Will fuel cells be the next to kill the electric car? Conventional wisdom says of course not. GM has been talking about fuel cells for years and they have brought our more than a handful of concepts over the years. What do you think the future of the fuel cell is?
Chevrolet took a huge swing at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show with the introduction of its new Volt MPV5 concept. Based on the Volt platform, the SUV is roughly seven inches wider and taller than the Volt sedan. It production model will likely carry the same Voltec system – engine generated electrical power. The added weight of the vehicle will be interesting to see how this affects range and performance.
The look is extremely consistent with the Volt – a good thing – and shows the promise of great things from GM. One striking thing you can see from the concept car is its extremely low rocker cladding, making this crossover more wagon-ish than SUV-ish. The lithium ion battery packs certainly have a lot do do with the lower floor.
While it doesn’t take a trend forecaster to know this vehicle was coming, it is comforting to know that GM is spending our government funds wisely. They have built another smart package and they are clearly addressing the growing needs of the consumer. I for one, don’t really see myself in one of the plenty smallish EVs on the road. It will take a product like this to get me over the hump to buying electric. Yes, I did money down on a Nissan Leaf, but that’s because another better opportunity is not in front of me yet. The world hopefully changes in the next 6 months.
I’m not a hug fan of the rear, but I get why the designers needed to make it so vertical, almost van-like. To make it truly a cargo carrying crossover, they needed to create as much cargo space as they could. Without much flexibility in the wheelbase, all they could do is maximize rear height. It’s doesn’t kill the car for me, but i do wish they had the ability to get a few more inches out of the wheelbase and give the designers more flexibility in shaping the rear.
The introduction of this vehicle at the Beijing Auto Show is a sign of the times for GM. As it has spent considerable energy in China the past 15 years, it is clearly showing the world the importance of the region by showcasing a vehicle that has very American proportions. But if they’re going to win in China, they’ve learned that they must give it’s premier show the respect by launching a future core product there. I like the thinking as it also shows they are going to get out of their current crisis by being a world brand. And their press release accentuates this point:
“Rapidly growing demand for personal transportation across China is creating new environmental and energy security challenges,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “GM is committed to finding and adopting solutions, which include the electrification of the automobile. The world premiere of the Volt MPV5 concept in Beijing demonstrates GM’s desire to make China a global focus of its advanced technology strategy.”
To see the full press release, go here. You can also view all car reviews of various GM vehicles at Honk.
Earlier this afternoon, Nissan began taking reservations for the upcoming 2011 Nissan Leaf, due in showrooms in December of this year. Nissan hopes to fill 25,000 “pre-orders” in the next few months, practically assuring itself a successful launch. As of this week, they had 115,000 people signed up to receive exclusive information about the car, including special invitations to order the vehicle prior to public launch. And while Nissan is somewhat hush-hush today about the general responses they’ve received today, it seems that Twitter is showcasing that excitement with dozens of people tweeting their reservations. View the latest Nissan Leaf tweets here
Not wanting to be left out, I decided to reserve my very own 2011 Nissan Leaf. And while I’m not totally sure it’s a car I want to buy in December, I wanted to “feel” what it would be like to *maybe* get one. I was a little (very little) excited to get the email inviting me to drop $99 and my name for a place in line to buy one. The invite was was supposed to arrive between 1pm-6pm eastern. My email didn’t arrive until 5:30pm est, so I must have been on the bottom of the barrel, dirt bag list. Maybe they do a lottery again for who gets to buy and when. Good old back of the line. The email looked like this… oooooh, I have a place in history.
I clicked on “Reserve Now” to see what was on the next page. Nissan asked me a bunch of irrelevant survey questions, then presented me with a form to fill out. I entered my name, ID, password, address, etc. Next came the the “qualifying questions” :
Pick a Color – Ummmm, silver.
How Far Do I Drive? Well we know this is a qualifier. Better say it’s 50 or less or I won’t make the cut. I drive 20 miles so it’s the truth
What Type of Driving? Okay, keep it mild or they won’t let me go nuts on the car. I’m a short commuter.
Where will the car be parked? This is a big qualifier. I better say my own garage (which is true) so I can get my own charging station. I bet this one places where on the order list you go. Shouldn’t they ask “what type of set up will you have in December 2010?” The car delivery is a ways off, so why not ask what people will have.
Qualified 
We’re a good fit. While the questions were pretty intuitive, it’s good that they made sure their early adopters had the right set up and expectations going in. Okay, now I have to fork over $99. I can get my cash back any time.
