The Volt gets 127MPG in real-world testing

[il d00d]

Good readin' - MotorTrend takes out the Volt and puts it through its paces: link here

[Monster Dave]

That's great news! 

I thought it was going to be a case of:

[Porsche Monkey]

Impressive

[Randimus Maximus]

Too bad they don't tell you how many times they charge the battery, nor what the mileage is during charge sustaining (CS) mode.

A little different story: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10/motor-trend-reveals-the-secret-to-getting-127-mpg-in-chevy-volt/

[Speedbag]

So how do they correlate battery use with MPG?

[mitt]

So how do they correlate battery use with MPG?

The epa has a formula.  Not sure how much science/truth is behind it though.

mitt

[Randimus Maximus]

The epa has a formula.  Not sure how much science/truth is behind it though.

mitt

They haven't released it yet, have they?

[Drjones]

and? It's still a freaking $40,000 car.  There are two people who will buy one: A) those who have money to throw away i.e. household incomes over $150k B) total dumbassess who failed 6th grade math.

At least the Nissan Leaf is approaching sensibility at $33k.

Go buy a Camaro at $22k and one would be hard pressed to spend $18k worth of gas over ten years.  Now $11k worth of gas is definitely feasible and just breaks parity cost to own with the Leaf.

[Randimus Maximus]

and? It's still a freaking $40,000 car.  There are two people who will buy one: A) those who have money to throw away i.e. household incomes over $150k B) total dumbassess who failed 6th grade math.

At least the Nissan Leaf is approaching sensibility at $33k.

Go buy a Camaro at $22k and one would be hard pressed to spend $18k worth of gas over ten years.  Now $11k worth of gas is definitely feasible and just breaks parity cost to own with the Leaf.

You forgot to factor in the $2K for the high voltage charger ($490 plus installation).

Not to mention the car is the size of a Corolla.

You could wait until 2012 and get a Plug-In Prius. 

[cokey]

and if you plug it into your house?  light bill goes up how much?  yea where are the savings?

[Randimus Maximus]

and if you plug it into your house?  light bill goes up how much?  yea where are the savings?

that can vary as well.

depends on when you charge the car (many utilities have discounts for "off-peak" usage - i.e., nighttime).

some utilities have tiered rates based on usage levels.

will also depend on how often you charge it up!

[cokey]

true..  only thing i don't understand is though, most of these batteries these green cars use, make more polution in their creation then my car without a cat does in 20 years.. 

[redxblack]

Plug the car in at work and stick it to the man! Better yet, mount a wind turbine to the roof and run the gen to the battery array. Perpetual motion solved.

[Randimus Maximus]

Better yet, mount a wind turbine to the roof and run the gen to the battery array. Perpetual motion solved.

That sounds crazy enough to work!

[il d00d]

Yeah, they did not necessarily fudge the numbers, but the didn't disclose everything up front either. I guess it is a hard thing to measure using the conventional MPG model.

But, this is how cost breaks down.  Assuming gas is about $2.70/gallon and electricity is $.10/kwh:
Total cost per mile for the 300 miles of their test = $.036/mile.  That is equivalent to about a 75MPG ICE car.  
In electric only mode, it costs about $.02/mile to run - in dollars/mile, that is about the same as a car getting 135 MPG.  By way of comparison, the Prius gets about 50MPG combined, which works out to about $.054/mile.

At least the Nissan Leaf is approaching sensibility at $33k.

After the tax credit, the Volt will be $33.5k.  No word on tax credits if any for the Leaf.

and if you plug it into your house?  light bill goes up how much?  yea where are the savings?

It is a 8kwh battery, and electricity is about $.10/kwh depending on where you are, so that's $.80/charge.  Assuming you charge and drive 40 miles every day that's another $24/mo.  Potentially, depending on your driving habits, that is all you pay in fuel.