To be honest with you, WD, I am less than enthused about this particular vehicle for a number of reasons.
1. The 1.0L three cylinder engine with 71 hp engine will make the car somewhat sluggish. You will likely be able to get to 55 or so just fine on flat surfaces, but for those folks living in the mountains or in regions of elevation, the car will appear sluggish.
2. The car has a range of about 40 miles on a single charge. This is really pretty bad. The average American spends typically 26 mins and approximatly 16 miles each way. This does not take into account traffic that can easily build up. This does not leave very much room for error as if your commute is 32/40 miles, you could be in trouble if you run into a couple of accidents. The link gave information in terms of distance but not time. In rush hour it is concievable to not drive at the prescribed 55 and go much slower. I wonder how that will effect the car’s overall performance.
3. After 40 miles, you are going to use gasoline anyway. While I agree this can certainly save money, I wonder how many charges can the battery get? The website discusses how the battery is meant to be charged daily, but that makes me wonder how often would the battery need to be replaced and how expensive does that become? It is conceivable that the money you save on gasoline can easily be spent on a new battery, thus wiping out your savings.
4. Price. There is no potential price tag mentioned. While I think people would be interested in this type of car if it had a very moderate price tag, am not sure what GM is thinking about selling this car for.
I think that this type of car is a good concept, and I applaud GM for taking the first step. If they can get the HP and engine size up to a more reasonable size(say 3.0 and 165 HP) I think they would be onto something that everyone can use. At this point this type of car really seems to be a niche car for people who do not drive all that much and in my opinion does not come across as something the average American can use.
It’s a great first start for GM. I think they should bite the bullet on cost and roll it out at somewhat reasonable prices. It’s a great second car. It’s great for many seniors. Stay at home parents. There’s a lot of niche marketing that can be done aggressively rather than make the mistake of pitching it to kids or some other highly-contested market.
A second good move for GM would be to acquire Tesla Motors, whose electric car does 0-to-60 in 4 seconds. With the technology and brain power from such a purchase, GM would quickly find itself at the forefront of the new race in auto sales and therefore well-positioned to return to a historical slot of dominance.
To be honest with you, WD, I am less than enthused about this particular vehicle for a number of reasons.
1. The 1.0L three cylinder engine with 71 hp engine will make the car somewhat sluggish. You will likely be able to get to 55 or so just fine on flat surfaces, but for those folks living in the mountains or in regions of elevation, the car will appear sluggish.
2. The car has a range of about 40 miles on a single charge. This is really pretty bad. The average American spends typically 26 mins and approximatly 16 miles each way. This does not take into account traffic that can easily build up. This does not leave very much room for error as if your commute is 32/40 miles, you could be in trouble if you run into a couple of accidents. The link gave information in terms of distance but not time. In rush hour it is concievable to not drive at the prescribed 55 and go much slower. I wonder how that will effect the car’s overall performance.
3. After 40 miles, you are going to use gasoline anyway. While I agree this can certainly save money, I wonder how many charges can the battery get? The website discusses how the battery is meant to be charged daily, but that makes me wonder how often would the battery need to be replaced and how expensive does that become? It is conceivable that the money you save on gasoline can easily be spent on a new battery, thus wiping out your savings.
4. Price. There is no potential price tag mentioned. While I think people would be interested in this type of car if it had a very moderate price tag, am not sure what GM is thinking about selling this car for.
I think that this type of car is a good concept, and I applaud GM for taking the first step. If they can get the HP and engine size up to a more reasonable size(say 3.0 and 165 HP) I think they would be onto something that everyone can use. At this point this type of car really seems to be a niche car for people who do not drive all that much and in my opinion does not come across as something the average American can use.
-BT
It’s a great first start for GM. I think they should bite the bullet on cost and roll it out at somewhat reasonable prices. It’s a great second car. It’s great for many seniors. Stay at home parents. There’s a lot of niche marketing that can be done aggressively rather than make the mistake of pitching it to kids or some other highly-contested market.
A second good move for GM would be to acquire Tesla Motors, whose electric car does 0-to-60 in 4 seconds. With the technology and brain power from such a purchase, GM would quickly find itself at the forefront of the new race in auto sales and therefore well-positioned to return to a historical slot of dominance.