I have done a couple of posts on this ground breaking green vehicle! Unfortunately, it has been one of the least popular posts that I have done with this blog. GM announced today that the mileage estimate for the new 2011 Volt will be an estimated 230 mpg in the city. The mileage for the new Chevrolet Volt is 4.8 times the city mileage for the 2010 Toyota Prius which gets 48 mpg. This is truly a paradigm shift in fuel economy if this turns out to be correct!
The Volt is a true plug in vehicle......it is a totally different vehicle than the Toyota Prius which is a gasoline-hybrid. The Volt actually runs on electricity all the time.....the gasoline motor actually runs to recharge the batteries normally during highway driving conditions. The Toyota Prius does use electricity to run at lower speeds but the gasoline engine turns on to propel the car much of the time. GM also noted that the highway miles per gallon will also be in the triple digits.
The Volt was designed with an objective of running 40 miles on electric power without the engine turning on. According to a survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 80 percent of U.S. drivers commute 40 miles or less daily.
GM estimates that the Chevy Volt will save about 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of gasoline based on 40 miles of daily driving and 15,000 miles annually. For drivers that commute 60 miles (96 km) per day or 21,000 miles annually, about 550 gallons (2,081 liters) of gasoline could be saved.
SUMMARY:The most technologically advanced car that GM has ever produced! The race will be on to see who comes to market first with the first plug in vehicle. Chrysler, Ford and Mercedes and Toyota are all developing plug-ins and electric cars.
Hi Pete .. gosh that's better and much easier .. if you just come into the blog.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of money saved .. most people in this country average 12,000 miles pa .. I think .. I used to do 40,000 but that was around and about and up and down to Cornwall a lot or north of London .. I now do .. 5,000 since Mum's been up the road, and I'm not out and about visiting!
I was keeping notes on cars .. but it became too much with everything else so stopped - and as I'm not looking at cars - another thing that passes me by.
I'm sure I have a note somewhere for you .. I'll have to find it (I hope)!
If that GM car works the way they say it does .. it'll be great ..
Go well - I'll keep my eyes open amongst all my blog post bumph!
Is the plug in - where you'll need an electric point installed or in the street?
Thanks .. I hope I can take more interest soon .. and be more relevant ..
all the best - Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
Hi Hilary,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great question! The recharging can be done in you home....normally in the evening when the electric rates are cheaper.
I will check on the requirements for the home....since it will be produced as a Vauxhall model in England.
They will be building recharging stations for electric cars in the coming years. But, the Volt can run on gasoline for long distances....it just does not get this good a fuel economy....but it will be over 100 mpg.
I cannot tell you how I hate to put gas in my car! So, a car that I don't have to put gas would be the ticket.
Pete Baca
The Car Enthusiast Online
Hello Peter,
ReplyDeleteCan you use solar to charge the car? But if you are charging at night that might not work. What a nice looking car. Would not mind having one of them. It looks good. We will have to keep this in mind when looking for cars. Thank you for this good information. We enjoy reading about all the cars that you share with us.
Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"
Hi Pete . the plug in at home wouldn't suit me ..that's partly why I asked .. because you can't park on my side of the street, and I rarely get a place outside the door (on the other side of the road).
ReplyDeleteI also saw a picture of leads going from 'bollards' to recharge the car ..and thought to myself 'health and safety' everyone would be falling over (tripping) up on the leads ..
I guess they'll promote cars that suit the area ..
Thanks for replying .. we have a Vauxhall dealers here in Eastbourne and a guy who works there lives on the same side of the street as me - though no doubt he could recharge at the office!
All the best - Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
Hi Hilary,
ReplyDeleteThe availability of recharging stations is going to be an issue with the new electric cars...especially for those people that cannot charge the vehicle at home.
I do know that they plan to build recharging stations in England....but until the recharging network is done these electric vehicles may not make any sense for some people.
There are advantages and disadvantages to everything! Apparently, tripping over the wires is an issue.
Best Regards
Pete Baca
The Car Enthusiast Online
Hello Dan & Deanna,
ReplyDeleteThe first models out will not have any solar power recharging. The only car that will have that as an option will be Fisker Karma see my July 24th post. Even then the solar unit will power a fan.
I would anticipate that we will see solar recharging on electric cars in the future. The solar manufacturers are making substantial strides in the technology now.
They are even working on a paint that uses solar technology to recharge the car. Thank you for your kind comments!
Pete Baca
The Car Enthusiast Online
Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteView the latest offers
I think this is the best blog I have been through all this day.
ReplyDeleteChrysler 300