I Was Passed High Speed By A Chevy Volt

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Driving home yesterday at my typical 5-10 MPH over interstate speed limit, I was passed effortlessly and VERY quietly by a Chevy Volt. I had yet to see one on a street so I tried to catch up but failed. It looked sharp...a dark blue almost purple color and the 5-door hatchback looks very practical.

Anyone here own one yet or know somebody that has "plugged in"?
I read all the details on price vs gas savings (pays for itself in 8 years with my type of commute). I'm more interested in if it has some "guts".
 
Electric motors have maximum torque regardless of current RPM, so passing shouldn't be a problem. Whether it pays for itself over time depends on how you factor in its roughly 40,000 price.
 

db10s

Hall of Fame
Well it isn't a bad deal considering it costs Government Motors more to produce it than they sell it for.
 

hollywood9826

Hall of Fame
A few people I know around here have gone over a months without filling the tank up. I know one person who has had for 3 motnhs and ahsnt put one gallon of gas inthe car. They drive it 8 miles to work and back. maybe stop at the grocery store. They say if you keep it under 40 miles a day you dont use any gas. I didnt ask how it affected electric bill though. Probably a little hit but not much I would imagine.
 

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
^^ "not much"!! Are you joking? One horsepower is about 746 watts, and we'll assume perhaps 150 horsepower in this vehicle, with about 3500 pounds needing to be moved. Do the math. The energy cost would not be trivial.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
When i was in Europe last week we tested an electric car for the 1st time.
They have them for rent and they are powered by solar energy at least in Denmark/Sweden.We booked and picked up + payed via cell phone.Got a code and the location in the town center and just went there and drove with it, the car park had 6 or 7 cars at that particular spot.
It was quite awesome. Total silence and smoothness.
Nissan Leaf was our choice and ride .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeXFq2OF_jA

The future is electric.
 

krz

Professional
I don't think these type electric plug in cars will really catch on, not with the time it takes to recharge.

The Honda Clarity could be the most important car we've seen since the Model T. Even though nat gas is still predominately used, there are other ways to produce hydrogen fuel without producing CO2.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
I don't think these type electric plug in cars will really catch on, not with the time it takes to recharge.

The Honda Clarity could be the most important car we've seen since the Model T. Even though nat gas is still predominately used, there are other ways to produce hydrogen fuel without producing CO2.


With the we tried you dont have that problem. So it is a winner compared to the Volt.
Summary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfjzXId4hRc&feature=related
 
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chrischris

G.O.A.T.
Topped the battery is good for 200km. Battery stations are set up, looking like car wash booths, they need under a minute to change battery at.
You simply drive in get a new load of a new powered battery and you are off again.

Thats about 4 times faster than your average gas pump time.
Faster and cheaper.

Chevy Volt arent as good yet.
 
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ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Whether electric cars catch on is unclear as yet, but if they do, we'll have another major problem to deal with. The electricity generating grid is already overstressed and new generation plants aren't being built nearly quickly enough to keep up with demand, so we have brownouts and blackouts in hot weather already.
 

mikeler

Moderator
When i was in Europe last week we tested an electric car for the 1st time.
They have them for rent and they are powered by solar energy at least in Denmark/Sweden.We booked and picked up + payed via cell phone.Got a code and the location in the town center and just went there and drove with it, the car park had 6 or 7 cars at that particular spot.
It was quite awesome. Total silence and smoothness.
Nissan Leaf was our choice and ride .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeXFq2OF_jA

The future is electric.

With the sun so low in the sky in Denmark/Sweden this time of year, I'm surprised they can generate the kind of power needed.
 

Fearsome Forehand

Professional
Was it on fire? :)

They should call it the Chevrolet Subsidy. :)

If a certain someone gets his way and electricity quadruples in price, the economics might change significantly. As well, the batteries need to be replaced at some point which costs several thousands of dollars. As well, the battery disposal probably isn't so great for the environment.

Not sure of the car's top speed while electric; it is possible the car that passed you was running its gasoline engine at that time?
 
