@coryd: The US automakers working concept cars for the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles program were all 72+ mpg diesel hybrids, though perhaps only the Dodge Intrepid ESX was a turbo-diesel.
@Pete84: People have been putting a few charging stations in parking structures for a decade in California, and there's lots of talk of increasing the numbers. Go to EV map sites like Mychargepoint.net and see if they are in your area, though there doesn't seem to be one map site that has them all. Most give away…
@electricworry: My tone to elchimpo was dumb, and I apologize unreservedly. If plugging in a car doesn't appeal to you, the Volt is indeed is overpriced Cruze. I happen to think it's a great day for America to be first with a new kind of car.
@stöke, metäl ümläüt ënthüsïäst: I think this is the EPRI study summary. But it doesn't mention manufacturing at all, it seems to assume that pollution from production of different kinds of cars is not a significant factor. Most studies conclude 75-90% of lifetime vehicle pollution occurs in operation, not…
@RadioFlyerPartDeux: @cobrajoe, You're right, I'm apologize.
@Justin Hyde: The General Motors EV1 (Cd = 0.19 and CdA0 = 0.36 m²) would disagree with your claim. The Volt's 0.26 is very good, among the best.
@dusanmal:
@maximum_sarge: Maybe someone whose regular commute is less than 35 miles, who will not be burning any gasoline at all for weeks on end!
@stöke, metäl ümläüt ënthüsïäst: OK, but why don't you demand the same analysis for a regular car?
@Justin Hyde,
@elchimpo: The Volt plugs in, you dolt.
@xXezbadfishXx: Actually the San Fiero Pay 'n' Spray is just a little further down the road on the right.
@Tossed Pissed Mazda3hatch sideways: Sure any 1.5 ton manufactured good that travels at 60 mph isn't "environmental", but you're on a car blog that exalts them, and some are worse than others.
@Jim-Bob: You seem to be insane. If your commute is less than 40 miles and less than 70 mph you burn no gasoline at all in a Volt, you don't go to the gas station for weeks. That's a huge deal for some people and has a value independent of stupid payback calculations (hint: nothing beats a 1992 Geo Metro XFi).
@OldAudis: No, zero gas on many drivers' commute also matters a whole lot.
@Tossed Pissed Mazda3hatch sideways: I bet electric enthusiasts know far more than any Chevy salesman does about kWh per mile, well-to-wheel efficiency, lifecycle analysis, regional electric generation mixes, etc. All thanks to this thing called the Internet.
@Loki: Sure, if your commute is less than 50 miles you avoid burning literally TONS of gasoline over the life of the car (compared to which a few hundred pounds of recyclable batteries is nothing), and on a well-to-wheel basis the Volt in electric mode goes further on the Btus from the coal mine than a comparable car…