Chevy Volt: Remember this piece of crap car all over the media?

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Spicedaddy

Platinum Member
Apr 18, 2002
2,305
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For the price of a Volt you could get a Leaf and a used Altima for long trips.

Volt makes no sense.
 

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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The only place the Chevy Volt makes sense to me is if you live 5 miles from work and all your local shops and stores are also within a 5 mile drive. If your total driving in a day is < 30 miles then it might be better in the long run.

Drive to work, plug it in, drive home. plug it in. Seems like you could live farther than 5 miles from work.

Probably more like 20-30 miles each way, which covers a lot of people.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
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The only place the Chevy Volt makes sense to me is if you live 5 miles from work and all your local shops and stores are also within a 5 mile drive. If your total driving in a day is < 30 miles then it might be better in the long run.
If you drive that little, though, it's especially bad because you'd not be paying a ton for gas in a non EV or hybrid.
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,005
111
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Quit worrying about saving money. You don't spend $20k+ a car to save money. You buy a $500 geo metro. These things are about the cool/hip factor.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
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Drive to work, plug it in, drive home. plug it in. Seems like you could live farther than 5 miles from work.

Probably more like 20-30 miles each way, which covers a lot of people.

Still cheaper overall to get a Cruze or other such vehicle and pay for the gas, unless you keep the Volt for a very long time.

Heck, even a Fusion Hybrid is quite a bit cheaper.

Gasoline would have to go a lot higher to get the economic case to make sense for folks of modest means.

Wealthy and trendy folks don't care, naturally. It's a shame that the Volt really only fits in such a niche.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
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Quit worrying about saving money. You don't spend $20k+ a car to save money. You buy a $500 geo metro. These things are about the cool/hip factor.
"boss I can't come in to work today... again... piece of fuck geo metro broke down AGAIN"

My friend was getting ass raped by his chevy blazer. The thing fucks up and doesn't work, it gets towed to a mechanic, he misses 2 or 3 days of work and needs to pay for the repairs as well. Being that guy who misses a day of work here and there also makes you the one more likely to get fired when the company needs to cut staff.
 

PlasmaBomb

Lifer
Nov 19, 2004
11,636
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But the volt will see more cycles, too. If 30 miles is one full discharge/recharge cycle on the Volt it's only half of one or less on the Leaf. Among other things batteries are cycle limited.

The question is how far does the Leaf drain it's batteries - the Volt typically runs the batteries between 25% and 90% (Link) for 10.4kW of power.

The Leaf seems to potentially use it's batteries from 0-100%. They are rated at 24kW, and take 8 hours to charge using its internal 3.3kW charger (when plugged into a 30 amp 240V socket). This is mirrored by the press releases stating - Total capacity (kWh): 24

Completely charging the batteries and potentially completely discharging them is harsher on them than running them at 25 - 90%.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
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The question is how far does the Leaf drain it's batteries - the Volt typically runs the batteries between 25% and 90% (Link) for 10.4kW of power.

The Leaf seems to potentially use it's batteries from 0-100%. They are rated at 24kW, and take 8 hours to charge using its internal 3.3kW charger (when plugged into a 30 amp 240V socket). This is mirrored by the press releases stating - Total capacity (kWh): 24

Completely charging the batteries and potentially completely discharging them is harsher on them than running them at 25 - 90%.

On the other hand, the Volt (and Leaf) is thus carrying a much bigger battery around than it's actually using. This is partly for battery life, and partly to get the tax credit for having a bigger battery. The bigger the battery you haul around, the higher the tax credit, up to the $7500 limit.

It may be that the Volt could do better on gas with a smaller and lighter battery.

It's pretty much standard to keep the battery in the mid-range to extend it's life, though.

It's also standard that the fast charge and fast discharge both shorten battery life. If you consistently use the faster charge rates, you can expect shorter life, and if you use the ultra fast charge rates, you can expect significantly shorter life.

Of course, if GM can convince you to lease a Volt, the leasing company can claim the tax credit...
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,005
111
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"boss I can't come in to work today... again... piece of fuck geo metro broke down AGAIN"

My friend was getting ass raped by his chevy blazer. The thing fucks up and doesn't work, it gets towed to a mechanic, he misses 2 or 3 days of work and needs to pay for the repairs as well. Being that guy who misses a day of work here and there also makes you the one more likely to get fired when the company needs to cut staff.

Even my hick town has these things called taxis, friends, and rentals. The point was you don't save money by buying a very expensive new car when you can buy a good used car. You buy the new car because it is cool to have a new car. New cars break down too.
 

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
13,293
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Still cheaper overall to get a Cruze or other such vehicle and pay for the gas, unless you keep the Volt for a very long time.

Heck, even a Fusion Hybrid is quite a bit cheaper.

Gasoline would have to go a lot higher to get the economic case to make sense for folks of modest means.

Wealthy and trendy folks don't care, naturally. It's a shame that the Volt really only fits in such a niche.

So ? I didn't say it was cheaper, just that it can go farther than 5 miles to work.

Really no way to know that a Cruze is cheaper without knowing resale value.

