Before the Government seized Chevrolet and sent the stock price to 27 cents, the Chevy Volt concept looked like this:
The Government-produced Volt looks like this:
This is why our old-style Soviet, Government-run economy is a bad idea.
The car conceals a massive Korean-built, highly toxic and intensely flammable Lithium battery that runs on our 70% coal-fired electrical grid. It can run on pure electricity for the first 10 to 40 miles. During that time, it produces about 5x more carbon (which green plants love, of course) per mile than gasoline powered cars. After that, it gets 15 to 25 mpg under gasoline power at typical speeds with the headlights and A/C turned on, or up to 50 mpg if driven slowly with no additional electric demands, according to Government press releases.
The U.S. Government says its car will use a 1.0L gasoline engine that drives the wheels electrically, but will not recharge the battery. It has a total range of "several hundred" miles between gas stations, and also requires 6-8 hours charging time on a household plug. The cost is about $1 per charge at off peak rates, which equates to the cost of gasoline power under most driving conditions.
The good news is that the Government has decided to grant itself an arbitrary "230 mpg" rating, which assumes daytime driving of 50 miles between charges, traveling at low speed without the air conditioning, stereo, or wipers, and assuming you have access to free electricity. During those 50 miles, system carbon emissions are similar to burning about 5 gallons of gasoline. Unlike their usual gasoline mpg rating system, the government seems to be calculating mileage expectations based on constant-speed city driving, since highway air resistance discharges the car's battery system more quickly.
Government workers needed more time than originally anticipated to "re-invent" things like windshield wipers and radios that didn't quickly drain the battery, so the Government Volt will be released late for model year 2011. It will cost north of $40,000, and arrive just in time for 99 cent gas.
I can't wait.
It will probably cost $40k which will make it ridiculously expensive for the avg comrade ;)
ReplyDeleteI think if we really wanted to reduce our carbon print we should be using liquid natural gas. What do you think about that? A lot of countries in Europe are using it and seems to work well.
"I think if we really wanted to reduce our carbon print we should be using liquid natural gas."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, and CNG systems like the $25K Honda Civic NG are already available, with $4K tax rebates that pay for a home pump.
Those are emission free, unlike coal powered electrics which pollute like crazy. That is, if you consider carbon a pollutant, which green plants most certainly do not.
If this car cost 40k, it will be a flop. I know where i can buy a 93 Mercedes Benz, with 130k miles, for what i would pay in sales tax for this volt.
ReplyDelete"I know where i can buy a 93 Mercedes Benz, with 130k miles, for what i would pay in sales tax for this volt."
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder if the Government is going to charge $600 for an extension cord?
http://www.teslamotors.com/electric/charging.php
...$600 for 5 more miles per charging hour?