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Author Topic: Electric Vehicles  (Read 46486 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Electric Vehicles
« Reply #480 on: December 03, 2018, 07:19:23 pm »
My wife has ended up with the second Volt I bought last summer. So far I think the onboard computer is saying the hybrid's gas consumption amounts to 169 MPG. She is driving it for her daly commute, in fairly heavy traffic most of the time.

The old Volt (with just over 30 miles of range in most weather) never did better than about 100 MPG. That extra 20 miles of battery range has made the Volt from a good car into a great car, for people who still need a car that can run on gas, which is most people who do a lot of driving. The decision Chevy made to axe the Volt really breaks my heart, and we've discussed buying another before they're all gone.

I'm looking forward to the all electric cars, from a standpoint of reducing carbon, but i have my doubts they'll ever build  a car that will equal the Volt of today.

The Volt is a great car. The GM decision to axe the car caused me to be so angry I could spit. This is what I posted at Cleantechnica forum on that issue:

To GM's plan to stop building the Volt, I will let Obi Wan say it ALL:



RIP: GM Will Close 5 Assembly Plants In North America, Eliminate 15,000 Jobs, & Cease Production Of Chevy Volt
Autonomous Vehicles The mournful cry from Detroit that "Nobody wants to buy an electric car" is partially correct. Relatively few cons…

 cleantechnica.com
120 Comments

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/26/rip-gm-will-close-5-assembly-plants-in-north-america-eliminate-15000-jobs-cease-production-of-chevy-volt/
I can see the justification. The specs for the volt were laid down quite some time ago. The bolt is proving very popular. battery capacity has increased as well as peoples acceptance of all electric since they designed the volt.  Its neither fish nor fowl having the maintenance requirements of two cars. If you want gas backup the hybrid model is a more efficient cheaper way to get it, if you want the electric features the all electric is more efficient... The engine charges battery, full size electric runs car method has advantages but the increased cost of it didn't work out and its appeal was limited. I hope they use the capacity to build more full electrics like they say they are going to... We shall see. And again the bolt is awesome I wish it worked better for my climate and circumstances...

I disagree on a few of your points. for one thing, the maintenance on the Volt is quite low. Oil changes once a year. Maintenance on the electric motor pretty much zero, in my experience. Batteries last something close to the usable life of the car. At least 200K, maybe more.

Rather than "neither fish nor fowl", I'd call it the best of both worlds. Even a Tesla is a carriage without a horse, if the batteries are dead. For people who drive longer distances, this is a real problem. And fast chargers are not just on every street corner either.

And the the Volt was never a true serial hybrid anyway. It has three modes, one of which does (minimally) charge the batteries from the gas engine, like most other hybrids. I had a Prius, which I gave to my daughter. It was a great car, but the Volt is a better car. That's about the best recommendation I can give. Better than a Prius, in my view. That's real praise.

And I'm not just saying that because I bought one. I might well buy a Bolt too, at some point.


Well said. See my comment for why I disagree with Nearingsfault.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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