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i will never buy anything from gobment motors-
What does a new Volt cost?
- Thread starter McRat
- Start date
i will never buy anything from gobment motors-
Quick reality check: if you think you're getting any kind of car for free, you are automatically wrong.
Example: your numbers don't include the cost of periodic battery replacement. If you have to have them or else the car won't go, you might as well factor them into the cost of fuel. How much do they cost? How often do they have to be replaced? Are there any incentives/rebates attached to the replacement cost of batteries that might be revoked in the future, leaving you with the whole cost? Are there any mitigating factors that would prevent you from getting the rated amount of use out of the batteries? If so, add that in to your fuel cost.
Again: if you think you are getting any kind of car for free, you are automatically wrong.
Example: your numbers don't include the cost of periodic battery replacement. If you have to have them or else the car won't go, you might as well factor them into the cost of fuel. How much do they cost? How often do they have to be replaced? Are there any incentives/rebates attached to the replacement cost of batteries that might be revoked in the future, leaving you with the whole cost? Are there any mitigating factors that would prevent you from getting the rated amount of use out of the batteries? If so, add that in to your fuel cost.
Again: if you think you are getting any kind of car for free, you are automatically wrong.
Also to add to this if you drive more then 40 miles you start running on gas and the volt will periodically run on gas to clear the tank to prevent the fuel from going bad. Those costs were not added in. And your comparing a hybrid economy car vs a truck. Compare volt to its gas copy the chevy cruze and the comparison is not good for the volt.
A base chevy cruze will spend $1275 a year on gas at 12k miles
A volt which is just an electric chevy cruze is $360 a year according to you
so you save $915 After 10 years you save $9150.
Except two things GM only gives you 8 years warranty on the battery and its only rated to 10 years.
So at the end that $9150 you saved gets cut by a $6000 battery replacement. So now after 10 years you saved $3150 which is all good until you realize that even if you get a volt for 24k its still 7k higher then a cruze 1.4 then add in that the gas the volt will periodically use so in the end you lost money If you replace your truck with a chevy volt vs replacing it with a cruze eco. In order for gas savings for the volt to pay for itself vs an equal gas counterpart you need $10.00 a gallon regular gas.
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I like the concept of the volt it be great for the wife to go to work and back but they are so ugly I can't get over it. We ended up buying cruze as our gas saver the LT with upgrades it was 22k out the door in 2011. The volt cost around 35k-40K at the time no way was I shelling out that much on gas sipper , even if I was to make purchase today not sure if I would get the volt looks like a cockroach from the back.
btw people talking about the all electric cars I hope you are living in warm climate because cold weather drastically decreases the range.
btw people talking about the all electric cars I hope you are living in warm climate because cold weather drastically decreases the range.
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Definitely not getting a "free car" in which I agree with you.
However, the Batteries in the volts are estimated to easily last 10-12 years without issue or replacement needed. So, 10 years of no gas if you drive under 50 miles a day.
We get 50-52 Miles on a single charge in summer and 35-38 in freezing cold winter. The Volt has a 9 Gallon tank that gets approx. 33-36 MPG in the City and 40-43 on the Highway. The Cruze gets 28-30 MPG in the City and 40-42 on the Highway. The Cruze also has a 15.6 Gallon Tank and if you drive in the city like we do, the Volt will last longer than the Cruze. We've gone over 300 miles on the street not using the battery and just gas (don't always feel the need to charge it and prefer to use the gas sometimes as it is not on often).
A loaded Cruze is about 26K not including Tax, so, I'd say a bit shy of 30K. It also doesn't have all of the Options the Volt has. The battery comes with a 6 Year warranty which includes complete replacement if there is an issue, 6 year power train, etc.
I love the Cruze's and I think they are great cars, but, at the end of the day, they are not built to the level of the Volt and it is a night and day difference driving one.
For anyone saying the Volt is garbage, have you ever driven one? If not, go to your local Chevy dealer in which they will let you take one home for the Day. They are very quick for a 3700LB car in Sport mode, can haul large pieces of Furniture, amazing Bose sound system and tons of other features other cars in it's class do not have (Cruze, Focus ST, etc)
At the end of the day, A focus is still a focus and a Cruze is still a Cruze. Not on a high horse (I drive an 04 Cavalier every day, so I don't have a nice car I always drive), but, we've test driven all of Chevy's and Ford's lineup and the Volt came out on top. Plus, the 12K return during tax time was very nice.
So far for us, it's working. I apparently drive 22mi a day. That uses just over 1/2 the electric range.
By charging at work, the electricity is "free".
I'm showing my daughter the functions, regeneration, total power used, HP vs kW, following distance (it monitors it), etc. Next month, she gets to drive it.
By charging at work, the electricity is "free".
I'm showing my daughter the functions, regeneration, total power used, HP vs kW, following distance (it monitors it), etc. Next month, she gets to drive it.
HAHAHAHA!!!! There is nothing "free" when you make over $60k a year. You are to be punished for working. In my case, 39 years.
No, the Volt isn't Free. Neither is a Camry. Or an Accord. Or a 3-series. And... Neither is a Mustang.
No, the Volt isn't a sportscar. Neither is a Camry or Accord or base 3-series or base Mustang.
A Miata will ass-rape all of them for less money.
If you have to tow heavy, you buy a HD pickup.
If you need to haul 15 people, you buy a E-350.
If you need to race on the Weekends, you get a Laguna Seca, Vette, 1LE, Miata, etc.
If you need a car to get laid, you get a Ferrari convertible.
So there are different vehicles for different purposes.
The Volt is in the Fuel Economy Sector. And in that, it's probably the best thought-out system so far.
