I love your logic, it's amazingly realistic.

I remember going to "Le Salon de L'Auto De Québec" last year and being at the GM Pavilion where a hydrogen prototype was on hand. While I was waiting for the representative to finish with a group of people, this was what went on:

It'll feed the starving people of Africa... Cure aids... God will hate you if you don't buy one... World Peace can only be achieved with GM Hydrogen cars... the technology's not ready but it's coming along.

And then he mentioned the Chevy Volt... *Note that the Hydrogen prototype had two security guards in front of it as well as a huge crowd of people surrounding as well as admiring it* and moved the two people he was speaking with to a banner with a minuscule 4 by 2 inch picture of the Chevy Volt explaining that it only (he said ONLY) went 60km per charge and then continued to make it (and possibly all electric cars) look inferior to the Hydrogen car. No mention of the EV-1 or Wrightspeed X-1, the 2nd fastest accelerating production car on the planet after the Bugatti Veyron. Then it was my turn... oh I enjoyed myself...

Q. How well do they perform in the kind of winters we get here in Québec?
A. Not enough research has been done on this topic.

Survey says!: Badly.

Statement (that I can't remember how I put into a question): I heard that with the process of electrolysis and transport of hydrogen, the fuel provides less energy than was taken to produce it to a ratio of about 3:1.

A. GM is doing research on how to reduce this ratio.

Q. Does GM have any plans to make a fully electric vehicle?
A. No, but with further development in electric vehicle technology it could be a possibility in the future.

I asked a few other questions but I don't remember them well enough to type them up. In the end this just turned into a friendly EV conversation.

Finally, at this same "Salon de L'Auto", the new Honda CRV was placed on an elevated turntable in front of a huge wall filled with information on the company, as well as on the CRV... while the Hybrids were tucked quietly behind it with little to no information about them, unlike Honda's sport utility vehicle.

David Pogue's interview in the New York Times today with GM's Bob Lutz seems remarkably honest and straightforward.

Lutz sounds great in this interview. I want to believe him. But then this is the week that Lucy snatches away the football just before Charlie Brown kicks it. (Sigh.)

http://tinyurl.com/38se54

if they can keep up with an KEEP the electric car design and utilize what they invent and produce, they can EASILY be #1 car company again IF ONLY they take it with open arms.

But I, like the rest of you, will believe it when I see it.

I wholeheartedly agree that if a bunch of amatures can build a perfecty functional and good-looking EV in the garage, a multi-million dollar R & D team should be able to do it faster, cheaper and better for the masses - but they haven't.

So something funny is indeed going on. The sad part is that the current big players in the energy (oil) industry, e.g. car companies and oil/energy companies, will in all likely hood continue to rake in the dough once oil and gas is priced beyond the reach of the average person. They'll simply go ahead and building the alternative technologies that will help replace an oil economy in part by using those high mileage car and hi-tech battery patents that they've been buying up along the way.

Sucks for us, cool for them. So let's keep building, buying and trading EVs!

Lutz: Chevy Volt Production to Begin November 2010

The first battery pack has been delivered to GM and is reported to meet 100% of the design specifications. Some Volt parts are currently being road tested, and the first mules will appear in Spring 2008.

DeLorean_4 - They gave you a straight answer on cold weather fuel cell performance, "research not done yet." Toyota recently road tested their fuel cell in Alaska and had no problems with it.

If, say, I wanted to purchase a Volt and remove the generator and gas tank, would there be any legal repercussions? Like voiding warranties 'n such?

Devin Serpa

more than likely your warenty will be voided...

Well then I guess I will wait for the fully electric Honda I've heard about.

Mind telling us what you are talking about? Is it about EVs? If not, why post it here?

It's closer to being a reality today, and with new leadership at GM (Government Motors) hopefully we will see a better setup later.