Guess: how many "labour hours" to make a conventional lead acid car battery?
 

Hmm... Bob Lutz seems to know a bit about batteries...

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYnnSKH_6I

Skip forward to the 4:00 mark for an interesting quiz he has with his audience. "Anybody wanna guess how many labour hours are in a modern automotive 12v battery?"

I was surprised.

That is very interesting but why is he the only one wearing wearing shades?

I don't know, but something about Bob Lutz scares me. Just thought I'd share.

He going to make you "an offer you can't refuse"

Maybe that's it. He has that kind of voice.

Duh, That was how long it took on "How It's Made"
Most of it is automated as he was stressing.
Therefore, automating the Li battery process has to make them less expensive.
FWTW there was a battery company in the midwest that was making some sort of Li batts they claimed were designed for autos. I e-mailed them when I was looking into making my own electrogeo and got an auto response that they were no longer in the battery business.
This was just before GM got into the hybrid business.
HHHHHHHMMMMMMMM
makes you wonder.
S.

"How can you sell a battery for thirty bucks if there is 6 labor hours in it?" Exactly what I was thinking, haha.

Interesting description. My first guess was a 1/2 man hour...kind of close. :D

He doesn't sound/look very healthy. :o

- LostCause

my Group 49 batter was $110 from the dealership, and that was with 10% off with my club discount. Its the proper battery for the benz.. +4 concourse points...

Those look self-tinting. Probably shouldn't face the window.

Yeah, I've seen the production lines. They are just as he described. In addition, 98% of the metals used are recyled when the batteries are disposed of. It's a great model to use as a reference, at every level.

I'm really getting excited about the batteries.

MetroMPG -

I think it's soooooooo obvious :

http://www.stomptokyo.com/otf/Buckaroo/DzlItem226.jpg

No matter where you go, there you are, ;) .

CarloSW2

He reminds me of nearly every old male CEO I know. That's not a bad thing, necessarily.

That's 'cause you're being a Mercedes purist, and you know it! :p

Don't vampires have to wear sunglasses in daylight?
 

What a chucklehead. Claiming that the other auto companies are jumping on GM's bandwagon when Toyota and Honda were way ahead with their hybrids and smaller startups have been producing BEV's for years. He could say that if he hadn't killed the EV1. GM has no credibility after all the crap they have pulled over the years. Fighting efficiency and emissions reductions tooth and nail, selling off the Ovonic batteries, DRL's. This is all PR. If the price of oil drops they will drop the volt like a hot potato. I'll believe it when I see it.

Battery wise I think he's talking about wholesale lead acid pricing here. The $30 price, In bulk, to supply GM directly. Us poor suckers have to buy retail. BTW I think standard car batteries are not worth the $ when you can get deep cycle for a little more and really use them sans alternator for most trips.

Battery tip: Plan to buy deep cycles in late summer early fall when retailers are clearing seasonal stock. They don't sell many in the winter because most people are buying for recreational vehicles. In September picked up 120 ah deep cycles at costco for $49CAD 1/2 price.

I thought 5 minutes. So not too far off. Mostly everything regarding cars is made by machines so no big surprise.

quite interesting