Volt, Jolt, Bolt, and Green – GO ELECTRIC!
By Kathy Gause
Well, we took the plunge and bought an electric car, a Chevy
Volt in 2011. First Chevy ever that we
purchased – I still cannot believe I was disloyal to Toyota. It started with simple research for a paper
in my Energy class. I had been putting
off investing in another car due to the economy and continued to drive my old
Nellie, even sharing it with my daughter.
So, when I began reading and looking into energy saving cars, it quickly
captured my attention. I became addicted
to why are we tolerating the rising gas prices, knowing they will never
decrease? Do I want to spend half my
paycheck at the pump? Why am I driving a
car that uses a 150-year old dirty and noisy technology? Listening to lectures from my Professor, I
began asking even more questions and my American individual spirit started to
kick in. Do I really want to be
completely dependent on the whims of world events and a liquid fuel transported
thousands of miles across the ocean? How
can I visit my family hundreds of miles away if oil interruptions occur?
We casually began car shopping on a beautiful Memorial Day
weekend, an appropriate time for energy saving.
We quickly discovered the best kept secret – the inventory of electric
Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs were non-existent and one or two Toyota Pruis
remained. I test drove the Pruis and
liked it. The Volt was available to test
drive at the VA Beach Patriot event the next weekend. The dealer had 2 allocations for 2011 but
none to showcase. Now, my curiosity
peaked and we planned to test drive the Volt.
Meanwhile, I called the Pruis dealer and asked about the car I test
drove – they had slapped an additional $1,000 premium on it. I called the Manager and mentioned that was
not the price I was quoted 2 days ago.
He never called me back. As a
loyal Toyota fan and a Toyota Avalon driver, I became disillusioned. I discovered that my friendly credit union
offered me an interest rate that I could not pass up – no obstacles
remained. Since I was researching the
Energy electric car topic for my paper, I called a few Northern Virginia
dealers and shockingly, no Pruis’s could be found and as for the Chevy Volt
dealers, they said that if I were quick, I could order a Volt but had to pay a
$10,000 premium. And, I was lucky, they
said, because NY and CA car dealers were adding up to $20,000 premiums! This maneuver put a damper on the $7,500
Federal rebate and encouraging the American economy, not to mention
discouraging electric car risk-takers. So
much for supply and demand. I understand
the Federal government is going to modify the rebates so it is immediate, but
this dealer price sharking should be stopped.
So, the quest was on and I do love a quest.
I had discovered the new Obama Administration announcement
that week setting in place some goals for federal use of electric
vehicles. Wonderful news, but I should
have known that any Volts left would quickly be scoffed up for the grand
rollout for the federal fleet. However,
this is a good move for the USA. I
received a call from the Chevy dealer, telling me that I could not order a 2010
Volt, but once I test-drove in 2 days and ordered with a small deposit, I could
secure a 2011 Volt. Sounded good to me
and I was buying American, investing in American jobs.
We were the first customers on Friday at the Patriot event
to test-drive the new Chevy Volt. It was
sleeker than in the brochure…it was on the boardwalk and the day was clear and
the crowds had not yet arrived. It drove
as smooth as silk. As soon as I sat in
the car, I knew it was perfect. The
electronics are a bit hi tech, but I will get used to it like a new pair of
shoes. One huge fly in the oil was my
husband – he is 5 foot, 17 inches and he had to feel comfortable in it. I did not think I was going to get him out
of the car. He fit fine and loved it,
although the back seat space behind him was a bit tight. He is a retired engineer and this baby is an
engineering marvel….quiet as a church mouse.
Chevy has thought of everything – merely click a button and the car
politely “chirps” to warn pedestrians or bicyclists who might not be paying
attention. You push a button to start
the engine and I felt green all over when I realized the dashboard was telling
me when I was not using any gasoline.
This smart car had a rear view camera that signaled when I was backing
up and a curb (or anyone or anything) might be in my intended glide. The car almost drove itself and it reminded
me years ago when I was in a sailplane – I felt like I was on a cloud. …40 mpg
and I can drive 40 miles on one charge…yes, the sticker price is a stretch, but
we are baby boomers, have worked hard all of our lives and why not help the
economy and the environment. If not us, then
who? As early adopters, we will be the
first to own a Volt in the Norfolk VA area.
