Chevy Volt Exec Bob Lutz On Colbert Report (VIDEO)

Colbert gets faux-outraged that an electric car is tantamount to admitting that humans have to do something about climate change.

COLBERT: "Why not just call this the Chevy Gore?"

Colbert also asks about other features of the Volt:

COLBERT: Is it sexy? Will it get me laid?
LUTZ: I think so... you might have, um--
COLBERT: It might change the type of woman I'm attracting, maybe, exactly--
LUTZ: You're gonna get a lot of very nice, no make-up, environmentally--
COLBERT: A little crunchier, a little crunchier, maybe a little hair on the legs...

WATCH:

Comments

[rickywillems]

As much as I support GM producing ecofriendly vehicles, the Volt is a poor automobile and is destined to fail very miserably.

For a breif breakdown of some of the major stumbling blocks and oversights with the volt, read this article: http://rickywillems.myrpi.org/voltfail.html

[GarryGolden]

I think this is fantastic news... and what a 'flip flop' from the industry!!

Only three years ago (in 2005) no major auto industry CEO spoke positively of electrification of the global auto fleet... and now we are suddenly looking at 2010 as the year that first commercial vehicles could hit the market.

Clearly it's going to take decades to unfold-- and there is still a need to educate the public. Electrification of the transportation fleet goes beyond 'plug ins' and batteries. Electric propulsion systems are likely to need a combination of battery, hydrogen fuel cell and capacitors. So we cannot assume that electrification is only about electricity. We'll need to continue evolving hydrogen systems as a source of electron power.

I recently wrote a post on plans to end the era of the combustion engine... on The Energy Roadmap...
http://www.theenergyroadmap.com/futureblogger/show/894-gm-s-plan-to-reinvent-the-automobile-r-i-p-combustion-engine

Garry G
Editor, The Energy Roadmap (http://www.theenergyroadmap.com)

[stevnjessie1]

He seemed to know a lot more about the power supply of the Hummer outlet than he did about the Volt. My opinion was from 'American electric car- finally' to 'He's scoffing at his own product'.
Mr. Colbert had done something I thought I'd never see an interviewer do. He guided the conversation to a direction to NOT make Lutz look more of an ass. That was Biden/Rove politeness to change the subject from hairy-legged treehuggers to lithium ion. It would've been to easy, Lutz was burying himself without realizing that the studio/viewing audience is largely the young people he's chastising. If left unguided, Commander McBragg would've spewed a few 'hippie jokes' he and the old boys laugh at down an the Club.
He'd fare better with me if he stuck to the Volt subject and not his opinion on climate theory, solar batteries and treehuggers. I would've then left saying,'American electric car - finally".

[wadenelson1]

The Volt, once an exciting concept car, is now just as ugly as the Prius and we ALL know it will only be half as reliable. Way to go, Lutz.

[KillTheMessenger]

Oh, come on, you can't blame the man for the laws of physics. There is a reason why the Prius looks the way it looks and that's aerodynamics.

So what is te difference between GM and Toyota? Well, at Toyota the designer and the aerodynamics people work hand in hand during the whole design phase to produce a car that works great and is user friendly.

At GM, on the other hand, they let a bunch of aging kids in full midlife crisis mode design a batmobile, stick it in the wind tunnel where it behaves like a brick. The aerodynamics people are rolling on the floor, the project manager has a heart attack and is replaced. The replacement project manager notices that they are out of time. They rush to the Toyota and Honda dealership and buy a Prius and a Civic hybrid. The cars are being scanned and the data is manipulated in the computer over night to make a "Frankenstein's monster". Then they rush that to the aerodynamics group the next day where people are still laughing but stick the model in anyway. The result is a "not great but good enough" and the project manager writes a report to management that they successfully made the deadline.

End of story.

[hbw3]

Easily the best comment I've read today. Thank you.

[Puzzles]

I loved when he said it has a small 1400cc engine that can power it to charge the batteries. The thing is dragging around a charging motor that is bigger than those used is millions of cars the world over. He tried to convert the 1400cc to Cubic inches assuming the viewing audience needed the conversion so they could relate the engine size to the 305's, 400's etc, big in motors of the past. His commentary really smacked of old white man totally out of touch with the market.

