PHEVs were such a misconceived idea. So many more parts to wear out for such little benefit.
Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
41–50 of 291 posts
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#42It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. However, it was probably inevitable once batteries got good enough. Removing the combustion engine and replacing it with more batteries probably saves far too much money. The current problem I have with electric vehicles is simply that right now they are "5 ye…
Realistically speaking, how important is it that a car last 20 years? If it only lasts 10 years, which current EVs seem on track for, so what? You're not actually out that much on an annualized basis. And don't forget that years 11 through 20 on an ICE car are quite a bit more expensive maintenance-wise. Depending on how much you drive, two electric cars over 20 years might well be cheaper than one gasoline car lasti…
> Depending on how much you drive, two electric cars over 20 years might well be cheaper than one gasoline car lasting that long.
This might be true if it weren't for the fact that the price of a new car keeps going up as a percentage of median income rather than down.
I had two cars bought new from the late 1990's (one finally got totaled). The annual maintenance cost could be quite high (I calculated that about $4K per year would be the breakpoint) on those and it would still come in lower than the equivalent class of car (another used car doesn't reduce the maintenance much and you have a lump payment). I would have the discussion with my wife to get rid of one of them every year, and every year we would come to the same conclusion--replace them when they die and not before.
Now, some of this is dependent upon whether your car is your sole source of transportation and whether you can cope with your car breaking down (money, time, etc.). It was no big deal for me to lose a car and put it in the shop--someone else will have a different reliability calculation.
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#43It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. However, it was probably inevitable once batteries got good enough. Removing the combustion engine and replacing it with more batteries probably saves far too much money. The current problem I have with electric vehicles is simply that right now they are "5 ye…
Realistically speaking, how important is it that a car last 20 years? If it only lasts 10 years, which current EVs seem on track for, so what? You're not actually out that much on an annualized basis. And don't forget that years 11 through 20 on an ICE car are quite a bit more expensive maintenance-wise. Depending on how much you drive, two electric cars over 20 years might well be cheaper than one gasoline car lasti…
A car’s lifespan is somewhat probabilistic, so if the average is only ten years then there’s a decent chance of a maintenance catastrophe well before that. People don’t like to make that sort of gamble.
That said, I have no idea why the other commenter thinks current EVs are five-year cars. My Model S is four years old and drives like new. I see no reason it won’t last just as long as a conventional car.
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it twice the expense? Probably not. Plug in hybrids are simply the worst of both worlds. You still need an engine and everything that goes with it, and your all electric range is anemic. Why would I buy a Volt when I could buy a Model 3, a Leaf, or another EV? Electricity is cheap, no need for fuel or oil changes, and the driving experience is better (at least in Teslas with quick 0-60 times). You also are still e…
Because most other EVs other than Tesla lack range, while you can still take a Volt on a long trip without having to plan around finding a special charging station. It’s the single best solution on the market to cutting fuel usage by about 90%, being fun to drive and not having all the headaches that go with range anxiety / locating available charging stations. The real question is why you’d by an all electric when t…
Because you’d buy a Prius (a wildly successful vehicle) instead of a PHEV (and still realize a drastic reduction in gasoline usage over the life of the vehicle, while still realizing a high level of reliability). There is a reason the Prius was often put into service as a taxi.
I’ve driven my Tesla from the west coast to the east coast with minimal hassle (using only Superchargers), and with newer EVs having longer range and fast charging stations being deployed rapidly (Electrify America), I argue that the idea that an all electric vehicle is impractical except as a second vehicle is an antiquated notion.
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#45>>Sales averaged less than 20,000 per year, not enough to sustain the costly undertaking. That to me sounds like a decent number. I guess they were selling them at a loss.
They also never advertised it at all. The only people who knew about them either researched them or heard about them from word of mouth. The total absense of advertising for a vehicle that so many people loved has always reeked of lack of commitment from one side of the house. That doesn’t even factor in how Chevy dealerships would actively try to talk you out of them.
Maybe they got negative commissions or couldn’t gouge on maintenance.
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
"customers prefer SUVs" means "customers prefer lifted station wagons branded as SUVs"
I don't understand these naming conventions either! Someone told me the Model X was an SUV - I thought it was a hatchback! I mean it's the same outline as something like a Volkswagen Golf isn't it? Why is one an SUV and the other a hatchback?
An SUV is a minivan for people too embarrassed to drive a minivan. Which is to say, no sliding doors.
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#47PHEVs were such a misconceived idea. So many more parts to wear out for such little benefit.
For what it's worth, my Volt has been absolutely reliable. And I hear the same from other Volt owners too.
Aside from oil changes and tires, the only real maintenance needed was to top off the battery coolant once. (And that was due to a known manufacturing defect in my batch - fixed under warranty, flawless since.)
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#48>>Sales averaged less than 20,000 per year, not enough to sustain the costly undertaking. That to me sounds like a decent number. I guess they were selling them at a loss.
The one part of this that I feel like I understand is that if you buy this vehicle you've effectively signed up for twice the maintenance expense. While I feel this was a brilliant step in the direction of stop gap between gas and electric vehicles; I could never bring myself to pull the trigger.
[deleted]
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder what will change between now and 2025 to enable profitability on Bolts?
Battery manufacturing scaling up, reducing the per kwh cost. Tesla is supposedly near $100/kWh at the cell level (which is the “holy grail” of EV profitability versus petrol vehicles) with Gigafactory 1 production. For comparison, VW wanted to build their own gigafactory and LG Chem is holding them hostage, threatening to not sell them the batteries they need for their EV inititiaves. Funny enough, VW is buying Tesla…
I’m more impressed with this company https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119299_zinc-air-batter...
Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Battery manufacturing scaling up, reducing the per kwh cost. Tesla is supposedly near $100/kWh at the cell level (which is the “holy grail” of EV profitability versus petrol vehicles) with Gigafactory 1 production. For comparison, VW wanted to build their own gigafactory and LG Chem is holding them hostage, threatening to not sell them the batteries they need for their EV inititiaves. Funny enough, VW is buying Tesla…
I’m more impressed with this company https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119299_zinc-air-batter...
I’m impressed with companies putting batteries in cars today. Moonshots are nice, daily vehicle deliveries is what destroys oil demand.