Mikebmth wrote:DiplomaXE wrote:Mikebmth wrote:
scrapped?
what u on about?
Discontinued production of....
Vauxhall claimed due to poor numbers sold and the production cost of the vehicle it was discontinued after a year or two, doesnt mean its a bad car but just something people obviously didn't want to buy and with a few friends owning Hybrid cars they have all got shot of them due to the costs involved in servicing and replacement of batterys etc....
yeah, could be bad, could be awesome,
Briefly (lols) -
Production cost fairly high - yes, design cost - silly high, thanks goes to the US Gov. policy for making it all happen! Cost to me - miles less than the sum of its parts and long term capability.
They (VX in the UK) have been selling and using in their own fleet, the 2 small deliveries (2 boat fulls from Michigan) of them they got for 3 years now. there's still a few left I am told.
They were 30ish-35K£ minus your UK Gov eco grant bollox subsidy thingy, depending on spec, and there's a fair bit of it.
Company car drivers pay much less in tax with one and they are free RFL which I like, but it aint everything.
It is basically a UK specced Chevy Volt, built next to the Volt in Michigan, with a few tiny changes and the funky new corporate VX front bumper like the new Zafiras are getting.
Yes, production has basically stopped and Mk2 Volt is in the pipeline nearly ready to roll.
I am told we should be getting the new shape 1.0 3 cylinder larger battery cars next year, but it would be down to the huge price, subsidies and changing people's minds about the future..
It's not a Hybrid like others or even a pure electric vehicle like a Zoe or Leaf with the range anxiety that goes with them, it's a range extending ELECTRIC drive vehicle, unlike similarly described early other makers efforts which usually are a dire styled petrol car, cut and shut, made to be a bit aerodynamic, with some very knackerable standard type batteries added where ever they can, cutting into your boot space, that help you along in traffic for a tiny bit and they do crap mpgs overall as the engine struggles, especially on the motorway or at speed. These also have little or no battery management systems and don't charge from the grid...
If you a veggie sucking hippy type (I am not) you could use your expensive solar panels to charge an Ampera, or buy your leccy from some lentil chewing power company who say they are all solar or wind power, yeah right, basically everyone knows our power stations are sitting there all night doing very little, so best tap into it for the petrol equivalent of 256 mpgs to commute to work in and you aren't so much at the mercy of petrol prices going nuts, but yes, electricity prices also change but is miles, quite literally, cheaper...it's all about the cost at point of use. far far cheaper than a newish luxury safe "normal" car. Not running a car which needs RFL of whatever £££ makes it even cheaper. more of that later....
The Chevy Volt and Holden/VX Ampera Voltec system is utterly different to others and is now the way the other manufacturers are going.
The national grid charges the traction battery, in my case overnight in 5 hours for 92p. It doesn't fully charge to the total max it could do. It charges the centre 60-65% of the capacity. it's quite clever, it does this to extend and control battery cell life.
You drive your 30-40-50 to sometimes 70 miles, purely on the traction battery driving the planetary gear system, not on your Prius type engine driving the wheels kinda system. It's not CVT like it says in the papers or the logbook!, it's got a 150hp/275lbft main motor as well as the second half power motor generator and the 80ish HP engine actually connecting in too sometimes and the torque is instant and does not stop ripping at your neck until it goes bing bing bing to tell you off for being naughty.
At all times, even during discharging and charging - importantly, the battery modules are monitored and conditioned together and either cooled or heated by the cars high voltage HVAC system so everything lasts as long as possible. As long as you don't cut the car in half and physically wreck the traction battery it could and can last indefinitely. Even though there is a potential for things to go wrong with them, it seems they really dont and as well as car of the year it enjoys a very high customer satisfaction rate. Even if the main battery were to degrade at a low level and a few have shown a few % change, the car doesn't die, it just loses a tad of electric range, you certainly don't need to ever change the battery pack/assembly.
When you/if you were to (I havent yet) run out of traction battery range commuting to work, it actually has held back about 20-25% of it's capacity as a buffer, to still use in the next phase, which is where the engine cuts in and out for up to 310-350ish miles if need be, without refuelling or recharging, running the motor/generator to power the car and to top that battery "buffer" zone back up to that minimum level, it still shifts along on the battery, but cuts the engine in and out when needed, idling away. I can only hear mine with a window down or if I were to give it a bootful when it steps up the revs to maintain that buffer zone in the battery.
If you want to recharge again, you can and then go again for an average of 45 miles for 92p, if you don't or can't, you don't have to, don't bother, no worries, it doesn't strand you on the hard shoulder like a Leaf or Zoe etc, just refill the 35 litre tank as usual for another 310-350ish miles, although I have been getting 48 to 56mpg on the petrol part on further afield journeys so far, so maybe 400 miles is possible, it still drives the same - epicgearchangeless torque from 0 to 105 mph in almost utter silence, unless you try and go deaf with your "banging choonz" on the awesome Bose stereo.
Sport mode is more mental, is insane and it hurts.
Servicing is silly cheap as there is very little to do. Around 100£ a year or less as Engine oil can last 60,000 miles or even more, if the engine is not used much.
Air filter, pollen filter, gear oil every 8 years or somesuch, check over stuff.
As the battery is uber managed for an epic long life. even after 250000-300000 mile ones have only lost a few percent of usable range/capacity.
The brakes last a monumental time as the regenerative braking sorts almost all of your retardation, also recharging the traction battery a tad further extending your range.
Vauxhall, ie us over here, had 2 deliveries of UK cars, both in 2012, early on like mine and later on in the year so even an almost new one where there's a few left in stock are 3 years old. We never had many as they were so expensive compared to run of the mill cars and it is definitely early days with the charging infrastructure being a tad confusing if you desired to charge at a Little Chef somewhere instead of being in control of it all at home. The government subsidy made them more attractive with 5k off, this is either just about to change or just has changed. it could hold back take up of these and similar cars for sure.
Chevy ones are about out of production and apart from a week or so when they re-tooled the factory in the early days, they haven't stopped since 2010-2011.
There's 60,000+ of them in the world, they haven't "scrapped" anything as far as I can see, they have made some changes, some didn't like the lack of a 5th seat so they are addressing that I'm told (not bothering me at at all tbh) designed the Volt mk2, fiddled about a bit, they are going for a smaller engine, larger different shape battery I am told and it's out soon. New ones sound like a lot of initial depreciation to me though.
Will it change my lust for a good roar in a head turning classic sportscar I have always wanted and ought to never sell - nope,
Will it change my enjoyable drives with the roof down in a superb turbocharged Astra listening to my favorite music - nope
Will it really piss off my boss at work if I were to charge it at work for nearly free in a special parking space for smug fcukers - yes
Will it make my whole motoring bill cheaper so I can do more of the first 2 above - yes
Does it count as a toy in the "he who dies with the most toys wins" discussion - I think - hell yes
Hope that answers a few questions you didn't have! and some you might have. It is truly a remarkable effort which points the way to the future.
