Volt - Leaf, How do I Choose?

So, lucky me, two major car companies are releasing new EVs exactly when I need a new car to replace my current car when its lease expires.  How do I choose?  That's really a good question because they both have positive and negative attributes.  As is often the case, it becomes an individual decision based on a person's driving needs.

Chevy Volt
Pros:
1) The biggest factor: Extended Range. The Volt answers the range anxiety question decisively with its on-board gasoline powered engine/generator.  When the main electric drive battery is discharged to a set amount (after about 40 miles of driving), the Volt starts up its engine and makes more electric power to run the car.  The car is still driven by its electric motor, but the electricity comes from the generator powered by the engine.  So the Volt can be your one and only car, just like any hybrid or plug-in hybrid can.
2) Appearance: Of the two cars, the Volt looks more conventional and is more attractive to many people's eyes.
3) Plugging In:  The Volt plugs in to outlets already found in most peoples' garages to charge its main battery.
4) Acceleration:  Early reports have the Volt performance a bit better than the Leaf's.
5) Made in the USA:  While most cars today, including the Volt, have some parts made in other countries, the Volt is made by General Motors.  This is a big factor to many people, especially as we watch GM try to recover from bankruptcy and government support.
6) Technically complex and interesting design

Cons:
1) Gasoline:  The Volt uses gasoline to drive beyond 40 miles after being charged.  Many people want an EV for the express purpose of getting off gasoline, for many reasons.  To these people, the Volt is just a plug-in hybrid.  And the gas mileage is still a big secret.
2) Appearance:  To some people, the Volt looks too much like a Prius, and not enough like something really new.
3) Price:  Starting at $41,000 and going up significantly from there, the Volt's price is daunting.   The lease price of $350/month, clearly established to help the Volt compete with the Leaf, is more encouraging, but it isn't clear whether anyone will be able to get such a good deal in the real world.
4) Sales Plan: Chevy's sales plan is the same car dealer-based system we all know and hate, so price gouging has already been seen, to the tune of thousands of dollars.  Even without price gouging, a buyer must go from dealer to dealer seeking the best deal, and then hope that the dealer will deal honestly with them.
5) Government Incentives:  Though the Volt is eligible for the same $7,500 federal tax credit as the Leaf, it is NOT eligible for the California $5,000 rebate.  Combined with the higher price tag of the Volt, this is a big deal.
7) Passenger Capacity:  The Volt only seats four, while the Leaf seats five.  This is because the Volt's design uses up the rear center seat space for its T-shaped battery pack.
8) Technical Complexity: Compared to a battery EV ("BEV") like the Leaf, nothing like the Volt has ever been made before.  The complexity of marrying the gas-powered generator smoothly and reliably with the electric drive system is daunting.  Will the first generation of the Volt be reliable, or will the first buyers unexpectedly find that they are test engineers?
9) Probable Repair and Maintenance Costs:  Not only does the Volt have the high voltage electric drive system, it also has fuel, ignition, engine management and exhaust systems, as well as sound and vibration deadening issues.  It seems that the Volt must cost more to maintain and repair than a pure EV.

Nissan Leaf
Pros:
1) Relatively Simple Design:  EVs have been built and studied before.  Nissan's goal is to mass-produce the first affordable BEV (battery electric vehicle).  Since they don't have to develop an all-new complex drivetrain design like the Volt's, Nissan can concentrate on making their simpler BEV work well from the start.
2) Price:  The basic Leaf starts at $32,780 before incentives, over $8,000 less expensive than the Volt.
3) Government Incentives: The Leaf is eligible for both the Federal $7,500 tax credit and the California $5,000 rebate.
4) Passenger Capacity: The Leaf seats five compared to the Volt's four.
5) Appearance: While odd-looking to many, some people like the fact that the Leaf looks like something new and different, which it is.
6) A True EV:  Using no gasoline and boasting no tailpipe, the Leaf is what EV enthusiasts, environmentalists and average people looking to drive gas-free have been waiting for.
7) Sales Plan: Nissan has created an innovative online reservation and ordering process.  Because this process is run by Nissan centrally, the dealers are really limited to handling the paperwork and delivery process, and the customers hold the power because they can take their reservation number to another dealer to get a better deal.  This sales design has created competition among dealers so that I personally will get a $1,000 DISCOUNT and other customers will do even better.  This is compared to price gouging among Chevy Volt dealers.

