Posted on 08/14/2009 5:51:51 PM PDT by WhiteCastle
Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out?
Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes.
"If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?" asks Mark Gaffigan, co-author of the GAO report. The report notes: "Reductions in CO2 emissions depend on generating electricity used to charge the vehicles from lower-emission sources of energy."
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
I don't think I need to say anything more. You've done it all for me.
Hybrid batteries come with an original warranty of 8 years in AZ. The Volt will probably be a 10 year warranty. How long is the warranty for your gasoline engine?
You are learning. Keep your mouth shut and you won't appear so ignorant.
Maybe you should go pick the Inland Valley sand out of the crack of your ass so you won’t be so cranky.
GM has put a test fleet of cars in Arizona.
I bought a Honda CRX Xi in Phoenix in 1985. Drove it for four years and 150,000 miles. Not one penny in maintence except for oil changes. (Shocks and brakes fairly worn but that went to the next owner). My back is fine. BTW, I sold it with the original battery.
Do you have any real facts?
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For years, sporadic anecdotes about hybrid battery failures have been reported by individual hybrid drivers. But finally, the automakers are reporting the first numbers about the likelihood of batteries failing after the warranty expired. With more than 100,000 Honda hybrids on the road, the automaker told Newsweek that fewer than 200 had a battery fail after the warranty expired. That’s a 0.002 likelihood. Toyota says its out-of-warranty battery replacement rate is 0.003 percent—or one out of 40,000 Priuses—for the second generation Prius.
I don't know anyone that owns a Prius. Now, who is living in la la land?
Agree 100%. Worth repeating.
And that was way back in 2001.
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At the end of 160,000 miles, hybrids are tested for fuel efficiency and remaining battery pack capacity. This would be roughly equivalent to a normal driver driving 16,000 miles a year for 10 years. Again, though, the test vehicles are put through extremes. The end-of-life battery tests were performed on the first-generation 2002 Toyota Prius, 2001 Honda Insight and 2003 Civic Hybrid, not current models. Two examples of each model were tested: The Insight hybrids drove away with 85% battery life, the Civics had 68% life and the Prius models had 39%. For the complete evaluation, go here. So it seems those worries about having to replace a hybrid's expensive battery before the 10-year mark have been somewhat alleviated.
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Hybrids have taken a bad rap for their battery packs – with claims (usually made by people with a political axe to grind) that the disposal of batteries makes a hybrid a bad environmental choice, and that the battery packs must be replaced at huge expense every year or two. It turns out that at least the latter claim is completely false. Out of 750,000 Prius battery packs produced and distributed so far, only 306 have been replaced as worn-out or a warranty fault. “The life of the battery pack is generally about the same as the life of the vehicle,” said Toyota’s Jeremiah Shown.
oops.... I didn’t mean “imported imports” :^) I meant imported oil or simply imports. Thanks for not calling me completely silly!
This is an excellent post, and should be read by everyone who lives in a cold weather area. If those folks have thoughts about buying any electric car, they better DEMAND that they get PROPER information about those scenarios from the company and anyone else promoting that they buy electric. I could be wrong, but I don’t believe that those cars have the “stuff” to be safe in a cold, rural environment.
IF these electric car batteries actually live for the life of the car, I’m going to consider buying one to use with my portable battery-powered tools. It seems that those, whether NIMH, NM, or LIon- have all failed within two years.
It might be a little heavy to haul around and up a ladder, but it might be worth it. I’m getting sick of replacing these battery packs which essentially are the entire cost of the tool. In fact, I’ve bought a new tool for less than the cost of the battery, and that only a year after the purchase.
IF these car batteries are so reliable, why haven’t those manufacturers made that technology available for tools?
Not if. They are that reliable. You are more likely to total your car than to have to replace the battery pack.
You could be wrong! :)
Not everybody is at liberty to spend $35,000 or so on an electric/hybrid car.
Read the Volt Website about the 100,000 mile battery guarantee. They have made great advances in Lithium Ion technology. My Laptop battery has been functioning since 2004 with no problems.
I have had a very expensive LIon battery tool fail within two years. My question is why this great battery technology has not come to age for battery-operated power tools.
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