pow

With a 240V home charger, it takes three hours. People are participating in this experiment as an investment for the future of EVs.

Went to LAIAS today - and my eyes are still dazzled by the shiny paint, chrome, and display lighting. Glitzy environments like today's make cars seem more or less the same. Most automakers have improved their line-ups to the point very few vehicles have noticeable flaws. Most cars were "nice" - but few stood out as being particularly amazing. GM The standout from GM was the 9-5. It's a very attractive design that manages to look exotic and unique without being flashy and vulgar. Pictures don't do it justice. Speaking of Saab, they were the only GM division that was properly branded - they had a bright, icy cool Scandinavian exhibit with its own display floor. Buick, GMC, Cadillac, and Chevy parked their cars on the dingy convention center carpet, as has been the case for years, and I didn't see much interest in their latest debuts. The Volt was the same pre-production show car they had last year, and the production Cruze and Regal were roped off with little fanfare. Cruze looks completely unremarkable, while Regal is attractive, save for the ridiculous 4X4 ride height. It's sleek and refined compared to the narrow and overwrought LaCrosse. CTS Coupe has the same in-your-face look as the sedan, though to my eyes, it's getting a bit tired. Converj looks fantastic and fresh. I was pleasantly surprised by the Equinox LTZ and its two-tone leather interior. It looks cheap in photos, but in person, it's quite nice inside. FORD Ford, as usual, had great displays. Whereas Chevy had ONE Cruze, Ford scattered Fiestas all over the floor. Fiesta's interior has been downgraded compared to the international version, and it's not worthy of twenty-G's, but I'd imagine it's fine for a $16K SE model with cloth interior. Frankly, with all the hype given to Ford recently, I was a bit underwhelmed by their interiors. Fusion's interior is nothing special, and its doors close with a junky slam, while Taurus has lots of hard plastic but, surprisingly not much room. I really, really like the MKS's interior in light colors. It's airy, comfortable, and stylish in a modern American luxury sort of way, with chrome and wood everywhere. Compared to the CTS's serious cabin, this is light and refreshing. Mazda2 was cool. Simpler, more down-to-earth than the Fiesta. The modified versions looked great. All the Volvos were nice, as usual. The R-Design models, with a subtle body kit, brushed aluminum exterior trim, and big wheels, all look great. The refreshed C30 doesn't look ridiculous, as it does in press photos. HYUNDAI Sonata looks fine in person, and the interior is really nice for a family sedan. Almost aspirational. I sat in a Genesis and Equus before the Sonata, and it wasn't too huge of a downgrade. New Tucson, on the other hand, is nothing special compared to Equinox, CR-V, CX-7, etc. Same goes for the new Kia Sorento. Competent appliances, nothing more. TOYOTA New Sienna was locked. Boo. The Toyotas I could get into were underwhelming. I'd go as far as to say that most Hyundais were nicer inside than the equivalent Toyota. Sonata > Camry Genesis > Avalon Tucson > RAV4 CHRYSLER Fiat 500 can't come quick enough.

Imagine the "extended-range" MPG of a Prius or Escape Hybrid if it had a 16 kWh battery...

Does Canada have a version of America's "chicken tax"? Maybe you guys will see it...

Anyone going to LA? I'm thinking Friday afternoon.

Sounds like a disease.

A shame really... considering how the brand-new 9-5 just debuted. Maybe we'll see that car with a Chinese nameplate... Ford has already reached a deal with Geely on Volvo's intellectual property rights (like what SAIC did with MG Rover).

