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2011 Chevy Volt Investment: How Does This Differ From the EV1? Page 2

 
13,167 views Dec 7, 2009
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Chelsea Sexton

Chelsea Sexton

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Optimism vs cynicism

Despite GM's hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, and the optimism of the latest converts to electric cars, Sexton remains wary and in some respects deeply cynical.

She worries that if the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is marketed "just like another car, like a Chevy Cruze" compact, if GM takes a "formulaic approach to marketing," that it won't focus on all the details that provide a good user experience for electric-car neophytes.

The first EV drivers are truly a different breed, she said. While they may be similar to hybrid-car buyers, she draws a clear distinction between them.

"People get smart quick" 

Electric-car buyers, she believes, quickly adapt their lives to any limitations of the car, especially those pure battery-electric vehicles with just 100 miles or so of range. "People get smart quick," she said firmly. (The 2011 Volt, of course, uses its gasoline engine to provide electric power to give another 300 miles of range after its 40-mile lithium-ion battery is depleted.)

But Sexton agrees that GM is likely to sell every 2011 Chevy Volt it builds for the first two or three years at least. And in that time, she said, it will become clear whether GM--and other plug-in makers--really "get" how to provide a total user experience that turns every driver into an evangelist for electric transportation.

If it doesn't go well, of course, it would hardly be the first time that an automaker spends hundreds of millions of dollars on a product only to talk away from it. [See EV1 project, GM termination of]

Time will tell. Stay tuned.






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Comments (13)

  1. By KentT Posted: 12/7/2009 2:46pm PST

    The Volt is in a race between affordability and the price of gas. If gas went back to $4-5/gal it's a winner even at around $40K. If gas remains $2-3 and the price of the Volt and other plug-ins like it (to come) doesn't fall to around $30K then the electric car is dead. (Again!) The Volt overcomes the two biggest problems of the EV1: No back seat and a long enough extension cord (sorry for the sarcasm) better known as "range anxiety." Car's like Nissan's Leaf is a DOA. The EV1.2 (with NiMh batteries) got better range and that is 16 year old technology!
    I'm glad to see your articles Chelsea! I remember you from your Saturn days! Keep fighting the good fight! When the Volt lists for $29,995 (before rebates and tax incentives) declare victory!
     
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  2. By emmett allen Posted: 12/7/2009 4:10pm PST

    GM lost a lot of potential customers when they pulled the EV1 from development or sales. The EV1 would have certainly suited my purposes (and 70% of the average driving population) 13 years ago. A new version would have had the lithium ion batteries by now.
    Now, the fabled impending release of the retro-looking Cruise and Volt are very unexciting. Why does GM stick with the too little, too late philosophy in design and technology? The Saturn EV1 inspired design was much better looking than the present proposed designs. The wagon spoke styled wheels to the honking GM style grilles on electric cars is positively moribund. I'm surprised that there are no hood ornaments and vinyl covered roofs on the new models. The EV1 was GM's last best effort to survive and I look forward to its demise while waiting for a Japanese, Indian or Chinese offering.
     
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  3. By  Custom 4x4 trucks Posted: 12/7/2009 8:20pm PST

    GM EV1 is the old player in the market & this technology is old for GM. This is new starting of Chevy in the form of Volt. But Chevy have a good market coverage in the world. I think the price of gas is doesn't matter for the Chevy.
     
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  4. By  Seth Leitman Posted: 12/8/2009 6:35am PST

    i think that in some ways this is deja vu. I have to agree with John on that front. Chrysler just got out of the EV game when they got government money through a loan and one of the conditions was to do an electric car program!! I mean common. Chevy is a brand. I dig that too but don't say that the EV1 is old tech when it is the same tech to a different brand.
    Now you have a plug in hybrid electric vehicle system in the mix. It's new to the marketplace and once again the car companies are not even pitching their hybrids on the television. Seen a good hybrid electric car commercial like the ones for Cadillac lately?
    Look, just read between the lines all the time and realize there has to be more to the story.
    As for electric cars, I have driven a Tesla and an EV1 and can tell you that what I said to Remy Chevalier from Electrifying Times was it felt like the EV1 again. The volt I have never driven and the only thing I have seen of it was a simple frame that the GM guys got pissed off when I slammed the book to hard.
    That is when I met John V and think that the price structure for the Volt is tough. Not a bad point to bring up in the middle of the electric drive market transformation.
     
