9:40am: GM's Volt to get 230 mpg
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WARREN, Michigan (AP) - General Motors Corp. said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car should get 230 miles per gallon (98 kilometers per liter) of gasoline in city driving, more than four times the current champion, the Toyota Prius.
The Volt is powered by an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile (65-kilometer) range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity for a total range of 300 miles (480 kilometers). The battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet.
GM came up with the 230-mile (370-kilometer) figure in early tests using draft guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for calculating the mileage of extended range electric vehicles, said Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt.
If the figure is confirmed by the EPA, which does the tests for the mileage posted on new car door stickers, the Volt would be the first car to exceed triple-digit gas mileage, Posawatz said.
GM has produced about 30 Volts so far and is making 10 a week, CEO Fritz Henderson said during a presentation of the vehicle at the company's technical center in the Detroit suburb of Warren.
Henderson said charging the volt will cost about 40 cents a day.
"The EPA labels can and will be a game changer for us," he said.
Most automakers are working similar plug-in designs, but GM could be the leader with the Volt, which is due in showrooms late in 2010.
Toyota's Prius, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S., gets 48 miles per gallon (20 kilometers per liter) of gas. It is a gas-electric hybrid that runs on a small internal combustion engine assisted by a battery-powered electric motor to save gasoline.
The first-generation Volt is expected to cost near $40,000, making it cost-prohibitive to many people even if gasoline returns to $4 per gallon. The price is expected to drop with future generations of the Volt, but GM has said government tax credits and the savings on fuel could make it cost-effective, especially at 230 miles per gallon (98 kilometers per liter).
"We get a little cautious about trying to forecast what fuel prices will do," Posawatz said. "We achieved this number and if fuel prices go up, it certainly does get more attractive even in the near-term generation," he said.
Figures for the Volt's highway and combined city/highway mileage have not yet been calculated, Posawatz said. The combined mileage will be in the triple digits as well, he said, but both combined and highway will be worse than city because the engine runs more on longer highway trips.
The EPA guidelines, developed with input from automakers, figure that cars like the Volt will travel more on straight electricity in the city than on the highway. If a person drives the Volt less than 40 miles (65 kilometers), in theory they could go without using gasoline.
The mileage figure could vary as the guidelines are refined and the Volt gets further along in the manufacturing process, Posawatz said.
GM is nearly halfway through building about 80 Volts that will look and behave like the production model, and testing is running on schedule, Posawatz said.
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Camm76
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08-13-09 3:13 PM
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Why is everyone so negative on this? Give it a chance. It's the first generation. I'm glad to see GM attempting to be competitive with the foreign car makers. It's long overdue. I certainly won't be dropping $40,000 on a new car anytime soon, but at least they're moving in the right direction. Isn't there a tax break for people who own electric cars? Wouldn't that offset any additional electric bill charges incurred?
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Nosympathy
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08-13-09 8:37 AM
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I even added electric outlets in the garage of my new house with the anticipation that they will continue to improve the technology and I will have an electric vehicle soon! Show me one that can go 80 miles for $30K and I will be the first in line! I also bought some electric utility stocks too!
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Nosympathy
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08-13-09 8:29 AM
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Movedaway, you missed the point of the Volt. Yes, we know that the motor kicks in after the electric battery is spent, but that defeats the purpose to a great extent. If I am going to lay down my hard earned jack for an "electric vehicle" I want to be sure that I am shutting off the vast majority of the revenue of good old Mr Chavez in Venezuela; which by the way we import a lot of our oil from. I think we import from Venezuela than the rag heads. Is less better than none at all, sure. But my family already drives some pretty fuel efficient vehicles. But, I'm willing to pay a $10K premium to know I'm putting those B*stards out of business.
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AnotherOvertaxedResident
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08-12-09 10:50 PM
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When I replace my '97 DeVille, it'll be with another Cadillac; not some little toy. For $20K, I can get a Cadillac used by some little old lady that's 3 years old, has 27K miles, and is just getting broke in.