#1 bitch about EV's is limited range.
#2 is price.
Today, with all the discounts, the Volt addresses both.
It won't be worth $8500 because whoever buys it next knows they're going to need a battery fairly soon.
They'll never be practical in the real world. Only subsidies keep them afloat. I'll stick to Fossil Fuel-powered cars. There are trillions of barrels that have not been extracted, yet. We have enough to last a thousand years.
Ok but these battries have been proving you wrong. Toyota claims that you can count on two hands how many batteries they have replaced since 1997 for the prius.
Never is a weird word.
Why did RC planes, cars, and boats switch to electric?
More power, lighter weight, less cost.
Why did gas streetlights die?
Why did electric headlights take over?
Your statement would fit right in with a 1903 bar-room argument about horses vs. cars.
If an electric becomes more powerful, lighter, and cheaper than a gas engine, are you going to pay $25/gal for rare gasoline just to prove electric vehicles can't do the job?
BTW - I'm no tree hugger. I'm a hotrodder. I love the roar of a V8, the whine of a blower, and the whistle of a big turbo. But I'm not a tard either. The 90% of people who don't really care about automotive technology need cheap transportation.
A guy walks up to you with an 8-year old Volt and wants to sell it to you for $8500. The first words out of your mouth are going to be, "I dunno, those batteries are eight years old ..."
The batteries are proving me wrong? How? I am saying they will need to be replaced. There is no getting around that. The more you drive, the more they are cycled, the sooner they will need to be replaced. There is no avoiding that.
The batteries are proving me wrong? How? I am saying they will need to be replaced. There is no getting around that. The more you drive, the more they are cycled, the sooner they will need to be replaced. There is no avoiding that.
These are the promise of what electric vehicles offer. This is not what we are getting with current offerings. Current offerings in electric and hybrid vehicles are a big step backwards, and that is the problem.
Figure out how to store all the energy of a sixteen-gallon fuel tank in a battery, at the same weight, and for a reasonable life expectancy; figure out how to build recharging stations that can recharge the vehicle in less than fifteen minutes, build the infrastructure to support all that, and then we'll see.
Get rid of the incentives and rebates, tell me about the real costs of operation, and we'll see.
Figure out how to store all the energy of a sixteen-gallon fuel tank in a battery, at the same weight, and for a reasonable life expectancy; figure out how to build recharging stations that can recharge the vehicle in less than fifteen minutes, build the infrastructure to support all that, and then we'll see.
Get rid of the incentives and rebates, tell me about the real costs of operation, and we'll see.
Li-Ion's seldom "fail", they lose max capacity. Now, the Volt only uses 2/3'rd of the capacity to maximize life. GM has filed a patent about how to easily and cheaply restore lifespan to Li batteries.
So what you get from an 8 year old Volt, is at least 70% of original electric range, and unlimited gas range, and the option to improve the battery capacity without removing the battery from the car. Software repairable.
Only electric car id buy wears a Tesla badge.
"What does a new Volt cost?"
I dunno, how much is your soul worth?
I dunno, how much is your soul worth?
If you're happy buying an electric car with eight year old batteries, go for it.
GM's battery patent: Great. I'd love to see some details, I hope it works.
Software repairable batteries: never seen any such critter.
I work in the medical industry. Everything has li-ion batteries these days. From defibrillators to portable x-ray machines. We use medical grade batteries from a very limited list of suppliers. Li-ions fail _all_ the time. All batteries fail, and the more power a battery can hold, the more likely it will fail. Li-ions almost _never_ last their rated life time.
You mentioned electric RC cars and planes. I love nothing better than outrunning my buddies running gas with my electric SC10 4X4, listening to them wail, "Thats not faaaaiiirrr!"
Electric is the way of the future, but the battery is the #1 stumbling point. Make a battery that can safely hold all the energy of a sixteen-gallon tank of gas, that will last at least five years, and that doesn't cost as much as my house, and the world will buy electric faster than you can push them out the door.
The #2 stumbling point is recharging. I'm not buying an electric car that takes an hour to recharge, when I can buy a gas car and re-fill and be back on the road in ten minutes.
#3 is price: I'm not paying one dime more for less capability than I can get now from gas. There is no reason an electric car should cost more than a gas car; in fact they should be considerably less expensive. Electric motors and electric motor controllers have been in production for over 100 years, we know everything there is to know about how to do it.
GM's battery patent: Great. I'd love to see some details, I hope it works.
Software repairable batteries: never seen any such critter.
I work in the medical industry. Everything has li-ion batteries these days. From defibrillators to portable x-ray machines. We use medical grade batteries from a very limited list of suppliers. Li-ions fail _all_ the time. All batteries fail, and the more power a battery can hold, the more likely it will fail. Li-ions almost _never_ last their rated life time.
You mentioned electric RC cars and planes. I love nothing better than outrunning my buddies running gas with my electric SC10 4X4, listening to them wail, "Thats not faaaaiiirrr!"
Electric is the way of the future, but the battery is the #1 stumbling point. Make a battery that can safely hold all the energy of a sixteen-gallon tank of gas, that will last at least five years, and that doesn't cost as much as my house, and the world will buy electric faster than you can push them out the door.
The #2 stumbling point is recharging. I'm not buying an electric car that takes an hour to recharge, when I can buy a gas car and re-fill and be back on the road in ten minutes.
#3 is price: I'm not paying one dime more for less capability than I can get now from gas. There is no reason an electric car should cost more than a gas car; in fact they should be considerably less expensive. Electric motors and electric motor controllers have been in production for over 100 years, we know everything there is to know about how to do it.
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