Take That Big Oil!
 

Not Bad! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/cool1.gif

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/351/66351767.jpg

Thats exactly what I like to see, and its what I expected to see on a statement. Most trips are within the volts electric range, so you get the "cheaper" part of it most of the time. But on longer trips, or if you wanna travel faster the generator kicks in and you use fuel.

Now, how much as your electric bill gone up due to charging the battery? I'm betting you are still ahead of the game as compared to a traditional IC car.

He used 198 kWh , assume $0.15/kwh, that is about $30 bucks for 410 miles.

Oh yea, way ahead of the game.

In my area it costs 9.7 cents per Kwh, and according to that graph I used 198kwh to go 436 miles. That comes out to about $19.20 worth of energy (although it's probably less than that because I only charge the car on off-peak hours). So if you convert that to the equivalent of MPG @$3.80/gallon for regular fuel, I got the equivalent of 86 MPGs. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/cool1.gif

You get billed different rates for on and off peak in your home? When did this start?

Some plans even have "free" "night" time energy. Its getting fairly competitive.

Acu- Im really interested in the Volt- Tell me about the charging. How did you set up the charger at your house and what happens if you run out of charge(long trip, no chargers.) Can you run the car completely on gas if your out in the middle of west texas with no chargers anywhere?

I want one really bad for the cost effectiveness, but out here in Texas theres a lot of nothing lol!

No idea but the volt even has the ability to schedule the charges based on the cheapest off peak hours.

--- Post Update ---

Hey bud. In all honesty the car is designed for those who drive less than 50 miles per day to maximize efficiency. I've driven over 600 miles and I've used less than 1.3 gallons of fuel. If you are traveling long distances the cost effectiveness certainly dwindles since the combustion engine yields about 42 MPGs. City drivers will see the largest benefit.

Charging is super easy. The charger plugs into a normal 120v socket, and you can run extension cords to your car if need be. The actual charging end that plugs into the car is (humorously) shaped like a gas nozzle. Simply plug the sucker in and 10 hours later you are at full charge. If need be, you can buy the 240v adapter if your house is equipped for that which will net you a full charge in less than 4 hours.

I'M GONNA FIND YOU MOTHER****ER AND...erm... UNPLUG YOUR CAR!

Oh yea?! Well, if you do the alarm will go off and....and...drain my battery http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cry1.gif

Congratulations, you have achieved similar economy to a European Turbodiesel for twice the price. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/devil1.gif

Here is 0-60mph in a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder diesel...

Explain Mr. Crosby.

Well, a $25,000 diesel will do 60mpg in the UK.

You do realize that a US and UK gallon is different, right? 3.79L per gallon Vs. 4.40L per gallon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon

50mpg then ?

What about features, comfort, and the fact that I can get up to 100MPGs if I drive in the city? There are features in this car that I heavily doubt a $25k car could even dream of. Also, that $7500 tax credit will work out quite nicely next year.

I'm not debating that it isn't a nice car (inside) or that it can't get even much more mpg in urban driving.

But very high mpg cars have used here for a couple of decades and they're not slow either.

How does it do uphill ? Does the engine kick in ?

I do, and I was giving you US equivalents, hence the price in $.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswag...new-benchmarks

My lord that car is ugly. Kudos to the fuel efficiency though http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/biggrin1.gif

In all honestly, it takes sitting in a Volt to fully appreciate the features. It has both front and rear cameras, and sensors on each side to alert for lane deviating. The car has two 7" hi res screens, one for navigation the other for driving efficiency. The efficiency features alone are incredible, which guide you step by step on each drive to maximize fuel economy. You honestly wouldn't believe the pickup the car has on battery alone. I am consistently blown away. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/cool1.gif

I quite fancy one actually, I love all the technology. You can buy it as the Vauxhall Ampera here:

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/microsite/ampera/#/home

I really like that design! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/cool1.gif

--- Post Update ---

There is actually a "mountain mode" that adds more juice and creates more torque but diminishes battery life. One amazing thing is that that switching from battery to combustion engine is absolutely seamless. You feel zero difference in power when the switch is made.