GM is trying to bring down the VOLT price

[Mr. H.]

Folks, we've got about 10 million barrels per day of crude imports to back out. Every little bit helps, but don't get your hopes up anytime soon.

Keep your tires properly inflated, tune up the car, get rid of the junk in the trunk, and just plain drive less. Turn up the thermostat in the summer, down in the winter. CFL's for now, LED's... they're on the way. Don't wait for government to tell you what you can or can't do - decide for yourselves what you should and shouldn't do. Moderation and frugality saves energy and puts dollars in your pockets.

 

[asterism]

The primary cost of an EV remains the battery. Several companies are working on this, a pair of them in Portland, Oregon. When the price of the battery is brought down by an order of magnitude, and the power increased at the same time by a factor of 2 to 10, we will see EVs become the vehicle of choice.

How are these good again?

For people who just need a runabout car, or have a very short commute they will eventually be superior to ICE based cars. Just look at all the crap you can get rid of when you remove the engine. Engine, coolant, alternator, fuel system, exhaust, etc.

You basically remove many of the things that require maintenance, and only get a few new items back. Your maintenance costs go down a whole lot based on what I see.

Thier downside is still limited range and overall power, as well as charge times. Charge times will stop being an issue once you get the time it takes to charge down to the time it takes to fill the gas tank.

Aren't they actually worse for the environment because of the batteries (which need to be replaced btw)?

 

[uscitizen]

Economics 101. What do you do with an expensive product nobody wants to buy? Lower the price and keep your fingers crossed.

Have it made in China?

 

[uscitizen]

Damn, whats next...seat belts? Helmets for our bikes? What?

What do you call a helmetless motorcycle rider?

An organ donor.

 

[whitehall]

The phony cliche "hope and change" peaked two years ago. Nobody has hope for electric cars and the only change you are likely to see is a couple of coins left in your pocket after Obama confiscates your cash.

 

[Synthaholic]

...

As part of its effort to make the federal fleet greener and put a million hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2015, the Obama administration took a relatively small step Tuesday by purchasing 101 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids, as well as 15 battery-powered E.V.’s.

The White House also announced that it expected federal agencies to use “midsize or smaller sedans” in lieu of the beefy black S.U.V.’s commonly associated with federal executive fleets.

According to the General Services Administration, which manages the federal vehicle fleet, the purely electric Nissan Leaf and Think City also are now approved for federal purchase, with other models to follow. Ten of the new cars will be Leafs, joined by five Thinks. Michael Robertson, chief of staff at the G.S.A., said the cars would be delivered to fleets by early next year.

President Obama has ordered that by 2015 all new light-duty vehicles either leased or purchased by federal agencies must be “alternative fueled,” a broad category that includes battery electrics, hybrids, natural gas and biofuel cars. So-called flex-fuel vehicles that run on E85 ethanol fuel are included in the designation, and federal officials said that the administration would take steps to ensure that they actually run on ethanol instead of gasoline.​

...