UPDATE/CORRECTION: The price is $41,000, but $31,500 with a tax credit.
Introducing the Volt
I got a chance to test drive and learn about the Chevrolet Volt, a gas/electric car that brings a lot of interesting technology to the table.
Driving the Volt
The cockpit of the Volt is great for all us geeks, with touch panels replacing buttons. There’s even a 40GB hard drive to store your music.
Nice Design and Engineering Touches
The Volt is an attractive, comfortable vehicle with some cool touches like the gear shift that tucks away when it’s parked. Acceleration is smooth, but the power is definitely there when you want it.
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I enjoyed your thoughts about the Chevrolet Volt. I would love to see the same treatment for the Nissan Leaf!
Looks like an amazing vehicle! I agree with the comment about touch controls being a safety hazard, as you likely could never memorize them enough to not have to look at all.
As far as requiring other means of energy to produce the vehicles goes, you have to start somewhere. If we can improve WHAT is being manufactured, and there is demand for these new vehicles, eventually there will be enough momentum to improve HOW they are being manufactured.
Interesting car, but not for me until they come out with a way to manufacture these cars without creating more pollution then a gas car, not to mention as one study showed, unless you link these cars with a clean renewable source of power, which most people don’t have, you aren’t actually being “green”.
Hi Cali, Would you buy a Volt if you needed to buy a car in a year or so? Thanks.
Hello Cali. i wanted to say something about Tesla motors, but i can see that part of it has all ready been said. but the other part is to answer BJ about a low-cost Tesla car. Tesla motors is on their 2nd level of their mission to come out with Tesla model S which is a seven-passenger car they plan it to compete with luxury vehicles with base price of $41,500 with a $7,500 tax credit. but with a few major differences, Tesla has a 300 mile battery range verse a 40 mile range and it has the ability to Switch out a depleted battery for a fully-charged battery.
Cali forgetting the seatbelt?? I know it’s not a tech device.
Seriously, thanks for this demo. As a happy Prius owner, I’m looking forward to the prospect of more options like the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and the plug-in Prius coming next year.
Hey Cali. Thanks for the show. I’ve been wondering about the volt. I could see my self buying one some day long away. I agree with Sembazuru that the physical buttons would be better. That being said however I don’t usually fidget with buttons often. The car looks great and the interior ROCKS except no arm rest for Cali in the back. About the no noise thing it could be dangerous but most people I’ve ever ridden with don’t hear other cars due to their normal volume radio. I’d like to see Apple work with Chevy since Ford worked with Microsoft if I’m not mistaken. That I’m sure wont happen though. Later
The touch control panel (and the general touch screen/control movement in general with relation to car controls) has me a little concerned. Physical buttons have a definite safety advantage when driving a car. If you can feel your way through the controls (once acclimated to them) then that is less time that the driver’s eyes are off the road. With touch screens and touch controls, the driver _has_ to take their eyes off the road to zero in on the buttons or make sure the screen is in the correct mode. Muscle memory only gets you so accurate…
Hoping that a) Tesla comes up with a cheaper model (or the Rav4EV from Toyota & Tesla come out), and b) Subaru comes up with a similar concept. Until either a or b happen, not terribly likely to look at a fully-electric car. Especially for longer distances.
BJ
I ABSOLUTELY strap in, but to be honest, worrying about four cameras, two microphones, an interview and driving around a bunch of orange cones trying *not* to hit them on a closed course…. I guess it didn’t get on my high priority list, LOL! But don’t worry, I do take my safety and everyone in the car’s safety, seriously.
Good stuff. But PLEASE be someone who automatically straps in under normal circumstances. As someone who walked away from a “t-bone” crash at over 55 mph, I’m more than a little bit of an evangelist about the wonderfulness of seat belts and airbags. And Cali Lewis.
In 1966, my grandfather took me to his neighbor’s house and showed me a 1916 Detroit Electric running on an Edison nickel-iron battery, it boggled my mind at the time, a car which would replace that expensive smelly gasoline, (little did we know right)? Skipping ahead almost a *century*, WoW!!! the Volt looks like a milestone in all electric powered automobiles, and you look like you had a real good time driving it. Chevy/GM should give it to you for a week to obtain a more comprehensive report on it. But it’s funny, the 1916 electric car boasted a range of over 200mi. on one charge, but the trade off was only a top speed of about 20 mph max, quite a trade off A? But am I mistaken, are you still a little confused as to his explanation of all electric vs. the gas powered generator power supply for the car? Oh, another little note, lots of people are actually *complaining* about the electric vehicle’s quietness, did you hear that the govt. is considering making the manufacturers add a noise maker???!!!
I just bought a 2011 Lexus E350, so a hybrid or all electric won’t be seeing my ol’ led foot for at least another 3 years. But yes, I think the Volt is r-e-a-l-l-y cool & would love to buy one next time. Good show and here’s the link for the Detroit Electric on wookeypedia just for fun. Take care and be cool… “B”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Electric
Mike: I know it’s a little hard to hear, but he actually didn’t say “you can’t say that about ANY vehicles” that are powered electrically all the time, he said “you can’t say that about MANY vehicles”.
In fact, during the interview, I thought he was saying this was the only one, so I questioned him about it (thinking about the Tesla), but took that part out after replaying and finding out that I misunderstood him. But play it back – he’s saying this one of a few cars that are powered electrically all the time.
Hope that helps clarify!
Nice episode. The Volt look like an interesting car, but I think the GM guy was overdoing it when he said the Volt was only car that ran on electricity all of the time. The Tesla does, although it is a specialty car. The Nissan Leaf is pure electric. It doesn’t have gas powered generator at all. The Volt sits in the middle of a spectrum from all gas through hybrids to all electric.
I’ve been really interested in the Volt since I first heard about it, and this podcast only made me want one more. While I doubt I would be able to afford a 2011 model, maybe 2012 or 2013 might just be in the cards if we haven’t moved on to other tech by then.
Hi Cali:
Great show! I look forward to the Chevrolet Volt being eventually available in Canada where I am living. I think that this is a step in the right direction until further ‘greener’ methods of transportation come along and the infrastructure is in place.
I am sure it was different driving this vehicle with little or any noise. We presently have a hybrid that can start off in electric mode and people with us can’t believe how silent it is.
Again, great show and enjoy watching it from the East Coast of Canada.
Edward Walsh
Marystown, Newfoundland
Canada
Eh! Watch out, Cali. You won’t know when will GM pull an EV1 move on this bad boy. I’ll give it half a year and GM will do recalls and demolish it again. I will never buy a GM vehicle in my lifetime.
I’ll stay with Nissan Leaf, unless Ford makes one.
ps.
Where’s our android app? I’m missing a lot of episodes.