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It doesn't look like a $40,000 car. The foundation is the same as the upcoming Chevy Cruze which will start at less than half the price of the Volt. Does the battery, electric motor, and gasoline generator engine cost over $20,000 alone? There was talk of GM making a Caddy vehicle with the same powertrain of the Volt. I'd believe the $40,000 price in a similiar sized Caddy but not a Chevy. A price of about $25,000 should have been the starting price. Perhaps the Volt would be a good buy for corporate or government fleets where they can install a bank of quick charge connections for their fleet vehicles.
I like the size and features of the Volt. If it wasn't for the price, I'd consider getting the vehicle for myself. On average, I drive only 16 miles a day so this would save me money and gasoline. I would worry about the gasoline engine fouling up from not being used for so long. I'd also have to consider using fuel stablilizer especially since local station now use ethanol in gas. With how I drive and the current price of gasoline, it would take me about 64 years to recover the cost ($40,000) of the vehicle or 32 years to recover the estimated difference between the cost of a Volt and the cost of a Cruze and that's not factoring in the cost of charging and normal wear and tear parts replacement. Will it be available for lease and if so, how much?
Yeah, I said exactly what you are asking... the numbers don't "save" you any money... this car isn't meant to save you money nor does it really decrease pollution since getting parts for the battery is bad enough... it will decrease your usage of foreign oil (and that's about it)... I remember when the Volt was in the initial stages of planning, the costs were "suppose" to be around 25k... it ballooned to 41k... also keep in mind that one year it may be 40 miles on a charge, I guarantee you next year it won't be.... also the 40 miles is really "driven" in one shot... so if there is a lot of stop and go and turn off engine while u stop at the grocery store or whatever and blah blah blah, it would be considerably less....
Actually stop-and-go favors electric cars, particularly if they use regenerative braking. The best way to drop your electric range is to cruise along at a steady highway speed.
Opps... yes, the Volt uses regenerative braking but Edmunds doesn't think it will "do" much for range... "slightly" is their term... I hope u are buying for using less gas and not for "saving" any real money...
Another question is if the Volt is so good, why does the government have to kick in $7500...
You have the decimal in the wrong place. The national average is 11 cents per kwh, not 11 dollars...
The Volt will only allow a charge to 80% capacity, and the gas engine kicks on at 30% capacity, so that you can neither over charge nor overdraw the batteries, in order to proliong their life.
that means it takes 8KwH to charge. Here in Baltimore than means less than a buck to charge the car. For my weekly commute, that ends up being about a buck and a half to run per week in "fuel."
also the 40 miles is really "driven" in one shot... so if there is a lot of stop and go and turn off engine while u stop at the grocery store or whatever and blah blah blah, it would be considerably less....
Um, no, you only use electricity when you're moving, so unlike a gas engine, it isn't running when sitting at a light etc. if it's a 40 mile range, it's 40 miles of forward motion UNLESS you're using a lot of extra electricity to heat the car ro run the lights (but remember, a normal car can run the lights a LONG time on a single 12 volt lead acid battery. Imagine how long they'd last on the equivalent of 20 of those, especially whe using a lot of LED technology that uses very little power).
I don't know where you get the idea that stop and go traffic or stopping at the grocery store uses more energy. That's just silly. A golf cart doesn't use more electricity stopping at every hole than it does jsut runing around the course without stopping. If it's not moving, it's not using power.
Man, GM (and any electric car company) has a long way to go to educate the general public if this is the level of general knowlege...
Opps... yes, the Volt uses regenerative braking but Edmunds doesn't think it will "do" much for range... "slightly" is their term... I hope u are buying for using less gas and not for "saving" any real money...
You can't save money buying ANY new car. A new Prius or VW TDi gets great fuel mileage. Much better than my BMW 740iL. But I can buy a LOT of fuel on the difference in purchase price between a $25k Prius and my $7500 used BMW.
So that arguement is pointless. If you're going to buy a new car ANYHOW, then a new car that uses almost no gasoline will be more economical on fuel than a similarly equipped/priced new car that uses gasoline/diesel.
Um, no, you only use electricity when you're moving, so unlike a gas engine, it isn't running when sitting at a light etc. if it's a 40 mile range, it's 40 miles of forward motion UNLESS you're using a lot of extra electricity to heat the car ro run the lights (but remember, a normal car can run the lights a LONG time on a single 12 volt lead acid battery. Imagine how long they'd last on the equivalent of 20 of those, especially whe using a lot of LED technology that uses very little power).
I don't know where you get the idea that stop and go traffic or stopping at the grocery store uses more energy. That's just silly. A golf cart doesn't use more electricity stopping at every hole than it does jsut runing around the course without stopping. If it's not moving, it's not using power.
Man, GM (and any electric car company) has a long way to go to educate the general public if this is the level of general knowlege...
Batteries don't sit there "inert" while everything is off... the reactions are still going albeit at a slower pace... it doesn't have to move to use power, your cell phone doesn't have to be on to be drained of its power... considering how much draw the Volt will pull from the batteries for power, I say its pretty significant when you turn off your car... I made the mistake once of taking out the battery of my laptop so as to "preserve" its longevity... months later putting the battery in, its dead... even when its not being used... batteries depend on charge/discharge cycles... while the Volt is off, the batteries don't say "I'll just sit here fully charge" that isn't how things work in real life... as to the car price... buying a 40k car (the Volt) and a similar equipped car at 20k makes a BIG difference in whether you save any money... sure you can always "risk" things by buying a used car because you don't know whats happened to that car... point is buying a NEW car versus another NEW car makes a HUGE difference if they think they are going to save money from the more expensive car cause the will NOT... when you bought ur BMW, it wasn't because you were looking at prices, you were looking at "badge" and that's a different matter altogether... Point is, the Volt won't save you any money for similar equipped new car... all you did was pay for 20 years of gas upfront with the added cost, too bad the Volt battery won't even last that long...
Batteries don't sit there "inert" while everything is off... the reactions are still going albeit at a slower pace... it doesn't have to move to use power, your cell phone doesn't have to be on to be drained of its power... considering how much draw the Volt will pull from the batteries for power, I say its pretty significant when you turn off your car... I made the mistake once of taking out the battery of my laptop so as to "preserve" its longevity... months later putting the battery in, its dead... even when its not being used... batteries depend on charge/discharge cycles... while the Volt is off, the batteries don't say "I'll just sit here fully charge" that isn't how things work in real life... as to the car price... buying a 40k car (the Volt) and a similar equipped car at 20k makes a BIG difference in whether you save any money... sure you can always "risk" things by buying a used car because you don't know whats happened to that car... point is buying a NEW car versus another NEW car makes a HUGE difference if they think they are going to save money from the more expensive car cause the will NOT... when you bought ur BMW, it wasn't because you were looking at prices, you were looking at "badge" and that's a different matter altogether... Point is, the Volt won't save you any money for similar equipped new car... all you did was pay for 20 years of gas upfront with the added cost, too bad the Volt battery won't even last that long...
Energy lost during "idle" state is negligible compared to active state. Perhaps you could provide some numbers and rates concerning the dissipation and leakage of the battery power in this case, I'm interested!
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