If you're really worried about cost, get a 5 to 10 year old car that gets 35 mpg. Like a Focus.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
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Even my hick town has these things called taxis, friends, and rentals. The point was you don't save money by buying a very expensive new car when you can buy a good used car. You buy the new car because it is cool to have a new car. New cars break down too.
Taking a 40 mile cab ride to work then a 40 mile cab ride home. Yeah that won't be expensive or anything :rolleyes:

In my city, a 10 mile cab ride from downtown to my house costs about $30 plus tip, and that's with no traffic at 3am. During rush hour, you're looking at roughly $100 in each direction.

No my friends will not skip work just to give me a ride. Are all of your friends unemployed or something?
 

desy

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2000
5,442
211
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80 mile commute? Driving a Blazer in Canada? He could have two cars and never have to have a breakdown just for what he'd spend in gas in a SUV. If he can afford that much fuel and DOESN"T want to get fired or laid off then he'd eat the cost of a cab, if he is so socially disfunctional he can't find anybody going his direction near him. . . .
Choices my friend choices
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
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80 mile commute? Driving a Blazer in Canada? He could have two cars and never have to have a breakdown just for what he'd spend in gas in a SUV. If he can afford that much fuel and DOESN"T want to get fired or laid off then he'd eat the cost of a cab, if he is so socially disfunctional he can't find anybody going his direction near him. . . .
Choices my friend choices
80 miles per day is very common for people who drive to work. While my work was located on the opposite end of the city, my commute was 60 miles (30 each direction) and that was all within the same city. People out in the suburbs were looking at 70, 80, 90 miles per day. LOTS of people in AT Garage easily do 80 miles per day.

80 miles per day, 5 days per week, every week works out to about 21k miles per year.
 

desy

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2000
5,442
211
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Still a choice isn't it? Where he lives, what he drives, where he works . . . .
 
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ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
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Still a choice isn't it?

In Canada it is. From the education thread, our American ATOTers said they lived in the suburbs because it was the only way their kid would get a good public education D:
Living in the shitty industrial part of town would mean forcing your kids into ghetto schools.
 

desy

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2000
5,442
211
106
Well we weren't talking about American education we are talking about your friend.
Maybe you could hire him part time to push the Corolla around? ;-P
 

Mermaidman

Diamond Member
Sep 4, 2003
7,987
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In Canada it is. From the education thread, our American ATOTers said they lived in the suburbs because it was the only way their kid would get a good public education D:
Living in the shitty industrial part of town would mean forcing your kids into ghetto schools.

Daaaayum. The trolling in ATGarage is getting out of hand.

<---P&N
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
21
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"That&#8217;s not quite true. The gasoline engine has been found to be more than a range-extender for the battery. Volt engineers are now admitting that when the vehicle&#8217;s lithium-ion battery pack runs down and at speeds near or above 70 mph, the Volt&#8217;s gasoline engine will directly drive the front wheels along with the electric motors. That&#8217;s not charging the battery &#8212; that&#8217;s driving the car."

http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=10004

Since you were too busy to actually read your own link, I've taken the liberty of putting the information you obviously missed in bold.

Until the battery pack has run down (that is, after the ~30-mile all-battery range) the Volt is all-electric. Only AFTER the batteries have run down does the gasoline engine contribute power to the wheels and even that is only at or above 70 mph.

Critical reading fail.

ZV
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
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So ? I didn't say it was cheaper, just that it can go farther than 5 miles to work.

Really no way to know that a Cruze is cheaper without knowing resale value.

If you're really worried about cost, get a 5 to 10 year old car that gets 35 mpg. Like a Focus.

I'm talking about your average Joe who is looking to buy a new, small, fuel efficient car. Why would he buy a Volt over a Cruze or Focus?

Will he see "$7500 credit" and "230mpg" and just sign?

Will he think about it and buy one of the other choices?

He's not trendy and really has no extra money even if he were.

He could certainly buy used and get the best deal of all, but he wants a new car this time with a new car factory warranty.

Will he lease a Volt and let the tax credit go to GM? Do people even realize that the leasing company gets the tax credit?

I think it's a sure bet that your average Joe isn't going for a Leaf yet, but you never know.

I think my average Joe has to buy the Cruze or Focus or used if he thinks it through and was considering the Volt.
 

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
I'm talking about your average Joe who is looking to buy a new, small, fuel efficient car. Why would he buy a Volt over a Cruze or Focus?

Will he see "$7500 credit" and "230mpg" and just sign?

Will he think about it and buy one of the other choices?

He's not trendy and really has no extra money even if he were.

He could certainly buy used and get the best deal of all, but he wants a new car this time with a new car factory warranty.

Will he lease a Volt and let the tax credit go to GM? Do people even realize that the leasing company gets the tax credit?

I think it's a sure bet that your average Joe isn't going for a Leaf yet, but you never know.

I think my average Joe has to buy the Cruze or Focus or used if he thinks it through and was considering the Volt.

So the average Joe buys a car that is more expensive and isn't the best that suits his needs. That's been going on for decades.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
So the average Joe buys a car that is more expensive and isn't the best that suits his needs. That's been going on for decades.

Sure, except the Volt is much more expensive than better driving similar alternatives.

It's not like it's a Vette or Mustang GT, etc., that you spend too much on in a midlife crisis.