Dreaming about a Volt SS - A true American hybrid
Lutz, Wagoner and the Chevy VoltI can still feel the buzz created by the launch of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid at NAIAS earlier this year. Minimally, if successful, this concept puts GM in the same league as Toyota regarding hybrid cars.
Minimally.
Timing will also be important. The sooner the better, and I mean much sooner.
If GM can get the Volt right, it is a game changer. If successful, the Volt will be the definition of game changer. But there are many 'ifs'. And just because the Volt might be a game changer, doesn't mean it will be a Prius killer (but I'll address that another day - maybe tomorrow).
The Volt - as debuted in Detroit - might also....(finish Dreaming about a Volt SS - A true American hybrid)
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
1:33 PM
4 Comments:
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I can still feel the buzz created by the launch of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid at NAIAS earlier this year. Minimally, if successful, this concept puts GM in the same league as Toyota regarding hybrid cars.
Minimally.
Timing will also be important. The sooner the better, and I mean much sooner.
If GM can get the Volt right, it is a game changer. If successful, the Volt will be the definition of game changer. But there are many 'ifs'. And just because the Volt might be a game changer, doesn't mean it will be a Prius killer (but I'll address that another day - maybe tomorrow).
The Volt - as debuted in Detroit - might also be the definition of an American hybrid. This GM hybrid isn't a Toyota hybrid and it certainly isn't a Toyota Prius - the best hybrid available.
This is a whole new type of hybrid, and I'm not just referring to the unique-to-GM hybrid powertrain powering the Volt. I'm talking attitude. The Volt hybrid feels like a sports car, not a hybrid car, or at least a cross between a sporty sedan and a pure sports car.
The Volt, much like the Prius, also oozes the possibility of derivatives.
The Volt, or maybe a Volt SS, as Edward Sanchez of the Car Blog recently suggested, might just be one such derivative needed to inspire a larger number of Americans to go hybrid, "What I'm talking about is a Chevy Volt SS. Yes, a super-sport hybrid. Chevrolet has benchmarked 8.5 seconds 0-60 for the "base" Volt. Not bad. But I say, make a model that can do it in around six flat. Give it a stouter electric motor, maybe even a four-cylinder gas engine, instead of a three for the battery charger. If total plug-in economy goes down from 150 mpg to 110 or 100, who cares? It's still triple what most cars can get today."
A super sport hybrid? Sure it sounds a bit contradictory, but at 100 mpg, it might be just what a large number of Americans need to feel cool, yet still be green.
Wow, already complaining about the Volt's performance and the car's still only a glimmer in it's Father's eye.
I say, keep performance reasonable and extend range by reducing the weight as much as possible. Put in the smallest, least gas burning, engine to recharge when needed, and target for a $15K-$20K price tag.
The more of these cars we can get on the road the better the environment and our dependance on imported oil will be.
With good range and low to no gas consumption this car can (and should) replace all hybrids. With luch too, Americans can lose it's obsession for SUVs and Urban Assult Vehicles.
-David
David,
That would be my derivative as well, as fuel efficient as possible.
Still, that isn't going to sell in America, particularly to the GM faithful. So, what's wrong with a 100 mpg super sport?
More important, I truly believe the Volt has a chance to be an iconic kind of hybrid, a truly American hybrid.
Contrary to your 'replace hybrids' statement, the Volt is a hybrid vehicle. Sure, it might be a series hybrid, rather than a parallel hybrid. Call it an electric-gasoline hybrid if you like, rather than a gasoline-electric hybrid, but it is still very much a hybrid.
So, it won't be replacing all hybrids. And I personally guarantee the Volt will not be a Prius killer.
Case in point - there are numerous Prius plug-in hybrids now on the road achieving as much as 150 mpg with today's technology.
The Volt will be a game changer for GM, but it will not be a Prius killer.
Chevy needs to do for the Volt what Ford did for the Mustang. They need a model for mere mortals to afford and compete with Toyota and the rest AND they need a performance for those who want more speed and are willing to pay for it. Actually, they could subsidize the economy version with the performance version. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it can be both.
However, I recently bought an '07 Prius for 3 reasons:
1. MPG - I recently got 48.5 mpg and even if it doesn't get the EPA of 60/51 that's still better than any unmodified car on the road.
2. Reliability - It's a Toyota, enough said
3. Price - The price I got after all the dickering was done was not really as bad as one might expect for such a technologically advanced car as the Prius is. I got Package#1, leather seating, floor mats, car protection and the 72 month extended warranty, plus 5.88% financing for 66 months and still wound up paying only $172 more than what I was paying for my used Dodge Ram 1500 quadcab.
The Prius cost only about $3,000 more than what we paid for our 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition that doesn't have nearly what the Prius has.
GM/Chevy are going to have to do as well in all three points to get my future business.
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