Posted on 08/11/2009 5:25:53 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
It's the kind of number that makes you stop and say, "What?!!!!!!!!"
230 miles per gallon.
That's the fuel economy GM expects the electric Chevy Volt to deliver when it comes out late next year. The company made the announcement this morning in Detroit and already skeptics, fans, and the general public are debating if the Volt's mega-fuel efficiency will be a "game changer" for the industry and General Motors.
My opinion: if the Volt can consistently deliver anything close to that mileage, it will go a long ways toward removing the sting of the expected $40,000 price.
The skeptics believe Volts mileage will not come anywhere close to what GM is promising. After all, the mileage on many cars and trucks is, in real world driving, well below what the company promises. In addition, critics of the Volt say that with gas being relatively cheap, there will be limited demand for the car.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Vega.
Drop in a stroker 383 small block, tub out the wheels wells, 9" rear end, some tall gears and you got a 10 second street car for less than 10k! Will handle like a Conestoga wagon, be like an pizza oven inside, and get 9mpg but will scare the crap out of your wife\gf when she is pinned to the seat after a 3g launch ;-)
At 25K, the Volt might be a good idea. Given the rates for electricity, at least until Obama gets tax and trade passed, you would be able to top off the Volt’s batteries for under two dollars in most places. I expect the insurance will costs about what it would on any 40K car.
Electric cars in theory have almost no maintenance costs. However, since the volt retains a gasoline engine, you won’t be able to avoid the maintenance costs for the combustion engine, such as oil changes, fuel injector cleanings etc.
At 40K, the volt will be just a toy for the rich. If you want to avoid the gas pump I would recommend going with the Nissan Leaf. Nissan’s new EV due out next year.
Agree - unless and until gas goes to $10 a gallon. For some reason people don’t blink an eye at price tags of 10’s of thousands of dollars but have a stroke when they have to pay over $3 a gallon at the pump. My view is money out of my pocket is money out of my pocket, whether it’s paid up front at the dealer, or down the line at the gas station.
Been there, Done that."
A cost of $40,000? Is someone nuts?
I remind people, if I may, that the United States of America was built from nothing utilizing a mode of transportation that consumed absolutely NO gasoline whatever. It carried goods, people, food, and everything needed to build a great country.
It was called the HORSE DRAWN COVERED WAGON. Environmental purity on eight hooves and four wheels.
NO gas, no coal, no electricity, no nukes, no noise pollution, no traffic jams. A little problem with flies, though. Well, can’t have everything.
OK, just visited the official GM Volt website, link at www.chevy-volt.net/chevrolet-volt-specs.htm.
The internal combustion portion of the drivetrain is a 1 litre, turbocharged 3 cylinder gasoline engine rated. The milage listed is as follows:
40 miles driven - not applicable
60 miles driven - 150 mpg
80 miles driven - 100 mpg
sustained driving (such as on a long trip) 50 mpg.
So there you go. The only way you get 230 mpg would be on trips of 45 miles or so.
However this all assumes that the batteries perform as advertised. As someone posted is the 40 miles on electric only with the A/C on, going up hill and carrying 4 adults with luggage? The other question no one seems to be asking relative to hybrids; how long do the batteries last and how much do the damn things cost to replace? Are we talking 5 grand or what.
All of this hybrid stuff is simply nonsense. Latest technology diesel (Audi TDI for example)can get 50 mpg in a similarly sized car for a whole bunch less initial investment. Why bother with batteries and all of the sophisticated (read expensive to repair)electronics that are required to make these hybrids work.
Now we are talking! brute force American muscle..we dont need no stinking turbos and cat back exhaust systems. I wanna see liquid gasoline dripping out the tailpipe and a cam so loping it sounds like it could stall at any miniute!
Agreed, 40K is too much. The price point needed to be below 30K to make it reasonable.
This is the first generation — buying the first generation of any new model, even when the engine is proven conventional internal combustion technology is a risk.
Besides I don’t like the idea of buying anything from Government Motors, especially knowing the unions that have ruined the US auto industry are now profiting from sales.
Been there, Done that.”
Did you do anything to reinforce the frame, or just leave it?
To H*LL with fuel efficiency!
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/08/jet-engines-on-trucks-for-fun-and.html
I too am skeptical of the intellectually dishonest 230 MPG claims. It assumes that the first 40 miles of energy is free, which it certainly isn’t no matter how the wall-plug energy is made. Especially after utility fees “necessarily skyrocket” as The Won claims.
By the way I have a Prius and the batteries are supposed to be good for the life of the car. I’ve never heard of anyone having to replace them due to wear and tear. The trick is, they never discharge below 40 percent, and never charge above 90 percent, so the life of the batteries is maximized.
Full cross ladder frame. Same with a 71 Don Yenko Nova.
Actually it DOES run on gas. It has a gas engine that charges the battery. It just doesn’t directly use the gas part to power the motor. So what they’re saying is correct.
I recall reading in a grearhead magazine (can't remember which one) long, long ago, about a guy that dropped, well, wedged would be the more appropriate term, a 500CID rat motor onto a vega.
LOL.
ANYBODY WHO BUYS ANYTHING FROM GOVERNMENT MOTORS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION.
Since you only have a 50% usable range, that means you need to buy and carry twice the weight in batteries to be able to extend their life. Is it worth it or not? I guess it depends on their cost and how much they weigh versus the cost of complete replacement if you go from 0 to 100% charge.
My subscription to HOTROD has lapsed but I suspect you could get down into the nines with that car.
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