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MovedAway
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08-12-09 8:16 PM
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The main reason they are doing the range extender is because most people will worry about their batteries if it were a pure electric vehicle. Imagine, your car SAYS it can get 120 miles to a charge. You're doing a lot of highway driving, about the 70-80 mile mark, and you look at your charge. You're still 10 miles from home... not feeling too good about that are you? With the range extender, you don't have to worry. The generator kicks in and you can drive as long as you have gas, just like any other car. As for electricity vs gas. Electricity is considerably cheaper. Imagine 30 dollars a month vs 120+ for the same driving. With the price tag it will command at first, you will not make your money up. The first adopters will be rich and not care about that anyway. As time goes on, the price will come down. If you want more info on the volt, gm-volt**** is a great resource, though very over the top with the GM love...
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MovedAway
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08-12-09 8:10 PM
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Most of these comments in regards to what the volt can actually do are completely ignorant. First off, the car can go further than 40 miles. There is no restriction to how far you can go, as long as you have gas. 78% of all daily driving is less than 40 miles. In my case its a 48 mile round trip. If I can do 40 miles of that without sending a dime to people who want to kill us, I'll gladly do it. Battery cost. Estimated around 8,000 at this point. The warranty: 10 years 150,000 miles. Ease any concerns? As the technology progresses they will only get cheaper, so by time you need to replace it, it may be considerably cheaper. Plus, the battery packs will be recyclable. As for the battery life, GM is taking extreme caution in how they use the battery to keep it around for a long while. They will not let you drain the battery past ~30%. That's when the generator kicks in. In generator mode, they're still expecting 50mpg.
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turi57
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08-12-09 7:23 PM
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nosympathy: I'm having chest pains...
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turi57
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08-12-09 7:20 PM
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sassysue...you're an anti American freak when you have no complains about billions of tax payer's $$$ in the form of "GRANTS" going to foreign TRANSPLANTS...however you b!tch and complain about a LOAN to an American company. You're an anti American freak when you take $4,500 of American taxpayer's money and buy a car made in a foreign country and by a foreign company and then b!itch and complain because that LOAN wasn't payed back. HYPOCRITS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nosympathy
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08-12-09 3:36 PM
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I'm going to give TURI a heart attack, but I do think the VOLT is a good start for GM. Will I be the first on my block to buy one, no. 40 miles for $40K won't get me interested. But remember folks, it was in fact Electric cars that dominated at first in this country, and the "tin lizzies" were laughed at. If they can get the charge to last, say 80 miles and cut the price about $10K, now you are in the range of a real, day to day operating vehicle. Improve the technology, knock down the price some, and your market explodes. BTW Turi, I am anxiously awaiting my local Buick dealer's first shipment of 2010 Buick Lucernes. If they are as good as I saw at the 2009 Detroit Car show, I'll probably buy one.
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Salamiboy
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08-12-09 2:23 PM
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GM gets PROactive and some of the Valley doomsayers have to ***** about something...but if the towel heads can't sell gas, they LOWER the price which is GOOD for all!! MORONS !!
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Bicyclecannon
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08-12-09 1:45 PM
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It's all just politics. If GM did not come up with the Volt then GM would have been viewed as an environmentally unfriendly company. Unfortunately, the car will cause GM to lose money. Still not really economical to own one (nor a Prius) unless gasoline leaps up to >$10/gallon. If gasoline was $7/gallon and you drove 12,000 miles/year and you drove a vehicle that gets 30 miles/gallon, you would pay $2,800/year in gasoline. In ten years (with gas at $7/gallon), you still would not have saved enough money to pay for the car. Not to mention you would have to have the battery replaced after 10 years. I can't believe how many people bought a Prius!!! Still not a bad vehicle for the crowds that want to be environmentally friendly (Let's forget about battery disposal and using more coal to generate electricity to recharge the vehicle).
