Top 5 Misconceptions about the Chevy Volt
Since its unveiling, and especially once it was announced for production, the Chevrolet Volt has been a controversial car. Much of the controversy surrounding the Volt has been perpetuated by misconceptions about the car.
Aaron Turpen wrote this good piece which I think all of you will find interesting.
[QUOTE=Adam;14935]Top 5 Misconceptions about the Chevy Volt
Aaron Turpen wrote this good piece which I think all of you will find interesting.[/QUOTE]
Well after owning a Volt for 2.5 months I can honestly disagree with Aaron Turpen in his article when it comes to mpg. How he can claim that these claims are false (lies)? Says you would have to first Emty your fuel tank. Aaron obviously doesn’t own a Volt or does he really know much about it other than reading and assuming. I know the fact that the Volts “actual” mpg is around 40mpg, but what Aaron was clearly referring to is the Volts average mpg running on electric and gas. He is very wrong. Facts: My odometer says 2497 miles and I have used 2.7 gallons. OnStar says lifetime average is 913 mpg. Math easily proves this and my tank is over 3/4 full. I have never purchased gas, I’m still running on the dealers complimentary fill up. I’m so not impressed with Aaron spreading another myth himself
[QUOTE=Adam;14935]Top 5 Misconceptions about the Chevy Volt
Aaron Turpen wrote this good piece which I think all of you will find interesting.[/QUOTE]
Aaron was right on about the negative misconceptions but he was absolutely wrong when he called Volt owners that claimed 200 plus mpg were liers. He has now been proven wrong and if he is decent he would correct his “good piece” or lose his credibility over principle. Volt Stats! Tracking real world usage of Chevy Volts in the wild… is all you need to bust Aaron’s claim. He is not just a little bit wrong. He is extremely wrong. So he sets the record straight on bogus claims and then takes real honest claims and calls them lies. Come on Aaron if it was a mistake we forgive you. Don’t ruin your whole piece on one mistake
[QUOTE=Jljeeper;14962]Aaron obviously doesn’t own a Volt or does he really know much about it other than reading and assuming.[/QUOTE]
That is not true. See my reply to one of the comments.
http://carnewscafe.com/2013/04/top-5-misconceptions-about-the-chevrolet-volt/
[QUOTE=Adam;14969]That is not true. See my reply to one of the comments.
Top 5 Misconceptions about the Chevrolet VoltCarNewsCafe.com[/QUOTE]
I saw your reply, did you see all the other replies and links that prove that Aaron is very incorrect? Adam I drive a Volt everyday, I am 53 years old and have figured out how to calculate my own mpg. So if you still think Aaron is right on the mpg, and the fact he is calling us out on our claims then I’m not sure about you and your agenda. I’m not the kind of person that would try so hard to be dishonest. I just want the truth to be told. Aaron was right about the fires and other misconceptions but he is as guilty as the rest if he doesn’t retract or correct his piece. Calling us all liars is really not very professional especially when he is mistaken. Having the Volt for a week should be enough time to figure out what it’s capabilities are but that’s if he really wanted to. You have to make a conscious effort to defeat the mpg capability of the Volt to not know its potential. I only charge at night and commute 36 miles a day average and my mpg is through the roof at 913mpg. I happen to have a perfect commute for the Volt. The numbers show that 80% of people commute 40 miles or less which means that 80% of commuters can get hundreds of mpg in a Volt. If your commute was 80 miles you would still be capable of 80 mpg in a Volt and if you can charge while at work you would be right back into hundreds of mpg. That is the strong point of the Volt and for Aaron to crush that fact with a lie completely destroys why anyone would want a Volt at all. To me that was why I bought it. Because it does easily get hundreds of miles per gallon for 80% of drivers without trying very hard at all. Adam I live the fact every day. I post my mpg on my white board at work for all to see updated daily. Facts are facts and you can’t argue with the truth
Hi
I recently set up a post :-
and think it would be interesting for those with EVs to post their latest mpge on a regular basis so we can all see the figures in black and white.
[QUOTE=Jljeeper;14971]I saw your reply, did you see all the other replies and links that prove that Aaron is very incorrect? [/QUOTE]
WHAT LINKS? NObody posted anything that disproves what I said. Just a lot of “well, >>I<< get this and this” and other anecdotal non-evidence.
And thanks for harassing me with emails and multiple posts. Your ownership of a Volt is actually proof AGAINST your claims because you have a stake in the game. I’ve test-driven the Volt multiple times as objectively as possible and found both positives and negatives about the car. Just as I do about EVERY car.
I was in the hospital, as I personally emailed you to say, which is why I couldn’t respond to all of this within a few seconds, as you seem to think should be the norm.
Aaron it wasn’t meant as harassment. You are the one calling us all liars. I feel that would and should provoke a response. I only want the truth to be told. I’m not sure how you are misinterpreting the Volt stats but it is clear that the 160 mpg monthly number you used is the average for all Volt owners on Volt stats. It is also very clear that 40% of the 1600 Volts on Volt stats has a lifetime average of over 200 mpg (that’s not a tiny number). Its also not clear if you interpretation of MPG and MPGe is correct. They are entirely different measurements. I can see how you might want to assume I am biased because I own a Volt, but that also makes me an expert. I have much better things to do than to spend so much time to simply lie about my experience. On the contrary I want the truth to be told and the fact is there is too much misinformation spread about the Volt and that was the very premise of your piece. I would be more than happy to have a civil conversation about it. It seems that maybe its your pride that is unwilling to admit you may be wrong. This is such an important part of the Volt and is the only reason I own one. Anybody reading this can go to Volt Stats! Tracking real world usage of Chevy Volts in the wild… and see that 40% of the 1600 Volts get over 200mpg and many are much higher. It all depends on your everyday driving. I made no change in my driving and my lifetime average is over 900 mpg. I drive an hour a day and charge only once at night. Not hard at all. Besides Aaron I would like someone else to visit Volt Stats and tell me what you see. Theres got to be someone here that can understand the statistics. You can see my Volt Volt Stats: Details for Volt #2013-20901 (Jons Volt)
Aaron for some reasons none of my 4 last comments have not made it to your original piece, am I being blocked?