[UltraClassic]

Oh GEEZZ Puz , give it a rest. First of all, a 1400cc motor is typical of a motorcyle engine. Secondly, you don't know how heavy the engine is or how efficient it is.

It is not a primary source of power, only an effort to allow the car to go beyond 40 miles.

You think you got a better idea? What is it?

BTW, no, there are not many cars in the world running around on a 1.4 ltr engine. You amaze.

[shockmagog]

'Lutz"s "32,000 of the world"s leading scientists" nonsense is taken from press releases by the right-wing industry-funded Heartland Institute, amplified by right-wing blogs and radio shows. This is a zombie lie, which was begun in 1998 by the right-wing industry-funded Oregon Institute. The National Academy of Sciences, whose name was misleadingly used, issued this warning on April 20, 1998:'

'The petition project was a deliberate attempt to mislead scientists and to rally them in an attempt to undermine support for the Kyoto Protocol. The petition was not based on a review of the science of global climate change, nor were its signers experts in the field of climate science.'

http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/09/18/revolting-bob-lutz/

[mamacat]

As has been increasingly evident, even to the MSM, lying is now common practice by both the political right and much of the corporate world. Once reserved for key campaigns or the most critical issues, blatant lying is now part and parcel of the standard-operating-procedure in America.

And that, my friends, is why I find it difficult to have much faith in GM's ability to make a decent VOLT. How do I know that they aren't relying on false science to make this car? People who lie to others have a tendency to lie to themselves as well, after awhile. Or, how do I know that they aren't preparing to pull the carpet from underneath this project, the way they did with the EV-1?

I want to be able to believe that GM is doing an honest, competent job on this car, but their track record for the last 40 years is so pathetic, that I think it is foolish to get my hopes up too high.

Another note: at one time earlier this year Mr. Lutz said that he foresaw a price for the VOLT of nearer $50,000 than $40,000. That is a lot of money for a personal vehicle that is supposed to be targeted at the mass market. GM is going to introduce a very expensive car, and hope to gradually bring the price down, rather than pursueing a path of keeping the price down and gradually improving the vehicle.

[KillTheMessenger]

"How do I know that they aren't relying on false science to make this car?"

You will find out approx. 20,000 miles into the life of the car that they sold you a lemon which eats its own batteries for breakfast.

:-)

[NL207]

Unfortunately for you, there really are thousands of scientists who do not accept the 'Anthropogenic Global Warming as Doom' thesis.

[KillTheMessenger]

Please submit a list with names of those thousands of "scientists".

Thank you.

[realpolitic]

Yes, that is what I would like to know. Who? You keep making the same statements over and over without ever supplying any evidence. It must be nice to just throw barbs at established science without ever having to justify your position. It is very intellectually lazy and is a tactic used by Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Repeating something does not make it true.

[cylindar]

This car is not going to get anybody laid because it is only a concept and they don't even know what kind of power system to put into it yet. This car is a joke and they are full of hot air.

[UltraClassic]

Hey cylindar, do a little study. This is not a new concept and in fact is the same type of system that runs modern train engines/diesel-electrics as they are called. The limitation is the battery pack and yes, prototype batteries are being produced.

[GayTalkExpress]

How dare you question the judgment of the Lutz! The man flies his own Mig fercrissakes! He's a real man's MAN. A maverick! He can't be bothered with all this feminist, global warming crap! However, I wanna see that list of "35,000 scientists" who think we have no part in climate change. I can't see how he even sits down with balls that big.

[GearheadGeek]

They're stuff in his head where brains belong, that's why they don't interfere with his ability to sit down.

[GearheadGeek]

Lutz is a loose cannon. He pops off with strange, random statements all the time, and is frequently shown to be wrong by GM's PR people and engineers. The Yutz is not the one to listen to about the Volt, there are several interviews of Volt engineers and project managers on the web (in both video and transcript form) who present a much more clear and informative picture of the Volt.

[BlackbirdHighway]

I love the part about plugging it into the AC outlet on the Hummer to recharge it!