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MYVIEW
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08-12-09 10:34 AM
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lol-I can just imagine plugging it in my gatage at the end of day to recharge the battery- and blowing my fuse box up! What is my already to high electric bill going to be if I get one of these Volts- and there sure is going to have to be a lot of recharging stations on every street corner- lets see we have to pay for AIR to put in our tires- what will the cost be for a quick charge? And how come they have not said what a replacement battery for it will cost- batteries do quit holding a charge-Oh well I guess it's a wait and see situation
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pahootaman
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08-12-09 8:56 AM
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"to get"
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UneducatedDrone
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08-11-09 11:04 PM
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Hmm, they finally filtered out as.shole, lol. (-:
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UneducatedDrone
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08-11-09 11:03 PM
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lol gros like I said, it was several years ago so I don't recall the details, but basically there was some kind of rift between the cop and this guy. And as I said, the guy in the scooter was definitely an *******, I DO remember that, so I guess the cop was just waiting for him to make a mistake. Ugh, I wish I could remember the exact details, but yeah, it was kinda funny, lol. I think he had to go out into the street because the sidewalk was being repaired or something, and the cop knew it, and he knew the guys' daily routine, and hence was waiting for him...or something like that, lol. Seriously though, it's a true story (the bit I remember anyway). (-:
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UneducatedDrone
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08-11-09 10:31 PM
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lol @ gros, top speed 7-10 MPH. Two round trips to the mall on one charge? Wow, that's actually rather impressive, lol. I remember several years ago there was actually a guy on N. River Rd. that used a scooter. Blah, Blah, Blah...to make a long story short, when he had to go out into the street off of the sidewalk, a cop actually charged him with public intoxication (and some kind of illegal vehicle operation, I forget the details). I guess the guy was a real di.ck head, and again, it's a long story, but nevertheless, true, lol. (-:
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Sassysue
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08-11-09 10:12 PM
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If you dont love GM products you are an anti american freak? lol @ Turi
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turi57
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08-11-09 10:08 PM
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TOOTIRED...LET ME GIVE YOU THE BREAK EVEN POINT OF A TOYOTA PRIUS...@ $4GL GAS PRICES, YOU'D HAVE TO OWN IT 23 YEARS TO BREAK EVEN!!!!!!!
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turi57
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08-11-09 9:53 PM
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HOW COME ALL YOU EDUCATED BRAINLESS M@RONS DON'T HAVE ANY NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT AN ASIAN RUST BOX CALLED prius WITH A PRICE TAG OF $26,000 ($10,000 MORE THEN THE COBALT AND A DIFFERENCE OF ONLY 6MPG OF GAS)AND A BATTERY REPLACEMENT OF EVERY 3 YEARS AT A COST OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS? YOU ANTI AMERICAN FREAKS MAKE ME SICK!!!!!!!!!
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frankSpooner
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08-11-09 7:50 PM
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not bad, an exrta 40 miles after you run out of gas, almost there GM.
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feuz1019
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08-11-09 7:46 PM
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Wow there goes my electric bill. Where am I going to plug this thing in? Your replacing your gasoline bill with your electric bill. I can tell you our future..here come the brown outs.
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NilesOhio
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08-11-09 3:33 PM
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230mpg? I'll believe it when I see it. GM has played this card too many times.
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tootired
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08-11-09 3:05 PM
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I buy gas once a month and get between 9 and 11 gallons. It won't be the car for me.
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tootired
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08-11-09 3:03 PM
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Until they say how long the battery lasts and how much a replacement costs they aren't saying anything. Where is the break even point over a $20,000/23mpg. At $2.50 a gallon it is 184,000 miles, not counting any battery costs. I did not figure in the .40 a day for charging. That works out to another $2.80 or about 26 more miles in the $20,000/23 mpg.
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BethMacUSA
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08-11-09 1:58 PM
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Sen McCain was here last year talking about these "electric" cars and raised the same concerns. He suggested a nuclear battery that last similiar to the navy submarines. He said that GM (of all companies) already had the technology available for such a thing! I tried to get more information on it but to no avail. I am open minded enough to actually learn all the facts. McCain felt we would be a great fit in this valley for this cutting edge technology. Hey, Muni leaders in the late 70's balked at computer chips, and look at the communities that championed them, they are all still making money! at least be open to the idea!
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