I just bought a Chevy Volt

[dan88911]

Speaking of electrics.
Have you seen this?
ZELECTRIC MOTORS

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Ditto. BTW, where does all this "free" electricity people use to charge these cars come from?

My employer pays for my phone. That's 'free'.

My employer pays for my transponder. Also free.

My employer provides ea charging station for electric cars. Free.

I will thank the shareholders at the next meeting, they foot the bill in the end.

[foxpaws]

Originally Posted by FLYGEEZER

So.......FP, You can charge your car at work? Who pays the electric bill, your employer ?

Yep - it is a benefit for those of us with electric cars, sort of like those who use the racquet ball court or the gym. The company pays to heat/cool and light those areas, pays property taxes on that square footage, and buys the equipment.

Some see it as a similar incentive to hire and keep good people.

dan88911 - what a great idea - I love those electric bugs - seems like a perfect fit!!!!

[aschen]

The cost per unit of energy out of the wall is considerably less than from an in car IC engine is much less.

There is an economy of scale to producing electricity at a power plant with regeneration and high efficency complex thermal cycles.

Its a bit of a specious argument to say going from gas to electric is just moving the cost and pollution source to the grid. Both of those are significantly reduced for electric only driving.

I thought the gen 2 volt was supposed to have huge improvements over the gen 1?

Aschen is electric car curious, but they don't make a lot of sense for Houston commuting

[foxpaws]

Originally Posted by tcar

You're welcome (I helped pay for your car). We all did.

Thank you tcar - and all of you with mortgage write-offs can thank those of us who don't have a mortgage write-off.

You take it where you can...

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by aschen

I thought the gen 2 volt was supposed to have huge improvements over the gen 1?

Aschen is electric car curious, but they don't make a lot of sense for Houston commuting

Gen 2 is supposed to have better battery management that give a few more miles per charge, and the interior has been redesigned. Some of the buck Rogers cartoon features have been replaced with actual knobs and switches.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Haters gonna hate.

He's not a hater, and you know it.

You're just trying to squelch the voices of those who disagree.

Much like the goobers who yell "racist" at anyone who disagrees with what's-his-name's policies and overreaches.

A point was being made about corporate welfare... otherwise known as the unseemly, cozy relationship between the government and private industry that benefits some at the expense of others.

Many of these same electric car buyers will be the loudest protesters when other corporate/government policies benefit those with whom they disagree. Hypocrites.

Get over yourself.

Sure, next feel free to point out how many pennies this particular Volt purchase cost the person who pointed out the foul.

Irrelevant.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

He's not a hater, and you know it.

You're just trying to squelch the voices of those who disagree.

Much like the goobers who yell "racist" at anyone who disagrees with what's-his-name's policies and overreaches.

A point was being made about corporate welfare... otherwise known as the unseemly, cozy relationship between the government and private industry that benefits some at the expense of others.

Many of these same electric car buyers will be the loudest protesters when other corporate/government policies benefit those with whom they disagree. Hypocrites.

Get over yourself.

Sure, next feel free to point out how many pennies this particular Volt purchase cost the person who pointed out the foul.

Irrelevant.

Guy buys car. Guy tells his online Porsche buddies in excitement! Guy has thread hijcked with political crap.

The internet is a crazy place...

nice car!!!

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by JD159

Guy buys car. Guy tells his online Porsche buddies in excitement! Guy has thread hijcked with political crap.

The internet is a crazy place...

nice car!!!

Another squelch attempt.

[aschen]

Shameful

[mrybczyn]

2014.5 volt has an improved battery pack, so you get some of the benefits of the gen2.
I have one, love it for commuting. Quiet, torquey, efficient. The AC doesn't take that much off range, maybe 10 percent. But since you have the gas engine backup, you never need to fret the range, like with pure electric cars.

Btw, the best way to drive a Volt is sport mode, and L on the transmission. This gives you instant torque, and hard regenerative braking as soon as you lift off the throttle. You basically drive it like a golf cart with one foot, hardly ever need to touch the brake pedal.

[wdfifteen]

^^
I've been playing around with sport mode and L on the stick. Just the seat of my pants says they are bad for battery range. Sport makes the go pedal more responsive, which encourages faster starts and increases energy drain. The L setting increases the amount of regeneration, but there is essentially no coast period, so you are on power until you want to stop, then doing heavy regen to bring the speed down. In drive you anticipate a turn and coast up to it, saving energy.

I agree, sport and L are fun. They make the car feel like a sports car. I haven't tested it but I think for the first few feet the Volt will out accelerate my 911.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

My employer pays for my phone. That's 'free'.

My employer provides ea charging station for electric cars. Free.

I will thank the shareholders at the next meeting, they foot the bill in the end.

It doesn't quite work way for me. I am my employer, so I have to pay for the phone and the charge. They are business expenses, so they are paid with pre-tax money, but it technically comes off the company bottom line. I say technically because a few hundred dollars is barely noticeable in a $5million budget. It's costing me about 8.9 cents per KWH vs 14 cents if paying with after tax money. But it's such a tiny line item it will never be noticed.

Patrick, congrats - that's a screaming deal. What is the back seat leg room like for an adult? Would it work for a road trip with 4?

[Nostril Cheese]

I've seen a lot of good things about the Volt. I'm not sure I could live with a modern GM product, but series hybrid is certainly the right path for the time being.

Does anyone know more about the Tesla Model 3? That's something I might seriously consider in the future.

[FLYGEEZER]

Nice comment FP, "you take where you can" . Sounds like a protester in a Baltimore CVS or any democack in politics.

[1990C4S]

Among the developments are the changes to the second-generation Volt plug-in for 2016. The next Volt will have an 80-km battery range, versus 56 km when the car was launched in 2010.

The 2016 Volt will have a lighter battery pack (by 45 kg) and boast 20 per cent more energy by volume. The car will do 0-100 km/h in 8.6 seconds and the on-board gasoline engine – the range extender – will continue to use regular fuel.

So 50 mile range, 0-60 in 8.6 seconds for the next generation Volt.

The Bolt is supposed to have a 200 mile range.

[Steve Carlton]

I've got a little Volt Envy going on, I must admit. But I don't have a pro-Volt commute situation right now, anyway. Wasn't the Volt getting slammed on this forum a couple of years ago???

I'll wait for the Porsche hybrid to come down to $50K or so. Maybe more realistic to wait for a Bullitt Mustang hybrid!

[Steve Carlton]

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

Patrick, congrats - that's a screaming deal. What is the back seat leg room like for an adult? Would it work for a road trip with 4?

It would depend on the front seat passengers. With the front seats all the way back there isn't much legroom in the rear. I'm 6'2" and I keep the front seat all the way back. There is room behind me for an adult on a short trip, but I wouldn't ask anyone to spend hours back there.