Well Volt is a series hybrid which is why I said diesel would be awesome since the Volt's generator runs at an constant RPM which diesels excel at with efficiency.
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The Chevy Volt - 1 Year Verdict
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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Well Volt is a series hybrid which is why I said diesel would be awesome since the Volt's generator runs at an constant RPM which diesels excel at with efficiency.
I have been calling for a diesel hybrid for a while now. Hybrids are great in the city, while diesels are kings of the highway. The problem is that such a vehicle would be incredibly expensive. As I pointed out above, both diesels and and hybrids sticker for quite a bit more than their respective gasoline counterparts, so combining them would get expensive in a hurry.
I agree with on the Volt. Like I said before, it's really just an engineering exercise, and I hope its technology can spread across the lineup.
GM is selling the Volt over in Europe as the Ampera and down under with their Holden brand.
The US is getting another Voltec vehicle with the Cadillac ELR( though going the wrong way in the price spectrum).
Based on appearances alone, I'd rather have the Volt. I don't think electric cars need to look like regular cars if they don't have to (although it helps for the cooling system), but I really don't like the hatchback look. Can't stand it, in fact. I know it's odd, but I prefer sedans & saloons.
That and aside from the GT-R, Nissan just can't make a good looking car. They do make a fantastic V6!
The Volt is terrible looking too: One good way to destroy an otherwise good looking car is to cut the side windows below the 'beltline' such that the hood and trunk are ridiculously higher. The focus group designers (that ruined the 300C, I might add) feel that cutting the side windows below the beltline enhances visibility, and of course you really need the windshield to almost reach your forehead so you can tell if a plane is about to crash into you.
heaven forbid.
When did manufacturers give up on making a vehicle you'd be proud of owning for a reason other than the badge on the hood anyway? It seems like the main selling points these days are:
* Look how much crap we crammed into the center console!
* Look how much crap YOU can store in it!
* The cargo area makes this compact have as much interior space as a 1980's cadillac fleetwood!
* It has a 300,000 mile warranty! No.. lifetime warranty! (This is a great thing IMHO)
* It's so efficient!
Oh yes, and of course:
* It looks like a vindictive 10 year old trying to look mad. Real mad. Like .. psycho mad. I'm surprised they don't just make cars make loud growling noises and stuff. Make Jaguars that go RAAWERRR GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU NISSAN DRIVING PROLE! I"M GOING TO TAILGATE YOU AND EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!
That kinda stuff. XD
That and aside from the GT-R, Nissan just can't make a good looking car. They do make a fantastic V6!
The Volt is terrible looking too: One good way to destroy an otherwise good looking car is to cut the side windows below the 'beltline' such that the hood and trunk are ridiculously higher. The focus group designers (that ruined the 300C, I might add) feel that cutting the side windows below the beltline enhances visibility, and of course you really need the windshield to almost reach your forehead so you can tell if a plane is about to crash into you.
heaven forbid.
When did manufacturers give up on making a vehicle you'd be proud of owning for a reason other than the badge on the hood anyway? It seems like the main selling points these days are:
* Look how much crap we crammed into the center console!
* Look how much crap YOU can store in it!
* The cargo area makes this compact have as much interior space as a 1980's cadillac fleetwood!
* It has a 300,000 mile warranty! No.. lifetime warranty! (This is a great thing IMHO)
* It's so efficient!
Oh yes, and of course:
* It looks like a vindictive 10 year old trying to look mad. Real mad. Like .. psycho mad. I'm surprised they don't just make cars make loud growling noises and stuff. Make Jaguars that go RAAWERRR GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU NISSAN DRIVING PROLE! I"M GOING TO TAILGATE YOU AND EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!
That kinda stuff. XD
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LOL
just filled up the A4 and it was 1.69€/L or 6.39€/gal or 8.3USD/gal and I don't know a single person with a hybrid/electric. (and money is not an issue as most people we run with are well in the six digit incomes.)
we just don't think there's long-term value in either technology. why use electric if you have excellent public transport? why use hybrid technology if you have TDi (which do get better fuel economy without the huge investment in battery technology.)
you guys are worried about hybrids, but you don't even have proper start-stop technology on your cars yet
:facepalm:
Has anyone here actually owned/driven a Volt yet? I ask because this will be my next company car and I was wondering what people who have actually driven or owned it thought.
