What it really costs to fill up a plug-in car ( barf )

CNNMoney ^ | December 2, 2010 | Peter Valdes-Dapena

[george76]

Even if they aren't always terribly accurate, EPA fuel economy estimates have at least made it easy to compare the gas mileage of one car to another. But now that plug-in cars are entering the market, things are about to get much more complicated.

How do you compare the fuel efficiency of a car that runs on gasoline to one that plugs into an outlet?

...

Q: So what's the fuel economy for the Chevrolet Volt?

The question is, which fuel economy are you talking about? The Volt gets 93 MPGe when running on plug-in electric power. The EPA estimates it should be able to do that for about 35 miles on a full charge.

...

There are arguments about whether it's better for the environment to burn gasoline or use coal-fired electricity ....

[The Real Deal]

How many nuclear power plants do you think we would need if everybody was driving the Volt? It would probably take hundreds just for the USA.

[Frantzie]

This is one of those new Chevy coal cars?

[ReverendJames]

...and how much coal power was used to charge that car? There was a great article on this. The VOLT really gets less mileage than a Saturn all things considered.

[george76]

And expanding transmission lines / towers.

One has to stop every 35 miles for another eight hour re-charge ?

[Yet_Again]

The Volt Hybrid is really a poor example of an electric car if one is to make a fair comparison. For starters, it’s not a true electric car.

The Nissan Leaf, which goes 100 miles per charge (3 times the Volt’s range) is a much better benchmark.

In the end, while electric cars may lag in absolute efficiency over their internal combustion competition, they have one insurmountable national security advantage: the fuel to run them isn’t purchased from people who want to kill us.

[lacrew]

The media is trying real hard to polish this turd.

[The Real Deal]

And they start at $41,000 a pop! What a joke!

[Cobra64]

...and how much coal power was used to charge that car? There was a great article on this. The VOLT really gets less mileage than a Saturn all things considered.

Yeah, but in the Saturn, you don't have that warm fuzzy feeling of hauling around 600 pounds of toxic rare earth elements.

"Quick! Call the EPA and a hazmat team."

[babygene]

Seems to me that their only useful for around town transportation, and then of course even then the gov is going to figure out how to charge road tax...

[Zarro]

One has to stop every 35 miles for another eight hour re-charge ?

No, one does not. The Volt has a gas engine that will kick in to run a generator to charge the batteries (it does not drive the wheels directly). If you have a short commute, as do many drivers, the gas engine might kick in very rarely. If you are going on a 200 mile vacation, you would use gas for much of the drive.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

I agree, and even if they aren’t feasible for most of us now, the technology will improve. After all, the first gasoline powered cars were nothing to write home about either.

[central_va]

It would probably take hundreds just for the USA.

Shocking.

[FrankR]

They are trying every sales trick in the book, but I don't know anyone who wants a car good for only 35 miles on and 8 hour charge.

Many people's round-trip drive to work is more than 35 miles. And with traffic like Atlanta, in a rainstorm and cold outside, you're going to be sitting for a long time, buring up battery juice with headlights (required in rain in Georgia), heater (so you don't freeze, it will be an electric heater you know, you no longer have a water-cooled engine.) electric windshield wipers for the rain, and the radio, (to keep up with the traffic reports)...you will not make it home.

You 30 miles to visit the in-laws, or your grown kids...and they don't have a special 220v plug for you to rejuvenate your new toy, you're screwed.

But let's say you find workarounds for all those problems, you know, as convenient as say stopping into your local gas station and filling up...let's just say...

10 years down the road that battery finally dies...a new one is, say, $7000 dollars...are you really going to put that much money in a 10 year old car? I wouldn't.

I think gub'mint motors should just put golf bag racks on them and sell them to the nearest golf course...after all, it's just a fancy golf cart.

[CrazyIvan]

This is one of those new Chevy coal cars?

I wish I had the bucks to buy one of these things and then
use my gov. handout to buy a diesel generator to charge it.
Then I'd collect waste oil and run the generator on that.
Zero pollution! (from the car)

[ReverendJames]

My understanding is those batteries cost upwards of $4,000 and have to be replaced every three or four years .... I think I read the article here re: VOLT vs Saturn mileage ....will have to search for it ...

[Mr. Silverback]

Hmmm...Did y’all know the Henney Kilowatt, produced only in the 1959 and 1960 models years, actually had performance figures about as good as the Volt?

How can a technology be a good idea if we can’t improve it at all in a half century?

[Wuli]

To see if there are any actual savings, any estimated savings in fuel/energy cost would have to be weighed against the extra cost of buying the vehicle (they do cost more), and then someone could determine if the additional portion of the purchase-price would be earned back in annual fuel/energy savings, before someone was likely to trade the car in (7 yrs avg ?). (Normal ROI - return on investment - calcs)

[Mr. Silverback]

the fuel to run them isn’t purchased from people who want to kill us.

The fuel to run internal combustion cars doesn't have to be, either.

Drilling here. Using biodiesel made from garbage and manure instead of food crops...the possibilities are there.

[Cyclone59]

One has to stop every 35 miles for another eight hour re-charge ?

Da’yam, I wouldn’t quite make it to work, then where would I plug it in, to then not quite be able to get back home?

Phuck it, it’s a Chevy and I would never own one anyway.