Audi America President calls Volt a car for 'idiots'

[BigRigMike]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the Volt is that it can travel 40ish miles completely on electric power? That being said, my wife who commutes round trip 32 miles a day could use no to very, very minimal gas all together? My only real concern with this car is how much energy it will use while being plugged in for a recharge; i.e. how much will my home electric bill increase by plugging this thing in every night? I'm sure this has been addressed, but I haven't found any concrete data as of yet.

I just looked online real fast and it looks like electicity costs about $0.20 per KwH in San Diego and if you assume that the Volt uses about 8 kw of its 16 kw battery, then the cost would be ~$1.60 per day. The volt has a 16 kw battery but should only use about 50% of capacity to extend battery life.

It looks like San Diego gas prices are at $3.00 a gallon so would you need to buy a car that gets about 75 mpg to be comparable in price. This is assuming that you would drain the battery on the 32 mile commute even though the range is supposed to be 40 miles, but i always go the worst case when doing calculations.

[Windy City]

I hope every person younger than me keeps the opinion alot of you guys have. I know I will own a Volt once they become available. Too many people my age and older think, "screw the environment or fossil fuel over use, I won't be here any way". I think it's BS. The more we can preserve, the better we all are.
If things were like they should be, the last Audi ever sold in the USA should have already crossed the border. To the rest of the world, the Americans are stupid. But where would the rest of the world be if we weren't here? Chuckin rocks and skinnin hides?

[MrIcky]

Originally Posted by Windy City

But where would the rest of the world be if we weren't here? Chuckin rocks and skinnin hides?

More like speaking German and driving Audis...oh wait...

Edit: and Doc- I appreciate what you're saying. Maybe my Prius annoyance is bleeding over to all things electric.

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by MrIcky

Doc- I appreciate what you're saying. Maybe my Prius annoyance is bleeding over to all things electric.

I hear ya about the saturated market bro…it’s sort of like the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Now my mother-in-law is a survivor and I certainly support the cause, but you can’t even buy a condom these days without it somehow being affiliated with a pink ribbon for Christ’s sake.

[ss.yes!]

Looks like the Audi president is already backpedaling from his statement.

[Fenah]

Great idea, bad time, however it will either fail badly, or set a new standard.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by MCPOAJ

lol isn't the "ss" supposed to be 140 hp turbo'd if it even happens doesn't seem that great to me

Not the SS model. 140 HP 1.4L Turbocharged I-4 is the 40 MPG model. No word of an SS model yet, and Number 3 refuses to tell me if the 2.0L Turbocharged ECOTEC I-4's going in or not.

[MCPOAJ]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Not the SS model. 140 HP 1.4L Turbocharged I-4 is the 40 MPG model. No word of an SS model yet, and Number 3 refuses to tell me if the 2.0L Turbocharged ECOTEC I-4's going in or not.

he already corrected me i don't know much about them i actually did all my reasearch before making a post but it dissapoints me that gm is getting rid of another ss... (possibly)

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by MCPOAJ

it wasn't?? http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=104953 the best way to tell an 05 from all the other is the badges on the door are half way up the door (i'm not sure it it came out halfway through 2005 like the ss/tc did in 08)

I'm sorry -- my mistake. I thought it came out in 2006.

Originally Posted by MCPOAJ

imo they just made another malibu......btw my uncle owns a dealership so i've been chevy biased since birth so buying an srt would be like cutting an arm off.

Well, this car is nearly identical to the Cobalt in size...and as nice as the interior will be, it's still not quite as good as the Malibu -- so I'm not sure what you mean but that.

As for an SS...see below:

Originally Posted by MCPOAJ

he already corrected me i don't know much about them i actually did all my reasearch before making a post but it dissapoints me that gm is getting rid of another ss... (possibly)

Well...this isn't an SS, but the Cruze already has some racing experience.
http://www.racecar-engineering.com/a...ruze-wtcc.html

And I would be absolutely floored if GM didn't make a car to replace the Cobalt SS. It spanks the competition...why totally get rid of it.

[rayhawk]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

by plugging in at night and using electricity during off-peak hours, it will save you some. I dont have an actual amount for you personally, but I remember most "plug-in"s only paying like $0.05 a night or something like that? maybe an hour while it was plugged in. wasnt much. plus, you could buy your wife an extension cord to "fill-up while she's at work"

or utilize the gasoline engine in the car to recharge the batteries

There is no system in place to charge users less for off peak hours use that I know of. All they do is measure your total usage for the month. I think that is more of a theoretical idea, everyone would have to have meters that recorded peak vs. non-peak usage. Maybe in the future?

[fastball]

You look at and drive and Audi, and you realize the company's president can say whatever the f&$* he wants to because, well, their cars are just friggin damn good cars.

When GM starts building cars with Audi handling characteristics and interior and exterior designs, then you might say he has no room to talk.

But Audis are so far ahead of any GM vehicle it's not even funny. Audis are certainly on the level of BMW as far as handling, and styling they are beyond BMW in my book. They don't make an ugly car. If I just didn't care about what's left of my retirement I would certainly buy an S5. And if I hit the lotto, I will - and an R8.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Two types of people make blanket stereotypical statements like this

1. The ignorant

2. The person so preoccupied with spouting nonsensical rhetoric they haven’t the time to read the forum rules; i.e. rule #1….

1) Respect. By far the most important rule here. Through the generations of Camaros, enthusiasts have come together for the love of the car and the community (in fact, the name "Camaro" means "friend, pal, or comrade"). So, the basic rules of real life apply here, show each other respect and you will get respect as well. Don't bash someone else here because you feel like it. Personally insulting other members will not be tolerated.

Please, show some class.

How is stating the obvious a violation of the forum rules???

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Very well said!
My only real concern with this car is how much energy it will use while being plugged in for a recharge; i.e. how much will my home electric bill increase by plugging this thing in every night? I'm sure this has been addressed, but I haven't found any concrete data as of yet.

The 40 mile range recharge is supposed to be a small fraction of what the gasoline would cost. Well under $1.00 for the recharge I read. So, if you like economy and want to buy this car to possibly save some money on fuel, then you need to do a trememdous amount of driving to make up for the higher cost of the car.

If you want to buy this car because you are trying to "save the planet", then you'd better buy a bicycle instead because all the coal that the electricity you charge the batteries from releases more evil CO2 into the air than the gas it replaces.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by fastball

You look at and drive and Audi, and you realize the company's president can say whatever the f&$* he wants to because, well, their cars are just friggin damn good cars.

When GM starts building cars with Audi handling characteristics and interior and exterior designs, then you might say he has no room to talk.

So the A3 and A4 don't count?