http://www.teslamotors.com/models <--this has some styling.

It is a shame Chevrolet made the Volt look like a fucking Cavalier.

5/13/2013 3:23:35 PM

Ill take my 18mpg in my pickem up truck

5/13/2013 3:31:02 PM

After having SUVs for the last decade I am very happy with the MPG on my V6 Accord.

5/13/2013 3:42:30 PM

Does anyone know anything about charging stations?

I'm trying to find if I can get a Stage 2 charging station that runs on 480V 3 phase service, anyone know who makes this? Not seeing anything from Schneider or Charge Point for 480V.

6/14/2013 1:06:15 PM

^ No. Level 2 charging stations are limited to 240V. Level 2 charging stations are NOT chargers. The chargers reside inside the car, and that is the limiting factor. My Volt will charge around 3.3 kW/h rate no matter how much more the charging station may be able to supply. The fastest currently are about 6.6 kW/h and Tesla cheats by essentially allowing multiple level 2 charging connections.

[Edited on June 14, 2013 at 2:04 PM. Reason : .]

6/14/2013 1:52:12 PM

^^are you trying to purchase one for your home? I work for Schneider-Electric, though not for our SquareD division. If you described what you wanted pretty well I could try to pass it on to the right person.

6/14/2013 3:21:13 PM

If he is trying to pump anything more through a J1772 connector for Level 2 service, he can want it all he wants, but the standards don't support it. 240V is the limit.

[Edited on June 14, 2013 at 3:30 PM. Reason : .]

6/14/2013 3:27:47 PM

I'm not trying to pump 480 to the car, I was hoping there was a unit that took advantage of 480 service. Its all I have in a parking lot and I don't want to buy a transformer.

^^ not for home. The problem with the Schneider unit is that the RFID programming has to be done locally, which is a pain if you are managing multiple stations over a huge area. Other units allow networked RFID.

[Edited on June 14, 2013 at 5:46 PM. Reason : .]

6/14/2013 5:44:53 PM

a buddy averages 180 miles per day!! would he be better off buying a tdi or prius vs. the volt?

8/2/2013 8:40:51 PM

^^I would say no, b/c after the battery runs out the Volt's highway gas mileage is far from impressive, mid 30s at best (I believe). I'd go for the diesel personally (should get close to 50 mpg), but if your friend doesn't mind the way a Prius looks (or its stigma) it's a good option as well, over 50 mpg hwy I think.

GM just cut the MSRP on the Volt by $5,000.

[Edited on August 6, 2013 at 1:33 PM. Reason : d]

8/6/2013 1:30:49 PM

As a VW TDI driver, I'd get a gas car next time.
The new VW's don't get that great of mileage 42-ish.

Even with my old jetta getting 47 mpg, with the ridiculous cost of diesel, I'd get a gas Prius, Chevy Cruz or something next time... I also do 180 miles per day... The premium $$$ for the new diesels is not worth it.

8/11/2013 11:39:19 AM

Quote :

"RALEIGH, N.C. — Owners of plug-in electric vehicles can use one of Raleigh’s public chargers to bring their battery life from zero to 100 percent battery in about four hours. But new technology at North Carolina State University can cut that time to just one hour. Ewan Pritchard, a professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, used a plug-in Nissan Leaf on Friday to demonstrate the fast charger on Centennial Campus. “This is the first fast-charging station on the East Coast,” he said. A full battery would give the car a range of about 90 miles. When he starts charging, the battery is at 72 percent. Within a couple of minutes, it's at 78 percent. About 20 minutes after plugging in, the Leaf's battery was charged and ready to go. Pritchard says the technology is even more impressive when the battery starts below 50 percent. “It'll charge very aggressively for the first 50 percent,” he said. “It can do that within about 10 minutes.” One of the hurdles to electric car usage is how slowly the battery charges, but rapid-charging technology could change that mindset, Pritchard said. A network of these stations would allow drivers to go longer distances without having to worry about taking hours to recharge. “Along the East Coast, in the Northeast, we've started building it,” Pritchard said. “We're talking about it quite a bit along the highway system in North Carolina.” There is one barrier, however. The machines are expensive, costing about $30,000 each, and they require a specialized commercial electrical system to draw enough power for use."

http://www.wral.com/ncsu-leads-the-charge-for-plug-in-cars/12859789/

9/9/2013 3:33:45 PM

Promising news, but I wonder. I had heard that fast charging the Leaf's battery could cause permanent damage over time. Maybe this new method doesn't have that issue.

9/9/2013 3:59:56 PM

dammit, i was working to put the first fast charger on the east coast

9/9/2013 4:50:48 PM

BMW i8. Gorgeous. @ 30 minutes

http://insideevs.com/bmw-i8-finally-revealed-on-sale-in-us-from-135925-in-spring-2014/

9/10/2013 10:05:30 AM

Quote :

"The machines are expensive, costing about $30,000 each, and they require a specialized commercial electrical system to draw enough power for use."

How much do they think a gas pump costs? Ever researched an underground tank installation costs? Not to mention that as mechanical devises, they have to be inspected every couple of years. 30 grand is not that much money compared with the cost of existing infrastructure. What do they think, electric cars run on rainbow juice and filling them up should always be 100% free?

9/10/2013 10:44:51 AM

Quote :

"What do they think, electric cars run on rainbow juice and filling them up should always be 100% free?"

I would not be surprised if a large percentage of EV car owners believe that very thing.

[Edited on September 10, 2013 at 10:59 AM. Reason : I dont care either way... energy is energy and it all has an associated cost]

9/10/2013 10:59:22 AM

you can't put in a gas pump for $30,000

9/10/2013 11:06:04 AM

Personally I'm not a fan of the i8. Regardless of the powertrain.

9/10/2013 11:11:17 AM

Quote :

"I would not be surprised if a large percentage of EV car owners believe that very thing."

I suspect the dumbest 1/4 of electric vehicle owners know more about where their energy comes from than the smartest 1/4 of gas drivers.

9/10/2013 2:06:22 PM

That's a pretty big statement

9/10/2013 2:10:21 PM

And likely correct. The electric vehicle demographics are pretty amazing w/r to education. I have yet to meet an electric vehicle owner that doesn't have a very good understanding of the grid and where their electricity comes from.

9/10/2013 2:32:38 PM

bahahahaahahaahah, it could be true. However when the ratio of EV to gas cars increases, I'm sure the statement will lose validity.


That's like grouping rednecks and diesels, douches and European cars, etc.

[Edited on September 10, 2013 at 2:46 PM. Reason : -]

9/10/2013 2:44:44 PM

http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-owners-are-richer-and-smarter-2012-11

EV owners 2x as wealthy as more than 2x the education

Yes, as electric vehicles move from a small segment to mass adoption, things will change.

[Edited on September 10, 2013 at 2:55 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2013 2:54:25 PM

You guys are both correct, EV owners are much more knowledgeable right now about the enegry cycle their cars are a part of, but when EV's start getting some general acceptances and the prices come down, the population will be diluted with regular people who care only about saving money and don't give half a shit how it actually works. Prius and other hybrids are already at that stage.

9/10/2013 2:57:56 PM

^agreed. For Carzin's sake, it's how he delivered the response

9/10/2013 3:18:30 PM

I am sure true EV lovers will find a way to stand out from the rest of the crowd, kind of like "rednecks" do with double stacks and truck nutz and "euro deuches" with tow rings or ridiculous camber. It will probably be something along the lines of photovoltaic film all over the body, skinny wheels, and see-through battery pack covers.

9/10/2013 6:25:41 PM

Quote :

"For Carzin's sake, it's how he delivered the response"

To be fair, this all started with you saying:

Quote :

"I would not be surprised if a large percentage of EV car owners believe electric cars run on rainbow juice and filling them up should always be 100% free"

9/11/2013 9:50:01 AM

So I've got an accepted offer for a 2013 Volt (new) that I can go get tomorrow. My out of pocket would be $32,650 with tax, tags, etc. Then I'd get back the 7.5k tax rebate, bringing my actual cost down to $25,150 (tax and tags are right at $4000 built in that number).