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chrischris

G.O.A.T.
Was it on fire? :)

They should call it the Chevrolet Subsidy. :)

If a certain someone gets his way and electricity quadruples in price, the economics might change significantly. As well, the batteries need to be replaced at some point which costs several thousands of dollars. As well, the battery disposal probably isn't so great for the environment.

Not sure of the car's top speed while electric; it is possible the car that passed you was running its gasoline engine at that time?



Any big change needs inital investment.

The cost of gas isnt entirely without subsidy either.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
With the sun so low in the sky in Denmark/Sweden this time of year, I'm surprised they can generate the kind of power needed.

Oh the Germans... :
In Germany they have car companies doing electic cars now that have a 450km range on a toped up battery. Lithium Polymer battery , lightweight and small so called Kolibri batteries. You dont lose baggage. Not bad .
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
If we dont adapt to smarter cars and use innovation to propel the economy by manufacture here at home we may have to close Detroit in the future for good.

The Volt vs Leaf vs German Audi says a lot already.
 

hollywood9826

Hall of Fame
^^ "not much"!! Are you joking? One horsepower is about 746 watts, and we'll assume perhaps 150 horsepower in this vehicle, with about 3500 pounds needing to be moved. Do the math. The energy cost would not be trivial.

OK Ill play this game

The Epa estimates the volt getting 100 miles on 36 KWH, electricty cost in my area is 13.757 cents per KWH it would take 360 KWH to drive 1000 miles it would cost 49.53 in energry. Off peak right now 9PM to 7AM costs 8.028 cents per KWH so that would cost a tad under 29 bucks a month.


Lest say a Pruis gets 50 miles per gallon. To drive 1000 miles you need 20 gallons of gas at 3.85 a gallon around here would cost about 77 bucks in a prius to go 100 miles.


I guess 30-50 bucks a month isnt trivial. But in the grand scheme it still aint much.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
thus far the German offering looks better for various reasons.

Yes , Audi ist sehr gut und vielleicht sind sie hier dass beste wahl.

I like the flexiblity of the Renault /Nissan cars though , the CEO of Betterplace Mr. Agassi has a great return of service to offer.
 

NiteFly

Rookie
I have owned a Volt since April. 10,500 miles driven on approx. 47 gallons of gas. My electric bill has gone up around $50 a month but electricity is expensive in my area. My wife typically drives to and from work with no gas used and we just plug in over night. The 220v charger gives you about 10 miles of range per hour that it is plugged in. I love the car and it is fun to drive! I would recommend a test drive to anyone considering looking for a fuel efficient vehicle.
 

hollywood9826

Hall of Fame
I have owned a Volt since April. 10,500 miles driven on approx. 47 gallons of gas. My electric bill has gone up around $50 a month but electricity is expensive in my area. My wife typically drives to and from work with no gas used and we just plug in over night. The 220v charger gives you about 10 miles of range per hour that it is plugged in. I love the car and it is fun to drive! I would recommend a test drive to anyone considering looking for a fuel efficient vehicle.

So in 7 months you have spent about 200 bucks in gas and 350 bucks extra in electricty. To go 10K miles you have spent 550 bucks in fuel.

Not bad.

Does it got more power than your Stratus?
 

FloridaAG

Hall of Fame
We were given a loaner of this car. It has plenty of power although feels sluggish compared to the Japanese cars I usually drive. It was surprisingly nice though. The trick with this is that you can only go like 30 miles (maybe 60, I forget) on the electric charge only without recharging so the distance you drive regularly plays a major role as to whether these plug-ins will be useful for you.
 

NiteFly

Rookie
So in 7 months you have spent about 200 bucks in gas and 350 bucks extra in electricty. To go 10K miles you have spent 550 bucks in fuel.

Not bad.

Does it got more power than your Stratus?