Cons:
1) Range: This is the big one. Unless a person has another way to travel distances further than the Leaf's promised 100 mile range, the Leaf can't be your only car.  There are ways to overcome this problem, such as borrowing or renting a car, using public transportation, and others, but most of us don't want to give up our cars for distance driving.  And people with long daily or weekly commutes may also find that the Leaf's range is not adequate for them.  Public charging stations at workplaces and along highways can help with this, but charging takes at least 25 minutes to several hours, so this isn't as convenient as filling up at your local Mobil station.
2) Plugging In: Because the Leaf's battery is larger than the Volt's and is the Leaf's only source of energy, charging the Leaf takes longer or requires higher voltages than charging the Volt.  That means that if you plug in to a 110 volt outlet that is already in most people's garages, it will take about 18 hours to charge the Leaf.  So Nissan recommends that you have a 240 volt circuit run from your home's power panel to your garage to charge the Leaf.  And this also requires a charging station costing at least $750 in addition.  I've been quoted a price of over $2,600 for these electrical upgrades to my house.  There is a Federal tax credit to cover some of this, but I'm not eligible for it because of the Alternative Minimum Tax.
3) Appearance:  Most people, including me, find the looks of the Leaf strange, fish-like, and not very attractive.
4) Foreign-Made: Though Nissan is building a factory for the Leaf in Tennessee, the first generation of Leafs will come from Japan.  And even when the U.S. factory is in production, the profits will go back to Japan.

So which did I choose?   Tune in to my next blog entry.
My EV of choice and my reasons for choosing it in my next blog post

You're Getting a What? Is That Like a Golf Cart?

One thing about electric cars (I'll call them EVs from now on, for Electric Vehicles) is that not many people know much about them.  Another thing is that there is a lot if misinformation about them.  So let's see if we can clear some of that up.

Always the first question: How Far Can You Drive?
For the current crop of new EVs the target range is about 100 miles from a full charge.  You'll get less range if you drive aggressively, or if you use the heater or the air conditioning a lot.  In fact, driving at freeway speeds can reduce the range, as well.  So our 92 mile round trip to Culver City to babysit our sweet granddaughter is probably a stretch.

So what good is 75-100 miles?  Well, most of us drive far less than that each day, and one key to EVs is that if you charge at home at night, you'll start each day with a "full tank".  So most trips, including work commutes and daily errands, can be done in the EV.  For longer trips, you'll need your gas powered car, hopefully a hybrid.  It's true that for most families, an EV will need to be your second car.  But for some people, an EV will work well most of the time, and they will rent a gas powered car for their infrequent longer trips.

Making the batteries pollutes a lot and they aren't recyclable, right?
No.  I've read that mining the Nickel in the batteries in most hybrid cars, as well as shipping all of the raw materials, makes hybrids less green than one might hope, but the batteries are recyclable.  The lithium batteries in EVs are less polluting to produce and they have a future after their life in your EV.  Power companies have a need to store power made during off-peak hours, and the used EV batteries will be in demand for that purpose.

Will we see lots of EVs stranded by the roadside due to range issues?
Probably not.  The Leaf, for example, has lots of electronics to keep you informed of how far you can drive with the current battery charge, including a special navigation screen.  It will also show you where you can go to charge your car at a public charging station.

The EV has no tailpipe, but you're still polluting and using oil at the power plant when you charge it.
Not completely true.  Many of the people getting the first crop of EVs also have added solar panels to their homes, and if they make more power than they use, this free, clean power can charge their EV.  That is what we'll be doing at our house.  When we use more power to charge the EV than we make with solar, that power is probably not coming from oil.  In the U.S., we make power from hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas, wind, solar, coal and a very small proportion of oil.  Now it's true, some of these sources are not clean, especially coal, but I've read several times that it is still cleaner to run an EV charged from a coal fired power plant than to run a car on gasoline.  Also, it is convenient to charge EVs late at night, when the power demands are lower.  This makes power plants run more efficiently.  So much so, in fact, that electricity rates are much lower late at night.

Are EVs slow and pokey, like golf carts?
Not at all.  Torque is the thing that makes cars feel fast, and electric cars have a surprising amount of torque.  Also, and really importantly, all of the torque is available as soon as you step on the "gas"?  That makes EVs feel fast and responsive.  EVs are real cars.  They will move along with traffic, and they are quiet and smooth, without engine vibrations.  Also, since the batteries are usually placed low, under the seats, the center of gravity is low, so EVs handle well.  The Tesla electric sports car can go 0 to 60 mph in about four seconds.  That is very fast.

What's an "Extended Range" EV?
The Chevy Volt is the first example of this type of electric car.  Some people call the Volt a plug-in hybrid, but Chevy likes to call it an EREV, an extended range electric car.  The Volt has a small gasoline engine on board that runs a generator.  The generator makes electricity to drive the car a much longer distance than the batteries alone would allow.  In fact, Chevy says that the Volt will have a range of about 350 miles using the batteries and the range extender engine.

Next Post:  More thoughts on the Volt and the Leaf