It will be nice to get away from a Chevy Impala, which I've been driving for the past 7 years.
It will be nice to get away from a Chevy Impala, which I've been driving for the past 7 years.
I drove a Volt and it is awesome. Having all of the torque being made the instant you press the pedal is great giving you the impression of it having more power than it does. The gas generator is quiet. You can't hear it until you mash the gas pedal which will increase the RPM to meet the demand of electricity. Sport mode is fun to drive in which makes the regen braking really aggressive. Even on low-resistance tires, the Volt is pretty fun to toss around. It isn't a sports sedan by any sort, but it isn't a dull drive like the Prius is.
Overall, I think you'll like it. The interior materials might not be there for a $40K vehicle( again the technology in it made it cost $40K and GM is either breaking even or taking a loss on it), but the two LCD screens and capacitive touch controls are huge pluses.
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Thanks for the mini review. I'm not too concerned about how dull it may drive. I've been driving an Impala. My only concern will be driving in the snow due to its low ground clearance, but I won't have to worry about that until next winter.
I haven't ordered mine yet since my current car only has 34k miles on it, but I should be able to order in the Spring.
Part of that low ground clearance is due to the front air dam being so low. GM has offered a more conventional front air dam which is not as low as the stock dam. It will probably knock your electric range down a bit, but it should do better in the snow.
I disagree. Better fuel economy is better fuel economy. A diesel parallel hybrid, which could be built and sold right now in Europe (and has in fact been prototyped), can achieve at least 15-20%+ better fuel economy (and probably significantly better than that) than the most efficient equivalent diesel. Moreover, while I concede your point about public transport, the US has nothing like the network Europe has - and never will, because of the size of the country. In addition to that, public transport is not a replacement for personal transport. The two exist together. And electric cars can fill that niche.
Ford is bringing their start-stop system to the US in the Fusion, as is Kia. Besides, it isn't as if stop-start systems are a feature that is requisite in order to deem a car efficient - besides, most cars in Europe don't have one either. it's true, such a system can deliver maybe 10% better mileage in favorable conditions, but it also wears out batteries 500% faster than normal.
There are far more people driving long distances in the US than in Europe. Fuel means something different to most Europeans than it does to Americans. I am not trying to be arrogant - quite the opposite. Americans need to wake up and realize that driving is not a given, not a right, and we are not autmoatically entitled to it. Until recently (and despite the 1970s oil embargo), Americans rarely considered fuel economy or driving habits as something they really needed to worry about. Europeans have been struggling with these issues much longer, and have also had the benefit of excellent public transportation.
I think the US should lower taxes on diesel, but I also think that a gasoline hybrid makes more sense in the US than it does in Europe, for the simple reason that the US is not Europe. The same solutions don't work with uniform effectiveness in different contexts.
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Power stations are much more efficient at converting fuel to power than ICEs are though.
I would personally need the 300 mile range Model S if I were to go the Tesla (this generation) route, then I'd have to ask very nicely if I could charge my car when I get there.
Saying that, the Tesla S does have some advantages in having no ICE. It looks very spacious yet still appears to be a very interesting car to drive. If only the one I needed didn't have a $90,000 price tag.
The Volt looks nice in a slightly boring way. The idea behind it is great though and I think it's much better than the Prius technically (and doesn't seem to have the pious holier-than-thou attachment).
Also, if you're doing under the Volt's battery range a day, you'll be sipping much less fuel than you would be in a diesel.
Price is a big issue though, as if I get a hybrid like this (really don't want a Prius), it has to be more affordable so I can get a fun car for weekends.
Yeah, because the US and Europe are exactly the same.
1) Europe is a lot more urban that most of the US, and is much smaller. Texas alone is almost double the size of Germany, and it is only one state. Many areas of the country have no or poor public transit, so people drive. Arlington, Texas, for example, has over 350,000 people and zero mass transit. Yes, our system of suburbs and lots of driving sucks, but it is what we have to deal with. Personally, I would love to be able to walk/bike/ride transit to work, but that isn't really an option.
