Posted on 04/15/2012 9:04:00 PM PDT by DallasBiff
"My husband (JDHCalif) wrote a lengthy review and I wanted to add my 2 cents. We are actually now getting nearly 130mpg per day because his company installed an electrical outlet in his office parking area.
The car costs about $2 to fully charge at PG&E rates and each full charge takes the car about 45 miles. Even though we drive 130 mile+ daily commutes we are burning almost no gas...not insignificant in CA where gas is now $4.63 per gallon. The Volt is proving to be more than twice as economical as our Prius...and it drives so much better - even the regen brakes feel better. We are going to sell the Prius and get another fully loaded Volt for me (which net/net costs less than a comparably loaded new Prius)
(Excerpt) Read more at cars.com ...
I was leaving Knoxville on I 40, crusing about 70 in the middle lane when something flashed by on my right. It swerved to the left ahead of me and was pulling away. I saw the label...... it was a Volt . I tried to close but at 82, my computer controlled diesel mushes out.
The last I saw, it was heading on into the mountains toward Asheville. The Volt had Tennessee commercial tags, unusual for an automobile. The driver running in excess of 80 and heading into the mountains with a car having a 40 mile range showed confidence that I deemed not prudent
I think most American drivers now associate diesel with the German marques, but don't ponder the issue much beyond the prices they see posted at the filling stations.
There's one guy I see almost every week, pumping E85 into a late-'90s vintage Honda Accord. He doesn't know or care that his car wasn't built to take the stuff - it's just the cheapest fuel he can find.
I did see premium unleaded priced higher than diesel recently. That may have been the first time in over a decade I'd noticed that.
Anyone with a golf cart knows that the battery deteriorate much quicker when used in reality instead of the fake reviews.
It’s probably not so much the higher pump price of diesel fuel that bothers people, it’s the nagging fear of not being able to find a station that has it and getting stuck.
I’d worry much more about getting stuck with something like a Leaf.
For less than $16,000, we just bought a 2012 Nissan Versa. We’re averaging 45mpg city, about 40mpg highway (odd switcheroo). No gubmint subsidies went into the designing or marketing of our car. I absolutely guarantee that maintenance will be considerably less compared to the Volt. And I doubt if our car’s efficiency will seriously decline during Michigan’s long, cold winter months, which the Volt’s surely does.
Notice (in the header)there is no mention of how long it took to charge the little piece of poop.
...I get about 40 miles for every $7.50 or 20 miles for every $3.70...
I can't tell if you're arguing for or against the Volt. By your math they're getting 22.5 miles per dollar while you're only getting 5.4.
Wow. I can't believe that the car made it past week 2 doing that. One would think that all the rubber in the fuel system would be long gone unless the dude took the time to replace all of it with something that can handle the corrosive nature of Ethanol. I have read of a guy with a 90's vintage Cavalier that he retrofitted so that he could use the cheaper E85. It is doable.
I've got a hunch that someone out there has started a listing of unattended, hot AC outlet locations. Sort of like the "wardriving" WiFi lists.
Back around 2004 or so, two of those glorifed golf cart type plug-in electric "urban cars" began appearing in my office building's garage. The drivers would arrive very early and park in the spaces by the wall outlets. After a month or so, the weird little cars were no longer seen.
One day I mentioned it in passing to one of the building maintenance guys, who informed me that the management had noticed it too and they killed the power to those outlets. It wasn't so much the electricity cost (a drop in the bucket, in those circumstances) as it was the fact that the drivers didn't ask permission or offer to pay. So, no more electricity for them.
It is possible that the owner made the necessary fuel system mods; a '90s Accord would be easy enough to figure out. I'm not sure about the engine control computer, though - maybe there's a tuner out there that can reprogram the injector pulses to approximate E85 settings.
To look at the car, though, you wouldn't think the guy was putting any money into it.
That is not how I understand the Volt. It has a gasoline engine also after the battery dies, so you may still need tune ups and oil changes.
I am not familiar with Nissan Leaf. If it is a pure electric, with no gasoline backup, then of course you are right...mechanically it is a simpler design.
Until recently I think we had a phobia against diesels due to government dislike of the fuel. But, they are catching on in the passenger car market due to power and mpg.
We also have GM to blame for some apprehension about diesel. It's conversion of a 350 ci gasoline engine to diesel that blew up at 30,000 miles left a bad impression in some people's minds. GM, by the way, does not stand for Good Merchandise.
My next car will be a turbo diesel.
Please elaborate on the battery replacement. What is causing the failures?
Did you run them over?
Maybe the deductible for the battery is $1500.
Thus my negative comment about hybrids.
For me, a night’s charge at home for the Leaf would easily take care of my commute and any regular errands I run in town. I like the idea in a pure economic sense. I ran the numbers about six months ago, and it came to 99 mpg equivalent at my electricity cost and the price gas was at that point. It would be even better now. All of that driving is city, so regenerative braking and lack of idling in traffic would give me a big boost beyond that. Add maintenance savings cost and giving up the time to do it, and it’s looking pretty tempting.
But that’s specifically for my case. Your Mileage May Vary — literally. It could be a complete non-starter for you.
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