More on EVs from a guy trying to sell them

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Custom 68

Keith what EV do you have?
Thanks,
Dave

Chevy Volt.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

I’m not getting something here your car was charging all night but you only had a 35 mile range?

Yes - the Volt is designed with a 40 mile range. I was down 5 because of the cold.

The idea is to cover approx 80% of your usage with electric, with the gasoline covering any longer trips.

That allowed the battery system to be smaller and lighter than the other vehicles available at the time.

K

[truckster]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Yes - the Volt is designed with a 40 mile range. I was down 5 because of the cold.

The idea is to cover approx 80% of your usage with electric, with the gasoline covering any longer trips.

That allowed the battery system to be smaller and lighter than the other vehicles available at the time.

K

I like the idea of the Volt. I think it might have been even better with a diesel.

[Boog]

So wait, Chevy's got a Volt and a Bolt too? What's the diff?

[BRL]

And of course all of you are waiting with baited breath for my all knowledgeable opinion.

Can't afford one, the battery has a definite lifespan.
That's about all I can come up with that stands out to me at the moment but that's enough for me.
...oh and you can't bore the battery 0.30 over and get another couple hundred thousand miles out of it if you change the oil frequently.

[franken]

I think the parking lots full of dead Teslas due to cold and the burning buses are telling. Two people getting out of an EV is one thing but 60 people evacuating a bus is an issue. Let's not bring up governments subsidizing EV buses (and school buses).

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by franken

Let's not bring up governments subsidizing EV buses (and school buses).

We would like you to share your Knowledge on this subject.

Especially since you always share the most knowledgeable information with the Forum.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Yes - the Volt is designed with a 40 mile range. I was down 5 because of the cold.

The idea is to cover approx 80% of your usage with electric, with the gasoline covering any longer trips.

That allowed the battery system to be smaller and lighter than the other vehicles available at the time.

K

Ok something like that wouldn’t work for my area the closest store is 18-20 miles . Be something for more urban areas . I do see the occasional Tesla around but they are mostly weekenders . There are a few charging stations here but the closest one is about 25 miles away . Tesla is building a large charger station in Monticello but then again it’s mostly for the citiots . During winter the area is dead summer I avoid the area like the plague.

[Accelo]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Ambitious….

(Only electric Vehicle sales allowed in parts of Canada)

Ambitious? Likely so.
One could always purchase a truck instead.

Things change, more than I would have guessed.
In eleven years Maybe batteries will improve enough to make this possible for most people.
Maybe I will be dead and it will make no difference?
Last year my life changed more than I thought was possible.
My choice is to be an optimist and embrace change as it's inevitable.

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by Accelo

(Only electric Vehicle sales allowed in parts of Canada)

Ambitious? Likely so.
One could always purchase a truck instead.

Things change, more than I would have guessed.
In eleven years Maybe batteries will improve enough to make this possible for most people.
Maybe I will be dead and it will make no difference?
Last year my life changed more than I thought was possible.
My choice is to be an optimist and embrace change as it's inevitable.

I do respect your opinion. However, your last statement implies if someone is against mandates they are not an optimist. I don’t consider these to be exclusive. I’m an optimist too, and a problem solver by nature. But I am strongly against EV mandates. I don’t sit back and hope it will get better and that someone else will solve the problem. Embracing change… well that’s another story I do have a hard time with that haha

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Boog

So wait, Chevy's got a Volt and a Bolt too? What's the diff?

Volt: Plug in hybrid - electric vehicle with on board gasoline generator
2011 - 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt

Bolt: Full Electric vehicle
2016-2023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bolt

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Post #180

Volt vs Bolt: funny you should make that distinction - apparently I have the typical hearing loss associated with an older man who has spent a lifetime in industry and with loud hobbies. I can't make the distinction between Volt vs Bolt in their speech and so my family as resorted to sign language so I can tell which one they are talking about.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by truckster

I think it might have been even better with a diesel.

Me too!

More efficient, and it opens the doorway to alternative fuels (ie, bio diesel, waste vegetable oil, used automatic transmission fluid, red dye).

