Review: Chevy Volt — electrifying

[jpak]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autos-chevrolet-volt-review-20101021,0,7416060.story

With most cars, idling at the arrival curb of a major metropolitan airport results in an instantaneous visit from the parking police: Whistles blown, arms akimbo, ticket pads drawn.

But the new 2011 Chevy Volt isn't most cars. Picking up the vehicle at Oakland International Airport, dozens of strangers slowed their wheeled luggage to get a better look at a car that's received as much attention as an A-list celebrity.

And those DayGlo-vested police who normally strike fear in idling drivers' hearts? They were, for the first time I've ever experienced, friendly and inquisitive — and seemingly ready to ditch their day jobs to hop in for the ride to L.A.

<snip>

With its Volt, General Motors Co. zaps popular preconceptions that it's incapable of making a progressive, outside-the-box vehicle. The exterior is understated and attractive, and the interior is sleekly high-tech without being overkill. Accessible in both its design and operation, there's a normalcy to the Volt that belies what's under the hood.

<more>

Thank you Dems and Obama for saving GM jobs and the Volt

:thumbsup:

[Greg K]

1. Conservatives really, really seem to hate the Volt.

I agree with them that it's too pricey but it's a big step in the right direction.

[Kennah]

20. But, the Conservatives really do love ...

... the optional coal fired radio.

[hlthe2b]

2. There is one aspect of the Volt I have always been unclear about...

While it can go 25-50 miles electric only and another 310 miles with gas powering the system, does this mean that it could go indefinitely (without charging) on gas, if you needed to drive cross country, for instance and in areas where 240 volt charging stations were not available?

that 310 miles additional for gas, is confusing....and I have never seen it explicitly explained...

[LiberalArkie]

3. Probably as long as you keep putting gas in the tank

[jpak]

5. Yes - you could drive it cross country without charging

or - if you had a short commmute (<40 miles round trip) you would not have to use gasoline.

[txlibdem]

18. GM has already done a cross-country trek in the Volt

This was a couple of months ago, IIRC.

/edited to add:

Whoops! It's still going on now. Today is 10/30 so they should be in Orlando and Washington D.C.:

A caravan of Chevrolet Volts will embark on a 3,400-mile, cross-country drive showcasing how easy it will be to live with the world's first electric vehicle with extended-range capability.

The tour, dubbed "Volt Unplugged," will give consumers an opportunity to test-drive the Volt, meet the people behind the development of the vehicles – Chevrolet engineers, designers and others – and participate in activities at each stop.

"The Volt Unplugged tour will give people a chance to get behind the wheel of the Volt and find out for themselves what makes this vehicle so special," said Tony DiSalle, Chevrolet Volt product and marketing director. "This drive will demonstrate the one-of-a-kind capabilities of the Volt, the only electric vehicle able to drive such long distances under a variety of driving conditions and climates without having to stop to recharge."

The tour is similar to July's "Freedom Drive," where the Volt completed a three-day 1,776-mile drive from Austin, Texas to New York City to demonstrate the Volt's extended-range capability. Stops on the Volt Unplugged tour include... (then they list the dates and cities -- read the whole article!)

http://www.autotalk.com/cross-country-drive-brings-the-chevrolet-volt-directly-to-consumers-6574/

Let me just add the same thing I always say about the Volt. It is a great car! This is the car that GM should have come out with immediately after crushing all the EV-1's if they had any intention of staying in the EV business at the time. Ok, ok. Technically the Volt is NOT an EV because the gasoline engine does engage to help push the vehicle along under certain situations so technically it is a plug-in hybrid (I call it a hybrid plug-in hybrid, just as a lark).

The Volt is a game changing vehicle with amazing technology and GM has the potential for winning the hybrid market race with this vehicle. That being said, my usual criticism is that GM is not making enough of them! In order to bring costs down they need to get production over 100,000 to 200,000 -- like Nissan is doing with the Leaf. GM could easily adapt the technology in the Volt to every vehicle they produce: they could be the world's only "hybrid plug-in hybrid only" auto maker. I know that'll never happen, but they should darn well capitalize on the amazing technology that goes in the Volt.