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  5. By Puhleaze Posted: 12/8/2009 6:51am PST

    The Volt is a complete nonstarter! 40 miles electric? The Volt is a poorly designed hybrid destined to fail years before the first production vehicle rolls of the line.
     
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  6. By  Greg Blencoe Posted: 12/8/2009 7:24am PST

    John,
    The Chevy Volt will be similar to the EV1 in that large numbers of mainstream consumers will not be buying the car.
    Before subsidies, the $40,000 expected price of the Chevy Volt is a whopping $17,600 more than the 2010 Toyota Prius.
    And the 40-mile battery range of the Chevy Volt is expected to go way down if the vehicle is driven at high speeds.
    It will be very interesting to see how many people put up their own money for this car. There is a huge difference between talking about being interested in the Chevy Volt on the internet and actually going out and buying one.
    People should be paying a lot more attention to what smart companies like Toyota and Honda are saying about plug-in battery cars.
    "Top 20 quotes from Toyota and Honda executives criticizing plug-in battery cars"
    http://www.h2carblog.com/?p=577
    Greg Blencoe
    Chief Executive Officer
    Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc.
    "Hydrogen Car Revolution" blog
     
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  7. By JStehr Posted: 12/8/2009 7:47am PST

    Where is any mention of the Honda Clarity??? I remember many years back GM attempting to push towards a fuel cell car and they let Honda beat them to the punch?
     
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  8. By KendraLovely Posted: 12/8/2009 8:28am PST

    GM will not bring us into full EV reality. Good press is not enough. Best to stick with manufacturers who are totally devoted to it.
    I say Goss132, Tesla, or Fisker
    Goss132 being the most affordable by far though.
     
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  9. By  Phil Colley with GM Posted: 12/8/2009 12:01pm PST

    @Greg: You have some fuzzy math - a comparable Toyota Prius with all the options and features similar to what the Volt will offer is roughly a $32,000 vehicle.
    It's also misleading on the opposite end of the spectrum when people compare a Tesla Model S to the Volt saying the Model S costs $49,900 for the 300 mile range version, when in fact, it costs $57,400 before the tax credit and that's only for the 160 mile range version.
    All that being written, we still haven't announced the price of the Volt yet and everything you read about Volt price is just speculation.
    Now, talk amongst yourselves.
     
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  10. By AutoBoy Posted: 12/8/2009 1:54pm PST

    With a very clear appreciation of the naivete reflected in this next statement, all I have to say is "I am emotionally rooting so very hard for GM on this one"!! I think it involves risk during a brutal time and I really think it is being taken with sober/calculated consideration. Still, it is risky and I really hope there is a significant reward. Ok, enough cheerleading for today.
     
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  11. By  Ricardo Posted: 12/12/2009 10:51am PST

    looking at the Volt at the LA AutoShow, and the public (not the media) reactions was telling. Consumers vote with their wallets. And in America we are all to used to "convenience". When you have cars like the Nissan Versa, Kia Forte, Suzuki Kazashi, Ford Focus (comparable in size) but at well under $20K the EV have a long way to go. IT's the same issue as 1920. Infrastructure (?) until world gas prices get on par with northern Europe or Japan no is going to invest (private $, the money that moves the world economy)
     
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  12. By Gman Posted: 12/28/2009 8:02pm PST

    "Import" the Opel Ampera instead. How about conducting an on-line "poll" to determine which front-end style the public prefers (especially for a $32K+ vehicle after tax credit) which should be instantly recognizable as a new high-tech vehicle and could never be confused with any other automobile on the road.....?
     
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  13. By  Mack Heavy Trucks Posted: 2/24/2010 2:57am PST

    This is the good start for Volt. I think the only thing that could really revitalize that place is UAW taking a hike and letting the auto industry compete naturally. Or there will be chances for reuse of auto plants for solar panels.
     
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