But by not financing it for gwmort and the bank/GM selling it on the used market instead would open up the possibility for somebody like me to scoop one up for less than buying new One day......
Loved our 04 even with nearly 190,000 but insurance would not fix her, and after almost 13 year in a Prius (02 had 80,000 when sold in 11 & the 04) bought a 2011 volt, at first was doubtful check engine on twice in first 3 weeks (all cover by the EV / Hybrid warranty) he has setteled down to between 47 & 52 miles on a charge, and 8 gals in the last 2 weeks even beat the 04 on my 35mile commute (each way), averaged 48-53 mpg on the Prius. I know the Volt will do better one i get a charger installed at work. And on most weekends with charging at the mall & home will get almost 80 on a charge, last weekend is the first we used any gas .30gals.
My workplace offers free coffee and tea. I don't drink coffee or tea. I don't imagine they offer vouchers or what not for other drinks. My workplace has a few "preferred parking spots" (near the entrance) for "fuel efficient vehicles". I don't park in those spots. There's other amenities that I and/or others also don't make use of. I wouldn't be surprised if there's perks that you're not using, or perhaps don't even know about. For example, does your employer have an arrangement for discounts on cell phone plans? Does everyone know about it and use it? Do they have an arrangement for your carrier? Your coworker's? If the workplace wants to encourage employees driving cars that can charge, or otherwise offer that as a benefit, that's their business. Especially since electricity is something they already have anyway. I do imagine that if other employees got their own plugins, they could get free charging too. If they want to offer charging for a fee, that's also up to them. Not all benefits my workplace offers/has offered in the past are/were free, either.
One the San Jose new AAA office now has a labeled parking spots for "fuel efficient" vehicles. Guess who parked there? Dodge with Hemi v8 and other large cars. I asked one of the employee... How are they fuel efficient? I was driving my wife's Rav4ev and I did not even park on those spots. He just laughed about it. People just can't read, just dumb, or rude (or all three).
Just so we are clear, the MPG Volt displays is not fuel economy but gas consumption. So you cannot compare it to the 04 Prius MPG. Unless you are comparing gas consumption of both. Basically, you are saying, if I use more electric fuel I will use less gas. Do you know your fuel economy of your electric miles? How about gas FE under gas miles? Or thr composite of both?
I used to park in those Fuel Efficient Vehicle spots all the time when I drove a gas hog of an SUV. Honestly I did it purposely because I think the concept is ridiculous. "Reserved" parking for a particular TYPE of VEHICLE is absurd, and there's no legal or moral rationale behind this. Should an old man or a pregnant lady who drives something less efficient be forced out of this spot? It's not like it was a charging station for an EV. SPH-L300 ?
Disability and Expected mom reserved spits are actually closer / better spots. The concept is simple. Rewarding instead of punishing. Perhaps, you like the idea of guzzler tax?
Offering perks for employees is a very, very well accepted practice. It's happened for decades. For example, employees would get preferred parking for those who carpooled. How does encouraging clean & efficient driving now differ? What about special parking for bicycles & motorcycles? What about the employee-of-the-month parking spot?
Your wright, but the more I can run in electric the less gas. i have been running about 15 miles a day on gas .8 to 1.2 gallons a day, i am just looking at what I pay to big oil, the Prius used 6 to 7 gallons in 6 days all our bladder tank would take. Calculating the Volts form miles listed, and gallons used on the display the Volt is in the 32 - 36 mile range, not good but in last 27 days only used 8 gal vs almost 28 for the Prius, my partner is trying to set up Edison for the EV charge rate, at the moment we use a bout $50 a month charging (110V stating @ 3:30 pm(max rate)) will drop once rate is changed and we get a 220 charger.
I'm about to hit 30,000 miles on my Volt and other than that stripped axle issue upon delivery I have had zero issues with the car. My EV percentage has climbed to over 80% now that I live closer to work (18 miles vs. 50 miles). I still drive too hard and too fast to even come close to Dennis's sweet EV efficiency numbers though. I was aiming for a 3,000 mile tank but I ended up sitting at a crime scene for nearly 8hrs and had to leave the car idling so I could run the AC to keep from melting in 105F temps. uggggg I ended the tank at only 2,500 miles. Damn crackheads!
It will really be more interesting at 200,000 mile mark. 50 - 90,000 is nothing for miles in todays' cars. DBCassidy
Scott's post was from 9 months ago. The highest car is now up around 164k miles (just fell off the list probably due to a need to periodically reauthenticate with OnStar). The next car is at 139,000. I'm at 86,800 with no problems (56,000 miles on battery). I've hardly noticed any battery degradation so far. I got to work on battery after 45.5 miles this morning and still had another 5 estimated remaining.
Moving closer is probably the greatest green move you did. Switching over to another fuel (electricity) would do less impact. Doing both is even better. Doing both while raising efficiency of both fuel is the best. Ever thought of what MPGe composite you'll be getting with PiP in your new commute and also able to charge at work? Since my commute is different than yours, they are not comparable. My new commute is about 8.5 miles one way. However, I cannot charge at work. It'll be interesting to see what EV ratio I get. Yea, he is getting 37 MPG on gas miles with 24% EV ratio and his lifetime consumption is 49 MPG. Ouch. A regular Prius would've been better for him and saved him a bunch of electricity and charging time.
Perhaps. Meanwhile, I was able to re-adjust my commute schedule slightly so I'm back up to 90-95 MPGe combined for the past couple of weeks. Yeah! Perhaps. Meanwhile, I was able to re-adjust my commute schedule slightly so I'm back up to 90-95 MPGe combined on my 110-125 mile roundtrip drive for the past couple of weeks. Yeah! I just needed to charge a bit more after getting to work in the morning in order to avoid a brief drive on a cold gas engine. Now, I just have the one stretch of driving on gas on the way home.
Agreed! I don't think the PIP would have been any better and it surely wouldn't have been as enjoyable. My commute is only 18 miles one way but I climb 1,000ft. on the way to work and at freeway speeds. Even driving home I am doing 70-75mph. The PIP really doesn't like high speed so I'd be using gasoline every day even if it is a small amount. During my long trips the PIP would trounce the Volt by about 10mpg but from an enjoyment factor I would be unhappy 90% of the time with the PIP vs. the 10% of the time with the Volt. Not that the PIP is bad. It's just that my commute and driving patterns don't favor the low speeds and light throttle required to use the PIP as an EV. With a commute like yours (or your old one) I would be closer to the PIP sweet spot and definitely have a better MPGe. We just drive too damn fast in the west and everything is so spread out.
If you find the Model S doesn't fit the budget, then look into getting a Leaf. Both are better than the Volt. DBCassidy
