Smidge204 said:Who is seriously making that argument? If you're referring to when I said 'zero reason to buy a vehicle with a gas tank' then perhaps you missed the context, because that context most certainly was not for any application.stephent said:I just am puzzled why people are criticizing the Volt as unsuited to any application, saying there's no reason to own one
You did. At least twice you made statements basically equivalent to:
"If your driving is such that you never ever exceed the ~40 mile electric range of the Volt, ever, then you are still wasting whatever little fuel the Volt burns". And twice you mentioned the pickup truck analogy. And multiple times you asked basically "if most of your trips are so short, why are getting a vehicle with a gas tank?"
All of these statements are implying that the amount of gas the Volt wastes on daily short trips is significant, which would make it not worth buying. Since these statements basically are implying Volt is unsuited to its main purpose, short trips, aren't you implying there's no reason to own one? What context did I miss? If you weren't trying to dismiss the Volt as a viable vehicle for any purpose, why would you make these statements at all?
These arguments are fairly stupid, and hopefully I have demonstrated that all of these are irrelevant in the big picture.
Hopefully you now agree with this, and won't repeat them. If you want to criticize the Volt, criticize it for wasting gas on the *medium* range trips, not the short ones. The Raison d'être of Volt is frequent short distance driving combined with infrequent long distance driving. Hopefully you have now abandoned your criticism of the Volt's gas usage in short trips and now only are arguing that the long distance driving is so infrequent that there's no good reason for a Volt.
I think DrInnovation's posted stats sufficiently argues for the frequency and length of those long trips.
When have we ever flipped a lid when someone suggested a BEV is a better fit for someone in a particular, valid scenario? I have repeatedly said in this thread that Leaf is better for people with 40-80 mile commutes, or 80-160 if work charging is available. When have I ever criticized someone for suggesting a Leaf is better in such a situation, or some other valid situation? Please quote me.You guys really seem to flip a lid when someone even suggests that a BEV might be a better fit for someone than a PHEV. What are you defending exactly?
We flip a lid when people make stupid, illogical arguments that a PHEV is NEVER a better fit than a BEV, that BEV is always superior, and that the Volt is a crappy car with no purpose, etc. We aren't flipping a lid when someone suggests a BEV is a better fit for SOMEONE, only when they suggest it's a better fit for EVERYONE.
Again, data we don't have... so basically I'm saying stop getting on my case for saying long trips are relatively infreque2nt
Even if long trips are infrequent, it doesn't matter, if the medium 40-80 miles are even more infrequent. It's comparative frequency that matters, not absolute frequency. It doesn't matter if the person is only making 2 long trips a year, if he's also only making 2 medium trips a year, they cancel out in favor of the Volt. You can only "win" if long trips are completely non-existent, which is obviously untrue for most people, or if a person's driving habits are such that the 40-80 mile trips are of significantly greater frequency.
And it's all kind of silly anyway. I don't really care about the average stats and who "wins". I just want people to realize that it's up to their individual driving pattern, and think for themselves, and realize that the short trips are irrelevant, that the maintenance mode penalty is insignificant. I *think* I know which driving patterns are more frequent, but if I am wrong and you are right, it's fine with me. I know what's right for me, and have made that choice, and other people can think for themselves.