Personally, however, I have a down payment on a Leaf and hope to see one in my driveway by the end of 2011 (Dallas is not on the list of the first cities to get the Leaf). My reason is that the Leaf is a true electric vehicle. I've purchased my last gas burning vehicle, as I often say, and it has 70,000 miles on it so it will last quite a few more years. I just know my wife is going to steal the Leaf for her (longer) commute. There might be a race for the car keys every morning!
:peace:

[madokie]

11. I would think that as long as you kept putting fuel in the tank you could go on forever

never have to plug it in if you'd want to not.

[mucifer]

4. I've been hearing that they lied about the mpg and that it really only gets 40mpg

if you need to do a lot of driving. (I do home health nursing so lots of driving.) I like my 2007 prius that gets me 46mpg city/highway combined. Unless you use solar or wind power to recharge priuses are probably cleaner. Of course, the prius could go out of control and barrel into a brick wall.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101012/CARREVIEWS/101019965

[jpak]

6. Yeah - Toyota and Nissan do not like the Volt

nope

:D

[mucifer]

7. But, if I drive a lot for work why spend the money for 38mpg?

[jpak]

8. Then you would not be buying an electric car in the first place

as there are none that have an all-electric range of more than 60 miles.

[Nederland]

19. Well, there IS the 200+ mile range Tesla Roadster...

...but who can afford the 110k price tag? Plus, its just a two seater with very little cargo space.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. People who drive a lot could use a diesel: 94.2 mpg (British), extra urban

http://www.carpages.co.uk/guide/skoda/skoda-fabia-estate-greenline-ii-1.2-tdi-cr.asp

That's 78.5mpg in US gallons. Yes, that's one of the most economical diesels on sale in Britain (only Smart cars beat it, and they are really small), but if you need something a little bigger, there's the Volvo V50:

http://www.carpages.co.uk/guide/volvo/volvo-v50-drive-%28109ps%29-se-lux-start-stop-5dr.asp

83.1mpg British (extra urban) = 69 mpg US. The easiest way to improve overall fuel economy in the US would be to encourage more diesel cars.

[kristopher]

15. Solutions need to be evaluted by several yardsticks.

I'm not saying that promoting diesel would be a bad thing; but it seemed like a good opportunity to explore how we need to look at the competing solutions to energy issues. As a society we can both walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, but there really is a limited amount of money that governments can channel to the problems of society; so it is always good to examine solutions in a manner that establishes a hierarchy of effectiveness.

I know from your contributions that you realize it is important to focus on the larger picture and that you appreciate accuracy. With the points below in mind (and any others you can think of) where would you focus policy support? I'm not suggesting you provide specific answers, but if you could share your perspective on how the process of evaluation should be accomplished it would be great.

Some randomly selected points:
What would be the cost of retooling factories for production of diesel?

Diesel isn't a popular engine choice for most people because of the noise; should public money be spent solving problems like that and promoting the technology to the public?

What do we actually get for those investments - how big is the "those who drive a lot" sector?

What is the impact of diesel on the energy security issue?

What is the impact of diesel on particulate emissions related health problems?

How sustainable is diesel as a solution?

Would we be better off encouraging diesel for those who drive a lot or would it be better to just focus on expanding the range of electric drive so that we arrive at more broad based solution earlier?

Should the promise of biodiesel influence the evaluation?

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Some replies:

What would be the cost of retooling factories for production of diesel?
I wouldn't see this as a sudden replacement of all manufacture of gasoline engines with diesel. I think all major manufacturers have diesels that they make somewhere in the world for use in other markets; they can import them at first, and if the market is there in the States, it'll be worth setting up to make them in the States too. But I think the availability of pumps for normal cars may be a barrier to adoption - ideally, a subsidy might be available to get them into most filling stations (heh, I'd like to see BP pay for it as a fine for the Gulf screw-up, but that's more likely a dream than a possibility).

Diesel isn't a popular engine choice for most people because of the noise; should public money be spent solving problems like that and promoting the technology to the public?
I don't think noise is a problem, so I don't think it needs work; I suspect many Americans haven't travelled in a modern diesel-powered car. You can tell the difference if you're outside the car when it starts, and inside if you listen carefully. After that, the noise level and type is the same as a gasoline engine.

What do we actually get for those investments - how big is the "those who drive a lot" sector?
well, it's people who want better mileage than 38mpg, but more range than an all-electric car gives you at present. It's a sizeable market, I think. After all, about half the cars in Europe are diesel.