But - it was based on the Delta platform (Chevy Cruze) so it was most expeditious to use the existing gas engine.

K

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Point:

I’m going to gloat a bit since today was an excellent scenario for an electric vehicle:

Outside temp was 9 degrees F.

Temp inside the garage is 35 degrees F.

Car plugged in overnight; I was able to “remote start” the car in the garage to preheat the cabin, get the seat heaters and steering wheel heat going using current from the wall rather than the propulsion system.

Commute was 25 miles, which I did with 10 electric miles of range left over. Took about an hour to drive that because of the roads and weather conditions.
K

Hey Keith, why only 35 miles range after charging all night? Is that a PHEV?

BTW, I still don't quite understand how a PHEV works. Can the batteries be charged by an ICE-driven generator, or only by plug-in chargers?

When the lease on my wife's car runs out, one of the new cars we are looking at is the Mazda 90. Looks to me like it has a motor between gasoline engine and trans, but then there's a separate PHEV model. I'm no dummy when it comes to engines and electronics/electricity in general, but I am stumped by some of the latest powertrain configurations and terminology.

[Keith Seymore]

.....

Originally Posted by MikeB

Hey Keith, why only 35 miles range after charging all night?

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Post #252

Yes - the Volt is designed with a 40 mile range. I was down 5 because of the cold.

The idea is to cover approx 80% of your usage with electric, with the gasoline covering any longer trips.

That allowed the battery system to be smaller and lighter than the other vehicles available at the time.

K

Yes - it is a PHEV (Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

The wheels are always driven by the batteries, but you have an on board gasoline generator to recharge the batteries if needed.

You could plug in to a house or shop generator, but it makes no sense in my case since I already have the added gasoline capability.

K

[Custom 68]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Chevy Volt.

K

Thanks Keith that’s what I assumed but wanted to confirm.
Dave

[TotallyHucked]

It's been very interesting reading through this whole thread. I am very much in the anti-EV camp. I will never own one, they are all ugly, soul-less creatures. The only place an EV belongs is on the golf course lol.

We all know the gubment and the environmentalists want to legislate out ICE vehicles as quickly as possible. It'd be nice if they'd recognize that there could be a good middle ground. Porsche has been looking into synthetic fuels for a while now. I don't know how feasible that is on a large scale but I like that idea. I don't care what my red-blooded American V8 runs on as long as it's making the power and sounds I like. If it could be done on a cleaner fuel, I'm all for it

[Axle]

Maybe you'll be enticed by this then;

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10...eve-driven-it/

It starts with a simple joystick and a simpler pedal, both connected to a whole lot of very clever software written by one man with a strong passion for making cars more engaging.

That man is Isami Yoichiro, who actually holds a patent for this creation. He drives a GR Yaris (with a manual transmission, naturally), and he's not exactly an EV lover. "Personally, I don't like BEV," he told me. "But with this system, I like BEV."

[68bowtie]

That’s kind of silly

[Steeveedee]

^ What he said!

I guess it would be good (as mentioned in the article) for teaching people to drive a stick without breaking parts.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Axle

Maybe you'll be enticed by this then;

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10...eve-driven-it/

I suggest software to eliminate range anxiety. Maybe seat vibrations and/or a type of soothing music.

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by MikeB

I suggest software to eliminate range anxiety. Maybe seat vibrations and/or a type of soothing music.

No no you have it all wrong. Mandates and threats of fines and jail time. Just gotta create a worse fear to overcome the range anxiety so you pick the lesser of the two evils. Haha

[Boog]

So, that's like driving a simulator on the streets.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Boog

So, that's like driving a simulator on the streets.

So true! I remember the driving simulators from back in the '60s. When we were learning stick shift (I had lots of experience), one of the girls couldn't get the thing to work. I traded places with her and discovered that the clutch mechanism was completely out of whack. She did fine on my stick version.

[TotallyHucked]

Ummmm WAT. I don't even know what to say. That's so dumb

[72c20customcamper]

Mmmmm GM is backtracking .

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/30/gm-t...uct-plans.html