planet4ever
Well-known member
It saddens me to see so much venom against the Volt here. My definition of an EV is a vehicle that has an all-electric range, i.e. is plugged in to charge the battery, and runs only on battery power for some number of miles. A volt meets that definition; it never uses the gas engine until after the battery is discharged.EVDRIVER said:Great- every plug in Prius should be allowed as well next. I think the push should be for pure EVs first. Can't wait for the plug in Suburban taking the space as well.
It happens that most days I drive less than 35 miles. The Volt and Leaf would both be pure electric cars on those days. I occasionally drive 150 to 350 miles in a day. The Volt would not be an electric car most of the time on those days, and the Leaf would probably be sitting at home while I drove a gas guzzler, since I doubt if I could count on quick charge stations.
I've been keeping track of my daily mileage for eight months now and, using what I think are reasonable assumptions, there is virtually no difference between the two cars in the total amount of gas that I would have used. Others will have very different usage patterns from mine, but for me, the Volt would be ever bit as much an EV as the Leaf would be.
I do, however, think that public charging station protocols should be need-based, and in general a Leaf will need the charge more than a Volt will. Just remember that the fellow driving the Volt may be just as much of an eco-freak or Arab-hater or Peak-oil-alarmist as you are, or even more. If the charging station is available, the Volt should be able to use it.
(Some rather rough non-PC terminology there, but I think most of us, including myself, tend toward at least one of those categories, so it's intended as nonprejudicial incorrectness that pokes a bit of fun at ourselves.)
Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends.