I bought a Chevrolet Volt recently.

[Anorak]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

Coldest I've ever been on a motorcycle was riding across the Dumbarton Bridge in July.

Late afternoon?

So, there's a display that shows real time energy consumption. Stopped at a traffic light in 50 degrees, it's about 500 watts. With the heater set on 80 degrees in the less efficient comfort setting, the power draw hits about 7,000 watts and then as the cabin heats up drops down to about 4,000 watts. In case you're curious, one horsepower is about 745 watts.

[Anorak]

If I leave an Ipad on the front passenger seat while I'm driving, it triggers the seat occupancy detector which then periodically triggers the seatbelt warning light and sound. A 10 lb. bag of stuff won't do it, just the Ipad. The chime was driving me nuts until I figured it out.

[Anorak]

These came last yesterday. It's about fucking time. I got my plates about two months ago but I have been waiting until I received my h.o.v. stickers before I put the plates on. The Fastrack lane is free if you don't have plates on your car but you still can't use the car pool lane.

[BCC]

I've been in Chino 2 1/2 days and seen more Volts on the road here, than during the entire 9 months on the east coast, since we got ours.

Around 17,000 miles so far and going great.

[Keith]

Wheen are some moon discs going on that thing, to really get the mileage up?

[Lewy]

$60k in Australia. Probably why I have only seen one on the road since November release date.

I would buy one if they were $30k.

Instead I bought a Focus which only cost twice as much as you guys pay

[KungPaoDog]

So, how's the Volt running?

[NikonsAndVStroms]

In the past 2 days I've seen 3 volts, 2 leafs, and 1 Tesla model S. I mean you see more Prius's than that in 1 minute of city driving but still they are out there!

[Anorak]

Originally Posted by KungPaoDog

So, how's the Volt running?

Great. I drove it to L.A. again and it averaged about 41 mpg using gasoline. I waited until the Grapevine to switch to battery to see what the electric range on a long grade is. About 28 miles. As the weather has warmed up, the estimated range on a full charge is usually about 46 miles. I saw 48 miles on one charge before on the freeway before it switched to the range extender.

[vtwin]

Did you put it in "mountain mode" while going down the Grapevine? If so, how much charge did it return?

[Anorak]

Originally Posted by vtwin

Did you put it in "mountain mode" while going down the Grapevine? If so, how much charge did it return?

I didn't use "mountain mode". I didn't have any need for even a partial charge. Charging the battery with the range extender is more expensive than plugging it in.

On the north side of the Grapevine, the battery increased the charge by only about five miles which was a surprise. I had a generic OBDII scanner hooked up to the car and saw that even when it is running the engine, the engine will shut off after the car has been coasting for a while. When the throttle is used, it will not immediately start the range extender.

[eatpasta]

I dont really see the point to hybrids unless all you're doing is sitting in stop and go traffic..... for that they make a TON of sense in the way when you're sitting, you're not using any fuel.... or you can lane split on a bike.
I know TDI's come up a lot in these discussions but last year the wife and I bought the Passat TDI and on our annual trip to the Historic Car races in Monterey with four people and the trunk completely jam packed full of shit, it got 46 mpg.
For the mileage and comfort of the car for 4 adults...... its tough to beat

[Anorak]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

I dont really see the point to hybrids unless all you're doing is sitting in stop and go traffic..... for that they make a TON of sense in the way when you're sitting, you're not using any fuel.... or you can lane split on a bike.
I know TDI's come up a lot in these discussions but last year the wife and I bought the Passat TDI and on our annual trip to the Historic Car races in Monterey with four people and the trunk completely jam packed full of shit, it got 46 mpg.
For the mileage and comfort of the car for 4 adults...... its tough to beat

I bought a Chevy Volt recently.

[eatpasta]

Originally Posted by Anorak

I bought a Chevy Volt recently.

im very curious to see how it works out over time. A lot of people seem to like what they do but everything I have read about them essentially says they are a good concept with a poor execution.

[BCC]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

im very curious to see how it works out over time. A lot of people seem to like what they do but everything I have read about them essentially says they are a good concept with a poor execution.

I don't know any owners that say the Volt has poor execution (though I'm sure there must be some). Close to 20k on ours, trouble free. 2/3rd of the miles powered by the batteries, without running the auxiliary.