The Chevy Volt

[GEJ]

Chevy is coming out with a electric car called The Volt.Due for release 2010.You know-you would think Chevy could have come up with a better name.Oh well-take a look:

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/?s ... chevy_volt

You only get 40 miles per charge and it has a back-up gas engine.Well don't think we'll see one at a NECO soon.

[astronut74]

I read somewhere, that the "backup engine" allows the car to go 600 miles on a single charge I think it carries a 12 gal tank. That equates to 50 mpg. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Considering a lot of folks don't drive 40 miles in a day, you could essentially rid yourself of a gas bill.

I've actually thought of getting another Astro and converting it to electric just for daily commuting around town.

[Cobra]

lol astro i was thinking the same thing last night thought it would be a fun project.
The chevy volt makes me sick the best they could do is 40 miles tesla motors a small company is getting over 200 miles and CHEVY a huge company can only do 40... for some reason that makes me angry..... it's like they didn't even really try to make a real vehicle only a show car

[GEJ]

Boy ant that the truth.

[mdmead]

You can hammer on GM, but they have issues Tesla doesn't.

Liability - How many people are going to be in the position to own a Tesla? Small numbers. A different kind of person. It won't be like every Tom, Dick & Harry who can buy a GM product. I'm saying GM has to worry about lawsuits more. (They have more to lose.) Tesla can push the envelope where GM has to be more reserved.

Reliability - GM owners won't put up with an undependable POS. Tesla owners again will be more forgiving as they know it isn't a mainstream vehicle.

And then let's not forget price. The Volt as I recall is supposed to come in under $40K. Tesla started out at $100K (before they hit the road) and I see now they are up to $109K.

[89AstroDan]

Make sure you read the fine print for "Batteries not included".

[GEJ]

[Cobra]

i wonder how far we could get an electric stro to go......

[astrosafari]

double post. oops

[astrosafari]

I read somewhere, that the "backup engine" allows the car to go 600 miles on a single charge I think it carries a 12 gal tank. That equates to 50 mpg. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Considering a lot of folks don't drive 40 miles in a day, you could essentially rid yourself of a gas bill.

I've actually thought of getting another Astro and converting it to electric just for daily commuting around town.

when the batteries die, and the gas motor kicks in, i heard that it recharges the electric motor while you drive. so you can run it to empty, and then how ever far you can get on the recharged battery.... 75 mpg maybe? woww. will this end up like the ev1, and just get wiped off the face of the earth one day? :p

[astronut74]

will this end up like the ev1, and just get wiped off the face of the earth one day? :p

I have a feeling when it gets released to the public, it's gonna stick around awhile, too many people are aggravated with the gas prices as of late. It is getting too expensive for some folks to have to shell out $200 a month (or more) for just gas.

[GEJ]

I read somewhere, that the "backup engine" allows the car to go 600 miles on a single charge I think it carries a 12 gal tank. That equates to 50 mpg. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Considering a lot of folks don't drive 40 miles in a day, you could essentially rid yourself of a gas bill.

I've actually thought of getting another Astro and converting it to electric just for daily commuting around town.

when the batteries die, and the gas motor kicks in, i heard that it recharges the electric motor while you drive. so you can run it to empty, and then how ever far you can get on the recharged battery.... 75 mpg maybe? woww. will this end up like the ev1, and just get wiped off the face of the earth one day? :p

Corey-the news broadcast today said once the batteries die,you have the engine as a back-up,but you have to plug it back in.

[remark123]

C'mon people. Do you really think that 40 miles on a charge is good? Or that the range, even with a small gas engine charging the battery pack is the answer? I hate to say it, but GM is doing the only thing that they can do right now, and that is that they are generating "hype" or spin! The Volt is not an answer, it is a small stepping stone. Are any of us "normal" people going to be able to afford a 40K car that will get you to the places you can walk to? The problem is the American consumer, not the companies that build the products. I know I'm going out on a limb here, but you and I have been complacent with the price of a gallon of gas for the last 30 years, it goes up, we grumble, and then we pay the price, and continue to drive all over the place, expecting that someone or something will come along and "give" us cheap fuel! Realistically, Boone Pickens' idea for wind, solar power and CNG is the "instant" answer,and that will require investment as well, not the politicians promises to drill for more oil, or make more ethanol, or any of these kinds of claims. We as Americans are famous for bitching and griping, and never doing the things that have to be done in order to to make advances. In order to save the enviornment, generate electricity, or power our gas guzzlers, we have to be willing to step up to the plate and actually pay for these changes to be made. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We have to revolutionize the use of transportation in this country, and a good way to start is to reduce our usage of fossil fuels. Remember, the big "greedy" oil companies are all about making money, that is the name of the game in capitalistic America, that is why people buy their stock and pay their CEOs so much money. The Volt is a joke as a automobile, but it is the only conceivable thing on the market right now for all consumers to look at. Down the road, you'll see more fuel cell vehicles, and more hybrids, and in the future, fission powered vehicles!
And yes, Corey, it will go the way of the EV1 someday too, maybe a little quicker than the EV1 did,too!
Tesla, shmeshla. I don't have a great deal of faith in that one either. Back at the turn of the century there were quite a few electric cars on the market, what happened to those guys? I'm all for the Volt, if you only wanna run to the grocery store or other local haunts. I defy Bob Lund to take his family and the 2 dogs on a week vacation is a Volt, though! Harsh? Yea. but I know that there are ideas out there, it's getting them to market that has to happen!

My .02 cents worth!

[astronut74]

Do you really think that 40 miles on a charge is good? Or that the range, even with a small gas engine charging the battery pack is the answer?

I never said it was good. But it is good enough for me. given the average day for me, I drive maybe 25 miles IF I'm running errands. If it's just going to work and coming home, less than 10 miles. Even if I go away for the weekend, I never go over 400 miles. I'd venture to say that many people are just like me, so there is definetly a market for it. So yes this works for me, and yes this is an answer to the problem.

I'm sure there will need to be refinements, but ya gotta start somewhere, this may just be a stepping stone as the EV1 was before it, but people do not want to be dependant on something that takes an ever increasing percentage of their pay away. I imagine many people are comfortable with paying a car payment every month and a very small gasoline bill, than having a car payment and a much larger gasoline bill.

Personally, I would like to see solar powered vehicles, that don't rely on any gasoline.

[midnighthunder89]

there are so many problems with this car i have read alot about them after hearing about it at MTU. we have the shell of an ev1 up here that sits and to be honest i like that alot better than the volt. the gas in the volt will sit there forever and i dont know how long it takes for sitting gas to mess with an engine but i am assuming not super long. give it a few years before you decide to buy. if you have money laying around and want to get rid of the gas bill http://www.teslamotors.com this is a sweet EV!