GM's
doubts about the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle?
Friday,
March 23, 2007
Will
GM really be able to deliver the Volt?
I am a
perpetual GM critic. Why? Because I believe foreign oil
dependency is the greatest issue facing America. It is
also America's greatest opportunity. Yet, GM's actions are
lacking.
Ending dependency means new, clean technologies (and
jobs), which result in greater National security and a
much cleaner world. Thus, when GM not only passed on hybrid
cars, but ridiculed them, GM became an enemy of energy
independence.
However, the debut of the Chevy
Volt plug-in hybrid at NAIAS gave me hope, but is the
Volt more hope than reality?
"The Volt grabbed headlines, lit up online chat
boards and dominated the buzz at the auto show in Detroit.
There's just one problem: The Volt may never get
built," writes Sharlon Terlep in this morning's
edition of the DetroitNews.
While GM's Bob Lutz has admitted a 10% chance of failure,
Terlep writes that others at GM might have even greater
doubts. So, one wonders, will the Volt plug-in hybrid go
from buzz to reputation-destroying dud?
Already, GM has acknowledged that the production version
of the Chevy Volt will be different than the concept. For
example, it won't be as wide and it won't use the very
cool plastic composites that give the concept Volt such an
interesting design.
So what!
All that is important is that GM move forward. Accept no
failure. If there are issues with the Volt, change the
concept - even if that means the first generation Volt is
a lithium-ion powered hybrid vehicle, rather than a
plug-in hybrid. So be it. Just have an advanced hybrid
that is in the same league as the third
generation Prius around the time the third generation
Prius is launched.
If Toyota can essentially guarantee that its third
generation Hybrid Synergy Drive will be lithium powered,
then GM must be positioned to counter this development -
this revolution in automobile technology. For once lithium
batteries begin to cost-effectively make their way into
automobiles, there is no going back.
Thus, there should be no question about the viability of
the Volt - one way or another its rubber must meet the
road - GM should tell us. GM must take a no prisoners
attitude. It's the Volt or bust, period. More important,
GM needs to put the Volt on the road long before 2010,
even if its less electric than originally promised.
Any Volt will still be a shocking experience!
posted
by Dahcredyns at
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