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Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

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Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#201

Post by cmrdporcupine »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #174

I would conjecture that while GM is _saying_ publicly that they're going full-bore on pure EV they've done a 180 since the end of their federal tax credits and the election of Trump and in fact are doing their best to just focus on what makes them money at home, Equinoxs and Silverados, and make all that weird eco-stuff for markets abroad ... in China. Closing factories in the US and Canada and laying people off is a…

Further to my point above, it's worth pointing out that AFAIK the Buick PHEV Velite, the Chinese version of the Volt, isn't scheduled for cancellation.

It will be built and sold in China.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#203

Post by awinder »

craz8 wrote: post #159
xvf22 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true but you could allow the user to set an offset.

And now you’ve added 2 configuration options that need to be tested, documented, and supported for probably 20 Of your customers This is exactly the hidden complexity that HN users love to add to products that adds no real value and sells no extra product

2? It’s pulling time from gps so it’s 1 config option for time offset, defaulting to 0.

Anyways, android and iOS and Mac and windows and etc all have the ability to fetch time or use gps to set time with a user override to do their own tricks. We all woke up today so I think the world survived.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#204

Post by anovikov »

Why are people so against it? I mean, plug-in hybrids are a dead end, they made sense only when batteries were super expensive. With almost all producers being under $200/kwh and some under $130/kwh, with $100/kwh just around the corner, what's the point of a plug-in hybrid?

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#205

Post by timbit42 »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #77

That’s too bad, the Volt’s powertrain made a lot of sense for those aren’t able to get an EV due to it being impractical (Many apartments). What’s interesting is that Honda’s hybrids have basically the same drivetrain as the now discontinued Volt. They too discontinued (edit: some) of their plugin hybrids, which is also too bad. Looks like the Prius plugin is gonna be the car to pick for a plug-in hybrid. I wish it l…

Also, Subaru is coming out with a Crosstrek using the Prius Prime technology. It's not as fuel efficient but it's AWD and I personally find the Crosstrek stylish.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#206

Post by timbit42 »

anovikov wrote: post #204

Why are people so against it? I mean, plug-in hybrids are a dead end, they made sense only when batteries were super expensive. With almost all producers being under $200/kwh and some under $130/kwh, with $100/kwh just around the corner, what's the point of a plug-in hybrid?

Zero fuel costs on short trips and unlimited range when you need it without needing to wait for recharges.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#207

Post by anovikov »

timbit42 wrote: post #206
anovikov wrote: post #204

Why are people so against it? I mean, plug-in hybrids are a dead end, they made sense only when batteries were super expensive. With almost all producers being under $200/kwh and some under $130/kwh, with $100/kwh just around the corner, what's the point of a plug-in hybrid?

Zero fuel costs on short trips and unlimited range when you need it without needing to wait for recharges.

But expensive and can't be made cheap because it combines complexity and cost of ICE and EV. Was always meant to be just a temporary solution to kickstart li-ion battery mass production to drive down costs.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#208

Post by propogandist »

fraggle222 wrote: post #196

Should have been new Brand. I feel like the Chevy logo and branding didn't help much with Volt sales. They could have done something similar to what Toyota did with Scion. Create a unique logo and branding. Create a high tech brand that isn't associated with "Chevy". Is that just me?

New branding comes with a lot of overhead.

If you're spinning a new brand out of a known brand, you'll have to educate customers with large marketing investments. This will have to be massive for the car industry.

Given the car's not very profitable already, they'd be running a huge loss for a long time.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#209

Post by javagram »

masonic wrote: post #138
bit_logic wrote: post #54

This was really shortsighted. PHEV is currently the best technology. I think the push for full EV is premature for mass market. It works for niche cases like Tesla, but not something that can be truly mainstream. With current battery tech and infrastructure, EV is a 50 mile technology. It has nothing to do with battery tech itself, doesn't matter how light or dense the battery is. The limit is infrastructure. 50 mile…

EV is a 50 mile technology Sssshhhh, don't tell Tesla or Hyundai that. PHEV is a solution looking for a problem. You only add a little bit more range versus a plain ICE, and that's at the expense of lugging around an extra motor and battery array. The whole carpool lane eligibility for hybrids is a crutch and the only selling distinction for PHEVs. (If you're driving far enough for a carpool lane to even matter, you'…

> If you're driving far enough for a carpool lane to even matter, you're going beyond your battery range on the trip... so you're ultimately releasing as much carbon.)

I’d be surprised to see this is actually true, but I guess it depends on where you live. There are some cities where a long commute time can be significantly cut by an HOV/carpool lane, even if the number of miles traveled isn’t that great. If you have a 40 mile commute then the Volt can run on electric for pretty much the whole thing, but that’s plenty long enough to save significant time bypassing traffic in a dedicated lane.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#210

Post by rossdavidh »

cwyers wrote: post #96
rossdavidh wrote: post #24

Somehow, I am kind of reminded of GM's Saturn division. 1) make a concept 2) consumers like it 3) but GM can't make it cheaply enough, or sell it at a price that reflects it's cost 4) so they end the model and close the plant I have the impression that what is wrong with GM is not the Volt, or the old Saturn for that matter, but rather the people who run the company.

The story of Saturn is a lot more complicated than that, and it seems like corporate (and union) politics played a much bigger role than the profitability of the cars: https://www.newsweek.com/how-gm-crushed-saturn-77093

Doubtless you are correct, but I just meant basically "GM mgmt seems not to like it when something different comes along". I think it's a gut-level aversion to having to learn to make a different kind of product, or make that product differently.
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