevy Malibu Hybrid, here are some pictures for you:

http://www.cars-spot.com/wp-content/gallery/chevrolet-malibu-2008/chevrolet-malibu-2008-1.jpg

http://images.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_0802_16z+2008_chevrolet_malibu+interior.jpg
.

 

I read a few days ago that the price of the tesla roadster is $109,000 and I'm sure real world mileage on a single charge is not 244 miles--something less. But, 244 is the company's stated range.

I have read that the gas engine in the volt will not charge the propulsion battery. The battery will only accept power from the external charging connection. The engine runs at constant speed driving a generator which supplies power to the propulsion motor when the battery is depleated. This info came from GM. Of course, the system can change if and when it reaches production. This is why the car is called an electric vehicle(EV), although this is confusing. The car has a gas engine; therefore, it is a plug-in hybrid vehicle(PHEV). Toyota is not the only company stirring the pot of confusion when it comes to labeling the types of auto propulsion systems.

 

Okay, this is really weird. Yes, that's the same image that I saw on my news channel. Here's a still photo of [a] Volt that was in Washington D.C. yesterday. General Motors Corp. - Yahoo! News Photos

IS THAT BLUE THING EVEN A VOLT ??? :mod:

(and if so, would that imply that GM has more than one Volt?)

 

I can't recall the financial types getting the 10th degree like this when they came to Washington. A lot of the pols just seem to be playing to the masses and the media.
Humiliating these guys on TV may be good for them, but the current mess is not all their fault.

It's the government which allowed "commercial" SUVs and trucks in every driveway in suburbia--by not regulating them properly and keeping them exempt from gas mileage standards. By doing so, they allowed the car companies to maximize their profits with big vehicles that are more expensive than passenger cars. I'm waiting for Larry King et al on TV to point this out. Also, they did not invent $4 gas--the lack of proper regulation of oil futures is what created $4 gas. And that is what has put the U.S.car companies over the cliff--along with a tightening of credit and the fear generated by the financial mess.

Sure, GM mysteriously dropped their electric cars a few years back after apparent success in California test markets. A sign of their complicity with the oil industry--for which they should not be forgiven. I say throw out their current management, and paint the company green. All those unsold new SUVs rotting in lots right now should be retrofitted to hybrids--or sold to scrap.

But isn't it about time the media came clean on the whole story here? Bashing Car CEOs isn't the answer.

 

I would buy a tesla except for the $109,000 and lack of two seats!

 

The vehicle Wagoner arrived in is a Volt test mule. Is is some version of the Volt's drivetrain in a Cruze shell. GM has lots of Volt prototypes testing but probably only one show car.

Please remember that GM wasn't the only manufacturer to fought the CARB EV mandate - they all did - Toyota, Honda, and Nissan included. All the manufactures except Toyota and Ford recalled their EV's and crushed them once the EV mandate was repealed. Toyota and Ford only stopped crushing their EV's due to bad publicity from dontcrush.com.

All the manufactures except Honda fought the latest CAFE increase. GM is no different than the others when it comes to fighting regulation, not better, not worse.

 

I would have to say 'No'. The first obvious difference is that the mirrors are not in the right place. The A pillar and roof line are wrong, so are the rear door and its window. If it is a Volt, it must be an even earlier test mule.

I do find it pretty sad that Wagoner thinks trucking a mostly non functional car to 'demo' and following it in 3 more vehicles is so much greener than flying in the corporate jet. He REALLY does not get it. Dude, leave the mule in the barn and show the VOLT slide show or at least ride to D.C. IN the mule ON the truck Even better: take public transportation! It's going there anyway, no extra fuel use or pollution. You can work while you travel. Get up and walk around all you like. Hungry, head to the dining car. Gotta 'go'? No need to hold it until the next Rest Area.

Oh, wait, it wasn't about showing how green your company is but about NOT showing up in your designer clothes, jewelry and multi-million dollar 'ride' asking "Buddy, can you spare a dime".

In all, GM drove 4 vehicles, one of them carrying a fifth (the Volt).
All he really showed is that GM currently has NOTHING to show that they will be in any better shape 3 months from now, loan or no loan. He needs to show us HOW we will get our money back IF he gets the cash.

General Motors’ Rick Wagoner (left) made the trip in a black hybrid Chevrolet Malibu
[*], accompanied by a flex fuel Buick Lucerne [**]), and the high mileage Chevy Cobalt XFE (25/37)
Domestic Fuel Archives Ethanol Fuels Big Three Bail Out Caravan


[*] which gets barely better MPG (26/34) than a 4 cyl Malibu (22/33) and costs $4K (17%) more.
[**] 17/26 unless running on E85, then it is 13/20, about the same as an H3 running regular gas.

 

I think it is the Chevy Cruze shell on a volt chassis.