So finally, we're getting some news or ideas from GM's Chevrolet division regarding electric vehicles. This is the Chevy Volt. It's a few years off still (unfortunately), but I am somewhat surprised as the technology actually seems legit. Half a decade, they tried electric cars. They took them off of the market, for whatever reason. In my opinion they were originally marketed to fail, which brings up an important point about the Chevy Volt--the concept actually looks good. GM's old EV1 line looked like what people imagined a future car would look like back in the early 80's. What are your thoughts on this? Surely other companies will follow suit or continue to improve upon their current Hybrid technologies (I'm counting on Toyota).

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

I heard an interview with Lutz and he said the Volt may cost $40k. Way too expensive. Also, it would be nice if someone gave a breakdown about how much a person would pay in electricity charges by plugging it in. They talk like electricity is free.

I like the name Volt.

the real issue is generating electricity. until we figure that part out, i beleive electric cars are just skirting the issue.

the real issue is generating electricity. until we figure that part out, i beleive electric cars are just skirting the issue.

No doubt, but it is a step, nonetheless.

On the website, it estimates that at a price of 2.40 a gallon (obviously underestimate), 900 dollars a year will be saved using electricity vs. gasoline. 40k is definitely too much, I wouldn't get one of the first ones anyhow, need to see how they hold up and such.

I like the name Volt.
It beats the name Impact, that's for sure.

While we're on the subject of EV's, I wonder if Tesla Motors will release a a middle and lower class car to supplement the Roadster.

I heard an interview with Lutz and he said the Volt may cost $40k. Way too expensive. Also, it would be nice if someone gave a breakdown about how much a person would pay in electricity charges by plugging it in. They talk like electricity is free.

Get long enough extension chord and electricity CAN be free, if ya know what I mean!!!

I also think that asking about the "technology" of electric cars, or cars that get better gas mileage, and why it's not out there, or what has happened to it is extremely rhetorical.

the reason its not out there is because the tech didnt make sense, and oil was so cheep there was no reason to look elsewhere. lack of foresight? maybe.

but as far as some nefarious, oil boogeyman holding down the electric car? i dont think so.

I'm sure the oil companies will be ready to convert to whatever. They still have all the distribution points.

energy stocks had a great year last year. solar is real hot right now.

the reason its not out there is because the tech didnt make sense, and oil was so cheep there was no reason to look elsewhere. lack of foresight? maybe.
No U.S. automaker foresaw that we'd purposely destabilize the Middle East (jacking up the price to $2+/gallon from $1.35/gallon), while lackadaisically letting the dollar slide SO badly (doing the rest of the damage).

Why the lack of foresight? Because they predicted common sense where there is none.

The automakers were certainly expecting the price of oil to go up, but they were looking in the 10-20 year timeframe, and a decade+ of research showed that U.S. consumers buy gas guzzling trucks, not hybrids, at $1.35/gallon. They had a taste of destabilized Middle East prices ($2+/gallon) with 9/11 and had to think that we weren't going to inflict that on ourselves! Enter Bush and a stupid war in Iraq...

The automakers were expecting Republican leadership to keep the dollar strong, too. With the push of manufacturing abroad, we were turning ourselves into a nation of importers, so we had strong incentive to keep our currency propped up, much as the Brits do with the pound. Surely, the fed would prevent little things like the watering down of our currency owing to defaults? Didn't Republicans figure this one out with the S&L scandal, not to mention the more recent scandals? Oh wait -- this is Spend-It-All Bush the MBA, keeping his eye off the ball.

You can't tell me that we have all this technology, which has revolutionized the world, and in the same time we can neither A)manufacture a viable electric car; or B)Manufacture automobiles that can get 100 MPG???

Sorry, boys, there's a two headed boogeyman out there: Military/industrial/oil complex, and lazy consumers who want to impress everyone with their dicks.

Sorry, boys, there's a two headed boogeyman out there: Military/industrial/oil complex, and lazy consumers who want to impress everyone with their dicks.

I hear ya. I think it was b-diddy who said all of this is legit, but the way I see it, b-diddy, you've got way too much faith in people.

Keeping with the electrical theme...

The Chevy Transistor

The Chevy Capacitor

The Chevy Transformer

I bet I'm the ONLY one who his chuckling.

what i said was that the electric car is just skirting the issue. how do you think we produce electricity?

you can get A from b, you can also get A from c, but the way we get c is from b. whats the difference?

its simply that we were getting a great deal on oil 6 or so years ago. the idea of energy crisis wasnt nearly as alarming as it is today.

what i said was that the electric car is just skirting the issue. how do you think we produce electricity?

you can get A from b, you can also get A from c, but the way we get c is from b. whats the difference?

its simply that we were getting a great deal on oil 6 or so years ago. the idea of energy crisis wasnt nearly as alarming as it is today.

Or as it was, say, back in about 1977.

what i said was that the electric car is just skirting the issue.

You do not think it is at least a step? Obviously, we need to try to advance solar and nuclear energy as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible seeing as the electricity grid depends largely upon waning natural resources. There are less emissions that come as a result of using electric cars vs. ICE (internal combustion engines). Is it not, then, an improvement? Should we not pursue it?

Or as it was, say, back in about 1977.

that was due to US oil output peaking in the early 70's, and a shift in reliance to international sources.

i believe i covered all this in the "wtfdetroit needs to solve the energy crisis" that was so popular last week.

im not saying i disagree with you guys. its just that necessity is the mother of all inventions, as they say. and up until recently, it would be hard to say there was a necessity to break away from oil.

and believe me, im a huge environmentalist. i also just try to be a realist too.

Keeping with the electrical theme...

The Chevy Transistor

The Chevy Capacitor

The Chevy Transformer

I bet I'm the ONLY one who his chuckling.

You are right.

ive actually come up w/ a solution to our energy crisis which will make all these concerns moot.

using the process of nuclear fussion (not to be confused with fission), i will use helium 3 as our new primary energy source. it will burn clean and efficiently. one ton of helium three could provide enough power for 10 million people for an entire year.

i know what your thinking: but Helium three is scarce on earth.

that is true, but it is abundant on the moon. there is enough on the moon to power the earth for hundreds of years.

but even if that were true, and even if helium three were worth billions of dollar per ton, it costs like a million dollars a minute to keep a man on the moon. how on earth (pun) are you going to mine that helium 3 and bring it back to earth?

colonizing the moon is much closer than you think. oxygen, nitrogen, and helium are all abundant in moon rocks. if you heat moon dust, water is produced. from the water oxygen can be gathered. we will probably be colonizing the moon in the next 15-20 years. probably in 30 years most of our energy will be produced by helium three gathered, by me, from the moon.

yep, i like this solution even better than my idea of orbiting a solar panel the size of texas outside earth's orbit.

probably going to be pretty lucrative, too.