[circles]

Chevy Malibu with a different nose and tail.
Clearly at 40k Chevy knew it was a looser and didn't even attempt to build the car from the prototype. So sad.

[GearheadGeek]

It is *NOT* a Malibu. It's a different platform, different size, different mission, different car. The Volt is a slightly smaller car than the Malibu, on a Delta 2 platform I believe... between the Cobalt and the Malibu in size. If you did even a modicum of research you'd find that when the put the concept shape into aerodynamic software, they found that they wouldn't be able to get near the 40-mile all-electric range. It's quite common for production cars to differ sharply from their concept predecessors... the Volt Concept is poorly packaged for actually carrying passengers and seeing out from the inside of the car, for example.

[KillTheMessenger]

It wasn't poorly packaged at all. It got the people who failed science class in high school and think that the Mustang is a great car salivating. Which is really all they had to do.

GM still thinks they can survive this with a short term strategy that gets them a government bailout before offshore drilling will reduce the price of oil to the point where they can sell the same old same oil.

At least that's what I think they think because that's what they act like. In the end what they will really do is probably declare bankruptcy because none of their moves will save them from reality.

[benogrady]

That Colbert is sharp. The "will it get me laid" line reminds me of when Borat inquires about cars that will get him laid at the Chevy dealership and the sales dude recommends a Corvette. I thought it was cool that Lutz actually played along, and to be quite honest, he was a pretty good sport for even coming on the show. The Volt is a nice looking car, although I drive way more than 40 miles per day to commute.

[elephantwaylon]

Uh, you forgot to mention that LUtz, the VP of GM, doesn't believe in climate change!? http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/09/colbert-video-bob-lutz-vp-of-gm-doesnt-believe-in-climate-change-does-believe-in-chevy-volt/

[KillTheMessenger]

He believes in $50 billion government bailouts, though.

[Snwbnny9]

Our tax dollars bailing out irresponsible corporantions is THE new "in" thing. Just ask Wall Street. It seems everyone gets some of the money, except for Americans.

Corporate wefare. Yay!

[jacobomorales]

the chevy volt, just another piece of american junk!!!A 400 lb battery and maybe sitting for more than 2 people at a price of 40k++, gee, what inovation!!

[GearheadGeek]

The Volt won't cost $40k. It can't. It would never sell. That $40k number is another one of the Yutz' verbal farts, a fully-optioned Impala SS barely touches $33k before their "employee pricing" promo. It'll probably have a gross price in the low $30k range if the federal incentives for this type of car come to pass, putting the net in the $25k range at which it's price-competitive with a Prius, and offers some distinct advantages to lots of drivers (only needing gas when you take a long trip, for example.) As to the weight of the battery, a Prius battery weighs over 100 lb and can't even move the car a mile at residential-neighborhood speeds. Plus the Prius has a heavier transmission than the Volt will require... there are tradeoffs.

[KillTheMessenger]

Well, you heard it from the horse's mouth. What else do you want?

The Prius battery is not supposed to move the car. It is supposed to last the lifetime of the car and store small amounts of energy to let the car run the engine close to its highest efficiency. Which is why they never discharge more than 30% of its net charge and way less than that under normal conditions.

Now, ask yourself, if the Volt battery is four times the weight and twice the energy density of the Prius density, but is supposedly capable of moving the car forty times as far, how deep do they have to discharge it? How likely is it that the Volt will be able to make 40 miles on one charge to begin with?

And how long do you think will that battery live? And who do you think will pay for the replacement?

May I suggest something? Think for a little while about WHY Toyota chose the parallel hybrid concept and did not go for a series hybrid. There is a rather obvious reason.

[Snwbnny9]

I love Colbert. Is it just me or do the Neo-Cons not seen to notice that he is making fun of them? Did you see him roast Bush at the White House Correspondents dinner? Dubya did not look amused.

[shockmagog]

The Corporate Media ignored Colbert's perfect lampoon in favor of the lame and tame B*sh impersonator. The Internet changed all that. Now nobody remembers what the impersonator said or did.

[Sumocat]

Needs to work on his wording. "The Chevy Volt will attract low-maintenance, make-love-not-war-type of women who are open to new experiences and won't spend all your money on disposable goods."