Chevy Volt Halted. Who did not see this coming?

[Diamondpilot]

Bailing out a poorly ran company like GM did not save any jobs. If anything it slowed the growth of jobs and just keep things the way there were.

If GM would have been allowed to fail like any other company, this would never happen with Obama and the UAW being in bed together, things would have been fine. Its business 101. Guy fails and the others pick up the pieces. There would still be the need for autos and GM would have rebuilt at a smaller scale, the other lines that were quality and profitable would have been sold off to other manufactures, and life would have been good. Don't believe everything you hear by the liberal left wing news media (MSNBC :confused2 or many others.

Now as far as the next generation of vehicles the Volt was a flop. In my opinion anything with batteries or a internal combustion engine will also be. IC engines are very inefficient. Gas are about 30% and diesel about 40%.

What needs to be developed is a gas turbine, much like a small apu used in large jet airplanes. A APU or auxiliary power unit is very fuel efficient, have very little moving parts, and could easily turn a 1000 amp or more generator to provide electric power directly to electric motors on all 4 wheels. No batteries other than a starting battery and no gear box to waste power. 100 mpg gallon on kerosene, 87 octane gas, or diesel fuel is a real possibility, another befit of this type of motor, its multi fuel ability.

Chris

 

[mjw357]

What needs to be developed is a gas turbine, much like a small apu used in large jet airplanes. A APU or auxiliary power unit is very fuel efficient, have very little moving parts, and could easily turn a 1000 amp or more generator to provide electric power directly to electric motors on all 4 wheels. No batteries other than a starting battery and no gear box to waste power. 100 mpg gallon on kerosene, 87 octane gas, or diesel fuel is a real possibility, another befit of this type of motor, its multi fuel ability.

Chris

Nah, why have a battery? How cool would it be to have a 400Hz start cart for your car?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Nah, why have a battery? How cool would it be to have a 400Hz start cart for your car?

NO Start Cart Needed! I have flown jet airplanes since 1997 for a living with well over 7,600 hours of flying time in them. I have used a start cart a total of 4 times in my career. Each and every time it was due to a dead or weak on-board battery. It was used as nothing more than a jump start just like a dead battery in any conventional car, tractor, boat, airplane, lawn mower, ect.

Chris

 

[jonyyuma]

Bailing out a poorly ran company like GM did not save any jobs. If anything it slowed the growth of jobs and just keep things the way there were.

Now as far as the next generation of vehicles the Volt was a flop. In my opinion anything with batteries or a internal combustion engine will also be. IC engines are very inefficient. Gas are about 30% and diesel about 40%.

What needs to be developed is a gas turbine, much like a small apu used in large jet airplanes. A APU or auxiliary power unit is very fuel efficient, have very little moving parts, and could easily turn a 1000 amp or more generator to provide electric power directly to electric motors on all 4 wheels. No batteries other than a starting battery and no gear box to waste power. 100 mpg gallon on kerosene, 87 octane gas, or diesel fuel is a real possibility, another befit of this type of motor, its multi fuel ability.

Chris

Chris, I have to agree, I did some reading on the old chrysler Turbine powered car and the Ford turbine powered Semi truck. My dad drove the 60's car and loved it. They had Metal problems, but the engines were TOO GOOD and would not have been replaced like current tech engines and car..IE Throw away?

 

[deezler]

So, I'm not clear here. You didn't buy one because of your first quoted paragraph (based on sound data) or the second (you were pre-conditioned by those nasty conservatives)??

Sorry if I was unclear. I work in the auto industry, so I know and understand the hard data on the Volt. I actually have no need for a new car, I plan to rock mine till the wheels fall off, as it represents exactly what I want in a car, and you can't buy one anymore. I also believe in minimizing overall consumption of resources. Don't buy the cheap one that breaks quickly, buy the tools that LAST and conserve resources overall.

My second point was that I understand why a lot of Americans question the Volt. They turn on the TV or the radio to their favorite channels, and it tells them to doubt the vehicle. (most) People are lemmings and simply learn what they are told, without questioning. However most people that would post on a technical forum like this one probably do not fall into this category, thankfully.

 

[deezler]

Or maybe we are all just like you, and either have or want a vehicle that better suits our needs and don't see a need for the Volt?

Why do you think it's such a great vehicle, but not have one yourself?

Would you want your Mom to have one? Would you feel comfortable with her spending $40,000 for one or would you tell her to spend less money on another car?

