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

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ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
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quoted for LAUGHS.

9 + 9 =18
20 + 20 = 40
40 + 18 = 58

you need to learn everything.

not to mention, outside of completely terrible math skills, you also used the City value of MPG... which highly favors the Prius... If we use COMBINED, you get 32 for the Yaris and 50 for the Prius... which i guess with your math is double...

More than 90% of Americans live in cities. The only people stuck on farms are ATOT moderators and hillbillies.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
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The Toyota Prius works exactly like the bolded part yet it seems to be remarkably efficient. The Prius has about the same power as a Yaris and it weighs as much as a Camry, but the gas mileage is twice as good as either of those.

Ideally you'll want to charge the batteries from the grid, but running like a Toyota Prius would be nice when grid power is not available.

prius has a tiny battery.
what it really gets by with is a tiny engine, 98 hp or so.
the camry has atleast 170hp~, for that performance, you pay a price.
which is why the camry hybrid also uses more gas.
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
21
81
More than 90% of Americans live in cities.

If by "more than 90%" you mean "82.3%", then sure. I could have sworn that Canadian schools taught math, but it seems I was wrong.

In any case, living "in a city" isn't synonymous with "living downtown". I live "in a city" according to the census, but the majority of my driving fits the EPA highway cycle, not the city cycle.

ZV
 
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herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,447
1,070
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i live in a city too, but i still have to drive over a mountian pass or 2 to get to anything more than a walmart.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
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You really think that this is a real concern that people have? Nobody will care.

Generally, I post my own thoughts and concerns about a given vehicle, like most people. :D

Typically, some people agree, and some disagree. Occasionally, a few folks take things personally and begin to defend an inanimate object at all costs, as if my opinions will somehow harm the object. :D

Why would I consider your concerns with my posts about the Volt? I don't care if you don't care. That doesn't affect me. I still have to deal with my own life as it comes, regardless. I still have to spend my money on some sort of car that fits for me.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
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There are 3 in the physician parking lot at my work.

Okay, but they are only on sale in a few states.

The Volt will be sold initially only in California, Washington Metropolitan Area, Michigan, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The first cars will be available in Washington D.C., the New York City metropolitan region, California, and Austin, Texas. During the first quarter of 2011 the market will expand to Michigan, the rest of Texas and to all of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The restricted roll-out is due to limited production, as GM planned production for 2011 is only 10,000 units
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
If by "more than 90%" you mean "82.3%", then sure. I could have sworn that Canadian schools taught math, but it seems I was wrong.

In any case, living "in a city" isn't synonymous with "living downtown". I live "in a city" according to the census, but the majority of my driving fits the EPA highway cycle, not the city cycle.

ZV
What part of the city do you live in?
I live in a light residential part of the city where everyone has a driveway. The large majority of my driving does not exceed 43mph (acceptable amount of speeding before cops start to give out tickets). My closest friends are about a 15 minute drive away. The majority are about a 30 minute drive. My weekends often consist of driving across town several times to meet with several friends in the same day. I almost never drive on highways. Under those driving conditions, my corolla gets 7.3L/100km or about 32mpg (US gallons), which is very close to what the car is officially rated for in Canada (official rating is 7.6L/100 or ~31mpg US).

So why did I pick the city mileage when looking at the Prius? Because last year I spent about $2000 on gasoline and almost every tank got that ~30mpg city mileage. In my city, all of my cars get city mileage. I don't live on a farm, and the stats show that most people live in a city just like I do.
If anyone cares, the Prius is rated as 63.8mpg US when driven by a Canadian in the city. toyota canada. That actually is twice as good as my Corolla's gas guzzling 30mpg US. (it says 76 on that linked site because US gallons are slightly smaller than British gallons used in Canada).
 
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Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
21
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What part of the city do you live in?

While officially in a "city" (that is, I'm part of the 82.3% of US citizens who live in an "urban area"), I live off a 55 mph two-lane highway. Barring a traffic jam on the freeway, my commute speed doesn't drop below 45 mph until the last mile from the freeway exit to my parking garage.

My point (which you have conveniently ignored entirely) is that simply because a person is classified as living in an "urban area" due to postal codes or census data does not mean that their usage patterns match the EPA city cycle test numbers. The fact that you personally happen to reasonably match the city cycle numbers does not contradict this point.

ZV
 

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
Generally, I post my own thoughts and concerns about a given vehicle, like most people. :D

Typically, some people agree, and some disagree. Occasionally, a few folks take things personally and begin to defend an inanimate object at all costs, as if my opinions will somehow harm the object. :D

Why would I consider your concerns with my posts about the Volt? I don't care if you don't care. That doesn't affect me. I still have to deal with my own life as it comes, regardless. I still have to spend my money on some sort of car that fits for me.

You're free to have your opinion. I'm free to point out that your opinion does not make any sense.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
it seems to actually draw between 12 and 14 kw to charge though (large range because i have seen 12.4 and 13.3 as numbers)

Well that would be a huge engineering failure on GM's part if true. A standard wall socket will only put out 1.8kW and that's at 100% efficiency with perfect power factor. Adding a separate 240V circuit just for the car would be an unreasonable expectation.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
You're free to have your opinion. I'm free to point out that your opinion does not make any sense.

It makes sense to me, which is all that matters. :D

If a person can want the whole car, just because, then I can want my button, just because. So there! :D
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
Well that would be a huge engineering failure on GM's part if true. A standard wall socket will only put out 1.8kW and that's at 100% efficiency with perfect power factor. Adding a separate 240V circuit just for the car would be an unreasonable expectation.

Legally, you must add a separate 240V outlet for the car for the faster charging, as far as I know.

You can plug the 120V cord in however you want. It's unwise to use an extension cord for it, though.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Legally, you must add a separate 240V outlet for the car for the faster charging, as far as I know.

You can plug the 120V cord in however you want. It's unwise to use an extension cord for it, though.
Seems like this would be the biggest thing stopping the electric car. Getting an electrician to scratch his balls is incredibly expensive, and splicing your own wires without a permit is illegal and will void your fire insurance.
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
21
81
splicing your own wires without a permit is illegal and will void your fire insurance.

Maybe in Canada, but not in the US. In the US you can run your own wiring and as long as it passes inspection you're fine. You do need an inspection (at least for new construction), but you don't need to have a certified electrician do the actual wiring. I've replaced switches and wiring many times. As long as the work is to code, it won't void insurance.

Now, if you do your own work and it's not up to code, you'll have potential insurance problems, but as long as the work is up to code, in the US it doesn't matter who does it.

ZV
 

MikeMike

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
45,885
66
91
Well that would be a huge engineering failure on GM's part if true. A standard wall socket will only put out 1.8kW and that's at 100% efficiency with perfect power factor. Adding a separate 240V circuit just for the car would be an unreasonable expectation.

ugh... i hate you...

12-14 kw is the total used by the Volt to charge... not drawn at a time...
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
ugh... i hate you...

12-14 kw is the total used by the Volt to charge... not drawn at a time...
I does not understand what means this! Are you saying it's a weighted average or something, like a bell curve flattened out?


If anyone cares, the conversion from HP to Watts is 746. 5HP generator powered by a lawn mower * 746 = 3.76kW. GM should totally use a lawn mower generator as the gen set.