To help introduce the Chevy Volt to Emporia, Jeff Longbine, owner of Longbine Auto Plaza, let the Emporia Gazette staff spend time driving around town in this revolutionary electric/gas combination car.
GM is the first major auto manufacturer to start selling an electric-gas combination car. Ford and Toyota are working on similar concept cars but they are not available yet.
One word describes the Chevy Volt and that is: Awesome. The technology and innovation that has gone into this car is amazing. Clearly, Chevy has done its homework to develop and bring to market a totally new concept in cars.
Exterior: The exterior of the car is stylish and sporty. But at the same time the car is also understated. Its modest looks make it easy to mistake for a normal car. The styling of the Volt is a far cry from the funny triangle electric cars of the ’70s that drove around town.
Interior: The car interior is flawless. Comfortable seats, great layout. When you get in, the first indication this will be a new experience is when you push the power button and it makes this cool space ship noise as the car powers up. As you sit in the car, what stands out are the two color displays. One color display is for the instrument cluster and the other is for the car’s information center. This display has the XM radio, car battery information and more.
Engine: The engine, well, there is no traditional engine. In its place is an electric motor. The car is fast in town and highway speed is no problem. Since electricity is instantly on, electric cars have been proven to accelerate faster than normal combustion engines. What takes getting used to is that the car makes no noise.
Fuel: For the first 40 miles the car runs off electricity. Then gas is used to drive the electric motor. In our tests of driving the car around town we never used gas. The 40 miles on electricity was plenty to get around town. At night we plugged the car into outlet and the next morning it was ready. Driving the car literally makes you happy, knowing that you don’t have to stop at a gas station.
Price: The price is around $40,000 but it does qualify for a $7,500 tax credit. Obviously, you will receive much enjoyment as the price of gas goes up and you can calculate how much money you are saving.
Here are some comments from staff:
“I was surprised how smooth it is.” Matt Fowler
“It felt like a muscle car. It had so much power and control. I loved the dash displays.” Regina Murphy
“It was just bad-ass. Looking under the hood it goes against anything you know about cars.” Russ Morgan
“It had more zip than a regular car.” John Giffin
Seeing how refined this car is and fun to drive, especially since it doesn’t use gas all the time, we are curious why electric cars ever went away. After all in Emporia in the late ’70s or early ’80s there was a orange Comuta Car driving around town. It is a shame these cars and technology disappeared for more than 40 years. The price of gas will never really go down, so now is the time to embrace this new generation of electric cars and perhaps we can finally reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
The Chevy Volt sparks a new era in automobiles. Whether you want an electric-gas combination vehicle or not, it is well worth going to Longbine Auto Plaza to check it out and to give this revolutionary car a test drive.
ZaneRokklyn (anonymous) says...
Electric cars never went away, for those who knew where to look. My parents in Oklahoma have been driving electric cars almost exclusively since the late '80s. Hobbyists go to EVWorld.com.
I'm very glad to hear the Volt is coming to Emporia! I'll be even more glad when they're available used! ;-)
November 12, 2011 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Saving money is great, BUT, just how many of us in Emporia can or will be able to afford to shell out $40,000 to save a couple of thousand dollars per year.
We average spending approx. $30 per week on gasoline. That amounts to approx. $1600 per year. So for us our it would take approx. 25 years of saving $1600 dollars in gasoline costs, for the $40,000 investment to pay for itself. And this volt vehicle is not completely gasoline free, as some of the other fully electric, non gasoline vehicles .
And then there is the cost of Insurance, which I understand will considerabley higher, because of the cost of having to replace the batteries or battery, as some of these batteries used in these vehicles can cost upwards of a couple thousand dollars for each battery . And some of these vehicles have upwards of 40 of these batteries that power them.
I know, there are some of you who are thinking, there is no way they only spend $30 per week on gasoline !!!
Well it is the truth, as we do not do any unnecessary driving or make any unnecessary trips. We plan each and every day out, so everything we need to do and get done is done in one " outing " and the only everyday driving that is done is the trip to and from work that my sister does every day. Which amounts to approx. 8 miles round trip and before she leaves work, she will call to find out if there is anything she needs to pick up or get on the way home .
Planning and common sense is what it takes to save money. Which I sincerely wish our City, County/Govt. leaders had a lot more of .
JMO
November 12, 2011 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
And these Lithium batteries used in these EV's can be very dangerous and toxic.
Just a little piece of info.
Chevy Volt Fires Said to Prompt U.S. Probe
QBy Jeff Green, David Welch and Angela Greiling Keane - Nov 11, 2011 11:00 PM CT .
QNov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Regulators from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will now examine the safety of lithium-ion batteries that power all plug-in electric vehicles after a General Motors Co. Chevrolet Volt caught fire, according to people familiar with the probe. Megan Hughes reports on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
.U.S. auto-safety regulators are examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries that power all plug-in electric vehicles after a General Motors Co. (GM) Chevrolet Volt caught fire, people familiar with the probe said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11...
