The Chevy Volt is an Interesting Car

Who woulda thunk that the most interesting car in the world would come from GM, and a Chevy to boot. Motor Trend test drove the Volt, and liked it more than the flashy Tesla. The Volt is in fact the first practical electric vehicle, one that fits more than a niche market.

Unlike the Tesla, or the Nissan Leaf, the Volt can be driven as far as a regular car without running out of juice. It is the first true electric (vs a hybrid like the Prius that relies heavily on the gas engine) with a range extender that kicks in to recharge the battery when the all-electric driving has drained it.

The Volt is the first electric to fulfill the American dream of driving with no limits.

The trade press is wrestling with this. Is it really an electric? Or a disguised hybrid? Silly question. The allure of electrics is in normal commuting (say, 40 miles), the car can run all electric, be plugged into the grid at night, and be good to go in the morning. The Prius cannot do this; if it is lightly feathered in the morning commute, it gets perhaps 13 miles on battery and then the engine kicks in. But who does that? In everyday driving, the engine kicks in all the time. It gets over 40 mpg, but so does the new Jetta diesel with "Prius-humbling thrust". 

The Volt is designed to run 25-40 miles on batteries without needing the range extender. Motor Trend trucked around LA and got 36 miles before the range extender kicked in. The car kept going, and drove the same way, since the small engine was charging the battery, not clutched into the drive train like a hybrid. They drove 120 miles with the AC on, and even pushed the Volt to 100 miles an hour and up steep inclines. Driving hard, they got 75 mpg. Driving to and fro their office, they got 127 mpg.

They also pushed it up the mountains outside LA. Above 70 mph, the engine clutches to the drivetrtain, giving extra power.

The Volt also has a "mountain mode" to stay at a steady 70 mph on electric power and pass those annoying 18-wheelers heading up steep grades. This is especially useful when on a ski trip. 

It may not win the Indy 500, but it won't slow you down. Again, no limits.

The Volt is the best advertisement for the potential of all-electrics. The American driver has nothing to fear of an electric future. 

And none too soon, either: on the very day the Volt launched, JD Powers issued a report throwing cold water on the hot electric vehicle category, expecting them to sell poorly, especially when the subsidies run out. The Washington Post picked up the story, with an op-ed that concluded:

[T]he Obama administration's commitment of $5 billion in loans and grants for electric cars is the biggest taxpayer rip-off since corn-based ethanol. It benefits no one but a few well-to-do car buyers and politically connected companies. Any "green" jobs these rent-seeking firms create will vanish when consumers reject their products and/or the subsidies cease.

The Volt may prove JD Powers wrong, if it sells well; and even if it doesn't, this op-ed is a bit over the top. Cars are never just about the money. When I was working in LA, even the assistants and secretaries had BMWs. A car is much more than mere transport. The Volt may never have the sex appeal of a Tesla, but it says something about the driver that the comparable Chevy Cruze never could. 

Even if Volt doesn't sell well, it provides a lesson about innovation that is far more important than the car itself: 

Amidst bankruptcy, bailout, dealer triage and brand reduction, how could a ragtag team at GM pulled off the best-engineered electric to date?

The lesson is this: it was not in spite of all the turmoil, but because of it, that GM finally got freed from the hangover of Ralph Nader's Unsafe At Any Speed, a book which stifled innovation at GM for over 40 years. The real story here is a how a team unleashed from regulations, lawsuits, intimidation and public excoriation could put the US car industry back in the forefront of innovation.

In Silicon Valley, we celebrate the success of Tesla to show the world how the Silicon Valley approach can revitalize a mature industry. We know small furry mammals can run ring arounds the big dinosaurs. With the Volt, a fossilized elephant has learned how to dance. 

Motor Trend thinks it would make a great movie.

Comments

[Sobranie]

I am not impressed with Leaf or Volt yet, time will tell all.

[[email protected]]

Who killed the electric car?

here is the movie...here....enjoy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39K36Rw7LYc

[Thrill]

Does anybody know what it costs to recharge the batteries in a Volt, or Leaf, or Tesla, etc.? Electricity isn't free and I wonder if you could get a 40 mile charge for the price of a gallon of fuel ($2.85). How long will the battery pack last and how much to get a new one?

[Sobranie]

Thrill, the cost of transportation was calculated to be about 2-3cents a mile when using a "pure" electric vehicle.

[[email protected]]

Once the Model T and majority of cars ran on alcohol. Remember, the US used to be 90% farm based. Every farm had a "still" and early cars all ran on alcohol.

Rockefeller needed to end all local production of alcohol energy so he could monopolize the gas and oil business. Rockefeller funded the temperance movement, lobbied congress and was the instigator of the Prohibition Amendment.

...it's an old forgotten tale in American history.

[Neo Tzu]

Not many bears left...lowest bears since 2007...

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Edwin]

Neo,

It was the GOLDEN CROSS(SPY followed by SPX)why there are no bears left.

[Rita]

There is both a Bullish Cross and Bearish Cross on the SPY chart

One of them is lying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbGmpxGNQNE&feature=channel

[used engines]

ya buy a used engines & used engine parts from chevy or a salavage yard? Ill bet the junkyard engine is cheaper and lasts longer lol