whoaru99
Epic Member
Dunno the sales volume but they built them for eight years.
Looked hard but the complexity left me questioning long term reliability/durability and repair costs.
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Dunno the sales volume but they built them for eight years.
Looked hard but the complexity left me questioning long term reliability/durability and repair costs.
HTHMAN
Super Member
Maybe because the Volt was heavily subsidized by the government, at least initially. It just turned out to be non-profitable vs the competition.
They just released or are about to release the replacement x2. A small crossover and a hatchback. Not sure what the difference would be except maybe size. I read somewhere GM (all divisions) have a fairly large line-up coming out.
Edit: 2023, maybe I will wait a year
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whoaru99
Epic Member
Lots, if not most, or all, "green" stuff is or has been subsidized in one way or another. It's about the only way a lot of it even exists.
HTHMAN
Super Member
I thought the idea of gasoline generator vs combustion drive train was a good idea. Not sure why the concept never caught on. Seems simpler to charge the batteries vs having a drive train. Granted, a Prius also has a generator during cruising but different setup.
Agree, and I wonder if that was part of the difficulty in selling the Volt...I kept seeing people say "It's not a hybrid", but figuring out exactly how it was different was puzzling...I was fuzzy on the concept for a while. When we bought the car the seller said "It goes on electric till that runs out and then runs on gas, so you'll never get stranded" and that was good enough for me. I just wish it had another 60 miles in electric range and it'd be pretty much perfect for the dirving we have to do where we live now.
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
While it’s true that multiple EV batteries that can no longer be used to power an EV....can be used with solar panels as a storage bank. But, what do you think the ratio of EV owners to solar panels owners is with the socially defined unpopularity of solar panels in this country. Then let’s say that the federal government creates a rebate making it cheaper to buy an EV in the attempt to control climate change. Millions of EV’s are sold and twenty years later, what happens to the batteries just like all the rest of the recyclables that are not being recycled. It’s not like power cells in the batteries itself can be brought back to brand new. Then when recycling materials from EV batteries cost more than buying new EV batteries. Everything ends up in the landfill....some stuff just takes longer !!!
Then Lithium is toxic as is the process of creating any electronic product....
Whereas an old engine block and other metal parts can be recycled forever....
whoaru99
Epic Member
Must depend where one lives. There are solar farms all over around here. Seems like any time I take a drive I see another in the making.
I have been thinking about this... and yes it hurt.
I am thinking they are not going to make this up with registration or other ways, it’s going to be higher gas taxes. EV’s are coming and we are not going to be able to do anything about it, is what it is. Gas taxes are going to be the short term fix for revenue, it will serve two purposes, push people into EV’s faster, and keep the revenue stream. It’s $2.29 a gallon here now, I am talking double or triple that. Yes oil companies can drop prices but taxes will eat that up.
I will seriously look at EV’s next year when I am ready to buy.
HTHMAN
Super Member
Exactly. Outside Palm Springs, CA is great for wind farms and solar in the southwest deserts, but not the mountains in WV - that is coal country. So far, there is no "one size fits all" for energy in this country.
David_NC
Super Member
Yep, and I don't imagine much gas is produced in NY, for example, and no coal mining takes place in NC. However, gas can be piped, and electricity produced by wind and solar farms is added to the grid, just like electricity generated by gas, coal, and nuclear plants.
It looks like wind power is on the rise in WV. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_West_Virginia. The thing about coal is that it will eventually cease to be used for power generation, regardless of where one lives, much like coal-fired steam locomotives aren't used in the US now. Power generation technology evolves; it becomes more economical, efficient, and cleaner. Still, I honestly think we'll be using gasoline a a fuel in cars for a while, though the percentage of hybrids will increase.
simplynuts
Super Member
I have a 2011 prius that had front brakes just replaced around over 130k. I think the hybrid is a better idea as i don't want to bother charging a battery or getting stuck somewhere. I was originally driving at least 30 miles each way with no place to plug in at work. This didn't make sense to pay for a plug in. Happy with the car even after they repaired several recall issues. Wish it had better quality for sound proofing and built a little more solid. Wind and road noise had to getting used to after owning a 96 camry that was more solid. Handles quite well in all types of weather. Would like an electric only for lower maintenance. No gas, no oil no antifreeze. Electric cars lose range in cold weather and think in my area would not be ideal. How do batteries in electric cars deal with cold weather and heat? The prius actually uses a separate antifreeze system to warm the battery and heat the inside of the car. Electric cars heat the seats and compartment? What about battery in cold temperature?
whoaru99
Epic Member
Certainly higher gas taxes could be part of it. However, I doubt Big Oil nor automakers, as well as the gas consuming majority, are going to let it go easy to be the whipping boy, so to speak.
From what I just read, 28 states have already enacted higher registration fees for them and others are considering. As well, other possibilities mentioned were separate metering requirement for charging and additional tax on that power. Or, mileage taxes. Some talk of hybrid approaches of the additional registration fee and a mileage tax.
Have you the ability to measure the actual charging kwh vs the actual charged kwh to see how much power is lost in conversion? $ 0.25/kwh is some of the highest rates I've seen. I bet there is a lot of interest in Solar there. We pay about $ 0.09/kwh here. I'm an Electrical Contractor and have installed many Solar Systems here in La.
I would have bought a similar vehicle if it had come in a medium-size SUV form -
but a sedan is just not a viable configuration for my needs.
Maybe 7-10% of my driving time I had folks in the back seats of my Honda Fit or my previous Honda CRV - and those times had always been short local trips.
I don't need a people hauler, I need a "stuff" hauler.
Like I said - a Rav4 HEV or PHEV looks like the best match next year or 2023.
but a sedan is just not a viable configuration for my needs.
Maybe 7-10% of my driving time I had folks in the back seats of my Honda Fit or my previous Honda CRV - and those times had always been short local trips.
I don't need a people hauler, I need a "stuff" hauler.
Like I said - a Rav4 HEV or PHEV looks like the best match next year or 2023.
Why?
whoaru99
Epic Member
Got it. Add to that the extra stress on power generation to serve millions of car chargers and the natural loss of power in the conversion taxing a power grid that they constantly tell us is woefully inadequate. Major changes are afoot.....In the end, the truth will be revealed, that the best way to conserve energy is to not use any....
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