Anyone own/drive a Volt?

My record on the stock tires was 46 miles. On the Toyos I routinely see 37-38.

I've never actually tried to see how far I coudl go on pure electric. I've only extrapolated from what I've done on shorter trips, like using 2 miles of indicated range to get to work and 4 miles indicated to get back, even though it's almost 16 miles round trip...

I love seeing that this car delivered what it promised. What a victory for Chevy. When/if this tech trickles down, the potential is insane.

Too cool.

gamby wrote: I love seeing that this car delivered what it promised. What a victory for Chevy. When/if this tech trickles down, the potential is insane. Too cool.

I am as well. At first, I was skeptical and called the car vaporware. I'd buy one now. Good job GM.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

...and isn't it grand that an American car company did something this innovative?

Cool that you changed your view. The naysayers on this bugged me, as the Volt was such a revolutionary idea and a serious glimpse into the future (IMHO).

You guys keep this E36 M3 up and I'll hafta give up on the Charger R/T search.

Actually, the Volt could be perfect for my 15 mile commute.

camaroz1985 wrote: For what it is worth I bought mine too instead of leasing. I like the tax credits and I plan to keep it for a long time. What are you guys getting for EV range? I see some impressive numbers on other forums, but this is a forum of enthusiasts, not hypermilers so I figure it is more realistic. My best is 49.8 miles, and seems to be getting better everyday. My commute is 60 miles round trip, not quite there yet.

I was under the impression that the tax credits came into play on a lease as well. Is that not the case?

I hate to say it, but I was dead wrong on the Volt. I have been extremely impressed with their performance as an appliance car, and the fact that nearly everyone who has driven or purchased one loves the car. I actually looked up some pricing on used ones around here, and there are a few that are under $20k, which is mind boggling.

If I had a shorter commute where I could stay all-electric, I'd strongly consider one. My workplace has charging stations, but they have only two, and they are always being fought over between a Leaf, a Tesla Model One, and a Fit EV. I'm staying out of that one.

dyintorace wrote: I was under the impression that the tax credits came into play on a lease as well. Is that not the case?

The lease company gets the credit. My lease was structured so that if I bought it out, I saw no benefit from it. Lease was based on 62% residual, super cheap money factor, GM kicked in $2k IIRC. My buy out was $25,500 and my exact car retailed at $20,777 as noted earlier. So the lease company probably made out about even on the deal since they were into the car for $18000 or so at end of term.

I was surprised they (US Bank) didn't give me an offer to save themselves the inspect/retrieve/transport/auction costs.

EDIT: My observed actual best range was 54.8 miles IIRC. I didn't have much patience for that. What most surprised me was that in normal 25-50mph suburban driving, a typical range in nice weather was 45 miles and heavy (relatively) acceleration didn't exact a terrible penalty as long as you were gentle on the brakes.

Chris_V wrote: If you go test drive one, make sure it's charged (so many aren't) then start out in D and Normal, then switch to Sport and L and feel the difference. Take it to about 10-15 mph and punch it. Feel that 280 lb ft of torque move out with aclarity, Smile a lot. :)

Ah but what is the gear ratio?

At 10-15mph, I have maybe 2700 ft-lb turning the rear axle, with my 13B. 1600 or so if I'm in second gear.

It does, admittedly, accelerate slightly more quickly than a Volt.

mfennell wrote:

dyintorace wrote: I was under the impression that the tax credits came into play on a lease as well. Is that not the case?

The lease company gets the credit. My lease was structured so that if I bought it out, I saw no benefit from it. Lease was based on 62% residual, super cheap money factor, GM kicked in $2k IIRC. My buy out was $25,500 and my exact car retailed at $20,777 as noted earlier. So the lease company probably made out about even on the deal since they were into the car for $18000 or so at end of term. I was surprised they (US Bank) didn't give me an offer to save themselves the inspect/retrieve/transport/auction costs. EDIT: My observed actual best range was 54.8 miles IIRC. I didn't have much patience for that. What most surprised me was that in normal 25-50mph suburban driving, a typical range in nice weather was 45 miles and heavy (relatively) acceleration didn't exact a terrible penalty as long as you were gentle on the brakes.

