Anyone Own a Chevy Volt?

[Cinderpath]

Ok, I'm with you on most of your list there.... it's these two that I think are overplayed if not grossly misrepresented.

regarding #3, It's my understanding much of what goes into the battery is sourced from places like China. Simply trading one hostile regime for another is not much of a difference. I mean all China need do to cripple the Battery industry is to restrict access to it's lithium. Of course, the Obama Administration is pushing to invest in Lithium Mining here, but that is big gubmint mulsin, kenyan, marxist solcialism and it's likely not going to happen.

Regarding #6, What are we doing with the discharged and no longer usable batteries? What is the environmental cost of mining all the raw materials that go into the battery in the first place? Seems like everytime we get a magic bullet...Corn ethanol for example... we find it's 10x worse when you factor in all the crap that has to happen to make it.

There is an interesting program to use used batteries, which by the end of their life cycle would have greater than 50% charge capacity left, to use them as capacitor banks, which is a brilliant idea. Think about storing wind/solar energy, to create a "Base load". As well, the materials can be recycled. As for the Chinese, they just beat us at our own game, and we as sucker consumers think we are "Saving", by shopping at WalMart. The largest lithium producers are ironically Chile. Hardly a foe.

[Wesley Mouch]

I posted this on another site where some people were asking me about my decision to go for the Volt, which repeats some of what I wrote earlier, but this summates my thoughts on the subject:

1: Engineering
2: Support
3: Energy Security
4: Economics
5: Economics-2
5: Incentives: right now DTE will install a 240v fast charger
6: Environmental impact
7: Most importantly, sheer driving pleasure.
<trimmed and snipped a lot>

Like all things in life: YMMV, or now your range may vary....

Great to hear your story.

Too many people here looking for problems, instead of seeing opportunities to overcome them. Sure, there are issue w/ electric cars. American can stay great if it solves them, rather than running away from challenges.

[Detroitej72]

On a side note, I heard recently that GM is close to having a battery that runs for 100 miles before needing to be charged. With gas prices getting out of control, I wonder how many more folks will consider an electric car. Also, what is the cost to charge the car versus the cost for gas?

[MaxSpeed]

I work at the Volt battery plant. You guys would not believe how well those battery packs are made, so many quality checks.... Prius is a junk compared to the Volt. My friend owned the Prius before purchasing Volt. He put on 20.000 miles last year while visiting the gas station about once every 3 weeks. As much I like petrol engines [[sound of high performance models), for daily used car this is the future. I driven one and believe me my next car is the Volt. I strongly recomend taking this baby for a test drive

[SlipperyPencil]

Automotive columnist Eric Peters has a couple dozen columns lambasting the Volt. Here's some of his more recent ones. You can google his name & Volt for more.

http://ericpetersautos.com/2012/03/0...th-the-fishes/

http://ericpetersautos.com/2011/11/22/2012-chevy-volt/

http://ericpetersautos.com/2012/01/1...to-save-money/

http://ericpetersautos.com/2012/03/2...ing-it-up-too/

http://ericpetersautos.com/2011/08/2...lectric-edsel/

Criticisms include the price, the mileage nowhere close to advertised, the fact that the average user will never recoup the hefty price in gas savings. A Prius supposedly has the same ecological footprint as a Hummer. I'm assuming the Volt is similar, thus negating any "green" aspect of the car.

[Cinderpath]

Automotive columnist Eric Peters has a couple dozen columns lambasting the Volt. Here's some of his more recent ones. You can google his name & Volt for more.
Criticisms include the price, the mileage nowhere close to advertised, the fact that the average user will never recoup the hefty price in gas savings

Having never heard of this guy before I took a look at his site. It appears he is a car review/political hack who announces his libertarian views, [[But really is just another conservative with political links posted on his site). So right out of the gate we know he has a political ax to grind, so its a bit hard to take anything this guy writes as being objective.

He has several rants about the evils/problems, etc of auto electrification. Perhaps BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, GM. VW, Ford, Honda, Renault-Nissan and many others who all are pursuing electric propulsion and spending billions of R&D on it, know something he doesn't? And no its not a socialist conspiracy, its market economics, pointing to the obvious facts that global oil demand will soon exceed supply for the masses.

Topping it off, he has the usual nutwad links about how the government is going to come after your guns, where to buy emergency food rations when the impeding revolution takes place, etc. Yawn. Then a bunch of reviews of boring Asian cars, how it sucks to pay taxes, etc.

While I realize you may have posted this for honest intentions, and contrarian views are always good, sources from such types of people, do little to advance the cause of bringing the auto into the 21st century. Although he reluctantly admits about the Volt: "It is, no doubt about it, a brilliant piece of engineering". It is. And it is made here in Detroit.

[oladub]

My son took delivery of a Volt this weekend. He leased it for two years. There is a non-refundable $3,000 up front plus monthly payments of $179/month for 20,000 miles of usage. We calculated that with reduced fuel costs, this will amount to a rental cost of about $220/month not including sales tax and insurance premiums. This seems like a better deal than purchasing a Volt because low interest rates are built into the two year agreement, it's new so there are no repairs, replacing the battery is GM's problem. Also, should gas or interest rates go up, the lessee is protected for two years. Where my son lives, he can buy electricity for four cents per kw at night if he pays more during the day.

On his first trip out of town, his Volt went 48 miles before the motor kicked in.

My review: Adequate headroom, flashy dashboard displays with too much info, good pickup speed, liked the hatchback, easy charging with 120 cord that can be set at different charging rates, ordinary interior, and quiet except for road noises.

Two possible safety hazards: The Volt gets a full five star safety rating. That said, I noticed my son, the driver, spending too much time watching the dashboards instead of the road. I hope that tendency will decline as he gets used to the car. Also, I was standing a couple of feet away when it started moving catching me unaware. It is totally silent at slow speeds which might result in parking lot accidents, people walking in front of the car, etc. The federal government is requiring some sound requirement in the future to prevent this.

Also, if your loved one comes to visit you with his/her Volt, expect to be providing some free electricity.

[gnome]

O.D.- does your son have another car in the event the 10K a year doesn't cover all of his miles? This was an issue for my bride. Over the last few years she has driven - on average - a hair more than 13k per yr.

The display is also a concern for her. The darn thing is too busy. Too heavy on touch screen technology. I prefer overly simple buttons and settings. Fancy means confused fumbling especially at 75mph

[oladub]

gnome, They do have a used Century. My son's commute to work will use up 5,000 miles/year on the Volt. The other 5,000 will be used mostly around town. The other car will be used for her commute to work, long trips, and everything else above 10,000 miles. He came out my way to see how many miles the battery was good for and test the engine. The Century will be for her commute to work, long trips, and everything else.

Yes, the displays are fun for nerds but are too distracting.