2) Unlike most of Europe, the US government does not subsidize diesel, so it is more expensive, often anywhere from 10-20% or more. In addition, the diesel engines are an expensive option. As I pointed out earlier, it's a $5000 option on the VW Golf. Most people will gladly pay less for the vehicle and settle for "close enough". With cars such as the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, and Hyundai Elantra delivering 40mpg highway, that is close enough for most people.
3) As Blackadder pointed out, given our history any increase in MPG is a good thing. And as steviem pointed out, power stations are usually much more efficient at converting fuel to energy than an internal combustion engine.
One wonders if this is the beginning of the end...
If it is, it could set the US auto industry back years when it comes to hybrid technology. Surely GM (and to a lesser extent Congress) won't let the Volt or its technology rot on the vine the way they did with the EV1?
If it is, it could set the US auto industry back years when it comes to hybrid technology. Surely GM (and to a lesser extent Congress) won't let the Volt or its technology rot on the vine the way they did with the EV1?
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Two things are hurting the Volt which neither could be helped necessarily. The first factor is its price. Unlike Toyota with the Japanese government helping to absorb the cost of development of the Prius, GM couldn't price the Volt aggressively and take a huge loss on it. They had to price it the way it is to minimize the loss or even break even on it. The rollout wasn't the best either.
Though I think the biggest reason is it being a political football and the media( especially Fox) FUD campaign against it.
Though I think the biggest reason is it being a political football and the media( especially Fox) FUD campaign against it.
Yeah, but that wasn't my point. Toyota could sell the first Prius for $20K because they had their government helping to absorb the losses. GM doesn't so they needed to price it high.
Yeah, i was just saying because they're working with technology even more expensive and experimental than the tech in the Prius, the extra risk was there from the start.
I hope this type of hybrid doesn't get mothballed, especially US made, because it has so much potential. Pure electric for your daily commute with the range flexibility of petrol on those longer journeys is such a great thought.
Hopefully if the rest of GM does well, they'll be able to make cheaper models.
I hope this type of hybrid doesn't get mothballed, especially US made, because it has so much potential. Pure electric for your daily commute with the range flexibility of petrol on those longer journeys is such a great thought.
Hopefully if the rest of GM does well, they'll be able to make cheaper models.
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I'm rooting for the Volt.
I'm also the perfect market for a car like this, but it is just too expensive so when I recently bought a car, I did not buy one.
I live 3 miles from where I work. I take the bus or ride my bike. My wife works 8 miles away. She has to drive. An electric car would be perfect for us (one car family) but since we don't spend that much on gas as it is, the huge markup in price for the Volt is not worth it over the life of the vehicle, even after tax credits.
This will eventually go away over time, but this is the biggest problem in adoption right now, in my opinion. I WANT to buy an electric vehicle, but we don't drive enough for it to be cost effective. Even though we are the perfect profile to drive one. That's the paradox.
I'm rooting for the Volt.
I'm also the perfect market for a car like this, but it is just too expensive so when I recently bought a car, I did not buy one.
I live 3 miles from where I work. I take the bus or ride my bike. My wife works 8 miles away. She has to drive. An electric car would be perfect for us (one car family) but since we don't spend that much on gas as it is, the huge markup in price for the Volt is not worth it over the life of the vehicle, even after tax credits.
This will eventually go away over time, but this is the biggest problem in adoption right now, in my opinion. I WANT to buy an electric vehicle, but we don't drive enough for it to be cost effective. Even though we are the perfect profile to drive one. That's the paradox.
I love the idea of alternative fuel cars, but they just have to make them competitive with current technology. Several months ago I bought a Fiat 500 that gets 35mpg in town and 40mpg highway and I paid $19k for it. If you have to pay $40k for a hybrid, thats $20k of gas you have to burn through before you break even and at the 8 year point you end up with a huge battery liability...
The volt isn't a cheap econo car. It's much more refined than that. Also, with the tax incentives, this car is only 31k. A very appropriate price for it's features. Most people can commute on electric only, and only use gas for longer trips. With gas prices over $4.50gal this will save people a lot of money. If gas prices stay the same, I'll recoup my investment over a $23K car in less than 5 years. If gas prices rise (hint: they will) it'll be sooner. Also the battery has a 10yr 150,000 mi warranty. So I got till 2022 before I have to worry about buying a new one, and by then they should be cheaper and/or better.