Would you PM me? I tried to send you a PM (a Yahoo! address) but it failed.

I have one. It is the single best car I've ever owned. Most of what I could say has already been covered above.

I can pretty much only have one car at the moment. With the lease ending soon, I'm favoring something with two seats and three pedals, but I'm going to miss the Volt.

JG Pasterjak wrote: A pretty aggressive 225 on an 18" wheel lost about 8-10% of battery range,..

That's a pretty astounding loss, but I suppose predictable.

Knurled wrote: Ah but what is the gear ratio? At 10-15mph, I have maybe 2700 ft-lb turning the rear axle, with my 13B. 1600 or so if I'm in second gear. It does, admittedly, accelerate slightly more quickly than a Volt.

Overall ratio in single motor EV operation is 7:1. It can stay there from 0 to 101mph but at part throttle it actually uses the main motor AND the generator motor together to reduce rpms for an overall efficiency gain.

@dyintorace: sent you a PM. I think.

""

gamby wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: ...and isn't it grand that an American car company did something this innovative? Cool that you changed your view. The naysayers on this bugged me, as the Volt was such a revolutionary idea and a serious glimpse into the future (IMHO).

What's even more amazing was how much negative, politically charged press this car received back at introduction vs the realities of the economies the car provides...

Nice to see the Volt love, especially since we got some grief for event mentioning it in the mag a while back. I will say, it's a great looking car, too. The blue on JG's works nicely.

Lets see some pictures of your volts

ryanty22 wrote: Lets see some pictures of your volts

Posted mine on the first page...

Chris_V wrote:

ryanty22 wrote: Lets see some pictures of your volts

Posted mine on the first page...

Pics dont work

amg_rx7 wrote:

gamby wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: ...and isn't it grand that an American car company did something this innovative? Cool that you changed your view. The naysayers on this bugged me, as the Volt was such a revolutionary idea and a serious glimpse into the future (IMHO).

What's even more amazing was how much negative, politically charged press this car received back at introduction vs the realities of the economies the car provides...

The same thing happened with the Prius (IT TAKES MORE ENERGY TO BUILD A PRIUS THAN IT DOES TO RUN A HUMMER!!!!). Now, everyone makes a hybrid and the Prius is just another car. Makes you wonder whose agenda drove that fear.

We're bombing Iraq again--we should be welcoming efficient vehicles with open arms.

ryanty22 wrote: Lets see some pictures of your volts

That_Renault_Guy wrote:

ryanty22 wrote: Lets see some pictures of your volts

That's an awesome driveway

My eife has s hummer. I am looming at a Volt. Need to keep bslance in my driveway.

Also. I was thinking that GM could make a line of cars based on this technology.

A Wat could ba a small 2 seat hatch city car.

An Amp could be some sort of small mini van/su

thing

ryanty22 wrote:

That_Renault_Guy wrote:

ryanty22 wrote: Lets see some pictures of your volts

That's an awesome driveway

Thanks, I like to keep people guessing

I'm very glad to see that GM has stuck with the Volt and is going to do a second generation model. It really is a fine car, but the release was just marred by a series of unfortunate circumstances:

-GM's ad department overhyped it and created expectations that weren't realistic or accurate

-Greenies didn't trust it because it's a Chevy, and because GM abandoned their previous attempt at an alternative vehicle - which had been flawed but promising

-Righties were pissed that so much taxpayer money went into it

-It was too expensive for the market - particularly since it was clearly based on an economy car.

-Tesla, Toyota and Nissan did their market entries better

-It's styling while basically clean and handsome did nothing to set itself apart

So in short, a great product undermined from within and from without. But I think that if GM can learn from these mistakes and nail the second iteration, enough people will admit that the first generation rocked that it could get the requisite word-of-mouth for success. I sure hope so. I was brought up a Ford guy, but have been seduced into using GM trucks, appreciating their performance vehicles, and hoping that the general can make it.

btw - I think that the Cadilac version is gorgeous.