230 mpg and dropping

[Uneek]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/11/autos/volt_mpg/index.htm?postversion=2009081108

So let's say the car is driven 50 miles in a day. For the first 40 miles, no gas is used and during the last 10 miles, 0.2 gallons are used. That's the equivalent of 250 miles per gallon. But, if the driver continues on to 80 miles, total fuel economy would drop to about 100 mpg. And if the driver goes 300 miles, the fuel economy would be just 62.5 mpg.

In this case, I think the rating should be "infinite" mpg as long as the trip is less than 40 miles and it's recharged before it's driven again. I've never seen a rating system so skewed and misrepresented. Hopefully the EPA is getting some sort of kickback for helping GM sell cars.

I was under the impression the Volt was an all electric car, until my coworker brought up this article. We were joking, why not sell it without an engine. Just put a Honda/lawn-mower engine generator in the trunk. So if the trip is more than 40 miles, pull over and yank the rip cord and fire up the generator in the trunk. LOL.

 

[eskimochaos]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/11/autos/volt_mpg/index.htm?postversion=2009081108



In this case, I think the rating should be "infinite" mpg as long as the trip is less than 40 miles and it's recharged before it's driven again. I've never seen a rating system so skewed and misrepresented. Hopefully the EPA is getting some sort of kickback for helping GM sell cars.

I was under the impression the Volt was an all electric car, until my coworker brought up this article. We were joking, why not sell it without an engine. Just put a Honda/lawn-mower engine generator in the trunk. So if the trip is more than 40 miles, pull over and yank the rip cord and fire up the generator in the trunk. LOL.

Dont government run things work well? They sound great but in reality suck donkey dong.

 

[jdmidwest]

What good does it do if you have to plug it in every 40 miles? The electrical grid is stretched thin now and if we have to start recharging alot of cars, where is it going to come from? Just like refineries, we have to jump thru EPA hoops to build a new plant to produce electricity and neither are getting built.

And try to pull a camper, boat, or climb a hill in the snow with it.

 

[Theothertyler]

The problem with these plug-in electric cars is that the power grid most people plug into is still powered by "dirty" energy. Most people in the US that buy this will essentially be running their car on coal. That doesn't seem very green to me.

That said, I'm at least glad that GM has stepped out of its shell and done something different. Let's hope they don't rush it to market before its ready and can make some decent money from it. A few articles have said the only way they can get costs down is to sell a bunch on first run and work on efficiencies. If this car is out for 6 months, has a bunch of problems, and Toyota/Honda/Nissan's comes along and swallows the market, it'll be curtains for our National car company.

 

[Uneek]

The problem with these plug-in electric cars is that the power grid most people plug into is still powered by "dirty" energy. Most people in the US that buy this will essentially be running their car on coal. That doesn't seem very green to me.

I think it's 75% or so of the US' powerplants are still coal fired. So all talk of electric this and electric that, there's still equal amounts of pollution only it's not a direct result. It just shows how naive the public is to the whole "going green" propaganda.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I was under the impression the Volt was an all electric car, until my coworker brought up this article. We were joking, why not sell it without an engine. Just put a Honda/lawn-mower engine generator in the trunk. So if the trip is more than 40 miles, pull over and yank the rip cord and fire up the generator in the trunk. LOL.

I got my A/C hooked up. Still workin on the re-gen braking. I'll have her finished up after vacation

:cheers:

 

[Uneek]

The Volt's ancestor. Lincoln missed out on patenting the concept, could've been the other way around with Toyota paying licensing rights for LGD (Lincoln Generator Drive) instead of Ford paying for Toyota's HSD. They even have Toyota beat with the pre-cooling A/C that the 3rd gen Prius has. :lmao:

 

[Kmvreter]

I got my A/C hooked up. Still workin on the re-gen braking. I'll have her finished up after vacation

:cheers:

LMAO.

I also agree about the coal fired electric cars. Soon we'll have a politically driven spike in electricity prices due to plug in car demands, just like there is a spike in corn hurting food prices because of the methanol myth.

 

[Uneek]

Volt vs Prius

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Volt vs Prius

That's pretty cool to see all the numbers crunched out... I'd love to see a very scientific look at the envir impact assembly line through recycle between it and say a 4cyl Malibu or something.
:cheers: