[xib]

Misleading article about G2 Chevy Volt

I was surprised to see this article in the New York Daily News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...y-volt-impractical-new-york-article-1.2683886

The article starts by calling the G2 Volt "all-electric", while failing to indicate the extended range design. It made look like if you buy a Chevy Volt in NYC you'll not be able to charge it and therefore you'll run out of battery and get stranded.

This is the same news organization that has had high praise for the Volt in the past. So I find this article shocking.

Either the reporter tried to be funny and failed or he knows nothing about cars.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Possibly a parody, though poorly executed.

He does bring up a key point, however. Major cities are not ready for individually owned EVs. Personally, I think most cities with high population per square mile should ban personal motor vehicles completely, and limit motor vehicles to public transportation. An example of this is San Francisco. I think they should build several large parking structures (one at the South end of Ocean Beach, one at the 80/Bay Bridge, one at the 101/280, and one at Golden Gate Bridge) and block all other street entrances to the city to personal motor vehicles. Any residents of the city can park and store their motor vehicles in one of the public structures leading into the city. New York could implement something similar. LA would need to fix its joke of a public transportation system first.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Even in Pacific Heights SF you could go 6 blocks the wrong way and have beer bottles thrown at you, and that was in the '80s (been there).

Whenever I need my crack pipe refilled, I just head down to the Tenderloin.

 

[James]

The print part of the article surely is short and if only read without watching the attached video, yes - misleading. He states it uses
gas and 50+ miles of pure electric driving at the start of the video, and then makes semi-humor about dragging a cord around and
pissing off neighbors asking if he can plug into their place.

City dwellers do have a legit beef about owning an electrified car. There is no place to park and charge in NYC unless it's in a paid
garage or for a short stop at some markets. In the early 1900s when ladies of class would drive their Baker Electrics to shop
downtown, charging stations lined the streets. Too bad that's not the case anymore. Urban jungles are places that desperately
need clean air and should be ideal places to own EVs, EREVs and PHEVs. Maybe in five to ten years or so, there will be many
more charge and park opportunities for apartment dwellers and urbanites.

 

[volt3939]

"And if you try to “fill up” your electron tank at a public garage or freestanding charging stations that are popping up all over, you’ll need eight to 14 hours for a complete top-off."

What, in a Volt? 4-4.5 hours tops.

Guy's just a whiny idiot, IMO.

 

[BAZINGA]

"And if you try to “fill up” your electron tank at a public garage or freestanding charging stations that are popping up all over, you’ll need eight to 14 hours for a complete top-off."

What, in a Volt? 4-4.5 hours tops.

Guy's just a whiny idiot, IMO.

I'm guessing he's talking about a Level I EVSE not Level II. And yes it does depend on the SOC when you plug in.

 

[ChevyEMF]

I like the idea of the town in California where their switch to lower energy LED street lighting lets them put charging capability street-side.

 

[Norton]

What car is he talking about here???

the all-electric Chevy Volt

a car with no tailpipe emission

becomes a nightmare for city residents when the battery starts running down.

And if you try to “fill up” your electron tank at a public garage or freestanding charging stations that are popping up all over, you’ll need eight to 14 hours for a complete top-off.

 

[khalfyard]

I want to believe this was some kind of parody, but I think the guy was actually being serious.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...y-volt-impractical-new-york-article-1.2683886

Should have changed the article headline to "Cars are still impractical for New York city"

Running out of battery and no where to charge? OMFG....just drive it like a regular car and burn some gas.

Let him have it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GershKuntzman/status/745691125936230400

This guy is a tool.

Instead of the poorly acted hammy TV schtick, why not just inform your viewers in a rational, educated fashion (I know, I know, it's the NY Daily News...but still)

In any 'street parking only' urban environment, you will be running a volt on gas just as much as you'll be able to run on electricity, but the thing still gets 40-45MPG in the city, and that's almost as fuel efficient as the PRIUS, only the car is much nice to drive and looks a lot better too.

 

[cjaama]

I'm guessing he's talking about a Level I EVSE not Level II. And yes it does depend on the SOC when you plug in.

There are far more Level II's around than Level I, so if he's going to make a broad statement, he should at least do it with the one that is far more common.
When he plugs in at the market he acts like there's no possible way to tell if it's charging or not aside from coming back to it later and checking how many miles he has. Hopefully his boss who owns one watched this and gave him an earful.
It would have been better if the video ended with him realizing the car has a gas generator and he was worried about having to plug in for no reason. Although, I agree, if you don't have a dedicated spot to plug in either at work or home, it's probably not the car for you.

 

[Joe67]

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ews-joke-of-an-article-on-the-Volt-(-facepalm)

 

[Qinsp]

It's comedy. And comedy is often ugly, even without references to Rosanne.

Yeah, NYC is not ready for electrification of their cars. But then again, they are not actually ready for cars either.

If somebody sells a car you can carry up your stairs/elevator, has rims that cannot be stolen, and is invisible to parking police, it would still need to fly over the gridlock to be useful for transportation.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

"If somebody sells a car you can carry up your stairs/elevator, has rims that cannot be stolen, and is invisible to parking police, it would still need to fly over the gridlock to be useful for transportation."

We call that a bicycle in Colorado.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

Spearheading new technology is a challenge.

 

[wws]

Spearheading new technology is a challenge.

It is more the other way around. The old saying is that "you can tell the pioneers by the arrows in their backs".

 

[linkim]

Whenever I need my crack pipe refilled, I just head down to the Tenderloin.

I don’t live in San Francisco, but spend a lot of time there. There are probably a lot of other places in SF to secure drugs, if that is what you want. Fortunately, that is not my addiction. It is more like charging my EVs at public locations. There are a few DCFCs I use with my LEAF, but in general like most major cities, not that plentiful. To their credit, eVgo has installed DCFCs and L2s at several locations. Post #2 suggested building parking structures at various locations in SF. If you thought charging is expensive, parking costs are even higher in SF. In some cases, free charging goes with the parking fee. Parking costs in the financial district, in some garages, are north of $25/hr [haven’t parked there in decades]. The SF Muni is my mode of transportation to go downtown or see a baseball game in ATT Park. Many of the buses, and the underground trains, are electric.

 

[Bacardi]

I wouldn't worry about him, I'm sure he's being ripped for lack of info...

What, in a Volt? 4-4.5 hours tops.

I cannot charge at home, I have used the plug one time ever which was while the car was being tinted...Because I cannot charge at home I constantly run out of EV range and have charged from 0% to 100% more than a dozen times using multiple L2 chargers...It has never charged is less than 5.5 hours on L2, I'd say five hours and forty minutes is the average...My gym has a (2 hour max) L2, I always get a range of 19-21 gained miles on a fixed 120min charge...Others have reported similar times...

 

[Loboc]

Why the heck is this guy looking for street-side charging when the car has an on-board generator? Not funny and not helpful. Of course, I didn't see any gas stations in the vid either.

 

[linkim]

Why the heck is this guy looking for street-side charging when the car has an on-board generator? Not funny and not helpful. Of course, I didn't see any gas stations in the vid either.

I spent a week in NYC earlier this year to see the Broadway play "Hamilton". Stayed in a hotel near Times Square and walked to many of the tourist spots. Saw one Tesla but no other EV. Didn't see any charging station and only one petrol station in lower Manhattan. However, there were a lot of ICE vehicles on the streets.