The Chevy Volt... maybe not such a great thing

[Dave]

Not exactly a glowing review of GM's prized new electric/hybrid car. It is noted at the end of the article that their studies are not complete and will keep doing their testing... but in the end I think they will find that for short trips, the Volt and other electric oriented vehicles are fine, but for any other type of driving that its just not a feasible alternative. The only electric vehicle that comes anywhere close to being a reasonable alternative is one of the Tesla vehicles that can actually go a few hundred miles on a charge. 

Biggest problem with electric oriented vehicles is the electric its self. If a majority of people got these type of vehicles, imagine what it would do to the already stressed electric grid. The killer for me is simply the recharge time... having to plug in for hours on end is simply not efficient.

 

Consumer Reports: GM's Volt 'doesn't really make a lot of sense'

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington — Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic "sense."The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover of the April issue — the influential magazine's annual survey of vehicles — but the GM vehicle comes in for criticism.

"When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy," said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. "This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer."

The magazine said in its testing in Connecticut during a harsh winter, its Volt is getting 25 to 27 miles on electric power alone.

GM spokesman Greg Martin noted that it's been an extremely harsh winter — and as a Volt driver he said he's getting 29-33 miles on electric range. But he noted that in more moderate recent weather, the range jumped to 40 miles on electric range or higher.

Champion believes a hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, may make more sense for some trips.

"If you drive about 70 miles, a Prius will actually get you more miles per gallon than the Volt does," Champion said.

But GM has noted that most Americans can avoid using gasoline for most regular commuting with the Volt, while its gasoline engine can allow the freedom to travel farther, if needed.

The magazine has put about 2,500 miles on its Volt. It paid $48,700, including a $5,000 markup by a Chevy dealer.

Champion noted the Volt is about twice as expensive as a Prius.

He was said the five hour time to recharge the Volt was "annoying" and was also critical of the power of the Volt heating system.

"You have seat heaters, which keep your body warm, but your feet get cold and your hands get cold," Champion said.

Consumer Reports will release a full road test of the Volt later this year and will update it.

Champion praised the heater on the all-electric Nissan Leaf - which Consumer Reports borrowed from the Japanese automaker -- but said it also got very short ranges in very cold weather.

On one commute, his range in a Leaf was at 43 miles when he turned onto an eight-mile stretch of highway, but it fell from 43 to 16 miles after eight miles at 70 mph.

"If it keeps on going down at this rate, will I get to work," Champion said.

Champion said in an interview he thinks the Volt "will sell the quantity that they want to sell to the people that really want it."

Despite his criticism of the Volt, Champion praised its acceleration and acknowledged that under certain driving cycles, consumers could mostly avoid using gasoline. The magazine noted the Volt is nicely equipped and has a "taut yet supple ride."

But he said there are a lot of trade-offs.

"They are going to live with the compromises the vehicle delivers," Champion said. "When you look at it from a purely logical point of view, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense."

Before Consumer Reports decides whether to recommend the Volt, it needs data from at least 100 subscribers who own one, and a year of reliability data.

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From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110228/AUTO01/102280401/Consumer-Repor...

[Sweater Cows!]

And the learning curve for working on them. Every manufacturer has different procedures for disabling the system.

With a 12V car you just unhook the batt for 10 mins and you can weld on the body, work on airbags, etc etc...With the new systems there is a lot of safety concern(who wants a 650V zap just to fix a car) along with things that can be damaged if the system is not disabled properly.

I am curious to see over the next few years as these become more prominent  how extensive of training will be available for us. There is some out there now but it is very vehicle specific, so what we get trained on for a Chev Volt does not work on a ford, Toyota, Honda etc...

[Dave]

You make an excellent point. Repairs on any of the electric oriented vehicles could become quite pricey if repair shops and dealers with garages (which is just about all of them... at least for new vehicles anyway), would have to get any number of possible training classes to be able to work on the numerous vehicles as they become available. I would imagine that the companies would prefer that only certified mechanics work on the vehicles which in turn I would imagine that it would cost a bit more to be certified.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

The average commuting distance in U.S. is 16 miles. Last time I looked at chevys own ad page on the Volt under ( ideal) conditions the volt get 40 miles before the gas engine has to work. now lets assume we live in a state north of the mason dixon line that has a real winter. That about cuts the ideal in half. Any one who works with a cordless drill can tell you the battery life for lithium ion batteries is that much lower. Also even assuming you had a place to charge the Volt while at work. As with drill batteries it can be explained that if you start a charge cycle before the battery is fully discharged its new range is based on the level at which you started the sneak charge at work.

AS another note on the irony of electric car tech. Why is the government worried about high speed rail when the same amount of cash could in fact make electric car travel come fully viable so much quicker with real time charging stations in areas that could really drop the smog factor?  As usual. liberals know what they like but have no real plan to get there.