Does GM REALLY want to phase out the Volt?

Dayum. When I got my Prius, if I add its tax and convert to GBP at today's rate the total cost would be £15,500 out the door.

 

Any system that classifies beer as a primary necessity can't be all bad.

 

I have posted several times before the volt was done from the start because it was not accepted insde GM itself. Dealerships and employees think it is a joke and i have witnessed negative talk in the open about the volt at dealerships and sales events. All the other negatives, cost, niche vehicle ,fires etc has had a downward spiral. It feels like Chevrolet was pressured to answer the green vehicle and techno market. Volt is what they came up with. I actually like the Volt and applaud Chevrolet. Prius just fits my needs and wants so much better in multiple areas. GM i guess thinks green vehicles are only a niche market. Hey GM how many green vehicles has Toyota sold and will sell once all the Prius versions go on sale globally ??

 

Bob Lutz championed the Volt. He thought the Prius was a marketing stunt that created the green halo for Toyota. So he came up with the Volt for GM to take away Prius thunder. It was a better way to spend advertising dollar, according to him.

Little did he know, Prius is a viable, practical and affordable car (started at $19,995) which was the main reason for the success.

 

He and the rest figured it out though. Executives & Managers jumped ship just prior to rollout. Virtually no one in charge from development was left. Now at the eve of "gotta do something" point, we're starting to get the sense of dealer backlash.

The enthusiasts who claimed "it's worth it" and shunned any mention of sales are growing quiet. They feel something bad is coming from so few purchases... and have run out of excuses. The hype of being a mainstream success in the second year is looking unrealistic already.

With the PHV rollout so close, this is a critical time for Volt.
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Yea, Prius PHV delivery estimation is as early as March 2nd. It is a little over a month away.

Volt's 2012 projections were lowered to 30,000. January sales are expected to drop as well.

Source

 

The Volt is not an EV. GM originally sold it as that, but admitted at release time that it was a plug in parallel hybrid, the same as the PIP. It should not be referred to or compared with EV's, since it is not one.
Anyway, that's what Lutz said.

 

Those were not GM's projections, but an external company doing estimate so they can get some press. (If they said 45,000 no one would notice. ) I don't believe the 45,000 is likely just noting the source is not GM...

 

Except Jaffa Cakes. Well, actually there's a whole bunch of zero-rated stuff.

HM Revenue & Customs

 

OVER PROMISE, UNDER DELIVER has happened so many times, the executives have learned to be ambiguous when it comes to goals. That way, they can't ever be held directly accountable.

Not achieving mainstream volume is a very real problem no spin can overcome.

Wasn't the point to replace traditional vehicles and exceed sales of the competition?
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Where did Lutz say its a parallel hybrid? I doubt he ever did.

Its an EREV with EV, serial and serial+parallel modes, but there is no pure parallel mode. Now an EREV is a sub-category of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Unfortunately some people also use PHEV for parallel hybrid electric vehicle, so maybe your mixing them up (or a reporter did).

 

EREV is a marketing label. No clear definition should make that obvious. It's a plug-in hybrid with a variety of modes. Think about what all the other automakers will offer.
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The same modes as the PIP, as it happens. Then again, since GM copied the Prius drivetrain design that is not too surprising.

 

It has a clear definition.. see post
http://priuschat.com/forums/chevrolet-volt/98347-volt-sales-figures-27.html#post1439646


The April 2008 paper by Tate, Harpster and Savagian from the General Motors Corporation. At the SAE Advanced Hybrid Vehicle Powertrain meeting) defined it.
See http://www.media.gm.com/content/dam/...docs/paper.pdf)
In their paper they say there is no SAE definition and propose an EREV be defined as “A vehicle that functions as a full-performance battery electric vehicle when energy is available
from an onboard Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) and having an auxiliary energy supply that is only
engaged when the RESS energy is not available."

That definition may change a little, as SAE is harmonizing the proposed EV definitions as they update the J1715 standard for HEV Terminology.

Even Argonne National Labs is recommending EREV as a formal category in the standard positioned like this:

(from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehicle...view_2011/veh_sys_sim/vss052_duoba_2011_o.pdf)


The key point, which is not marketing, is that an EREV can operate as a full performance EV while it has available battery. That changes the modeling needed for government projections and allows users to save more gas (If it matches their driving needs). An EREV can do what ever the driver needs with zero gas (until the battery is not available). A PiP or C-Energi cannot.

For some people an EREV will be better, for others a basic PHEV will be. But its not just marketing, its a design choice.

 

Nope.. it has modes the PiP does not. Gm's design allows two-electric motor in a power-split arrangement, allowing more efficient EV driving at higher speeds and lower loads. Part of why a Volt can do 75mph (and up to 100mph) in EV mode with reasonable efficiency, while the PiP is limited in EV speed.

GM's design also allows a serial mode where the EV drives the wheels and the ICE interfaces to a generator to provide electricity.

I don't believe either of those modes are possible in a PiP.

 

LOL

Why are you being so defensive about the PiP? It's a good car.

 

These metrics are clearly tested and show the volt is much peppier than the prius. I have driven both and can attest to it. That isn't really relevant though since a viper is much peppier still and so forth.

Not really, the public likes cheaper cars and the Prius PHV will be cheaper considering its battery is tiny in comparison.

The real question is do people want a blended mode hybrid burning gasoline constantly, or do they want something like the volt that can actually drive using electricity and gasoline, or do they want a BEV that only uses electricity. If they have two cars than a regular prius and a Leaf might make more sense.

My personal hope would be they produce something like the Acadia with voltec drivetrain, or that the Prius V. I don't want a PiP or a volt.

 

You do realize that it is a subset of PHEV right? EREV is a type of plugin hybrid, not a subset of EV.

Volt is not a pure EREV and that's another topic. EREV cannot blend gas and electric because it is patented. EREV is the most inefficient PHEV design. It is suitable for a niche market. Those with ideal commute for EREV are probably better off with BEV.

EREV does have some unique features but they are only good for bragging rights -- nothing useful for practicality or affordability.

 

EV speed was limited at 62 MPH by design simply because battery drain become too fast. Volt's full battery runs out of juice in 15 mins at 85 MPH. Using two electric motors for high speed EV requires additional clutch, increasing the total to 3 clutches. Prius PHV has no clutch.

The gas engine in HV mode is superior than battery in energy density and refuel speed. Using the right fuel is the key to reduce weight, cost and complexity.

That's the inefficient workaround to avoid patent lawsuit from Toyota. It is nothing to brag about, for the feature that result in 37 MPG instead of 50 MPG.