04-27-2010, 02:57 PM
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#31 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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Drove a Prius once. Didn't feel much either. I'm not sure what he was expecting from the Volt, but I can't say driver feel is a legitimate complaint in this area of cars. Like him, I'm moving from older cars and have the same feelings towards most modern cars. I'd give the volt the same review too, moving from such older cars to this. But, he doesn't seem to be the target market for the Volt... at all...
How did he get to test drive it when even some auto-sites and buff books haven't?
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04-27-2010, 03:33 PM
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#32 (permalink)
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EV test pilot
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He's part of a chapter of the Electric Auto Association in a densely-populated area. GM has taken Volts out to several different chapters.
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05-04-2010, 06:17 PM
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#33 (permalink)
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Engineering first
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I'm not convince the Lutz culture at GM is gone. I've seen one too many 'cute' announcements about the Volt to believe it is anything more than 'greenwash.' For example, their claim it will have a noise maker for the blind when they don't put noise makers on their two-mode hybrids. Just look at the history of GM's "two-mode" transmission.
The "two-mode" was supposed to be this great thing only you had to spend $50,000+ to get one after ordering it blind. The only affordable two-mode, a Saturn Vue was canceled and the Saturn division closed down. GM totally blew the "two-mode" and now they want us to believe the Volt is real?
No, there is too much bad history with GM when across the street is a Ford dealer with two serious hybrids, Escape and Focus. Ford hasn't been playing 'bait and switch' games like GM and their executives don't go around (to my knowledge) saying derogatory things about owners of fuel efficient cars.
Bob Wilson
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05-04-2010, 09:11 PM
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#34 (permalink)
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...beats walking...
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...'greenwash' -- how appropriate!
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05-04-2010, 10:37 PM
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#35 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwilson4web
I'm not convince the Lutz culture at GM is gone. I've seen one too many 'cute' announcements about the Volt to believe it is anything more than 'greenwash.' For example, their claim it will have a noise maker for the blind when they don't put noise makers on their two-mode hybrids. Just look at the history of GM's "two-mode" transmission.
The "two-mode" was supposed to be this great thing only you had to spend $50,000+ to get one after ordering it blind. The only affordable two-mode, a Saturn Vue was canceled and the Saturn division closed down. GM totally blew the "two-mode" and now they want us to believe the Volt is real?
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I'm fairly sure the Malibu carried on the hybrid drivetrain from the Saturn cars. Also, it's not "bait and switch" it's become "we gave you what you wanted, and then you didn't buy it". The saturn hybrids were effective and on their own great cars. And... nobody... bought them. I'm sure the lack of hybrid stickers and that hybrid-car-look had some to do with it as well, as hybrids are not immune to the "status symbol" buyers.
The two-mode tranny in the GMT900s is a piece of work certainly, giving full sized SUVs car-like fuel economy around town. And that transmission is used by both Chrysler and BMW. The biggest downfall was their cost, though. Not that it stops a load of rich folks from buying them around here, they've become almost common.
And how can you hate Bob Lutz? Such swagger:
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"All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. [...] But the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing order on it as it hits the air. What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible because it has no words, and triumphant, too, for the same reason. And his triumph, when he triumphs, is ours." -Sonny's Blues
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05-04-2010, 10:39 PM
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#36 (permalink)
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...beats walking...
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...the new GM auto-park feature?
...the K-Lutz parking feature?
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05-05-2010, 09:35 PM
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#37 (permalink)
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Hypermiler Extraordinaire
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What I get from his opinion: "I don't like new fangled automobiles. This is a new fangled automobile, so I don't like it."
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05-05-2010, 11:57 PM
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#38 (permalink)
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Moderate your Moderation.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man
...WTF? 3 years to move the steering wheel from right to left?
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I've done that swap on several Japanese-American vehicles. It takes longer to get the front clip through customs than it does to actually change the position of the driver... 
GM just needed input from my friends, is all.
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05-06-2010, 01:52 PM
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#39 (permalink)
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Master of 140 hamsters
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennelson
Viola! Here it is! (Care of MotorTrend.com)
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Am I the only one to see a problem with a gap between the rear seats when they are folded up? How do they solve that packaging problem? Or am I missing something?
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05-06-2010, 02:10 PM
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#40 (permalink)
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Pokémoderator
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superchow -
Quote:
Originally Posted by superchow
Am I the only one to see a problem with a gap between the rear seats when they are folded up? How do they solve that packaging problem? Or am I missing something?
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Good catch. It's strictly a 4-seater, so seating is not the issue.
Here is my uneducated guess. We don't see the horizontal cover panel that hides what's in the trunk. I can easily imagine a center piece attached to the trunk cover that is removeable and/or hinged to flip out of the way.
CarloSW2
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