But Mike, the “44 mpg Volt” was likely hardly 1/3 charged at the start. So it got infinite mpg for only 11 miles on EV, then 40 mpg for 112 miles through mountains and 70-80 mph highways, for a combined trip mpg of 44.
If the Volt had been fully charged before the 123 mile trip, all things being equal, it would have gone an estimated ~33 miles EV on the highway, used only 2.25 gallons of gas for the remaining 90 miles, and gotten 55 mpg for the trip.
Can you not see how dishonest the test was?
But Mike, the "44 mpg Volt" was likely hardly 1/3 charged at the start. So it got infinite mpg for only 11 miles on EV, then 40 mpg for 112 miles through mountains and 70-80 mph highways, for a combined trip mpg of 44.
Which is more realistic then just driving in 40 mile increments…then recharge…the drive another 40 miles. That driving test is very much like my commute every day…so I didn’t see anything dishonest about it. I don’t (nor 90% of everyone I know) have a minimum of 40 mile commute. Mine is 45 ONE WAY. For a total of 90 miles. Most people who work for me have a LONGER commute.
Only ~2 million people in the US have a commute that is like yours that is ~50 or more miles each way…whereas 150 million commute less than 20 miles each way…and you talk about what is more realistic for the adoption an an EV with a 35-50 mile range?!
Which is more realistic then just driving in 40 mile increments…then recharge…the drive another 40 miles.
Don’t be coy. Charge fully, and drive as far as you like without stopping, for starters. And don’t buy any vehicle that doesn’t fit your lifestyle, which is unlike 98.7% of the rest of the drivers in the US.
Seriously, I am sorry about you and your friends jobs. I commute 70 miles a day, so I can see the suck of 2 hours a day, I get it. But thankfully I found a vehicle that fits my lifestyle, drives awsome, and uses no gasoline for my commute…and yet can still go anywhere.
You should get a Prius-C (I can’t believe I wrote that; OK try a C-Max instead, drive it gently:)
Only ~2 million people in the US have a commute that is like yours that is ~50 or more miles each way...whereas *150* million commute less than 20 miles each way
According to WHO?
Here’s ONE link that disproves what you’re saying…
I’m following the posts with great interest, and have now concluded that the Volt is a mid level luxury cars whose owners want to make a statement. What that statement is I don’t know.
So far in my area I have yet to see one. Just walking my dog around the neighborhood, a distance of 2.5 miles, there are 4 Mercedes’s, 4 BMWs, 3 Cadillacs, One Prius, numerous pickup trucks selling for $40,000+, two Jaguars. The rest are all garden variety cars, both domestic and foreign.
Maybe there will be a break through some day and I’ll see a Volt.
@docnick who wrote “I’m following the posts with great interest, and have now concluded that the Volt is a mid level luxury cars whose owners want to make a statement.”
Yes, this is quite true for a large percentage of folks, if you follow them on gm-volt dot com
The funny thing is its a huge range of reasons, from personal vanity like you might expect to political, on both sides! It’s almost a bit bizarre that there could be so many different reasons.
There’s also a contingent like me who have typically never really cared for nor felt “luxury was worth it” who ended up with a Volt because we came to the realization it was a better choice for them than a Prius, Leaf, etc…and are pleasantly surprised to also get the the upscale part with it.
@MikeinNH:
Washington Post, 5-March-13, “Commuting in the U.S. is hellish — but at least it’s not getting worse”
Quote: “About 2.2 million workers have “long-distance” commutes that span at least 50 miles in each direction.”
Quote: "About 2.2 million workers have “long-distance” commutes that span at least 50 miles in each direction."
And that’s a distance of OVER TWICE the 40 mile commute you say the rest of the country does. What about the people who drive from from 40 miles to 100 miles??
You just conveniently excluded tens of millions of people.
@Mike, I think you posted the wrong link. That link shows “average annual miles traveled”, it does not show daily commute. In your oppinoin what percent of annual travel is daily commute?
@Mike - as I’ve stated before, it’s widely publicized data, and it hasn’t changed, 78% are 40 miles or less round trip; only 22% greater. Here’s a chart from 2012 of one-way commutes:
http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2012/05/07/20120507-commute.jpg
(The article is about how if you commute a lot of miles, you will get fatter 
I think you posted the wrong link. That link shows "average annual miles traveled", it does not show daily commute. In your oppinoin what percent of annual travel is daily commute?
Based on those numbers you can extrapolate the average number of miles driven in a day. Which is the real meaning since the volt needs to recharge at night. Based on the 40 mile per day or less to make the volt viable…that equates to under 11k miles a year.