Instead of assuming that we are all mind numb and not smart enough to see the genious in the Volt, why can't you consider that we looked at it and in comparison to what is out there, that the Volt is a piece of junk that isn't worth what they want for it? That we are offended at out tax dollars being used to force this vehicle on us against our will? That it accomplishes nothing and that it isn't even competitive in what is already out there in the green market?

Eddie

See my previous post. I was not looking at a Volt with any intention of purchasing, I am just a car geek and had to check it out. I would have no fears with my mom, or any friend family buying one. They are sound, well built vehicles. They are just too expensive. GM is way too late in the game to have any embodied experience in delivering a quality, high efficiency car for low cost. Advantage, Toyota.

I am not trying to praise the genius of the Volt. But I will defend it against blatantly ignorant attacks. And again, it really works well for the suburban commuter with short drives every day. Lots of empirical evidence of its success and happy (rich) owners in this sense, plenty of good reports to read out there on the web from owners. When you take short trips and don't use much gas, it's dirt cheap to operate on coal powered electricity. But it's the people who don't even understand how it works who seem to bash it the loudest. (note, this is not directed at you).

And I don't really agree on the "your tax dollars being used to FORCE it on you". You pay a lot of taxes into a big fat pot, and this bit of pork is a really, really small slice of the pie. Just not worth getting all worked up about. Now, a trillion dollars and dozens of thousands of innocent human deaths for a pointless war, that I could understand being upset about.

 

[deezler]

Bailing out a poorly ran company like GM did not save any jobs. If anything it slowed the growth of jobs and just keep things the way there were.

If GM would have been allowed to fail like any other company, this would never happen with Obama and the UAW being in bed together, things would have been fine. Its business 101. Guy fails and the others pick up the pieces. There would still be the need for autos and GM would have rebuilt at a smaller scale, the other lines that were quality and profitable would have been sold off to other manufactures, and life would have been good. Don't believe everything you hear by the liberal left wing news media (MSNBC :confused2 or many others.
Chris

Sorry, but that's not very true. Just google "GM bailout jobs" and read what you find. Estimates ranges from hundreds of thousands to over a million jobs directly saved.

This is a very different market than others... no one has the capacity to simply step in and take over your piece of the pie. You have to run at tight margins with an extreme investment to make cars. Same with the suppliers - many of us ( I work for one) were about to go under simply because eliminating just one of Chrysler or GM would put us under. No one could afford to operate with 30% less business. A devastating chain reaction of financial collapse was ready to hit, and the bailout did effectively prevent that.

 

[GolfAddict]

and the bailout did effectively prevent that.

And others would say it just kicked the can further down the road. Or maybe, kicked it off the cliff, with the astronomical debt now hanging over us. At some point do we let market forces take over rather than to keep printing dollars? Even if it means really tough times? Some say it's better sooner than later, as the later it gets the worse it will be to correct. Who knows...

 

[Beltzington]

Why are we so against reducing emissions, because the "Volt" is costing the American "Tax Payer" dollars? We have been subsidizing the petroleum industry for decades so where is all the outrage?

"My horse eats grass God provided for free," had many of you been around years ago I am sure you would been have thought the steam engine a government plot to steal your money. Fortunately better minds understand new technology cost money and current needs must be balanced against future benefits.

Do I drive a hybrid? No. Am I glad folks are trying to look outside the petroleum box we have been living in for the last 100-years, absolutely!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Chris, I have to agree, I did some reading on the old chrysler Turbine powered car and the Ford turbine powered Semi truck. My dad drove the 60's car and loved it. They had Metal problems, but the engines were TOO GOOD and would not have been replaced like current tech engines and car..IE Throw away?

Yes, but these are a little different. They used a gear box just like any other car. The one and only one still running that I know of is in Terre Haute, Indiana. That is the home to my college, Indiana State University, where I attended flying school and received a Bachelor Degree in Aerospace. The gentleman who owned it would bring it out to the airport and get jet fuel for it from time to time after getting a partner to fix it. That partner was Jay Leno. I have meet him a few times during my 4 years at school there and the one year I remained after graduation working as associate professor (flight instructor).

Jay and his wife would drop in from time to time in his private jet to take it for a spin since he was a partner. The guy would bring it out and have it waiting for him upon his arrival. What amazed me was how quit it was.

And yes, you are right, the only real issue with the Volt was the price. $23,000 and it would have sold, not $43,000.


Chris