Comment Re:So much for stealth (Score 0) 161
Detecting a stealth aircraft and being able to identify what you've detected as a stealth aircraft are two completely different animals.
Comment Re:Everyone's missing the point of the Volt. (Score 0) 599
While I agree with most of your points I have to say that the Volt has missed it on quite a few fronts:
1) When you go to a Chevy dealer and you want to see one, good luck. They don't have any details, information or even cars for you to test drive. Some dealers in my area are now getting "Volt Specialists" who will work on answer questions but at the sales outlet I expect that I should be able to look, see and feel one. 2) There's been a lot of fraud regarding the Volt and the Gov't Tax incentives. Instead of buying a "new" volt, some people originally were purchasing one that had been cross sold to other dealers. Why would I want to deal with a dishonest dealer? No pun intended. 3) It's overpriced for what you get. A plug in Prius can be had for less and the Leaf is kicking the Volt's butt in sales. 4) I have two teenage sons now getting ready to drive (twins) and I'm looking for something economical and safe for them to drive. Electric, Hybrid or high mileage is something I would like to look at. Will I buy two? I don't know but if I don't fit a demographic where I'd at least like to know more and drive one to see, then I don't know what the target demographic is? 5) I can go to a Nissan dealer, touch a Leaf, drive a Leaf, get all of the information and I might add see all of the technical innovations that Volt doesn't have, for less money and I can still get my tax incentive because the dealer hasn't done a swap for the vehicle, negating any benefit I would receive. 6) I can go to a VW dealer and buy any of the blue diesel models that are ready, available and priced less than the Volt, Leaf and in some cases Prius and get better mileage overall. That's another alternative. So, have they all missed the target? No, but the Volt sure has.
1) Almost any authorized Volt dealership will actually have a Volt for you to test out. Not every salesman is an expert on the vehicle. That's true for any vehicle make/model. They're not engineers. They're trying to make a sale.
2) There is some amount of fraud when ever money is involved. I haven't experienced Volt-related fraud or really heard much about it. I don't doubt it happens. But it's obviously not common practice.
3) It's not overpriced for what you get. What else compares? Nothing. The Plugin Prius is just a poor man's Volt. The Fisker Karma is 3x the cost. Everything else is either pure electric or still a concept vehicle/pre-production. If you're looking for a range extended electric vehicle, the Volt is really the only game in town.
4) If you're interested, nothing is stopping you from checking it out. Nothing electric is going to be very cheap right now, though. It's still new technology. Early adopters always pay a premium. This is nothing new. I understand that a lot of people are interested in it and are upset that they can't get it right now because they aren't willing/aren't able to pay the early adopter premium. But prices will come down. You'll just have to be patient.
5) You can go to a Chevy dealer, touch a Volt, drive a Volt and get all of the information. You can also see all of the technical innovations that the Leaf doesn't have. For a bit of a price bump given the premium trim options and one-of-a-kind drive train.
6) If that's what you're looking for, buy it. Freedom of choice is wonderful. The free market at work.
The Volt's hit it right on the money. But there's a lot of misinformation out there due to the haters.
Comment Re:Slashdot Suspending Editing (Score 1) 599
Suspending production != Suspending sales. The two mean quite different things.
Very true. The sales number are low, and that's possible related to the cost of a Chevy Volt. I just did a quick search in my area and they're about $40,000. I'm never going to save $15k - $20k in gas over the life of the car, so buying a comparable car that runs on gasoline is probably a better value. There are some tax credits for buying an electric car, but even with those the price is still going to be far more than a "regular" car.
People don't buy the Volt to save money. As you've already pointed out, that's stupid. They buy the Volt because it's a high quality, cutting edge, vehicle. Not worrying about the price of gas is just a nice way to help offset the upfront cost. Plus, it helps us get off of foreign oil. Which, in my opinion, should be one of the country's top priorities. I mean, if you really wanted to save money, buy a used Prius. Or use public transit.
Comment Re:Simpler than that (Score 1) 599
Or:
Handles better than a Prius
Has more power than a Prius
For most folks, burns less foreign oil than a Prius.
Has a much better trim level than a Prius.
Doesn't look like you're driving a wedge like a Prius.
Buy a..... Prius? Why buy a Prius when you could buy a bicycle? That's even less expensive and even more reliable. Uses a lot less gas too.
Comment News for nerds? News for haters. (Score -1) 599
I can't believe this politically motivated pile of crap made it through to slashdot. This isn't news for nerds. This is over reactions for haters.
It's a fine car and will continue to sell at an acceptable pace. Even if GM originally set their sights a little too high.
And for the folks that complain about the high sticker price, use your brains a little bit. It's more than the sticker price. Leasing is a very affordable option for folks with a limited budget that want the car. I've seen zero down $349 a month leases. If you drive 1000 a month with a 25mpg vehicle, you'd save over $100 a month by using electricity rather than gasoline. Plus insurance is cheaper for the volt than nearly any other vehicle. I don't think low 200s per month is unaffordable. If it is, you shouldn't be worried about what any new vehicle costs. You have other things to worry about.
Comment Re:I have no idea (Score 2) 498
It's not perfect but you can get a general idea of the types of power available in your area here:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/how-clean.html
Sure companies buy and sell power all of the time. But it's not like they're dumping all of their input into some other market and supplying their consumers entirely off someone else's supply. It's a pretty good guess. If this thing says you get 10% of your energy from nuclear, it's a pretty safe bet that it's well below 15%.
Comment So what I am reading (Score 1) 99
Is that the most likely scenario is that this guy is for real. And isn't that, as a former employee, he has old configs stored somewhere that he still has access to (like a personal laptop). As well as screen shots related to training material. Nah this guy that was just fired and has offered up no real-time evidence is probably telling the truth. Just because that would make it more interesting.
Slashdot Top Deals
"No matter where you go, there you are..." -- Buckaroo Banzai
