The Chevy Volt

How long until the first stories from people who are shocked and outraged that their electric bill shot up from the cost of recharging the car?

 

And what does that do to your carbon footprint?

 

If I can buy a car and only have to put gas in it once a month, I'd be crazy not to give it a look.

 

In theory, if your daily driving doesn't exceed more than 40 miles in one day, you never have to buy gas ever as long as you live!

Just charge that thing every night when you get home. Very interesting.

I wonder if not (primarily) using a gas-powered engine prolongs the car's life? Less complications equals less problems? I'm sure they'll be some issues with the first generation, kind of like a beta version of new software, but it definitely fires up the imagination.

 

As somebody else mentioned, I'd like to know how much it's going to cost, on average, to charge that sucker up every night.

 

Not just the cost to charge up the car, but are you really saving that much in the long run?
My car gets around 30 mpg, and I drive about 30,000 miles a year (it's a long commute). My car cost just under $20,000.
Last year, when gas prices were going wild, I spent about $2,800 on gas. This year, with prices more stable, I estimate that will drop to about $1,800 barring an unexpected spike. I fill my gas tank six times a month, on average.
So yes, I would save a lot of money on gas. But if I buy a Volt for $40,000 am I really saving anything over the 5-to-6 year lifespan of the car? No, I'm not. Even if you take what I spent on gas in 2008 (which seems to be well above what we can expect as average), it's cheaper to get the $20,000 gas-powered car. And that's not even factoring in how much my electric bill will go up to charge a Volt.
Not saying there isn't a future in the technology. But it has to come down in price quite a bit yet to make it more marketable to the masses. It's great to go green and all that, but not if you can't afford it. Last time I checked, the repo man can tow an electric car as well as he can a gas-powered one.

 

I'd wait until some independent testing is done on the MPG to believe the Volt is that good. Car & Driver rarely gets the factory-listed MPG when testing a car.

 

All of that is mentioned in the story:

If you can get the price less than 30K, I would think it would appeal to people. Like the guy said, the goal is to sell enough to move to the lower-priced, next generation.

People said the same thing about hybrids -- they're too expensive! -- and they're selling well.

 

From the washingtonpost.com story on the Volt.

 

The CEO estimates 40 cents a day, assuming you charge it overnight.

 

I just hope the U.S. doesn't get rid of it's stake in GM anytime soon. I also heard people who buy the volt can qualify for an energy rebate of $3,000 if they buy the car. The biggest problem I see with electrical cars, no matter how far you can go on a charge, is the need for power if you're too far away from your main battery. You'll need gas stations supplied with "fresh" batteries that can be switched out with "depleated" batteries. And I really can't see a service station being able to replace batteries for as many cars as they sell gas to.

 

A new car should last for 10 years, minimum.

People selling good, working cars that are paid for so they can have a shiny new one is insane when you really think about it.