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Chevrolet Volt test drive coming up

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I will be getting a Volt on Tuesday, for a whole week.
I cannot wait to drive this car. I really enjoy its platform cousin, the Cruze. So I do have pretty high expectations for the Volt.

I will try to plug it as much as I can. Will also been working at a Hollywood Studio that week where EV charging should be available.

As usual, ask any questions you might have.

Conversation 15 comments

  2. I sat in a couple of them in the past year. And the back seat leg room is about the same as in the Cruze. Which means, not that great.
    Better han some, but not nearly as good as the new Jetta.
    And the Volt seats 2 only in the back.
    Which I think is actually fine, since most people never carry 3 other humans in the back seat anyway…

  3. Okay.

    I'm just curious about how you address the hype surrounding this car. Is it a good value for the dollar proposition for the masses? Or is it merely a niche/halo car that needs another generation's worth of development before it's worth purchasing.

  4. Heard something about these cars catching fire in the news. Be safe and most importantly…carry ingredients for SMORES!!!

  5. Let us know how much highway travel, A/C use affect the range…I've read that it affects it greatly but would appreciate your input. Also read the controls are confusing and poorly labeled….let us know. Seems to be a lot of them on dealers lots…must be a reason why and not just the price….I know I'm scared of anything new by GM…just means you are part of the test fleet

  6. not even close to Nissan Leaf, its got a gas engine, a fact GM hid until just before intro. Nissan needs no oil, no spark plugs, no tailpipe or exhaust system, yes it goes only 90 miles but Nissans studies show 80% of North Americans drive that or less daily. Forget it GM.

  7. Vince,
    Don't plug it in too much. Plug it in once and see how far you can go on a charge and see how it performs when the gas engine is making the electric power too. It should be seamless since, if I understand it correctly, the engine just generates power and doesn't ever drive the wheels. Also, does the airconditioning run off the engine or is it electrically driven?

  8. Havnt they halted production of these for the time being due to dealers being way overstocked with these?

  10. Thanks for all the suggestions.

    Production was halted for 5 weeks indeed.
    Which doesn't mean it's a bad car. It's just not for everyone, plus it is expensive. Their expectations were just too high.

    The Leaf is not for most people I know who like to get out and drive on weekends.
    For me, a roundrip to Malibu is about 70 miles alone.
    The Leaf is fine if you just go to work with it, or as a second car.
    I think the Volt could make a great main car. Not the Leaf.

    And GM was never hiding the fact the Volt had a gas engine. This was always known.
    The power does come from the electric motor and the engine is there to charge the batteries.
    GM had not mentioned that, in some rare cases, the engine can actually power the car as well. Long uphills etc.
    But it is always powered by the electric motor.

  11. My neighbors have got to be the most annoying fake greenies ever. They've always had at least one Prius and now they have a Leave AND a Volt. They don't keep any car longer than three years, which is very un-green. But whatevs.

    At least one of them didn't fully understand the limitations of electric cars. She said something like… "How the *uck can anyone design a car that can't go further than fifty miles?" Basically the Leaf crapped out this winter. That's about when they bought the Volt to sit next to the Leaf in the garage. We'll see how that goes.

  12. This is a politically-motivated product. If your REALLY care about the environment AND have the science smarts to address ALL the details; you'll discover that the Cruise will pollute the world MUCH MUCH LESS during it's lifetime than a Volt, Leaf, Prius, or etc. But for those with more money than brains, like movie stars, Senators, and Congressmen–I guess this one's for you!

  13. this is of course wone of the bes t cars aever made and it sa american for god sake bn not some foreign garbage

  14. Vince,

    Make sure to let us know about the noise levels coming from the engine in charge sustaining mode, acceleration associated with CS mode (and reactive engine RPMs) as well as driving on the highway over 70 MPH at which the gas engine is used to directly power the wheels in conjunction with the electric motor. It was said that the car was more efficient at that speed with a direct engine link assist vs running off of battery only at 70MPH+. My theory is that if the car ran at those speeds for an extended period of time, the battery would drain faster than what the engine charging could keep up with…thus leaving the engine as a safety net to keep the battery from reaching 0%.

    – FusioptimaSX

  15. Thanks to all the questions and interest. But I was just told that the Volt I was supposed to be getting this week was damaged, and not ready.
    So I will be getting it next month, hopefully…

    Meanwhile, they gave me an Acadia. (…)

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