Apparently someone is actually deleting and blocking comments from several Volt owners. This is amazing that if you disagree and post politely your facts, they will just remove them and block them. What’s that? a communist site? I guess I totally understand damage control.
http://carnewscafe.com/2013/04/top-5-misconceptions-about-the-chevrolet-volt/[/QUOTE]
Aaron
In response to your edits Top 5 Misconceptions about the Chevrolet VoltCarNewsCafe.com
The engine on the Volt does not need to come on to heat or cool the cabin or passengers. The only temperature related engine run is below 15F and you can set it for 32F if you want. AC and heat work very well without the ICE running. I think you should have interviewed a Volt owner/enthusiast before you took on your article to get some confirmation and facts on exactly how the Volt operates. Your descriptions on the operation and capabilities of the Volt are very inaccurate and most of all misleading and damaging. Your information on the political rumors and such is fine.
We all know very well no engine can achieve 200 mpg. The Volt can easily offset fuel use to the point of using so little fuel that you would need a gasolene car that got 200 plus mpg if you wanted to match the average fuel consumption of a Volt. Yes that itself could be misleading I suppose but it’s not a lie. It’s simply fuel burned and miles driven based, the same as people are use to doing. You can add the cost of electric if you want to, mine is 2 pennies a mile. Hardly worth calculating to compare with the cost of gas
Aaron
A suggestion if I may. Instead of calling Volt owners liars for claiming 200+ mpg, why don’t you explain to your readers why this could be a misconception?
My suggestion is something like this (I’m not a writer so you can do a better job)
Claims of 200+ MPG from Volt owners.
Lets examine this claim as it is more complex than it appears. First off we all know there is no ICE driven car or hybrid capable of even 100 MPG.
In the Volt simply dividing actual miles driven by ICE fuel used can amount to huge MPG figures in commutes that are 50 miles or less with regular charging’s.
With that said, The part of the equation that is missing is the energy use from the electric grid. So the real combined MPG figures can be a bit misleading if you don’t understand where the figures come from. These high MPG claims are simply miles driven in EV mode where no fuel (from the tank) is being burned at all. This has the potential to raise the average MPG numbers into the hundreds of MPG for many Volt owners. Is it a lie? No not really. Can the Volt travel 1000 miles on one gallon of gas (from the tank)? Yes it can if you drive about 40 miles a day and charge it every night. Is the ICE getting 1000 MPG? no. Is the Volt averaging 1000 MPG? well yes it did travel 1000 miles on one gallon of fuel. The ones that don’t understand that these miles are offset by miles that don’t use any fuel at all can be misled by these claims. Electric miles costs much less than gasoline miles with average paying about 3 cents per EV mile. To be fair to the Volt, yes you would need a 200 mpg ICE car to compete with the Volts MPG figures if the Volt had a 50 mile (or less) commute. According to www.voltstats.net 40% of Volt drivers are achieving 200+ average MPG from their Volt - Remember where these numbers come from (ICE and EV combined).
Nothing in the above is a lie or misleading. It may sound to favor the Volt but I am obviously favorable to the Volt.
Jon
AAA
AAA Chooses Chevy Volt as a Top Commuter Car | PluginCars.com
Consumer Reports
Chevy Volt named most satisfying car in Consumer Reports survey | Fox News
[QUOTE=Jljeeper;14985]I am biased because I own a Volt[/QUOTE]
Yes, you are clearly biased.
[QUOTE=Jljeeper;14985]but that also makes me an expert.[/QUOTE]
Just because you own something DOES NOT make you an expert. That is a BS statement.
I own TVs and watch them all the time. So that makes me an expert about TVs?
[QUOTE=Adam;15013]Yes, you are clearly biased.
Just because you own something DOES NOT make you an expert. That is a BS statement.
I own TVs and watch them all the time. So that makes me an expert about TVs?[/QUOTE]
Definition of EXPERT
1 experienced
2: having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience
I did not say I could construct the car but yes I am an expert on how to operate the car and the various functions of the car. Apparently much more educated about the operation of the Volt than the Author. Just as you would be with a TV that you owed and operated daily. Don’t try to downplay me because I am pointing out major flaws in Aaron’s piece. Nobody that owns a Volt would agree with many of his assumptions about the car. Yes I say assumptions because that is what they are. Everyone that owns a Volt know darn well the engine does not need to run to operate the AC or heater. That is a ridicules false statement to make. Why don’t you try to point out a false fact that I have made instead of personal attacks? You call yourself a journalist? It’s ok to defend your friends but lets stick to facts and truth.
Calling me biased does not mean I’m going to lie about it
[QUOTE=Adam;15013]Yes, you are clearly biased.
Just because you own something DOES NOT make you an expert. That is a BS statement.
I own TVs and watch them all the time. So that makes me an expert about TVs?[/QUOTE]
So Adam in your opinion Is Aaron an expert on the operation of the Chevy Volt?
actually no one has attacked Aaron on a personal level - it is only the factual incorrect content in his piece.
So who knows more about the operation of the Chevy Volt, the dozen so called liars that own them and have tried to post corrections to the piece or your buddy Aaron the Author?
We have decided to put a temp close on this thread to gives members a chance to take a breather, calm down and remind them of the rules - offensive posts will not be tolerated.
http://www.electricforum.com/cars/general-electric-vehicle-discussion/2767-rules-guidelines.html