GM's doubts about the Chevy Volt?
Will GM really be able to deliver the Volt?I am a perpetual GM critic. Why? Because I believe foreign oil dependency is the greatest issue facing America. It is also America's greatest opportunity. Yet, GM's actions are lacking.
Ending dependency means new, clean technologies (and jobs), which result in greater National security and a much cleaner world. Thus, when GM not only passed on hybrid cars, but ridiculed them, GM became an enemy of energy independence.
However, the debut of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid at NAIAS gave me hope, but is the Volt more hope than reality? Finish GM's doubts about the Chevy Volt.
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, GM, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:54 AM
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(Rest of Story)
"The Volt grabbed headlines, lit up online chat boards and dominated the buzz at the auto show in Detroit. There's just one problem: The Volt may never get built," writes Sharlon Terlep in this morning's edition of the DetroitNews.
While GM's Bob Lutz has admitted a 10% chance of failure, Terlep writes that others at GM might have even greater doubts. So, one wonders, will the Volt plug-in hybrid go from buzz to reputation-destroying dud?
Already, GM has acknowledged that the production version of the Chevy Volt will be different than the concept. For example, it won't be as wide and it won't use the very cool plastic composites that give the concept Volt such an interesting design.
So what!
All that is important is that GM move forward. Accept no failure. If there are issues with the Volt, change the concept - even if that means the first generation Volt is a lithium-ion powered hybrid vehicle, rather than a plug-in hybrid. So be it. Just have an advanced hybrid that is in the same league as the third generation Prius around the time the third generation Prius is launched.
If Toyota can essentially guarantee that its third generation Hybrid Synergy Drive will be lithium powered, then GM must be positioned to counter this development - this revolution in automobile technology. For once lithium batteries begin to cost-effectively make their way into automobiles, there is no going back.
Thus, there should be no question about the viability of the Volt - one way or another its rubber must meet the road - GM should tell us. GM must take a no prisoners attitude. It's the Volt or bust, period. More important, GM needs to put the Volt on the road long before 2010, even if its less electric than originally promised.
Any Volt will still be a shocking experience!
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