Gen 1 GM Volt Plug-In Hybrid (2011-2015)

[Boomer23]

A Southern California market research company is looking for participants who drive EVs including the Chevy Volt for a one-on-one interview about their car. The interviews will be conducted in Tustin California during the period June 24 through June 27.

Interview times are being set up now, so folks need to write soon.
Payment will be $250 for a 2 1/2 hour interview.

Interested parties should email Cynthia Randall at [email protected]

please include the following information

Make/Model of the EV
Date of Birth
What city you would be driving from (you don’t have to bring the auto with you)
Your occupation and company.
Your name and a window of time she may contact you.

 

[Herm]

Note that the actual quote does not support the speculation ABG writer is making. A poor article by ABG - whats new ?

They probably misquoted the janitor at a dealership that has never seen a Volt.. at least they spelled Volt correctly!

 

[ark]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autos-leaf-20110716,0,6118850.story

Nissan Leaf far outselling Chevrolet Volt
Nissan has sold 4,134 of its Leaf battery-powered electric cars this year. Chevrolet has sold 2,745 of the Volt, which is technically a plug-in hybrid.

 

[planet4ever]

We already have a thread on that: LA Times : Nissan Leaf far outselling Chevrolet Volt

 

[AndyH]

GM working on battery's second life.

http://blogs.forbes.com/uciliawang/2011/07/20/gms-search-for-a-home-for-used-chevy-volt-batteries/

General Motors said Wednesday it’s working with energy storage company ABB to build a prototype battery system that will go through field testing starting next year.

The prototype system will can deliver 25 kilowatts of power for two hours, said Sandeep Bala, a power electronics engineer from ABB, during a conference call on Wednesday. GM and ABB are designing the system to suit the needs of utilities, particularly those who are adding a lot of solar and wind electricity to its energy mix.

 

[walterbays]

Look at this ad currently in rotation at the Volt forum. I wonder when we'll see Volt ads on MNL?

 

[hodad66]

$399 Lease offer.... Florida

Just got notification of this offer.....

2012 CHEVROLET VOLT
Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees $399/month 36 month lease.
$2,899 due at signing (after all offers). Tax, title, license, dealer fees
and optional equipment extra. Mileage charge of $0.20 /mile over 36,000 miles

This is the kind of thing that may move me from my Leaf order.........

 

[mwalsh]

So I drove a Volt again yesterday at a ride and drive event. Just a few yards after I'd set off with it, the gas engine kicked in. I was like....WTF! So I asked the product specialist with me why the gas engine was on - was it because they'd been running the car all day and the battery was depleted? He answered in the affirmative, but didn't seem terribly sure. About another 2 miles on, I noticed that the car was running on battery only again.

Sorry, but a car with a gas engine that randomly kicks on for no apparent reason is not what I'm looking for in an "electric" vehicle. :?

 

[hodad66]

I've had mine for three days and the only time that the ICE
engine came on was on the trip home from Orlando (63 miles)
when the battery only had 23 miles left. I have charged twice
with my Schneider EVSE (works great) and had 40 miles to play
with before going to ICE.

for MY USE it will be essentially an electric vehicle but with no worries
about blocked chargers, overpriced chargers, etc. in the few instances where
I need to travel farther.

 

[TRONZ]

I sat in the Volts at the OC auto show. It feels solid and well built but a bit cramped inside. The car seems like a good choice for tech savvy DINC couples (Dual Income No Children). Unfortunately when you start to break down the "ER mission" of the Volt, it really doesn't solve anything. It's mechanical complexities, price and gas use create as many problems as the 40 miles of EV range try to solve.

This aside, I have never driven a Volt and would like to someday. But if it was in ICE mode, it would certainly ruin the experience for sure.

 

[hodad66]

Honestly, I'm not here to argue that the Volt is superior at
all. I simply liked what I felt and saw when I tried it. I come
from years of driving sports cars so a smaller cabin doesn't
bother me. It will be just me and my GF & her first response
was "it feels like a sports car".

I drive 5K a year so I'm not exaggerating at all when I say
that I expect to travel EV most of the time. The only reason
that I have the Volt at all is that I couldn't ignore the incentives
made available to me.

