Traded in the PIP for a new 2014 Volt...

That's why we focus on goals instead.

 

Driving PiPishly means that when I wish to extend range, I employ the skills learned over two years of the kind of range management that you enjoy so much, and which make me a better Volt driver in those circumstances.

OMG. I'm PiPlitically uncorrect! And me a Bay Area liberal. The shame of it.

Apologies to those I offend, but I find chairman, mankind and driving PiPishly to be accurate, resonant and evocative terms. The latter would be well recognized by any of the legion of drivers behind me doing 55 in a 55 zone over the past two years.

If it makes anyone feel better, when I mash down the accelerator of the Volt, I will refer to it as driving Voltingly.

 

Come on John, now you are just putting up silly comparisons.
Yes, sales of the Cruze are crushing sales of the Volt.
Guess what? Sales of the Cruze are crushing the classic Prius liftback as well.

 

(my emphasis added)

John, I owe you most of an apology.

You're talking about a praiseworthy social change objective which I support in the large.

However, it's not exactly what draws me to plug-ins and, eventually, EVs, and to participate in these discussions.

I want to feel good about what I'm doing to help improve the world. But I stop short of advocacy, except by example. And I'm also out to have fun - perhaps, from your POV, a bit too much of it in this discussion.

So I guess when I see terms like "Our goal" and "we," I feel goaded to display that I'm not up on the same soapbox, as much as I respect those who are.

 

I'd call comparing sales now to that of 11 years ago silly and diversion from addressing need. Is this discussion about the merit of 2014 choices or what we should support looking forward?

I enjoy owner sharing of observation & experience. We can definitely help each other out and contribute to a better future. But instead, it inevitably degrades to just a bunch of posts about EV range & power... working against even gen-2 of Volt itself.

Notice the mixed messages coming from Volt owners? That lack of clarity is the true worry. Asking for goals results in a wide array of answers. That wasn't the case when for gen-2 of Prius.

 

That wasn't the case, because the Prius was one dimensional.
If you truthfully want an efficient vehicle that the masses will adopt, it must appeal to a wide variety of buyers with different priorities.
Or, you need to convince everyone to have the same priorities.

I don't believe the later is realistic. I wish it were and that everyone would only be concerned about efficiency, but that simply isn't the case. If it were, hybrids would have a much larger market share than 3-4% after 15 years.

 

What in the world does that have to do with having clear goals?

 

Speaking of silly diversions, whenever John cranks up his sales pitch for needs-not-wants, mainstream, and the evils of grossly oversized battery packs I often recall this old Wendy's commercial:

 

I'm curious about what happens when Voltingly CS Mode is on by the time accelerator is mashed.

For those who use Autobahns, is 150km/h possible?

 

The problem I see with the adoption rate of hybrids and plug ins is that fact that the price still needs to come down and there needs to be more availability and ability to charge your plug in or EV.

When the Volt first came out, it was kind of expensive. Beyond the MSRP, it was limited in availability and dealers here were charging over MSRP because it was a specialty vehicle. No thanks. With the PiP, I have yet to see one at a dealership to even have the option to say "I like it". On top of that, there needs to be a more consistent subsidy, rebate, or whatever perk offered for being a part of the alternative energy cult. The incentives are so varied and hard to understand depending on place to place. Not all Hyundai and Kia dealerships are authorized as hybrid sellers from what I've been told going to a Hyundai dealership to see a Sonata hybrid. It would be cool if there were Tesla dealerships so the mass can look at buying one of them, but you have to special order one. What about that fugly Mitsubishi EV? Are there even Mitsubishi dealerships anymore? The Honda dealership in town has about 4 dozen Civics but I have only seen 3 hybrids in two years on their lot. It isn't easy to just look into buying an alternative fuel car besides buying a Prius or something more mainstream.

Now when you get a plug in or EV, I love the concept. I can easily charge it at home and the idea of using PV power in your home to charge one is so tempting, but where do you find charging stations in public? They finally built 4 Tesla stations at the outlet mall here in town and at the Town Center mall in Jacksonville, I found a few charging stations as well. Beyond that, I haven't seem any charging locations. I envy the people who can charge at work or live in a progressive city that has readily access to them. I guess I just live in an area not quite ready for that lifestyle. I do love my Prius, though, and hope the next time I can afford a car that I can find practicality in one that can be charged.

 

Cheaper than a middle end regular Prius!

Here's a question for you.

I commute 180 miles sometimes 200 in a day at least once per week (usually once a week). Then it's 10 miles a day. Family of five...would the volt be a good car for this? Let's say it's just my car at first.

The family of five bit might kill it because I do enjoy lugging everyone around easily in our liftback. We are considering a second car. Maybe we should wait for the Volt 2 or 4th gen - but just wanted to hear your thoughts and theory on the 180 miles commute.

 

Volt is more enjoyable to drive, and will give you about 80 miles EV out of your weekly 220 (not counting weekends, and without plugging in at the other end of the long commute). PiP will hold your family of five, larger and more convenient cargo space, and still do 51 weekly miles EV and then well over 50 mpg on gas.

What are you looking for? New toy, more fun car to drive, maxing out EV, driving more economically ... ?

 

My question is: what if no batt juice available...top speed still the same?

 

Best of all worlds. It seems like the Volt all thing considering is the best bang for the buck? The other x-factor (besides family) is that the Volt 2.0 is not too far away, like an announcement of details within a year and released next year? Same with Gen IV Prius (don't know if the Plugin will be though).

I want to have fun driving while being economically and environmentally sound - are these oxymorons?

 

No, just that there are tradeoffs. The Volt is more fun to drive and operate, but the PiP is more economical to operate, and more environmentally sound - usually. For a long discussion of the two cars, see this thread.

(Just to confuse the matter - EV isn't always the most environmental choice. This study shows that if you live in Colorado, where most of the power is from coal, the PiP is causing more climate change pollution when running on EV than gas.)

 

Yes, the top speed is the same for both EV and with the gas engine on. The only difference is performance. Acceleration in EV mode is good above 60 mph but is noticeably better with the gas engine contributing as well.