I'm seriously on the fence. The car was comfortable, though a little snug for me @ 6'3 250lbs. And neither of the two remaining cars have GPS or the rear camera option, but pretty much everything else.

At 20k out the door, I think I'd have bought the car tonight, but the sales tax and the fact they built in the tax rebate into the advertised price both put me off.

12/13/2013 11:59:25 PM

Of course the government welfare check is figured into the advertised price. How else are they going to get rid of the things?

12/14/2013 12:20:43 AM

Jesus that's a ton of tax.

[Edited on December 14, 2013 at 1:13 AM. Reason : Can you get one without onstar?]

12/14/2013 1:12:43 AM

Nope, OnStar is included on even base models with 3yrs subscription included.

And yes, sales tax on vehicles in WA is 6.5%

12/14/2013 7:27:55 AM

Anyone build an ev?

I mean talking about ownership and stuff is cool. Anyone convert or make anything?

5/9/2014 11:21:42 AM

I was part of a group that did 2.5 cars in HS. an old vw rabbit pickup, a porsche 914, and a 90s escort

5/9/2014 11:56:00 AM

Did y'all do any battery management stuff?

5/9/2014 12:28:21 PM

nah man, no budget for that stuff. NiCD batteries in a big ass tray in parallel loops

5/9/2014 9:26:30 PM

Test drove the i3 yesterday. Loved it. Fast. Tight steering and suspension. Very heavy regenerative braking. Loved the looks better in person than in pictures.

7/9/2014 3:03:33 PM

How stupid would it be to buy a 2012 Volt with 80kish miles? How long are the batteries supposed to last and what's the current battery maintenance cost?

Are they having any maintenance issues at that age as a whole?

7/9/2014 3:28:38 PM

^^ my step-brother drove one recently as well and spoke highly of it - would you consider moving to it from the volt?

i'm working on convincing my wife we need a tesla but so far it hasn't gone well - we can't easily make it to visit family until some of the planned superchargers for 2015 are built

[Edited on July 9, 2014 at 3:29 PM. Reason : too slow]

7/9/2014 3:29:32 PM

^^ I suspect the person that drove the car 80k miles was doing so a lot more on gas than pure battery. The car is warrantied not to lose more than 30% by 10 years/100k miles. I believe that is transferable. So if you get the car, and have it checked at 98k miles and there are issues, you get a new battery. If you get it for the right price, I wouldn't be super worried. But you would have one of the highest mileage Volts in the nation. I have 50k, and I'm near the top (but with 95% electric driving).

^I would consider trading my Volt for it. I am trying to convince my wife to trade her CRV for it. Its crazy, but a 50k BMW i3 would be CHEAPER every month than the 30k CRV after tax credit all costs are included (the net cost).

7/9/2014 4:08:22 PM

Not directly related to the Volt, but if anyone is looking to have a home EV charger installed I can help you get one for $350 through my company, Schneider Electric. Friends and family discount for this is in effect through the month of September.

8/19/2014 2:29:20 PM

^ how much is labor?

8/19/2014 6:07:31 PM

how many amps? hard-wired or plug-in?

8/19/2014 7:34:10 PM

Here is the item in question:



http://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-EV230WS-Generation/dp/B00CXXCVLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400175879&sr=8-1&keywords=evlink

30 amps, it can be hardwired or plugged into a dryer plug outlet. I don't know what installation would cost.

8/19/2014 7:52:04 PM

TKE: Can I get the unit and not get the install?

8/20/2014 1:54:18 PM

Without looking further into it I would say yes. None of the company literature I've read says that you have to also pay for installation from a 3rd party.

8/20/2014 3:21:09 PM

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/22/7031243/china-grip-rare-earth-metals-supply-weakening

10/23/2014 12:22:30 PM

Thanks for posting that. I've been saying that about rare earth metals for years. I'm glad I finally have an article to reference that proves it

10/23/2014 1:53:27 PM

I'm sure there's a bunch more out there...just happened on that in my FB news feed from QntmOverlordRetired

10/23/2014 2:06:41 PM

Yeah I read that article a week or two ago as well. Of course, in general I already knew that.

10/23/2014 7:43:42 PM