I tried "sport" mode today which sets up a more aggressive
throttle response... what a hoot! Don't think that I've driven
a car so quiet, yet so peppy in my life. If the complexity causes
issues it will be Chevy's problem.

I truly hope that all of these new EV / hybrid types do well because
there are a great many dullards out there looking to see them fail.

 

[bdgotoh]

So I drove a Volt again yesterday at a ride and drive event. Just a few yards after I'd set off with it, the gas engine kicked in. I was like....WTF!

I'm curious how you could tell the ICE was running. Since the ICE only generates electricity (at slow speeds), it's not like the ICE kicking on in a Toyota Hybrid where you can obviously feel it. I drove a Volt that had a depleted battery pack and couldn't feel or hear the ICE at all. I thought it was a really nice car, very comfortable and smooth. In the end I got a Leaf because I don't want to use gas anymore and I have access to a hybrid for longer trips.

 

[hodad66]

The only way I know it that the LCD shows the blue tank
instead of the green battery. The transition is truly seamless.

 

[mwalsh]

I'm curious how you could tell the ICE was running.

I've driven all-electric now for almost 9 months. Trust me that, no matter how smooth the engine, I can tell the difference.

 

[scottf200]

Honestly, I'm not here to argue that the Volt is superior at all. I simply liked what I felt and saw when I tried it. I come from years of driving sports cars so a smaller cabin doesn't bother me. It will be just me and my GF & her first response was "it feels like a sports car".

I drive 5K a year so I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that I expect to travel EV most of the time. The only reason that I have the Volt at all is that I couldn't ignore the incentives made available to me.

I tried "sport" mode today which sets up a more aggressive throttle response... what a hoot! Don't think that I've driven a car so quiet, yet so peppy in my life. If the complexity causes issues it will be Chevy's problem.

I truly hope that all of these new EV / hybrid types do well because there are a great many dullards out there looking to see them fail.

Indeed the (L)ow aggressive regen and Sports mode make for a very fun driving experience. I give quite a few test drives and they are impressed with the way it handles and performs.

I have 7,500 miles on mine picked up in late Feb. My last 6,000 miles have only used 12 gallons of gas. So I don't use much (96%+ on EV miles) and I like traveling anywhere anytime.

We bought the car out of state and drove it home. My wife couldn't tell when the ICE/Gas_Generator turned on the first time it happened. It is smooth! Just the display changes (battery->fuel gauge) as stated. We stayed at a bed-n-breakfast on the way home and they pulled a 120v cord out of the garage. I just charged up overnight (9 hrs) and we drove the first 40ish the next day on their electricity. No 220v/L2 required.

Indeed it is complex in that it can go 100 mph on just electric power and reuses the generator as a second motor. Let's them lower the RPM of the normal traction motor from 6500 RPM back down to ~3250 RPM where it is more efficient. So even with the extra kWh to now run the 2nd motor (generator) (@~1500 RPM as I recall) they are still saving kWh. 100 mph is probably used in Germany. 70-75 mph can be common keeping with the flow of traffic in some areas and the it is still efficient for this battery only driving. As we know other EVs start using a lot of kWh at these kinds of speeds.

Of course there are many modern cars that have complex transmissions, computer, and electrical systems so the Volt is not really that complex. Look at all the hybrids on the road. They're pretty complex. There are millions of Priuses for example (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#Sales" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

 

[TRONZ]

Trust me that, no matter how smooth the engine, I can tell the difference.

Hybrids really do have a different feel. The Volt has alot of clutches and ring gears joining it's gas and electric motor. There is alot of machinery clearly getting in the way of the EV "turbine" feel. I still want drive one someday.

 

[evnow]

Volt drives well - and is reasonably well built. But the "cockpit' feels cramped and probably mimicks an American sports car. I felt cramped - the poor rear visibility only adds to that feeling. I guess I'm used to more open feeling cars.

But if I had to choose between Prius Plugin & Volt, I'd definitely go for Volt.

 

[hodad66]

poll from Volt forum...... I'm in the majority... :mrgreen:

 

[bdgotoh]

That poll is interesting but it's missing 46-49

 

[hodad66]

yea, the OP missed those years.... a source of grins on
the forum....