With the Chevy Volt being in the news so much lately, I thought I would consider specific reasons why I would or would not purchase this car. I arrived at the decision that I would not and below are some of the reasons why...
With sales of the Chevy Volt being as low as they have been, I started thinking about the specific reasons that would or would not cause me to buy one of these cars. After doing some research on the vehicle, it became obvious where the problems reside. The vehicle only gets 35 miles (EPA estimated, GM says it is 25-50 miles) on a single charge. Many Americans drive further than that in a single trip, or may make many trips totaling more than that number before gaining the ability to recharge the battery. In my situation, we travel 75-85 miles one way to work, so the overwhelming majority of my trip would be on gas and not battery. Ok, so what kind of fuel efficiency can we expect from the Volt? It is estimated to get 37 MPG on gas. By comparison, a 4-cylinder all-gas engine could get 35-40 MPG. Cars such as the Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus and others will easily be able to achieve these numbers. Further, you must buy a charging device that costs nearly $500 and pay an electrician to hook it up to your home's existing electrical grid. What if you live in an apartment or rent a house from a landlord who does not want alterations to their property? If that is the case, you cannot even get a charging station in your home.
The number of people who would be able to charge this vehicle while they are at work is almost non-existent. How many work places in this country even have a charging station or are slated to do so anytime soon? There are an unlimited number of places which one might choose to drive to and not find a charging station. It seems as though the reality is the fact that you will be driving on gas much more often than driving on battery. If that is the case, you just bought yourself at $44 - 46,000 car which gets 30-something miles per gallon. At this time, there is a $7500 tax credit for buying this car. A couple of things to consider about this tax credit. You would still need to drive the vehicle for a minimum of 8 years to break even on the cost of driving something like a Honda Accord. Find cheaper car like a Ford Focus and that 8 year figure balloons substantially. Further, the Federal Government has spent an enormous amount of money subsidizing the Volt. Some estimates even have the total cost of taxpayer subsidies at $250,000 per Chevy Volt sold (Michigan Capitol Confidential). These subsidies exist while government tells our soldiers that they will need to start paying for their own healthcare.
Back to the Volt itself; charging stations are simply too few and far between. Additionally, the need to get moving again before a full charge can be obtained is too great. It takes 10 hours to charge the Volt on a standard outlet or 4 hours on what is called a "Volt" supply.
Another area of concern for me is the 9.2 second 0-60 acceleration time the car achieves. Weak cars are a hazard. When merging into traffic on a highway the ability to get the car up to traffic flow speed is crucial. The Chevy Volt is only achieving a 9.2 second 0-60 time for a high price. You can find a vehicle for $20,000 less than a Volt that could complete a 0-60 run in 6 seconds. If the car could achieve an all-electric range of something like 100 miles instead of 35, these numbers might be tolerable.
I am not against this car for political reasons or the fact that I detest GM since they cut Pontiac, took bailout money and lied about paying it back. If they can somehow find a way to make this car successful, great. I do not hope for this car's failure. I do feel like this car was rushed to the American public before it was prepared for prime time due to political pressure. That is what can happen when private industry and government lie in bed together.
With sales of the Chevy Volt being as low as they have been, I started thinking about the specific reasons that would or would not cause me to buy one of these cars. After doing some research on the vehicle, it became obvious where the problems reside. The vehicle only gets 35 miles (EPA estimated, GM says it is 25-50 miles) on a single charge. Many Americans drive further than that in a single trip, or may make many trips totaling more than that number before gaining the ability to recharge the battery. In my situation, we travel 75-85 miles one way to work, so the overwhelming majority of my trip would be on gas and not battery. Ok, so what kind of fuel efficiency can we expect from the Volt? It is estimated to get 37 MPG on gas. By comparison, a 4-cylinder all-gas engine could get 35-40 MPG. Cars such as the Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus and others will easily be able to achieve these numbers. Further, you must buy a charging device that costs nearly $500 and pay an electrician to hook it up to your home's existing electrical grid. What if you live in an apartment or rent a house from a landlord who does not want alterations to their property? If that is the case, you cannot even get a charging station in your home.
The number of people who would be able to charge this vehicle while they are at work is almost non-existent. How many work places in this country even have a charging station or are slated to do so anytime soon? There are an unlimited number of places which one might choose to drive to and not find a charging station. It seems as though the reality is the fact that you will be driving on gas much more often than driving on battery. If that is the case, you just bought yourself at $44 - 46,000 car which gets 30-something miles per gallon. At this time, there is a $7500 tax credit for buying this car. A couple of things to consider about this tax credit. You would still need to drive the vehicle for a minimum of 8 years to break even on the cost of driving something like a Honda Accord. Find cheaper car like a Ford Focus and that 8 year figure balloons substantially. Further, the Federal Government has spent an enormous amount of money subsidizing the Volt. Some estimates even have the total cost of taxpayer subsidies at $250,000 per Chevy Volt sold (Michigan Capitol Confidential). These subsidies exist while government tells our soldiers that they will need to start paying for their own healthcare.
Back to the Volt itself; charging stations are simply too few and far between. Additionally, the need to get moving again before a full charge can be obtained is too great. It takes 10 hours to charge the Volt on a standard outlet or 4 hours on what is called a "Volt" supply.
Another area of concern for me is the 9.2 second 0-60 acceleration time the car achieves. Weak cars are a hazard. When merging into traffic on a highway the ability to get the car up to traffic flow speed is crucial. The Chevy Volt is only achieving a 9.2 second 0-60 time for a high price. You can find a vehicle for $20,000 less than a Volt that could complete a 0-60 run in 6 seconds. If the car could achieve an all-electric range of something like 100 miles instead of 35, these numbers might be tolerable.
I am not against this car for political reasons or the fact that I detest GM since they cut Pontiac, took bailout money and lied about paying it back. If they can somehow find a way to make this car successful, great. I do not hope for this car's failure. I do feel like this car was rushed to the American public before it was prepared for prime time due to political pressure. That is what can happen when private industry and government lie in bed together.
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