@aventineavenue - what the heck does that chart mean?? It shows NOTHING. Is that nation wide…is that commute one way??..round trip??? What about daily mileage?? Which is the real issue. I don’t know about you…but I have a lot of other miles based on things like driving kids to soccer/baseball…going to friends/store/mall…Those miles also add up. And since it takes the volt 8+ hours to charge…the gas mileage keeps going down…That’s what real world examples are…NOT going to some possible made up chart and say…LOOK…most people can benefit from a Volt. Sorry…but you need to put more effort in your research. I’ve only been on it for 2 days and I’ve disproved several of your claims.
The average “working” man/woman aged 20 to 64 drives an average 14000 miles a year TOTAL, or an average 38 miles a day over 365 days. Some less for commute, some more for leisure. And many people have 2 or more vehicles to allocate different miles for different purposes.
A 35-50 mile range EV with a range extender (so you never get stuck) is near ideal a vehicle designed for the average working person. Let’s get them cheaper and more diverse in form factor.
@MikeInNH who wrote “Which is the real meaning since the volt needs to recharge at night.”
True, you’re a fool not to recharge your Volt every night…but you can also plug it in during the day when you get back from a quick trip (nice if you have solar panels). It takes less than 5 seconds.
It’s not hard at all to do 60+ EV miles a day, say on the weekend day by doing this. I’ve did 112 miles all EV returning home on a chilly October night. This is using L1 (regular outlets) Using some L2 stations, I drove over 130 miles round trip EV in one day to Boston and back.
A battery is not a gas tank. It’s much more convenient than that. It’s time to get out of the fuel tank fill up mindset that makes people think you drive 40 miles, and you must stop to fully recharge and wait…you only recharge what you need to get to your next stop all EV, or what is convenient because you wanted to stop to eat or shop anyhow…or not if you are in hurry. And if you screw up and misjudge it, no big whoop (well in an EREV anyhow:), just burn a a few ounces of gas.
@MikeInNH “I’ve only been on it for 2 days and I’ve disproved several of your claims.”
That is close to the funniest thing I have read in a LONG time. Which claims have you disproved again now?
@MikeInNH: THE CHART SHOWS THE PERCENTAGES OF PEOPLE WHO FALL IN TO A PARTICULAR RANGE OF LENGTH TO THEIR ONE-WAY COMMUTE:
http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2012/05/07/20120507-commute.jpg
EACH BAR REPRESENTS THE PERCENTAGE OF COMMUTERS FOR EACH RANGE OF MILES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRST BAR SHOWS THAT 29% OF ALL COMMUTERS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE A ONE WAY COMMUTE OF ONE TO FIVE MILES.
THE FIRST FOUR BARS ADDED TOGETHER ARE 78% AND REPRESENT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO COMMUTE 20 MILES OR LESS ONE WAY.
THE LAST BAR SHOWS THAT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A ONE WAY COMMUTE OF 35 MILE OR GREATER (LIKE YOU) AMOUNT TO ONLY 8% OF ALL COMMUTERS.
THIS COULD BE BETTER REPRESENTED WITH A PIE CHART, IMO.
oops sorry, I did not realize my caps lock was on
THE CHART SHOWS THE PERCENTAGES OF PEOPLE WHO FALL IN TO A PARTICULAR RANGE OF LENGTH TO THEIR ONE-WAY COMMUTE:
Show me the source…
And of those people who have less then a 1 mile commute…how many DRIVE? My sister takes a bus.
Sorry…but you still haven’t proved anything yet. And…that’s just commute miles…how about OTHER miles…where’s that???
@MikeInNH
"Published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Omnibus Household Survey, or OmniStats data, were based on a household survey of 1000 randomly selected households asked about their driving habits in the previous one month (done in 2003)."
When my wife and I were working full time we commuted by car. Mine was 16 miles one way and my wife’s was 18 miles one way. All commuting miles were within city limits. I worked with some poor souls who had daily commutes of 30 miles each way in all kinds of weather. I did not envy them.
It’s different when you are in business development; I had a job once where I drove nearly 40,000 miles per year, but that was mostly highway driving between clients. And very comfortable in a company paid for Delta 88 Olds.
Including all the other driving I used put 16,000 miles on my car and my wife’s car about 15,000 miles when we commuted to work.
@MikeInNH For what it’s worth, the Canadian government dept. of energy did a car trip study a while back. Only 25% of people driving to work lived more than 25KM (15.6 miles) away from work. Trips less than that represented about 60% of distances traveled. The balance (15%) commuted by public transit. Canada is a very big country, but even there long commutes are in the minority.