Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!

[dieselbenz]

Originally Posted by *************

You guys sure have worked hard to defend this vehicle, yet I can't remember, but why would you pay at least $32K for a Prius like vehicle that can run in purely electric mode for between 25-50 miles and gets only between 30-50mpg when it runs in charge sustaining mode with the gasoline engine? I'm very skeptical over the volt's range as running the heater in the winter is going to either run the gasoline engine (therefore not a pure EV) or it's going to suck the batteries dry VERY quickly. If the Volt had cost the price that it does now or less but had a 100 mile range, I wouldn't be so quick to criticize because then I could be rest assured that for the great majority of the time, the gasoline engine would not come on. A trip that is more than 100 miles would definitely fill the bill as an uncommon occurrence. However, with an official range of 40 miles that can and will degrade depending on age of the batteries, driving conditions, accessories, etc., the claim that this vehicle will be mostly an electric is false.

You'd be buying an electric vehicle mostly for two reasons: The novelty of having an electric vehicle and for the environment... However, the second point isn't valid for the majority of the country thanks to the usage of coal. This vehicle would be a horrible fleet vehicle, yet I have a bad feeling it may be used just for that purpose in which case, the fuel economy of its gasoline engine WOULD matter. We don't know the price point of the Plug-in Prius but I'm pretty certain it will be less than the Volt. The range should be less in the Plug-in Prius, but the environmental impact will be less, for the majority of people thanks to the fact that 50mpg with gasoline means less emissions than 100% pure EV mode being charged by a coal power plant. However, if you're one of the lucky saps that has "clean power" (natural gas)/(hydro), then you probably live in a part of the country that can be both hot and cold, is mountainous, like in California or very hot like in Arizona.

So, if you're an environmentalist in CA or AZ, then your estimated range should be substantially reduced, and will get worse over time. If you're an environmentalist in the middle of the country or on the east coast, then the argument of being a purely EV or mostly EV vehicle being "green" is invalid thanks to the dirty power that the majority of the country has. (coal)

Also, you can't possibly be buying this vehicle for economical purposes because it's so much more expensive than a Prius and is completely unsuitable as a fleet vehicle. A common argument against the Prius is that it's not economical over that of a non hybrid because of its price premium except when used as a high mileage fleet vehicle. (Taxis, delivery, courier, etc.) The Volt however is NEVER more economical in any scenario because you couldn't put enough miles onto the vehicle in EV mode in order to take advantage of the cheaper energy used to power the vehicle.

As for novelty, if I wanted a "novel vehicle", I'd get the Nissan Leaf or the Ford Focus EV, at least that way you'd have a purely electric vehicle with somewhat acceptable range and a much lower price tag.

Feel free to not buy a volt. The rest of the world will turn it into a sales success, over time more and more cars will adopt the volt's drive train arrangement. Version 2, 3, 4... of the drive train will become cheaper, faster, lighter, more efficient as more and more people buy the car. But don't worry. You can stick to your guns all the way through that. After all, this is really about you now isn't it?