As I said, not having to buy gasoline would be great, BUT, I for one can not afford the $40,000 up front cost nor the possible high insurance cost .
JMO
November 12, 2011 at 8:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
karmadog (anonymous) says...
Not getting off BIG oil can be very dangerous and toxic. Maybe buying an electric car or a hybrid is about doing the right thing, not just for our own ego driven self but for the good of the whole. JMO
November 12, 2011 at 11:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Spending 40 grand on an electric car with all the inherent extra charges can be toxic and dangerous too.
I remember when hand held computers from Texas Instruments cost $349? Now they're 50 cents.
November 12, 2011 at 5:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
booker5m (anonymous) says...
Heres a piece about the fires in the batteries
http://news.yahoo.com/u-probes-gm-che...
November 12, 2011 at 8:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Here' s another piece of info on the Volt fire,
FEATURED POST
Chevy Volt Catches Fire in NHTSA Parking Lot
Vehicle was used in a side-impact crash test three weeks earlier.
By Exhaust Notes Nov 11, 2011 11:43AM
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has contacted all manufacturers of vehicles using a lithium-ion battery pack after a Chevy Volt caught fire in a NHTSA test-center parking lot in Wisconsin three weeks after a side-impact crash test. Some vehicles close to the Volt caught fire as well, according to the report. NHTSA's further investigation into the safety of lithium-ion batteries "isn’t public" according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources within the agency.
Holy Smoke, it took this thing 3 weeks after the crash test to suddenly catch fire !!
Just imagine waking up three weeks after an accident to find your car, garage, etc. suddenly on fire !!
What do you suppose this will do to your insurance rates ??
JMO
November 13, 2011 at 10:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tourguide (anonymous) says...
Ed Bozarth Chevrolet had theirs in Topeka for 2wks.now. It broke down 3 times already. But they will get the "Bugs" out of them. I did get my test drive yesterday, not bad for what it is. How ever @ $40k I think I will stick to my Lincoln's...
November 13, 2011 at 1:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jamesbordonaro (James Bordonaro) says...
Fire issue may be explained by what was done to store car after the tests according to today's article on MSNBC.com link is here:
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news...
I welcome the Volt to the lineup of eco-friendly cars already on the road. I think it's a bit of an overstatement for the Gazette to say this is a new concept in auto design. Doesn't the Toyota Prius run on electricity and then switch to gas? Difference may be that the gas engine of the Volt recharges the batteries rather than directly powering the car but I haven't seen any specs on the car.
Also, I don't think the payoff is 25 years in terms of savings in not buying gas as one poster started before. That example assumes that the entire $40,000 cost is paid for over by saving gasoline. A better comparison would be the total operating cost of the Volt compared to a similarly sized gas powered car. As with all products, the costs will be initially high and will then go down as the vehicle ages. At some point, the costs of repairs will outweigh the benefits of purchasing a newer vehicle. While such calculations are difficult to make until a longitudinal study is made to determine how long the car will last, similar vehicles like the Toyota Prius have high re-sale values suggesting decades of overall economical ownership. Thank you Sen. Longbine for bringing this vehicle to the Emporia marketplace.
November 13, 2011 at 3:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bluebonnet (anonymous) says...
Sounds great, but, dude, that's more than I paid for my house!
November 14, 2011 at 12:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
James
It seems to me that the only sweet spot in such a purchase would be fuel economy, unless one considers owning something trendy a plus.
Taking two cost differentials, the cost of a Volt versus a compact and the cost savings in fuel, I think it would take something like eight years to recoup the initial investment in the volt.
It may ever be more, since I assumed two or three tanks of gas per week. On a one tank per week average it would take over 10 years.
It may be a worthwhile investment for some, but I think I'll stick with what I've got. I get 28 per gallon and it's paid for. The car 170K miles and I'm not even close to considering the purchase of a new car. If my maintenance costs get to where they're higher than a monthly payment then I may reconsider.
November 14, 2011 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jamesbordonaro (James Bordonaro) says...
For those who care to follow up: There was a report today that the government found no significant issue of fire with the VOLT. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/bus...
All the hype did was hurt sales of product which didn't deserve the negative publicity. On this issue I will place some of the blame on the Obama Administration's general reactionary political posture BTW, 88,000 Mini Coopers were recalled last week due to risk of fire. Difference was that was the manufacturer's decision. http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/...
January 20, 2012 at 11:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
James,
Do you suppose that GM being a large monetary contributor to the government and having a fairly largy " Lobby " contingent in D.C./Congress would have anything to do with the findings of the government ?
People can be very naive about how big business and their profits and government are, in most cases, very close, hand holding partners, silent partners, that is !!
JMO
January 21, 2012 at 8:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
booker5m (anonymous) says...
You forget the obama administration is full of transparency and would never hide anything ;)
January 21, 2012 at 8:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )