What do you want to know about the Volt and plug-in Prius?
The Washington Auto Show is underway and ends this Sunday, January 29th. Just a reminder, if you can't make it, tell me what you want to see and I will find it at the show. For example, great, green cars like plug-in Prius and Volt are on the show floor. What do you want me to ask the people manning the booth about these cars? Questions that involve pointing out something on the car would be best because the car is on the show floor and I want to include the car in the videos of responses to your questions.
The video above is a preview of the first day of the show. Media, including myself, were shuffled around a number of press conferences. The video includes: fuel cell Equinox test drivers, GM North America Sales VP Mark LaNeve explaining why they are advertising the Volt now, Ford saying they could make a plug-in hybrid right now but it would get 7 miles in electric only mode, and the Chrysler press conference. The video also includes Green Car Journal's green car award and the Green Car Summit. The Green Car Summit was actually interrupted by a fire alarm.
Anyway, don't forget to post your questions, the show only has three days left.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 8:16PM (1/24/2008)
"What do you want me to ask the people manning the booth about these cars?"
Everything they won't tell us :)
Seriously, I'd like them to tell us the differnece in fuel-economy and performance before and after 100k miles (or some other xx miles period)
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rob 9:16PM (1/24/2008)
On both the Volt and the 3G Prius, when, and how much?
Neither of which they can actually answer yet, even if they were allowed to.
Maybe you could ask why the Volt has such a big engine planned (1.5L or 1.8L, IIRC). If they really have done their homework on the aerodynamics it should be able to run in charge-sustaining mode at highway speed up reasonably long grades (10 miles of 8% grade, say) with about a 500cc single-cylinder motorcycle engine (call it 35bhp, or so).
Perhaps it's fear of being too radically different than what we're used to in an infant market?
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GreyFlcn 9:34PM (1/24/2008)
How many Volts do you expect to produce in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
(Apparently the 2010 launch won't have many cars available)
http://greyfalcon.net/volt
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itsaboutchoice 10:42PM (1/24/2008)
A suggestion to video bloggers, please see if a small handheld parabolic mic is available and wear a headphone to have some idea of sound quality/volume.
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Lascelles Linton 11:19PM (1/24/2008)
itsaboutchoice, I am using a different camera for the questions. The video above is really not representative.
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john 7:33AM (1/25/2008)
Near the end of the video it looked like small solar panels on the table. Do they propose to put solar panels on the top of hybrid cars?
http://www.activehybrid.com
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Edward 8:30AM (1/25/2008)
Will there be any major updates or body style changes to the 2009 Prius?
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Tim 9:03AM (1/25/2008)
Here's a question:
Knowing that storing electrons in Hydrogen for Fuel Cell will require a $Trillion in new over infrastructure the next 30 years and that H2 can be reformed from fossil fuels at 1/4 of the cost of electrolyzing it from water and even then you still have the Co2 problems from the reformation. Why are you wasting so much time & money on Fuel Cells? After all anyone can see that hydrogen is NOT green or efficient when compared to simply storing the electricity from the existing grid in batteries once you take into account the entire energy cycle.
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Anonymous Peon 9:07AM (1/25/2008)
For GM:
What are they doing to avoid repeating the "mistakes" of the EV1? As a hybrid, and given the global situation, the Volt is a more attractive proposition overall, but how have they improved company practices to avoid similar stupid things happening?
For Toyota, Honda, and Ford:
When do we get a flex-fuel hybrid?
For Chrysler, Subaru, Suzuki, and almost everyone:
1. When will we see flex-fuel ability in a car that isn't a truck? (The Monte Carlo seems to be the smallest E85-ready thing on the market; don't most of these companies have designs in production already for Brazil?)
2. Will we ever see hybrids in vehicles smaller than a truck, for instance the Caliber?
3. Bio-*butanol* just might save the unmodified gasoline fleet if someone finds a way to produce it (plenty, including BP, seem to be trying). Are any manufacturers experimenting with it and who will be first to step up and certify their fuel system components (particularly fuel pumps, given the different viscosities) as compatible so we can use it if it comes to market?
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Brian 12:51PM (2/15/2008)
Bob Lutz's comment explains the entire philospohy at GM - "who gives a shit?" Comments are made without a reply.. I made several comments and requests and never heard "shit" from this screwed up company... Interesting, to pursue a green mode which is bad for the environment, but great for the bottom line... a "car" too large... My thoughts, who gives a "shit" about GM... Stick with Toyota, Honda, or whoever... Innovation takes risks which GM seems unwilling to take for the benefit of the environment.
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John 1:25PM (2/15/2008)
Bob is correct - we need to understand the Sun, the weather, and bout 4.5 billion years of Earth weather before we blame everything on "global warming". We (Michigan) used to be buried by a mile of ice, and it melted. Before autos and human impact. Is that Global Warming? BTW, I will sell you some carbon credits, just givbe me time to print some on my machine......
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Martin 7:35AM (2/27/2008)
John,
Let me guess...you are an advocate of intelligent design as well.
Look mate, the data is in, it's clear as crystal, so if you can't understand it, that's not because the scientists are wrong. It's just that you are either beating an ideological drum or just plain thick. I'd wager if you are beating that Republican drum then you are the latter.
Lutz is a typical sales guy. Selling stuff he can't deliver on when promised. Knows nothing about tech, and so can't provide the proper care and nuturing for his engineers and scientists.
Go visit BMW or Audi and see how many engineers are running the show. Not the jumped up beancounter/bible salesmen who fill the upper echelons of US automakers.
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