Volt Birth Watch 90: Use the Fork
Published: September 16th, 2008
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After an epic meeting about TTAC site tweaks, I returned to an email from a seriously perturbed member of our Best and Brightest. It reads as follows… “Over on CNN.com home page Chevy has an ad for the Volt. It says ‘Chevy Volt will go 40 miles before using any gas at all. Fully charged 2010.’ Then, in fine print on the bottom, ‘Performance capabilities subject to change without notice.’ What the hell is that (the fine print)? Does it do 40 mile or doesn’t it? Sounds like GM doesn’t know.”
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ferrariman: That's what I thought. According to the CBS site, it was Bob Bonifice, the Volt design director. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/17/earlyshow/main4454824.shtml He says that "people will be able to get one in 2010, but they won't be at dealer showrooms until November 2011". So I guess in 2010 you can get one if you make out a certified check for $200000 to Rick Wagoner or something. Otherwise you have to wait. They say 40 miles on batteries, and 300-400 miles on the gas engine. My 2001 Accent could go 320 miles on a tank, and it only cost me $12000 with all the options.
yankinwaoz: It says “Performance capabilities subject to change without notice.” That tells me that GM is not confident they are going to deliver what they are promising in the ad. Simple as that. This is getting a little silly, isn't it? Go to google and enter (with quotes): "specifications can change without notice" I get 30 kilohits. Products from computers, to food, to mass spectrometers, to medical information systems. Are these companies not confident their products will deliver as advertised, essentially pulling a fast one on their current and potential customers? Or is this just standard disclaimer boilerplate?
You guys are mistaken. Horsepower and Torque will be cut in half when they battery goes flat and you run on the generator. The Genset is 53KW peak or about 70HP, less than half of what the motor is spec'ed to do under battery power. Essentially when the battery is flat you have a 3000lb economy car with a 70HP engine. Fun times. Poor acceleration and a poor grade climbing.
Ouch, no wonder GM's not in a rush to get this to market. They have to be thinking about how to avoid that problem...