Reshared post from +Sam Abuelsamid

That +General Motors would replace the 1.4-liter inline-four cylinder engine in the +Chevrolet Volt sooner rather than later is a given. The replacement almost certainly will not be a 2.0-liter turbocharged four as used in numerous GM vehicles including the Buick Regal GS and Verano T.

When the GM board gave the production go-ahead for the Volt in mid-2007, the engineering team only had three years to get the car off the assembly line. The original concept was specified with a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder. While such an engine existed on the design screens at GM powertrain, it was nowhere near ready for production in the Volt timeframe.

The best option available was the 1.4-liter since it was already in use and ready to go. It wasn't an optimal solution but given that GM was already well on the slide toward bankruptcy by the end of 2007, and there was so much other work to do, the engineers made the smart decision to work with what they had. 

Even before the Volt was approved, R&D boss Larry Burns talked about the possibility of other engines including HCCI http://green.autoblog.com/2007/05/15/chevy-volt-could-end-up-with-radically-different-engine/
and as job 1 approached other options were being considered for the Gen2 Volt http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/26/next-gen-chevrolet-could-use-diesel-two-cylinder-or-rotary-rang/

http://rechargingthecar.abuelsamid.com/

The team wants a smaller, lighter and more efficient powerplant in order to better compete with the likes of the +Nissan Leaf and the upcoming +Ford Motor Company Fusion Energi. A 200+ hp turbo 2.0-liter makes absolutely no sense when you only have 161 hp of electrical power. The 2.0-liter is larger, heavier and thirstier than the 1.4 and makes way more power than can be used by the electric drive system. 

The 2.0T would only make sense as part of a parallel plug-in hybrid drivetrain in some other vehicle. My guess (and I have no inside information on this, pure educated speculation) would be that they would opt for the new small engine family being co-developed with SAIC http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/17/general-motors-and-saic-to-jointly-develop-small-engine-and-dual/ which starts at 1.0-liter. Those engines could be in production by next year and would be a much better fit. 

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Insider: 1.4L Engine Discontinued in 2014 Chevrolet Volt
All we had known for sure about the future of the Chevrolet Volt was that it will be undergoing a powertrain upgrade in about a year's time. That is until now. A source inside the company (who did…

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Actually for me, these new plans that I was anxiously awaiting are significantly worse than what I have now.  I have 4 smartphones with unlimited data on a 1,400 minute plan with texting plus the at home phone service for a 5th line. The data rates that VZW is charging are simply too exorbitant for what you get compared to current individual plans.

Extra lines (after the initial 2 in the family plan) currently cost $9.99 a month including that 5th at home line. Under this new plan that home line would jump to $30 even though it's essentially a dumb phone that can't text or use data. $70 for 4GB of data is simply obscene.  

No way around this, Verizon is screwing us big time.

Reshared post from +Dan Seifert

There has been a lot of talk about how Verizon's new Shared Everything Plans are a bit expensive. But in actuality, they are better than what is currently offered.

Aside from the fact that Verizon is never known for not being expensive, in an apples to apples comparison, the new plans are actually quite favorable.

For example, under the current plans, unlimited voice for three lines costs $150 per month. Add unlimited text for $30 per month, and then three smartphone plans for $90 per month and you are at $270 per month.

The new plans will offer the same amount of service for $200 per month ($40 for each smartphone, $80 for 6GB of data shared between all three). Additionally, the new plans offer more flexibility with how the data is used, and I imagine that many customers will be able to save even more money and get away with the 4GB plan (saves $10 per month). The savings is at least $70 per month, not something to ignore.

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