http://gm-volt.com/2009/12/01/gm-volt-chevy-volt-test-drive-in-extended-range-mode/ There are a few times in life when one’s hard work is rewarded, when one can get to see the fruits of one’s labor and the stuff of one’s dreams come true. Such was the day I drove the near-production Chevrolet Volt in both EV and charge-sustaining mode. After nearly three full years of following each and every development, after discovering and discussing every detail imaginable, I drove for the first time the fully production-intent car that emerged from the back of Jon Lauckner’s and Bob Lutz’ proverbial napkin in 2006. I may not have been the first to drive it nor the first to write about the experience, nor the least biased, but my voyage was the deepest of all. The car was in its full production glory, with every gleaming detail full sculpted and bathed in its signature paint. It appeared far more aggressive and athletic than any show model I’d ever seen, gone the roughness notable in its integration vehicle brethren. This car was also one of the 80 hand-built pre-production models assembled over the summer. It had reached a late stage of refinement though according to lead engineer Andrew Farah, some units were actually further refined than this one. The refinements this car was still lacking had to do with acceleration, generator behavior, handling, and graphics and driver interface functions. I found the egress and ingress very open and inviting. The driver’s seat was well situated and I had ample shoulder, leg and knee room; it was a very generous seating area. I drove the car with three other people in it and all had plenty of room and looked comfortably spaced. The interior was bright and cheerful and seemed very spacious including head room. The driver’s seat position was manually controlled. Levers allowed forward and back movement, up and down positioning, as well as recline. Farah said a motorized system was left out to reduce mass. The dashboard displays were beautiful. The screens were bright, vivid, crisp and conservatively artistic and looked to be in high definition. There were several display menu configurations on the driver dash that could be scrolled through and chosen with a dash button to the left. The center display was touch sensitive. The ipod-like white center stack had interestingly unique capacitive finger-sensing buttons that gave audio feedback in the form of a slight subtle chirp when the touching finger was detected. There was no tactile feedback, nor was it needed. The buttons were a little unreliable, something Farah said still needed work. The green leaf eco display was also not yet operational. For my task I found that I could set the display to show MPG. I reset it at the start of my drive. It read >500 MPG while in EV mode. To start, the keyfob simply has to sit anywhere in the car and then the start button is pushed while the brake pedal is depressed. The screen then comes to life letting you know the car is on. The test track was a 0.4 mile winding pylon flanked path set up on an uneven parking lot surface, so some slight grades were included, but nothing steep. And so with one small step for me and one large step for all of us I hit the accelerator. The car accelerated precisely and assertively and felt very spirited. There were two modes of operation. Normal mode offers 90 kw peak power and felt to be in the 9 second 0 to 60 range. Sport mode delivered noticeably more intense acceleration below a 9 second 0 to 60. I was not permitted to time 0 to 30 or 0 to 60. It was not an outright sports car feel, but definitely sporty. Clearly it would outrun a Prius, Insight, or Fusion hybrid all of which I’ve driven. It’s top speed of 100 MPH would also easily top the Nissan LEAF’s 85 MPH. I did bring a decibel meter as requested, but this too was not allowed by the team. Beyond any doubt however the car was extremely quiet in EV mode. Even the whine of the electric motor that can be heard in the MINI E or Tesla was very dim and muted by what seemed to be excellent sound insulation. I spent about 50 minutes continuously driving, but did not have enough space to go beyond about 50 MPH. I started out with about four miles of EV range and I watched intensely for the changeover to generator mode. The only change that coud be observed was the disappearance of the battery graphic on the driver’s screen which became replaced by a fuel tank symbol. With intense critical straining I could detect the slight muted whir of the gas engine but did not find it at all unpleasant. After all we must realize the car is burning gas, that’s its advantage over pure EVs, limitless range when needed. Combustion engines make noise. Period. Once the car enters charge sustaining mode there’s no turning back to EV mode until the car is plugged in again. The car’s central processor continuously monitors battery state of charge and the rate at which it is being depleted. It will turn on the generator whenever the low point is reached. It may go on at one of several different RPMs depending on the car’s momentary requirements and depletion rate. The engine will turn off again when no longer needed, and when the car comes to a stop. I found that when I drove reasonably and moderately I didn’t hear the generator go on at all. When I suddenly floored it, the generator revved for a couple of seconds. I did not find the need to use the words jarring, disconcerting, or off-putting as other journalists did. My word is appropriate. You floor a gas burning car, it makes noise. The car felt very solid and well balanced. The uniquely low center of gravity due to the four hundred pound battery in the center gave a notably beneficial hugging of the ground. Yet the car felt light and spry, the power steering was perfectly tuned and the car handled wonderfully. Farah all but admitted the car weighed 400 pounds more than a Cruze, or about 3500 pounds. He wants it to be lighter and there are plans to make it so for the next generation. When the car switched into generator mode, I reset the MPG meter. After about a half hour of driving with the generator the reading was between 32 and 36 MPG, and would increase if I was gentle with the accelerator. Farah claimed this wasn’t a true number and that the display wasn’t accurate, so take it as you may. He instead explained to me about how when he used it for a weekend, driving a total of 200 miles and charging the car every time he came back home with it at 240V, he used a total of .2 gallons of gas for an overall efficiency of 1000 MPG. And in fact, this is the better way of looking at it. We should not be focusing on the generator mode MPG but the car’s overall fuel consumption over time, because that’s what practically matters as it determines how much gas you will burn. In the end, I found myself delighted and excited about this highly refined, competent and wonderful car. I would take it home as it is right now if I could. But we’ll just have to wait those 11 months and let the engineers do their final tweaking. There is really nothing to complain about here. GM has taken a great idea and made it into an even greater reality. And our dreams are starting to come true. --- From all the test drives I've read so far, and based on GM's claims about range and tank size, it seems the Volt will get 30-40 MPG in extended-range mode. 40 MPG and 40 miles EV would be a nice target.

