Chevy Volt

A lot of Leafs blowing around my LA neighborhood

The perfect plug-in for city folk?

Where a plug-in electric car makes a lot of sense

So, a new Chevy Volt ad finds the Volt telling its gas-guzzling parents that it’s electric. Even when the Volt is at the gas station converting gasoline into electricity, I wonder? Maybe.

Nevertheless, it’s this EV focus that makes it so interesting how many Nissan Leafs are blowing around my neighborhood compared to Chevy Volts. Read more…

Is the Tesla Model S Bob Lutz’s new Toyota Prius?

The key to electrification.

Had GM focused on a Model S-like plug-in, rather than the Volt, would they be more successful?

I never liked ex GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and co-father of the Chevy Volt until I met him. Even then I often haven’t agreed with him, I love his tact, or lack thereof. Lutz shoots from the hip and makes no excuses.

And Lutz’s latest target is the idea that Tesla is such a smarter EV player than GM and the rest of the Big 3. Read more…

Better residual value: Hybrid cars versus plug-in cars

c hybrid offers best residual value compared to all hybrids and plug-ins

How does plug-in depreciation compare to hybrids?

Obviously, no one wants to buy a new car and then drive off the lot and suddenly realize its worth drastically less than what was paid. Unfortunately, all new cars lose value as soon as the dealer hands you the keys, which is why savvy financial folks, such as Warren Buffett, only buy slightly used cars.

And residual value after 5 years is an even scarier number.

So do hybrid or electric cars hold their value better? Read more…

Chevy Volt sales good, but way below forecasts

Not living up to the hype yet

California HOV access still providing a lift for the Volt

If you could imagine the perfect car for today, it would be one that would enable most to meet all their driving needs using nothing but cheap, off-peak electricity, but that is still backed up by a gasoline engine. Add a Toyota Prius-like price tag, and you have a home run.

The Chevy Volt is half that car. Technologically, it’s almost perfect. But in terms of price it’s a miss.

Thus, while June demonstrates that Volt sales seem to be stabilizing, they are still way below forecasts. Read more…

Goodbye to a key Chevy Volt figure, Tony Posawatz

The early days of the Volt.

Nothing but fond memories of GM’s Tony Posawatz

After 9/11 I knew I needed to make a change in my life. Eventually, that led to me becoming obsessed with US foreign oil dependence, especially US OPEC dependence. Inevitably, that made GM enemy #1. Whether it was Bob Lutz’s statements regarding the Prius, or GM’s decision to introduce its most gas-guzzling fleet of vehicles not long after 9/11, I couldn’t stand GM.

But then came the Chevy Volt. And Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz. Read more…

Crazy weather car advantage: Hybrids versus electric cars

Best car for crazy weather?

What’s the best car to own in a power outage?

With the lights still out in many parts of the Eastern US, many aren’t just having a hard time due to a lack of power, but also a lack of gasoline. So, what’s the best kind of car to own in these situations?

Of course, I’m only considering hybrid and electric cars, each of which has unique advantages compared to conventional gas-guzzlers in many scenarios. Read more…

10 years, minimally, before the plug-in revolution gears up?

Who killed the electric? An ignorant question?

The battery-powered world according to DOE secretary Chu

In the next 10 years, automakers will probably sell at least 150 million new vehicles in the US alone. Most of them will be traditional gas-guzzlers, although many will be turbo charged, fewer cylinder-engined guzzlers — a positive step at least. Nevertheless, many of those 150 million new guzzlers; however, will be on US roads for up to another 2 decades. Guzzling. Guzzling. Guzzling.

That paints a pretty sad story of US foreign energy dependence for at least the next 3 decades — a terrible tale that is supported by the latest suggestions from Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Read more…

My wife just fell in love with the Chevy Volt

Un oh. My wife's new passion.

And she doesn’t give one crap about plug-in technologies

I can still remember the debut of the original Chevy Volt concept. The long front end, like the Camaro and the Corvette. I had mixed feelings about that design, but in terms of a concept that form worked well I think. It drove the right kind of buzz. Nevertheless, it was the powertrain that I was focused upon. The design was largely irrelevant.

That sporty Volt design; however, meant a lot to many early fans of the Volt, and when GM reshaped the Volt to its current self after wind tunnel testing proved a real drag, many howled. For me, it was still all about the powertrain.

In hindsight though, I think the current Volt is exactly right, because my wife just fell in love with the Chevy Volt. Read more…

Toyota Prius plug-in tops April plug-in sales

Prius is hybrid and plug-in king in April

Chevy Volt recedes a bit from last month’s big numbers

Sales of both GM and Nissan plug-in cars declined last month compared to the month before. However, the Toyota Prius plug-in achieved its best month of plug-in sales yet at 1,654 units.

GM claimed limited California supplies. Nissan stood by its 20,000 sale’s target. And Ford, well Ford just decided not to sell any plug-ins in April. Read more…

Hybrids, plug-ins dominate best cars for An American Terrorist

The best car for An American Terrorist

Fighting foreign oil dependence one car at a time

As I’ve argued numerous times, the only thing that is really going to change American energy policy and consumer purchasing is a revolution in consumer psychology, outside of either force, or an almost miracle technological breakthrough. That’s the idea behind An American Terrorist. To shake up the energy independence conversation.

Anyway, the Nissan Leaf took top honors amongst the 5 best cars for An American Terrorist. Read more…