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Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?

545 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 12:57 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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If we waved a magic wand and all cars were EV's, those electric rates are NOT going to stay the same and there's no way is it going to cost 58 cents to "fill up" a Volt. Since you say your normal driving is less than 30 miles a day, you honestly think a Volt would only cost you less than $18/month to run?? That's a patently ridiculous number. Electric vehicles will not be "free" to operate and the introduction of EV's will definitely increase electric rates as the increased load and demand caused by charging of EV's is something that is not on the grid now. And it really doesn't matter if you say, "Oh we can charge them during off peak hours". Those hours will no longer be "off peak" once we add a "car charging" peak will they? Robert Heinlein said it in his 1966 novel, "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", although the phrase apparently originated in the 1930's... There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 22, 2009 12:54 pm) That's about 80 cents for most people. For commuters like myself who drive about 22 miles a day round-trip, and maybe 100 miles on a weekend, the electric cost would be about $25 a month, and the gasoline costs might be $40 a month, for a total of about $65 monthly That's not TOO much different than what I pay for gasoline per month for my Camry hybrid, from Dec-Jun this year was about $47 a month. Would I trade for a much higher car payment just to save $18 a month? Not likely. The economics don't look to be there for people already driving a mid-size fuel-efficient car. And the comment about how electricity will go up because of EVs hitting the market? PSHAW !!! All that charging ( or most of it ) will occur at night when the grid is flowing and unchallenged. And how many EVs will sell per year? 60,000? 80,000? 100,000? Not the Volt, not at $40K. If would take a LOT of years, a LOT of car sales, and a LOT of progress before the EVs made a dent in the grid to the point that the utility companies could claim higher demand and raise prices merely because of EVs.
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Replying to: larsb (Jul 22, 2009 1:14 pm) |
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Replying to: buyamerican2 (Jul 22, 2009 10:06 am)
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Replying to: larsb (Jul 21, 2009 10:32 am) |
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Replying to: gfr1 (Jul 22, 2009 7:52 pm)
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Replying to: corvette (Jul 26, 2009 6:38 am) So are we assuming that the "40 mile battery-only" operational range doesn't take into account the power needed for heat and/or AC? It would be kind of silly to report an "ideal operating conditions" range, wouldn't it? I wonder how terrain and traffic is going to affect the stated range.
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 26, 2009 6:58 am) Anyway it is a moot point as you do have the ICE backup to generate any electricity after the battery is depleted.
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Jul 26, 2009 7:05 am) Hardly moot as the range of battery only operation is supposed to be the big draw of the Volt. "Drive 40 miles or less? Don't use ANY gas." Isn't that the line of thought or am I mistaken?
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 26, 2009 7:12 am) |
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