Straight up horsepower, probably not. However, if you put the Volt in Sport mode you will have fun blowing the doors off people off the line! It's not great for battery usage though. All Sport mode really does is make the accelerator more sensitive, but it feels very different to drive that way. Acceleration for passing is also better than any car I've owned, but I've never owned a real sports car. So, acceleration is much better than my Stratus. I had the 6 cylinder, but I think it must be the most anemic 6 cyl ever made heh. My daughter is driving that car now, so it's held up well.

I would add that EV range in cold climates is reduced too. I get 43 miles in the summer and I only got 33 miles yesterday. So, it's a perfect car for southern California, but I would wait on battery improvements if I lived in Alaska. There are some amazing improvements coming though.

Someone mentioned that the battery will need to be replaced at some point and that is true, but 10 years from now, batteries will be much better and cost less.
 

NiteFly

Rookie
We were given a loaner of this car. It has plenty of power although feels sluggish compared to the Japanese cars I usually drive. It was surprisingly nice though. The trick with this is that you can only go like 30 miles (maybe 60, I forget) on the electric charge only without recharging so the distance you drive regularly plays a major role as to whether these plug-ins will be useful for you.

Did you try putting it in sports mode? I will also throw out that if you can work with the low mileage, the lease on these cars is an amazing deal.
 

Big_Dangerous

Talk Tennis Guru
OK Ill play this game

The Epa estimates the volt getting 100 miles on 36 KWH, electricty cost in my area is 13.757 cents per KWH it would take 360 KWH to drive 1000 miles it would cost 49.53 in energry. Off peak right now 9PM to 7AM costs 8.028 cents per KWH so that would cost a tad under 29 bucks a month.


Lest say a Pruis gets 50 miles per gallon. To drive 1000 miles you need 20 gallons of gas at 3.85 a gallon around here would cost about 77 bucks in a prius to go 100 miles.


I guess 30-50 bucks a month isnt trivial. But in the grand scheme it still aint much.

That's about what I spend on gas for my car each month.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
In Denmark you can now rent an electrical car for less than a gas car. They are all energized by wind/geo or sun, so thats a clean deal.
What car rental companies do you think will be first to follow in North America?
 

krz

Professional
Straight up horsepower, probably not. However, if you put the Volt in Sport mode you will have fun blowing the doors off people off the line! It's not great for battery usage though. All Sport mode really does is make the accelerator more sensitive, but it feels very different to drive that way. Acceleration for passing is also better than any car I've owned, but I've never owned a real sports car. So, acceleration is much better than my Stratus. I had the 6 cylinder, but I think it must be the most anemic 6 cyl ever made heh. My daughter is driving that car now, so it's held up well.

773px-LEAF_Dyno_Test.jpg


This is a Leaf but, I'd imagine other electric cars are similar. Power across the whole rpm range. Impressive.
 
What U.S. car rental company will do this? None for quite some time. The reason being that people generally rent cars when they are away from home, so they're less able to charge a battery if they're staying at, say, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, than if they're in their own garage. Considerable infrastructure would need to be in place before U.S. rentals can do this. More logical early applications would be fleet vehicles that always spend the night in the same location and don't have far to go, like postal and delivery vehicles.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
What U.S. car rental company will do this? None for quite some time. The reason being that people generally rent cars when they are away from home, so they're less able to charge a battery if they're staying at, say, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, than if they're in their own garage. Considerable infrastructure would need to be in place before U.S. rentals can do this. More logical early applications would be fleet vehicles that always spend the night in the same location and don't have far to go, like postal and delivery vehicles.

Ok, i agree about posta and delivery and local buses but i think you are maybe missing a point here. For there is a market for cities here. The mileage range of a Leaf does satisfy quite a lot that rent a car and to put up loading stations in a hoel parking area isnt that hard at all.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
^ Been in any urban parking garages? Cars are moved around and shuffled constantly.

This isnt rocket science. You just assign certain areas for electric cars where the cables and outlets and sockets are and have the others for gas cars.

In Europe, they are also promoting use of electric cars by waiving parking fees in urban areas. That way there are incentives outside of the saving by using cheap electricity instead of expensive gas or diesel.
The money you take home in savings over time is quite likely going to increase more and more.
 
With the sun so low in the sky in Denmark/Sweden this time of year, I'm surprised they can generate the kind of power needed.

I think here its either solar powered or made from "green" electricity. An electric company in the city I live in runs a fleet of these as rentals with charging stations popping up here and there. They have a solar charging station close to my school, and I think it's powered by normal electricity at this time of year to supplement the lack of sufficient sunlight.

Personally, I think electric cars are stupid. Hydrogen is the way to go as it's abundant and infinitely renewable. That battery replacement thing seems proprietary and would cost far too much to be practical in any way.
 
Damned hippie, communist, Muslim, tree huggers. Volt driver was probably racing to pick up more Illegal Mexicans so that they can steal more of our jobs.

You tell a real American by the domestic trucks they drive. Why drive a truck? You have to be prepare to bring guns and ammo to the border to defend America.

They stole the election, time to take our country back.

Rise! Rise! the Fallen will Rise!
 

krz

Professional
Electric "cars" are for tree-hugging wussy hipsters. Real men drive V8s.

Damned hippie, communist, Muslim, tree huggers. Volt driver was probably racing to pick up more Illegal Mexicans so that they can steal more of our jobs.

You tell a real American by the domestic trucks they drive. Why drive a truck? You have to be prepare to bring guns and ammo to the border to defend America.

They stole the election, time to take our country back.

Rise! Rise! the Fallen will Rise!

images
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
Hydrogen is kinda explosive, isnt it?
Car bombs at large? or how does it become an attractive and safe idea for cars to use as fuel as opposed to clean electricity?
 

krz

Professional
Hydrogen is kinda explosive, isnt it?
Car bombs at large? or how does it become an attractive and safe idea for cars to use as fuel as opposed to clean electricity?

Yes, it is explosive but, so is gasoline. I figure if terrorist were going to be making car bombs at large they would already be doing that.

Hydrogen is combustible in air only within a narrow range. If there were a leak it would dissipate very quickly into the atmosphere without issue.

Given that a hydrogen cars use electric not combustion engines, unless people were lighting matches and poking holes in tanks I don't think explosions are too much of an issue.

However, the pitfalls for both cars are more or less the same. In the end they both rely on electricity that is most likely produced from burning fossil fuels. Whether it be electrolysis or plugging in the battery.

Although, I saw you posted earlier that there is a car that takes a minute to recharge but, never posted the name of the car. Though you did post a link to the leaf vs volt both of which certainly take more than a couple minutes to charge.
 
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dParis

Hall of Fame
Damned hippie, communist, Muslim, tree huggers. Volt driver was probably racing to pick up more Illegal Mexicans so that they can steal more of our jobs.

You tell a real American by the domestic trucks they drive. Why drive a truck? You have to be prepare to bring guns and ammo to the border to defend America.

They stole the election, time to take our country back.

Rise! Rise! the Fallen will Rise!

You know there's help out there for people like you. Wait... No, there isn't. Nevermind.
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
Yes, it is explosive but, so is gasoline. I figure if terrorist were going to be making car bombs at large they would already be doing that.

Hydrogen is combustible in air only within a narrow range. If there were a leak it would dissipate very quickly into the atmosphere without issue.

Given that a hydrogen cars use electric not combustion engines, unless people were lighting matches and poking holes in tanks I don't think explosions are too much of an issue.

However, the pitfalls for both cars are more or less the same. In the end they both rely on electricity that is most likely produced from burning fossil fuels. Whether it be electrolysis or plugging in the battery.

Although, I saw you posted earlier that there is a car that takes a minute to recharge but, never posted the name of the car. Though you did post a link to the leaf vs volt both of which certainly take more than a couple minutes to charge.


Ok, thanks for your thoughts and views ..
The car that has interchangable batteries as its forte is what you are thinking of i believe.
Thats the key strength of the Renault ZE cars,they work with Nissan. see
www.betterplace.com

they have a very extensive website incl showing the way the cars are in use + change of battery .
 
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