Ahhh…. my official confirmation number (I changed it in photoshop) . We are now standing in line for our Leaf…. Now, I don’t get the vehicle for 7 months+. I’m not even sure I really want it by then. Seems to me the Chevy Volt is much more up my alley. Frankly, it’s far better looking and I have comfort in knowing that GM has a longer standing history in electric vehicle (EV) technology. To me, the Leaf is homely and not very cool. After a few years, I may just be the fool who’s driving around in a tin electric tin can with junk range, while all my friends are whizzing by in Teslas and Fiskers. Hmmm…. My wife and I will decide what to do as launch gets closer, but for now, I’m happy to be in line. I need to go to Chevroletvoltage.com and see if I can reserve one those bad boys.
As the butt of many jokes (“No Va” = it doesn’t go), the Chevy Nova is famous for the urban myth, not the car it was. The reality is that the Nova sold fairly well in Spanish-speaking countries. I can’t believe I bought that urban myth as a kid (as did Ivy League marketing professors across the country. ha!). The car was pretty cool in its first generations (we’re talking the 60s and early 70s). My grandma had a Nova from the early 70s and I loved it. But like many American cars, the gas crisis forced Chevrolet to change the car into a funky, ill-proportioned, and downright boring hatchback. The product folks certainly didn’t get a lot of help from the marketing folks either. Check out the ad below.
Did you know the Nova was a go anywhere, do anything car? I didn’t! The creative minds at Chevy’s ad agency had a vision to position Nova as a car that can be a moving van, family hauler, camper, and even a luxurious party date. The camper image with the bear “presenting” the car has got to be my favorite! Ta-da! And the moving van image? “Hey, let’s call up Chuck to help us move this piano. He’s got that Nova” Brilliantly silly and ridiculous.
The camper image reminds me of another do-it-all car brought to us by GM – The Pontiac Aztek. Not sure why they couldn’t bring the cuddly black bear back for another appearance.
Luckily, GM is starting to get its products right again. The new Chevrolet models are some of the best we’ve seen in ages,. Let’s just hope none of them don’t aspire to be anything they’re not.
When Honda announced it would produce a tweener pickup (not quite large like an F-150, bigger than a Tacoma) capable of seating 5 and carrying on all the duties any good DIY (do-it-yourselfer) would want, truck loyalists scoffed. First off, the truck has unibody construction (vs. a ‘heavier’ duty body-on-frame of most trucks) which is (mostly) perceptually inferior than a traditional body-on-frame truck. And while most people couldn’t tell the difference, it was labeled (unfairly) a car-based truck. Truth is, car companies can make unibody trucks that are extremely capable. Second, Honda didn’t have any meaningful history with pickups. As Toyota learned the hard way, larger pickups are something that takes time to develop as the core buyers are extremely loyal to the domestic brands. It took Toyota a decade to break 100,000 units and they had a “feeder” system with hundreds of thousands of loyal Tacoma drivers on the road. Third, the competition is fierce. Ford and Chevy have such an advantage in the marketplace in terms of economies of scale and manufacturing experience. I mean, why take a risk on a Honda when a cheaper, more proven domestic pickup was actually superior? Personally, I don’t think the product was wrong in any way, but it wasn’t right for the brand. One thing is for sure, people who bought them loved them. If you look at the consumer ratings on Honk.com, the Honda Ridgeline scores a A-, which is just about as good as any other pickup in its class.
Overall, the Honda Ridgeline has been a sales flop for Honda. And while it initially achieved its sales goals of 50k units, the recent sales slump has dragged their sales volume below 20,000 units per year – hardly a sustainable number for Honda. Of course, Honda did spark a new resurgence in unibody pickup interest. Kia, GM, and even Ford have all been actively looking into unibody compact pickups, although many have said those programs will now go away. Truth is, the big boys have a grasp of this market and the DIY market has slowly retreated back into the cars they came from. I guess rebuilding your house is not as cool as it was a few years back!
Let me take a quick moment to douse a little 40oz onto the pavement for the Honda Ridgeline. One good note is that the Honda Ridgeline pricing should be pretty fantastic the last two years of production. I imagien the prices will start to fall now that the announcement has been made. Expect many incentives if you want to be the last 40-50K owners of this vehicle.
Let’s take another moment to bow our heads in silence to other unibody pickups that have failed before the Honda Ridgeline…
Jeep Comanche d.1992
VW Rabbit d.1982
Subaru Brat d.2006
Dodge Rampage d.1984
Subaru Brat d.1993
Ford Ranchero d.1979