What is the impact of diesel on the energy security issue?
Not much, I think; there's a small amount of trading between Europe and the US to balance up the amount of gasoline and diesel their refineries produce, I believe, that might change. The main impact would just be a decrease in the total crude oil used. It's not a long-term solution; but it's easier to implement quickly than electric cars, or a good enough public transport network that many people would give up owning a car.

What is the impact of diesel on particulate emissions related health problems?
I don't know. I'm not aware of bigger health problems in Europe than the US because of diesels, however.

How sustainable is diesel as a solution?
No more than gasoline, except using a bit less will help.

Would we be better off encouraging diesel for those who drive a lot or would it be better to just focus on expanding the range of electric drive so that we arrive at more broad based solution earlier?
Diesel engines are ready and waiting; the number of pumps is the barrier to adoption, as far as I can see. It's a matter of encouraging or subsidizing their installation, I think. Technical development of electric vehicle power should continue. The shift to diesel is a trivial one for each individual, and far easier for manufacturing - it's another engine in the range, with slightly different 'peripherals', but the car is largely the same as the gasoline model, and can be built on the same lines.

Should the promise of biodiesel influence the evaluation?
It is a plus for diesel engines; it may enable them to become a long term solution at a certain use level (I suspect there wouldn't be enough agricultural land to supply all the vehicles in the world at the moment, but it might be enough for public transport and freight vehicles, both small and large). Eventually, it may be more efficient to use electric power in all circumstances, but I think diesel, first from crude, and then as biodiesel, will be a significant fuel for some decades (I'd see biodiesel as very useful in developing countries where the investment in a comprehensive electrical infrastructure will take a long time).

[kristopher]

17. I mostly agree...

Yet the issue of public dislike of the noise (and smell) is pretty well established by surveys; other than that we generally agree on the specific points I threw out there.

I have to say, though, that I'm a tad disappointed that you didn't directly address my second paragraph, which was my prime reason for the post.

In the area of policy it is important to look at the indirect consequences of what we do to guide tech development and deployment. For example, diesels are generally significantly more expensive than gasoline engines and they last longer. The cost is lower than batteries at this point. Those factors have larger implications.

The policymaker views the capital investment people make in their autos as a cash stream. That cash stream can be a powerful tool for advancing technologies that are most beneficial as part of an overall strategy to solve the carbon and energy security problems. With that in mind there are almost certainly opportunity costs from diverting a significant portion of that cash stream into diesel. It is a technology that would appear to have higher short term benefits than EVs, but it will likely end up resulting in greater emissions in the long run because it slows the adoption and deployment of electric vehicles. Also remember that with vehicle-2-grid EV technology the electric auto is considered an extremely important element of the move to renewable energy sources.

My personal opinion is that no policy support should be given to either diesel or ethanol for the personal transportation sector. Both ethanol and biofuels are needed to eventually move our heavy transport and dispatchable power sector away from fossil fuels, and that alone will be enough of a challenge for those fuel-makers.

I'd hope that manufacturers would capitalize on technologies like diesel in the near term if they can base their efforts strictly on existing market advantages or policies that flow from pricing the carbon content in fuels.

[tinrobot]

12. 35-40 miles EV range, then about 36mpg after that.

If you drove 80 miles per day, you could potentially get 70+ mpg overall.

With the Volt, the further you drive, the worse the mileage gets. Something like a Prius would get better than the Volt when you drive over 120 miles per day.

[Ian David]

9. Yay!

[stevedeshazer]

10. I love it and I want to see a comparison with the Nissan Leaf all-electric

The Volt seems to have the advantage as you can't get stranded if you go too far, but the Leaf as all-electric is appealing, too.

http://electrovelocity.com/2010/10/23/the-nissan-leaf-0-60mph-in-just-7-seconds/

In Oregon, we're getting new plug-in charging stations on I-5!

42 of them within no more than 50 miles apart.

http://www.dailyrosetta.com/42-electric-cars-charging-stations-are-on-its-way-to-oregon/2440.html



15-20 minutes for a full charge.

[tinrobot]

13. There's a lot of moving parts in that thing...

A lot of things to break, plus you still gotta put oil in it, change spark plugs, get belts and stuff replaced.

Because of that, I'm still leaning towards a simple BEV like the Leaf.