Every other hybrid up to this point is (almost) constantly using gasoline, assisting the battery pack in propelling the vehicle. The Volt will run up to 40 miles on a single charge without using a drop of gasoline. That means theoretically, you would never have to buy gas again, if you always drive less than 40 miles between charges.

Because of this, Volt is literally re-writing the way the EPA evaluates fuel efficiency for this type of vehicle, so that has to say something. Think of it as the first somewhat accessible/practical fully-electric car.

 

The cool thing with the Volt compared to other hybrids is a majority of people drive 20 miles or less (each way) to work or their destination. The thought is you wouln't even have to buy gas. If you were to go further than the 40 miles then the gas engine charges the battery and allows you to go further.

 

Perhaps Ms. Jacobs should drop by a Scion showroom someday

I've seen this "Toyota has only two brands" thing a few times ... dunno if it's just plain idiot journalists and their fact-checkers; or willingness to slightly fudge the facts to try to make GM look much worse than Toyota.

 

I'd go with the latter.

When Scion first hit with successful products like xB and tC, it was another case of "whatever Toyota touches turns to gold" and "they really have the pulse of the young buyer". Now the lineup has become increasingly bizzare as if to cover up what lousy products they are (new xB, xD) and you rarely hear Scion associated with Toyota.

 

Scion was also created when they were trying to overtake GM as the largest auto company. IMO Scion allowed them to make a cheap vehicle without tying the "Toyota" name to it.

 

And their sales reflect that, too ... only 33k through 7 months, down 58% ... especially bad considering they sold over 170k back in 2006. But of course you don't hear anything in the press about this failure.

IMO the problem with Scion is that when you produce quirky, unique cars there's no way to follow them up. They tried "evolving" the xB by doing what most manufacturers do to most cars: make it bigger, heavier, with more toys. But that took them away from what made the first one successful in the first place and it failed. It's the same basic predicament as the PT Cruiser, New Beetle, or HHR, but at least those were just single models within a brand and the manufacturers smartly realized it was better to just drop them rather than try to follow them up. Not as easy with an entire marque built around that principle. Toyota has now announced Scion cars will from this point on be "one model and out", but I can't see them producing that many 'unique' vehicles one after another.

 

I understand your point but maybe my question should have been is the Volt really better than any current hybrid. Better in terms of overall cost of the car, fuel cost, etc.

Not using gasoline is nice if you never need to drive more than the 40 miles before you can wait to recharge but electricity isn't free.

I don't know...I've nothing against the concept of an electric car and you've got to start somewhere but I think we have a long way to go.

 

Electricity may not be free, but its a lot cheaper (1/10th?) than gasoline.

I'd be willing to bet at some point the Volt or a similar Volt-like product will incorporate roof mounted solar panels to extend the electric range further than 40 miles.

 

Tesla wanted to make it free. He had some kind of plan, too bad he is dead

 

First, the Volt is an Electric Vehicle with a range extender generator. The drive train is very different than any other hybrid out there. On electricity, the estimate is 2.75 cents per mile. Say it is that, at 40 miles, it cost you $1.10. In a Prius, you have used close to a gallon of gas at 50mpg city, say 4/5 a gallon. At 2.85 a gallon, you would have spent $2.28. So, city driving costs half as much. If you drive less than 40 miles per day, the cost of energy used would be cut in 1/2 when compared to a Prius. It will take a while to make up the difference if prices stay at this same ratio, but I doubt the ratio will stay the same.

Second, at current prices of gas and the premium you are going to pay for the hybrid technology in today's hybrids, you are still looking at few hundred thousand miles to make up the difference from the base models. This was based on info that I read in a magazine that said assuming gas is 2.85 and you aren't paying any interest on the car. A simple, calculation of differences in fuel economy and the price of the hybrid.

Right now the extra cost of any hybrid/EV doesn't make economic sense. Gas will need to get much higher for this to happen.

 

For me swapping my Tahoe for the Volt would save me $7.25 per 40 miles in fuel costs alone. If it wasn't for the projected MSRP I'd seriously consider the Volt as my daily driver as my daily round trip is 22 miles. (Only works out to about $454 saved per year, and my Tahoe is paid off, so it'd more of a novelty than anything else.)