Newsweek hails Maximum Bob as the savior of the electric car!
When General Motors rolled out the Chevrolet Volt concept last January at the Detroit Auto Show, Bob Lutz played his usual role as the master of ceremonies. Within minutes after our story went live here on ABG many of you were hailing the Volt as nothing more than smoke and mirrors. As we've seen over the past year, the company is clearly serious about this car. As we approach the Volt's first birthday, Newsweek is taking a look at the role of Mr. Lutz in making the Volt a reality. While Newsweek may be a little over the top in claiming Lutz has had a green conversion, it's certainly safe to say that the Vice-Chairman of GM was instrumental in making this car a reality. However, it took the efforts of Martin Eberhard and Tesla Motors to push Lutz over the top and force the issue. Even if the Tesla Roadster never becomes more than a footnote in automotive history, we can probably give thanks to its creators for inspiring the big guys to go back down the electric vehicle path again.
[Source: Newsweek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karl K 4:59PM (3/20/2008)
> As we approach the Volt's first birthday,
Not sure "first birthday" is the proper term, given it's still in the womb; "one year from conception" would be more fitting. I don't know what the typical gestation is for autos, but until the first commercial vehicle is driven off the lot, "birthday" is a premature term.
> it took the efforts of Martin Eberhard and
> Tesla Motors to push Lutz over the top and
> force the issue.
Really? Did Eberhard lobby GM to ramp-up its Volt development, or are you implying that the existence and potential of Tesla is what motivated GM? If so, wouldn't Toyota's tangible, profit-making hybrid products be more of a motivation?
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Gene 10:13AM (4/18/2008)
What IS it with car makers? I drove a VW Rabbit which got 45 mpg - they stopped making it. Then I drove a Chevy Sprint, which got 60mpg even with 150k on it. They stopped making it. I bought a Geo Tracker, which got 38 mpg. They stopped making it. I feel like an automotive Typhoid Mary! Maybe I should buy a Hummer.....
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Dave 10:26AM (12/26/2007)
Not until I can buy one...and keep it.
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Domenick 8:55AM (12/26/2007)
Of course if the Volt turns out to be another piece of GM junk, the headlines in two (or three) years may read something like, "GM Kills the Electric Car. Again."
Hopefully they won't disappoint but if past performance is even partially indicative of future results, it is nice to know there will be other electric car options.
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Kent Beuchert 3:38PM (12/26/2007)
Actually, Bob Lutz didn't save the elctric car - that would be quite impossible without a practical
full sized battery pack - he reinvented what the morons of this generation think is an electric
car. The VOLT is a series hybrid, like the diesel-electric locomotives that have been around for a half century. When the fuel cell costs failed to come down fast enough, the VOLT was a natural
(but only slight) variation that newer, better batteries made possible. This car could not have been built back when the public was avoiding the EV-1 like the plague (Sorry, Chris Paine, but your film is a pack of lies, and you know it).
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Kent Beuchert 3:37PM (12/26/2007)
"Of course if the Volt turns out to be another piece of junk.. they may kill the electric car again"
Here we can plainly see the errors wrought by Chris Pain's fictitious crockumentary.
You mean like the electric car Toyota and Honda built and then killed? Another gullible "Who Killed the Electric car?" soul who obviously has no competence to comment about cars, electric or otherwise.
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BlackbirdHighway 1:51PM (12/26/2007)
Yeah, they were all full of hype when the EV1 was announced, right up until shortly after they delivered it, and just before they started killing it.
Because of their past history, it will take 2-3 years of steady Volt sales to convince me that this time they are truly serious, and not out to yank the ball away from ol' Charlie Brown again. And they had better not even think about the L word again.
But please, GM, I'd love to see you prove me wrong!
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Emil 5:05PM (12/26/2007)
2 points :
1. 10 years ago it was GM who had frightened Toyota with EV1. Toyota responded with Prius ,but GM killed the EV1... 2007 - Toyota is No 1!
2. I would applaud Volt only when I see it sold like any other car.
But now I see Bob Lutz & buddies as responsible not only for killing the electric car but also for the enormous consumation of oil nationalwide.
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Domenick 8:37PM (12/26/2007)
@Kent Beuchert
Actually, I haven't seen the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car". I only commented what the headlines would read if the Volt is built with sub-par quality. I wasn't making any statements, pro or con, about the claims of the movie.
"You mean like the electric car Toyota and Honda built and then killed?". You left out Nissan.
http://www.altfuels.org/events/testdriv/altra.html
You might want to remove the shower head from the wall to help you with that sand problem.
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Bman 7:40PM (12/27/2007)
One MASSIVE difference Bob:
The EV1 could actually spread it's wings as an affordable solution with prospects of catching on quickly.
The Volt concept, on the other hand, looks as though will cost 40k+, which when only a much smaller bracket can afford such an experiment- reduces the Volt's credibility as a 'solution'.
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