The Chevy Volt Is A Dismal Failure And Things Keep Getting Worse

It's more than a step. It's already workable for a wide chunk of the market.

That's the thing, there won't be any Mr. Fusions in the lifetime of the 60ish like me. I can imagine wanting another new car in perhaps 10 years. There's bound to be something better by then, but I expect it to be more incremental improvement, not any kind of revolutionary tech. It will take quite a bit of improvement to keep the same level of affordability we already have, but without subsidy. If consumer buying power keeps going down, then the market is likely to trend toward horrible econoboxes. In which case the future will be a step backward in vehicle enjoyment.

Yes, and it doesn't even MOVE! (But, it could almost cut a Volt in half.)

Jon

As near as I can tell based on the slightly laggy power display screen of the Volt, it goes nearly as far on regenerated power after a corner as it spent decelerating into the corner. I'd estimate that stop/start mileage might be 80% of steady state mileage.

A related anecdote: a couple days ago I charged the Volt for about 2 hours at the top of a >1000' mountain. Projected battery range after the charge was 9 miles. On the descent (5.5 miles), the projected range increased to 18 miles. I tried both drive and "low" range during the descent, regeneration seemed about the same, but drive was more comfortable, with the car mostly descending with occasional light "braking." In low range I had to keep some steady pressure on the accelerator. In slow stop/start traffic the low range is supposedly more effective, and it can be easier to drive because you're barely switching pedals. But the deceleration without brake lights probably isn't a great idea if you're going to do it a thousand times during a commute.

Worse, the A pillar on the Volt blocks some across the corner vision at low speeds.

Given the efficiency of modern alternators, that's not an unreasonable number.

60hp? Some folks say it only needed 20! What the hell is with all the excess? Was your neighbor some kind of speed demon or was he pulling stumps in his spare time? :)

"1974 Datsun B210 Coupe 0-60 mph 22.5 Quarter mile 24.5" Smokin'! And absolutely devastating news for these guys.

Hill and his wife never had kids. I always figured it was because of the car.

Yeah, more virile drivers were everywhere back then, all of them making your friend look impotent by comparison. Mannix had a Cuda convertible. Lucky for Hill his mailman was probably driving an old Jeep. :)

WOW, what state are you in? I'm in MO, and the only time I got audited was when I put in a claim for overpaid taxes when the state supreme court ordered the dept. of revenue to make refunds available to business that had overpaid due to incorrect tax rates issued by them. The auditors ended up telling me I was still overpaying because I included shipping in use tax items. Then, I found out that any consumables, additions, parts or updates to capital equipment is non-taxable, so I rarely pay any use tax at all. Practically all my sales are out of state or even out of the country, so I rarely have to collect sales tax. I've never been audited or had to provide documents except that one time. (Note, this non-taxable consumables, etc. is ONLY for MO, don't assume it is the same in your state until you check.)

I DO have to go through a BUNCH of rigamarole for Indiana, which seems to believe they actually encompass the entire US. Their tax system has no provision for out of state entities, and you have to register to sell anything to a state entity, like Indiana University. So, they used to dun me for $5000 in back taxes every month, unless I filled out the forms declaring no tax owed. Finally they moved me to annual filing.

Thank goodness no OTHER state requires this, or I'd go out of business just issuing 50 sales tax forms a month.

Jon

He should take at least one out and replace it with a calculator. Because those numbers he pulls out of his ass could use some work.