Volt price news...

[Dr Mordrid]

Local news is reporting that the Volt may come in at "significantly less" than the expected $40k.

Some reports put it closer to $30k.

[paulw]

By the time it goes thru GM in Australia and get Ozzyized it will be around $100K down here..

[Kruzin]

By the time it goes thru GM in Australia and get Ozzyized it will be around $100K down here..

Serves you right, after what the Auzzies did to botch up the Pontiac GTOs and G8s.

You do know that's what killed Pontiac, right?
If you bush beaters knew how to build a car, like GM gave you the chance to, Pontiac would'nt be shutting down...

Those cars built in Oz have been nothing but headaches on the mainland US, and parts are near impossible to get. I had a car down in my dealership for FOUR MONTHS waiting for a simple CV shaft, not available aftemarket, not rebuildable. Kangaroo humpers were to busy playing their digereeDoos to ship that simple part to us.

I pity anyone that was ignorant enough to buy an Aussie built Pontiac.
Our dealership has opted to not order a single '10 Pontiac model for stock.

Thank you Oz, for helping to kill Pontiac.

[Jammrock]

Tell us how you really feel, Kruzin!

[paulw]

Hey Kruzin.

NZ is not a part of Ozz but GM seems to Ozzyize all cars that come thru there for NZ. It's call Australian Design Rules (ADR) designed to protect the local AU car industry from evil foreign auto makers and people bringing in low cost 2nd hand cars..

[cjolley]

I don't think Volt is viable @ 40k
30k would be very attractive if it is basically a good car, in addition to being hi tech.

[Dr Mordrid]

Don't forget that Volt is eligible for the maximum $7500 federal electric vehicle tax credit and major tax credits in several states.

[paulw]

Don't forget that Volt is eligible for the maximum $7500 federal electric vehicle tax credit and major tax credits in several states.

That makes it even more attractive. Getting one Doc??

[Tjalfe]

so, $30K US, and a near 1:1 exchange rate, I predict $45K CDN

[Marshmallowman]

Have you tried getting parts directly from Holden Australia, bypass all the middlemen.
eg parts for v8 Commodore or Monaro(2door), performance models are "HSV"
(for drive train, suspenion and motor shold be compatable)

Can also get plenty of aftermarket stuff , quick search turned up

http://www.vcm-suite.com.au/performance/undercarriage.html

[Dr Mordrid]

UPDATE:

At an interview for the Detroit Auto Show Bob Lutz announced that GM will make a pure electric version of the Volt. In his words;

“Once you’ve done the Volt, pure electric is trivial. You just leave some parts out,”

Indeed, and with that reduction in mass a significant increase in EV range would be pretty much automatic.

[paulw]

Saw this discussion on another web site about EVs in cold weather.

"Another reason EVs won't work (yet)

So we're going electric are we?

Eventually, all our cars will be silent, clean and green -- pushed along the highways by the flow of tiny electrons.

Instead of CO2-belching internal combustion engines, just the whisper-like whir of electric motors and zero emissions will ensure that the climate doesn't change too much and that we can all breath-easy in the 21st (and subsequent) centuries.

Ah, sounds like utopia doesn't it?

Unfortunately, there might just be a problem that nobody seems to have considered...

Right now, huge parts of the northern hemisphere are suffering in some of the coldest temperatures for decades.

No chance of a warm coffee on the sidewalk outside a cafe in Paris right now -- the sub-zero temperatures mean you'd end up with frostbite and a coffee-flavoured iceblock within minutes.

Just what would happen to all those electric cars when the temperature plummets below zero?

Well it seems that if they're using today's lithium-based battery technology -- they'll stop.

It seems (as many RC model fliers are discovering), modern lithium batteries don't perform at all well in low temperatures.

In recent years, electric-powered RC model aircraft have become very popular and are now reaching performance levels that dwarf that of their internal-combustion-powered equivalents.

But... as the temperature falls, so does the capacity of those fancy lithium batteries.

So what does this mean to EV owners who find themselves in the middle of a very cold winter?

That 150km range might suddenly drop to 30kms -- and there's no additional energy available to heat the passenger compartment of the vehicle which would make for a *very* icy ride to work.

Uh-oh!

Here in Godzone (where EVs are harder to find than hen's teeth) the temperature issue might not be a problem but in Europe and most parts of the USA, low-temperature (lack of) performance could kill the EV until new battery technology is discovered.

Perhaps, instead of batteries we should go straight to fusion power for our EVs -- after all, it's (still) only about a decade away (Cue Tui's ad). "


Site link http://www.aardvark.co.nz/

[Dr Mordrid]

Cold is one of the reasons why pure EV's are and will be until batteries with a capacity if >50kw are available at less than $10k, but the standard Volt as a leg up: it's range extender - a small IC that drive a generator when the battery charge is depleted.

Range extenders make it possible for EV's to be practical for short drives to work, 80% plus of driving, but have the extenced range of a non-EV and the ability to operate in the cold until the battery is warmed. GM's Voltec system is set up to use whatever range extender powerplant will fit under the hood; gas/E85, gas turbine (3rd party working on this), diesel, a huge ultracapacitor or even a fuel cell. The battery remains. The control system remains. The long range power source can be whatever falls out of the lab.