The Electric Problem
Electric cars are coming. Range extended hybrids will be the first, and then popular, name brand full on electric cars.
But there are some issues.
For plug-ins, how do you calculate MPG? For the Volt, GM claimed it would get 230mpg city, then the EPA said no, but plugged the government built car as the savior of all things holy.
The problem is how far you drive it. Drive under 40 miles, and you are all electric. Drive to Grandma's house in Duluth and you are going to be burning a fair bit of gas - the Volt will probably get 40mpg or so. The media has focused on how you measure such things, and the answer is - its tricky.
But I have another, and realistically bigger problem. I dont have a garage. Actually, not only do I not have a garage, most of the people who live in cities and a great number of people who commute into cities do not have garages. They live in apartments, they live in townhouses, they live in 2 family homes, and even those who at one point had a garage they could conceivably park their car in have accumulated so much stuff that landslides are a significant risk when opening the garage door. Range extended electric vehicles and plug in hybrids (the distinction is whether the gasoline motor ever drives the wheels, in a plug in Prius it will, in a Volt it wont) need a garage space, or an extension cable awkwardly run out to the car in front of the yard.
Practical things like this matter to car buyers. I would speculate that I just cut in half the number of potential Volt owners.
However, perhaps the biggest killer is this: once you have bought your home, accumulated enough wealth to buy a Volt, then cleared out all the crap in your garage you accumulated in the process of accumulating wealth, a vehicle plugged into a 110 V circuit for eight hours gets about the same energy as what is in a third of a gallon of gasoline.
I hate slow pumps at the gas station. They drive me crazy. I specifically avoid stations which I know to have slow pumps. A third of a gallon in 8hrs? That is a whole different scale of slow.
Sure, you can plug it and forget it, but still, that is a very small of energy to put "in the tank" overnight, in your garage that you had to clear out just for the purpose.
Dont get me wrong, I love the idea of the Volt. I think it is a great step forward in cars and car design. If it works well, I think people will willingly and in great numbers overcome their doubts and worries and buy the car and all subsequent EVs, but it is important to see all of the issues.
If you are a home owner with a spare space in the garage, have a 220v hookup, work in the city or close to home, have extra income to spend on saving the environment, are a first adopter and dont mind buying from Govt. Motors, boy have I got a car for you.
But there are some issues.
For plug-ins, how do you calculate MPG? For the Volt, GM claimed it would get 230mpg city, then the EPA said no, but plugged the government built car as the savior of all things holy.
The problem is how far you drive it. Drive under 40 miles, and you are all electric. Drive to Grandma's house in Duluth and you are going to be burning a fair bit of gas - the Volt will probably get 40mpg or so. The media has focused on how you measure such things, and the answer is - its tricky.
But I have another, and realistically bigger problem. I dont have a garage. Actually, not only do I not have a garage, most of the people who live in cities and a great number of people who commute into cities do not have garages. They live in apartments, they live in townhouses, they live in 2 family homes, and even those who at one point had a garage they could conceivably park their car in have accumulated so much stuff that landslides are a significant risk when opening the garage door. Range extended electric vehicles and plug in hybrids (the distinction is whether the gasoline motor ever drives the wheels, in a plug in Prius it will, in a Volt it wont) need a garage space, or an extension cable awkwardly run out to the car in front of the yard.
Practical things like this matter to car buyers. I would speculate that I just cut in half the number of potential Volt owners.
However, perhaps the biggest killer is this: once you have bought your home, accumulated enough wealth to buy a Volt, then cleared out all the crap in your garage you accumulated in the process of accumulating wealth, a vehicle plugged into a 110 V circuit for eight hours gets about the same energy as what is in a third of a gallon of gasoline.
I hate slow pumps at the gas station. They drive me crazy. I specifically avoid stations which I know to have slow pumps. A third of a gallon in 8hrs? That is a whole different scale of slow.
Sure, you can plug it and forget it, but still, that is a very small of energy to put "in the tank" overnight, in your garage that you had to clear out just for the purpose.
Dont get me wrong, I love the idea of the Volt. I think it is a great step forward in cars and car design. If it works well, I think people will willingly and in great numbers overcome their doubts and worries and buy the car and all subsequent EVs, but it is important to see all of the issues.
If you are a home owner with a spare space in the garage, have a 220v hookup, work in the city or close to home, have extra income to spend on saving the environment, are a first adopter and dont mind buying from Govt. Motors, boy have I got a car for you.
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