True that. Factory nav systems are by and large overpriced.

I *haven't* used it, but from reviews I've read, it's dependent on Verizon's cell phone reception, meaning it can cut out in certain areas. And there's a monthly fee. I'm a cheapskate, so I use a $150 Garmin nuvi 200 which has been 100% reliable and easy-to-use. Maps provide far more useful information than arrows and verbal directions can alone, especially on confusing intersections and freeway interchanges. Best of all, I could bring it along with me to Spain. I downloaded a Garmin map of Western Europe, and voila, it was a lifesaver.

That's not the US-spec model, which has amber reflectors on the bumper and no fender-mounted side indicators.

Lookin' good. I could imagine this being a good family car for a lot of people. Its interior is almost the size of a G6's, with a large trunk to boot. It's down on power compared to the Cobalt, but real-world fuel economy and performance will likely be better. A flat, low-RPM torque curve is what matters.

Dacia Sandero, the 1.6!

Judging by their latest products, I'm glad GM no longer shares the same mindset as you - that it's perfectly okay to peddle inferior products with outdated technology because the average American (or Canadian) consumer is too stupid to tell the difference and can be appeased with big rebates and interest-free financing. Re: the Fiesta and "the latest Aveo", I'll give you one fact... Fiesta: 5-star Euro NCAP rating Aveo: 1.5-star Euro NCAP rating I can already imagine the excuses - most people don't crash, and my dad's cousin's brother had an accident in an Aveo and he was fine! - which may all well be true, but these days (perhaps because of the "tyranny of the enthusiast"), people want the best.

Good driving dynamics and control feel have "practical" applications as well, namely safety and comfort. A supportive seat and good ergonomics keep you alert on long drives, while linear brakes, controlled body motions, and accurate steering help you to avoid accidents. The complaints about the 3.0L V6 in the LaCrosse have less to do with power - and more about its hefty curb weight, sluggish transmission tuning, and poorer fuel economy relative to the 3.6L version.

It's not the size... it's the design (or lack of). The Spark looks like something Chery, Proton, or Perodua would make.

I thought the media has been quite critical... on the front page of the LA Times, there's an entire section dedicated to "Toyota Recall", under which there's... Toyota to fix 'very dangerous' gas pedal defects The recall, which covers 4.26 million cars and trucks, is aimed at reducing the vehicles' risk of sudden accelerations, which have led to 19 deaths since the 2002 model year. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-recall26-2009nov26,0,3295310.story Recall another blow to Toyota's reputation Some say the Japanese company has sacrificed its legendary quality in recent years to reach the goal of becoming the world's No. 1 automaker. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-cost26-2009nov26,0,2914702.story

Wow, that's horrible. Small city cars are supposed to be chic and iconic. If the Spark sells, it'll be because it's cheap. Here's what an A- or B-segment car *can* look like...

I'd rather have the chrome trim around the windows and not on the door handles.

Can't say I disagree with any of them, though they could have been a bit more generous and given all the Fusions the award. The V6 and Sport models are nothing special, but kudos to Ford for offering a six-speed manual on a decently spec'ed four-cylinder.

Looks lower when viewed from above...

That's jaw-droppingly good looking. I didn't expect the rear window to be that long. Hopefully it will do better than other "niche" GM coupes like the XLR and Solstice Coupe.

The Taurus rides on a Volvo platform, and many law enforcement agencies across Europe use V70s as police cars.

That's not looking too bad, actually. The side mirrors look like something you'd find on a Golf.

Me, too, albeit rigid gas permeable ones. Rear fogs sear into my eyes if I have to follow them from behind. HIDs don't bother me, because they usually come the other way, and you're not forced to concentrate on them. Saab and Audis seem to be the most egregious, IMO.