I already have the EV (electric vehicle) charging stations on my iphone
as an app. Free on-star service for 5
years will ensure data is collected to improve this wonderful invention. Why didn’t I look into electric cars before
my paper? Education is key to our
prosperity and I made a bolt to buy a Volt, once I understood the entire
picture. It will take a few months and
we are looking into a small electric charging station but we could also plug it
into a regular outlet in our home, just like our cell phone. About $1.20 per night to fully charge.
Inventors like Tesla and Einstein are to thank – they had
this all figured out 100 years ago, with a lithium battery being the heart of
the electric car, but the ICE (internal combustion engine) and the oil barons
won that time. We are still using the
antiquated ICE engines. Lets’ open our
minds and keep an open mind about electric cars. China and other countries are. This technology will help keep jobs here in
America, if we do our homework and learn about it. EV’s are making a comeback. For a great read, try the book, “Jolt” or
“Bottled Lightning”
For those who would like an electric car but the Volt is a
bit pricey until the technology is paid for, numerous smaller “city cars” will
be arriving on the market soon. Helps
the climate and will be a great investment.
The technology exists for cars to avoid crashes now, so, hopefully, this
will be incorporated into some cars. For
the Volt, it has a detector that warns you if you are near any pedestrian or an
obstruction because the car is so quiet, smooth and fun to drive.
It is amazing how one teacher can make a difference - Dr.
Steve Yetiv, my exceptional professor at ODU who inspired me to research and learn
more about Energy and Global Interdependence.
He nicknamed me “EV” for being an early adopter of an electric vehicle,
which is why my license plate is EV VOLT.
I challenge readers to find out more about how we can each do little
things to free ourselves from oil dependence.
Check out the visionary actions that the Administration is working on,
including the rebate that covers the research cost of the innovative lithium
battery and other rebates on appliances and solar panels. Look into all the outstanding energy
initiatives our country is forging ahead with, including cooperative efforts
throughout the world with other countries, celebrating and motivating our
scientific efforts, and pushing American ingenuity. As Tesla (scientist behind first electric
car in the early 1900’s) quoted, ‘Let the
future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and
accomplishments. The present is theirs;
the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.’
Five years later, (2016), not only am I delighted with my
Volt purchase, my spouse also purchased a Volt. We will never go back to
conventional gasoline-driven ICE cars. In my Volt, I have driven
over 57,000 miles, taking occasional long drives to PA and the metro DC area. ….33,149
are all electric miles where just the battery and electric motor propels the
car. For the rest of the miles the Volt operates as a gasoline hybrid
with its ICE engine driving an electric generator. My Volt’s average
miles per gallon is 92 mpg. My spouse’s Volt has 17,208 miles of which
11,992 miles are all electric, with the average mpg of 125 miles per gallon.
He doesn’t use any gas in his daily local driving, only
using gasoline for interstate trips. We used to spend $5,000 per
year together on gasoline for our two ICE cars, but now spend about $1,000 per
year total the for electricity and gas that power our two
Volts. A full charge takes about 4 hours with our 240 volt
charger that we had installed in our condo garage (along with a security cage).
Now that 4-hour charge might sound like a lot of time, but it's really
only a few seconds of my personal time to plug the car in when I get home at
the end of my day. The Volt charges while parked for the evening and I
have a fully charged car every morning when I start my day. Charging a
fully depleted battery costs about $1.44 in electricity. This will take
us about 42 miles, on a good day (i.e., not heavy air conditioning or heater
usage). Plugging in my car is much easier, convenient and quicker than
going to the gasoline pump, and it is odor-free. My car is extremely
quiet, comfortable and spacious. If you
do your research, electric cars in the early 1900’s were once called “women’s
cars” due to the fact that electric cars did not need to be cranked to start
and did not exude that smelly, greasy soot when starting. Once gas stations began popping up instead of
electric charging stations, the rest is the history of the oil baron’s wealth
and political savvy and how Nikola Tesla, a great scientist, is like a phoenix
rising.
Kathy Gause
Resources:
Who Killed The Electric Car?
Sony Pictures Classics
Revenge of the Electric Car, A film by Chris Paine
Jolt! by James Billmaier
High Voltage by Jim Motavalli