The Volt

I just read an article in the Atlantic about the Chevy Volt.

I am - and am not - a fan of the Volt.


The Good: It's not just a hybrid, it's a plug-in hybrid. It's a game-changer with a focus on electricity.

The Bad: It's still a hybrid, not really a purely electric car.

(To be fair, it's not like other hybrids, or even like other plug-in hybrids. Other PHEVs are gas-driven cars with an electrical assist to improve mileage. The Volt is an electricity-driven car with a gas generator that recharges the battery.)

The Ugly: GM can't seem to decide if it's a family sedan or the batmobile.




And, of course, it's not available until 2010 at the earliest.

Pet PEV - My next car will be electric-only

In a previous post I wrote about my excitement regarding PHEVs - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

I think I've done a one-eighty on this issue. Actually, a ninety. I've gone in a slightly different directions. A few days ago I was somewhat excited about the PHEV-future. Today I'm even more excited about the PEV-present.

Plug-in Electric Vehicles. This is happening now. In America. These are cars that an American consumer can buy, now, as I type this!

(They're really just EVs, I suppose. The "Plug-in" is a given. It's assumed. For reasons of my own, though, I still like calling them PEVs instead of EVs. That's just me.)

PEVs aren't hybrids, because they don't do gas. They don't have to carry a large internal combustion engine. They're still reasonably heavy - the batteries are pretty massive - but at least they're not carrying an internal combustion engine AND the batteries.

Did I mention this is happening now?

Tesla Motors started delivering its luxury electric sportscar in April. It seats two. It goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. It has a range of 220 miles. It gets the equivalent of 256 miles per gallon. ("Conversion from electric consumption to gallons of gasoline equivalent is calculated using the Department of Energy equivalence factor documented in the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 10, Part 474.")

Oh, and it costs one hundred thousand dollars.

But it exists! And it's a pretty sweet looking car. It's a proof of concept, and as it leads others will follow.

At least, I hope so. Every other manufacturer of PEVs for the American market - and there are a few of them - has been making some odd-looking cars.

Phoenix Motors is selling electric-only trucks and utility vehicles at around $40,000 each. Their cars look like bulky Priuses. (Pri-i?)

Zenn Motor Company is selling its ZENN (Zero Emissions No Noise) vehicle, and it's actually pretty affordable at $22,000. It's limited to 40 miles per charge, which is perfectly adequate. But who wants 40 miles when you can go over 200?

And it's ugly. I mean, the Phoenix cars are kind of ugly, too, but there's something about the ZENN that really bugs me.

Maybe it's the fact that the ZENN is only a two-seater.

I suppose it's kind of an electric SMART car. But Smart cars revel in their small size. That's the point. The ZENN seems to be masquerading as a larger car.

The same is true of the ZX40S from Miles Electric Vehicles, which retails for just under $20,000. It looks a lot like a typical SUV, but it's really a compact car. Unlike the ZENN it has a range of 60 miles.

Oh, the ZX40S and the ZENN are both limited to a top speed of 25 miles per hour, which is just really not fast enough. Understand, I'm an advocate of slowing down and taking it easy. But that means I'm talking about staying off the highway and limiting my top speed to, say, 45 miles per hour. 25 miles per hour is just not acceptable as a top speed.

That's why these particular cars will fail. That, and did I mention they're ugly?

Failing ugly, why does an electric car have to look so different from a regular car? Aptera Motors, for instance, makes a 3-wheeled vehicle that is oddly reminiscent of a svelte manatee...

As I search the web it seems as if nearly every car company - large or small - has a more typical-looking electric sedan, compact, or SUV "in the works".

I don't care about what's in the development pipeline, though. I want my electric car. And I want it now.

And I want it to be attractive. And I want it to go at least 45 miles per hour. And a range of 200 miles would be nice.

And I don't want to pay one hundred thousand dollars for it.

I guess I still have to wait until next year.

Personal Transportation

The previous post - PHEVs - started out as a general post on personal transportation, but ended up being a diatribe on why I really want a PHEV, why I don't yet have one, and why it may be too expensive to get one, ever.

Personal transportation is actually a very complicated topic, so instead of giving you a lengthy post and a lot of hypothetical number-crunching, I instead give you a few points about my own situation:

• Currently I ride the bus during the week.
• I'm thinking of buying a little 49cc scooter, but the cost of the scooter itself will probably prevent me from doing so.
• Really I should ride a bicycle to work.

I actually could ride my bike to work. A lot of people can't. It's just not an option for them.

I totally can. So why don't I?

Well, until recently I've been purchasing a monthly bus pass. I pay a single cost per month and after that all my use of the bus system is prepaid. Unlimited miles, if you will.

And since it's already paid for, why not use it all the time? In fact, the more I use it the less expensive it is per use.

Well, in July I was out for a few days, so it was going to be used slightly less. Also, I've lately been offered, and have often accepted, rides home from a co-worker. I'm their way, so why not?

So for the month of July I did not buy the monthly pass. Instead I bought individual fare tickets. It's another situation in which I can prepay at a lower rate.

Well, by accepting rides and having a few days off, I spent about 20% less on work-transport last month.

So I'm doing the same thing for August. I'm buying the prepaid individual fare tickets this month.

And it occurs to me that I could ride my bike on days when it's not too hot or wet and save my tickets for later.

We'll see. I'm not sure that I'm mentally prepared to start riding my bike, but more and more I can't think of a good reason not to do it. And there's so many good reasons to ride a bike:

• It's good for my pocketbook.
• It's good for the environment.
• It's good for me (I could use the exercise).
• It's slightly more flexible, schedule-wise, than the bus.

On that last bullet-point: Currently if I'm running 2 minutes late in the morning and I miss my preferred bus then I have 20+ minutes to kill until the next one comes along. Similarly, if I miss my preferred bus in the evening then I have 20+ minutes to kill until the next one comes along. If I'm working especially late I might even have to wait an hour between buses.

Anyway, all of these points add up to one over-riding point:

• It's the right thing to do.

My original post, earlier today, was about Changing The World For The Better and how it's not really that hard. It's just a matter of (a) doing the right thing when you have the opportunity, and (b) not doing the wrong thing if at all possible, ever.

And the more I think about it, the more it's clear that riding my bike to work is the right thing to do.

So if I'm going to walk the walk (or in this case, pedal the bike) and not just talk the talk, then I better start moving my feet.