nphx
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- May 31, 2007
- Messages
- 345
GM and the UAW still leave a bad taste in my mouth, I get that subsidies encourage adoption by consumers, but having that crew be the benificiary of more taxpayer money has me p o'd.
$41K?
Why would anyone get a volt instead of a prius? Is there something special about the volt that I don't know?
Why would anyone get a volt instead of a prius? Is there something special about the volt that I don't know?
In our case it's a niche. We already own a Prius. 40 miles is a great neighborhood car, we live on a 30x40 island so a 40-mile EV could do some town driving, and we'd recharge it from our photovoltaic array. Not having to buy gas would drop our expenses about $1000/year (at today's $3.25/gal).But on the EVs I think I will wait quite a while before jumping in. I know you want to tinker with the damn thing, but me, I just want to drive it.
Funny you should mention that model-- it's such a favorite for aftermarket & DIY EV conversions that Porsche is considering an EV version of the Boxster.Meanwhile, I'm shopping for a used 911 Carrera that's 5 or so years-old.
... I get that subsidies encourage adoption by consumers, ...
One concern I have about the Volt, is what if you end up relying on the electricity for so long that the gasoline eventually goes stale?
The Volt has a gas generator built in, rather than a gas combustion engine for when you run out of electrons.Not a problem - buy yourself a gasoline-powered generator.
Don't forget the $7500 tax credit that you get by purchasing a Volt. $33,500 is still a hefty price, though.
...
I just don't get why some of us should pay for another's car/appliance, etc.
-ERD50
I think the Volt is a statement. That a car made by a non-foriegn company can do it too ... even though, late at the party.
EVs in my opinion will provide a better quality of life for society as a whole, so I think it 'fits' in with education, emergency services, etc.
Chevy is embarrassing us yet again with this almost openly admitted failure.
I see the Volt being an economic failure for GM (and the taxpayer owners) - people buying them will be those trying to make an environmental statement. Smarter folks will do the math and buy a conventional 40 mpg car.
The Chevrolet Volt might just prove to be the game-changing car its supporters say it is, but General Motors expects to lose money on the car "for years," said Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.
Maximum Bob’s frank admission isn’t terribly surprising given the resources GM is pouring into the Volt and the expense of the technology behind the range-extended EV, but you’ve got to admire his honesty.
"We won’t make a dime on this car for years, and the board is OK with that," he told a group of Volt enthusiasts at the New York International Auto Show, according to the Detroit News.
The Europers don't have the same hatred of diesel that our greeners do. They are all driving around in highly efficient diesel cars that are getting almost 70 MPG while burning the new cleaner diesel, and paying less than half the price of a Volt.I'll say it again - the time for EVs in the US will be years after they become mainstream in Europe. With their high gas prices, and generally shorter commutes, it just seems obvious to me that if EVs were ready for the US market, Europeans would have been buying them up for along time. What is the EV market % in Euro-land?
Meanwhile politicians get the green vote and the greenies pat themselves on the back, even if we eventually later realize there was a much smarter way to be doing all of this.“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.”
I recently came back from England, and what struck me most (other than driving on the wrong side of the road) was how few trucks, SUVs and minivans there were. Reflecting on the experience, I observed several factors in play:The Europers don't have the same hatred of diesel that our greeners do. They are all driving around in highly efficient diesel cars that are getting almost 70 MPG while burning the new cleaner diesel, and paying less than half the price of a Volt.
We get the federal subsidy, too, roughly another 30%. I'm counting on those subsidies when we upsize our array to handle an EV recharge.The subsidies in this whole business are pretty amazing. I can get a 35% subsidy to install a solar system in my house (which of course doesn't produce electricity at night to charge the car) to charge my Volt with a $7500 rebate, which is produced by Government Motors with its own long list of subsidies.