It could have been worse... They could have made it a diesel

Speaking of Tron cars, from the LA Auto Design Contest from last year I liked a couple of the odd cars like the Cadillac and the Nissan...

 

IMHO it should have been diesel, with an option to run biodiesel. If you're going to market a car as being "green" then you should actually make it "green" to begin with.

 

Technically, it is pretty damn green. If I owned it, I would use very little gasoline. It is about 20 miles for me one-way to work. Monday is my last day with it. I will make sure it is fully charged that morning and see if I can make it there and back without using any gas.

Making the same drive to work, I fill my Grand Cherokee around once a week, and it sucks down 18-20 gallons in that timeframe. My Jeep is so ungreen it is brown. Or whatever color is the opposite of green.

 

My commute is half that, however lots of hills. If it were diesel I wouldn't hesitate. I actually have seen a couple in my area and I like the looks better than the Cruze.

I'm actually holding out for the new Malibu and hoping GM offers a turbo diesel.

 

Hard to guess, but it does have the "Mountain" setting for hills, etc.. I'll bet you would use hardly any gas for a 20 mile a day drive.

Also..it has a function on the driver screen that acts as a sort of acceleration/braking gauge, to keep your right foot in line with being as efficient as possible.

 

lucky bastard. take lots of pics, fill it with people in backseat to shwo that it isnt a compact car.. how much room do you really need for people?

 

Okay, had some fun. 0-60 in "Sport" mode...around 9 seconds

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You can also hear the generator kick in pretty hard since I was drawing so much power out of the battery. It doesn't normally seem that loud.

 

The Volt has been on my wish-list for a while. It fits nicely into my personal goal to remove the capability for others to screw me through greed (excessive gas costs, utility bills, etc).

I'm less and less willing to assume debt as I get older, though. And 40k isn't sitting pretty in the bank account at this moment.

But talk about a perfect fit -- daily work commute is typically around 40 miles round trip. I'd love to visit a gas station 3 times a year.

I'm curious as to the reason for requiring premium. How is the factory sound system, Jason? Are there notes that specifically warn against installing aftermarket components?

 

Glad you like it! According to the owners manual mountain mode is something you'd use before you go up a big steep hill. The idea being that the car would charge the battery more aggressively while you're driving on a flat road, and rely on more battery power while you're going uphill. The thought being it's more efficient for the engine to have to run on flat ground and charge the battery than to have it strain more to propel the vehicle uphill.

From the manual:

 

It is FWD, right? Lock up the parking brake & wet the front tires If that doesn't work, do what the magazines do when they shoot an AWD truck doing a burnout. Strap or chain it to something heavy or immovable!

Have somebody video it!

 

My cousin bought a Volt back in April and he let me drive it for a little while.

Like you, Jason, I was surprised with how much it felt like a regular car.
Other than the eerieness of being stone quiet around town, you'd never know you were in anything other than a regular car.

It accelerates quite well. I accelerated quite briskly up a steep hill with no issues. The speed increased the whole way up the hill.

On the highway, it feels (or sounds) no different than a regular car. You'd never know the difference.

I didn't drive it till the gas engine came on and neither has my cousin. He works just a few miles from his house and he's run soley on battery power since he's gotten it.

The car is extremely well appointed and well put together. It does not have a compact car feel at all. Feels much more upscale.
I didn't get a chance to put it thru any twisties but I suspect that's not where the strength of the Volt lies.

Overall, was EXTREMELY impressed with the car.
I could own a car (or small pick-up) with this kind of drivetrain and this level of refinement if only the price of entry was lower. And I'm sure that will happen over time.

 

I used to really question (to put it mildly) the wisdom of creating the Volt. Now, I've warmed up to them quite a bit. See plenty of them out here and I suppose improved technology will eventually bring the price down to the point where it actually can stand on it's own in the marketplace without bleeding money or needing tax incentives.

Didn't consider driving one till your report Jason. Guess I'll reconsider now.

With only a 9 gallon tank, it's extremely low use of fuel, and the price of the 2 fuels, would running a diesel instead of a gasoline engine really matter in a car like the Volt?

I'm sure if the Cruze diesel takes off, we'll see another diesel car in Chevy's line up in very short order.

 

Sent from my DROID PRO using Tapatalk

 

Don't laugh, but there is a lot of talk on the street about the advocates for the visually impaired pushing for legislation to make EV/hybrid manufacturers install artificial "noise" devices for vehicles when they are in electric mode so the blind can hear them coming.
I like the idea of eventually converting it to biodiesel to make it "truly" green.
God... I love the ...

Seriously, I really like the new Malibu and if GM offers a turbo diesel Malibu, it will probably be my next new* car.

* That doesn't leave out Camaro, its just that now I'm considering buying a used SS.

 

The volt already has a pedestrian alert sound it can make by pulling a lever on the steering column.

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