I have noticed that a lot of people are curious about the Volt and willing to engage in dialog about how it's a game changer. Working behind the scenes in an evangelical ministry, I started wondering why do I get that with the Volt, but not with my faith.I consider myself non-evangelical since I won't engage in a discussion of faith without clear invitation to do so. 1 Pet 3:15-16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.This gives me some opportunities, but it's simply not as visible an invitation to dialog as a red Volt. The main difference seems to be that with the Volt, people don't already know everything they think they need to know. With Christianity, most people know enough to believe they don't need more information to make...

This week is the annual YL SLT (Senior Leadership Team) meeting at Trail West in Buena Vista. That's just about 100 miles away. My electric range is only 40 miles. Oh no! What to do! Range Anxiety! Simple, I use the gas motor built into the Volt to drive whereever I want. The total range per tank is close to 400 miles. I'll drive to Buena Vista, then on to Denver (another 120 miles) for the state tennis tournament, then back to Colorado Springs (another 60 miles). Since there's a lot of elevation change involved to Buena, I figure I'll try out mountain mode. It kicks on the gas engine earlier than it normally would. Driving uphill might drain the battery faster than the gas engine recharges it. By recharging earlier, it should stay ahead of whatever usage I can do (still need to test this on the Pikes Peak challenge at some point). I arrive at Trail West having using 1.5 gallons of gas. At Young Life camp, especially family camping, they go many various requests from guests they pride themselves that...

Driving back and forth to work, I've seen an odd phenomena. The drive is 13 miles each way. I always start the morning fully charged. When I get to work, my battery miles left is between 36 and 44 (starting from 40). Driving home, I watch the miles fly away and I end up with around 10. At first I thought there's something about energy density in the battery being strong at full and diminishing rapidly. However, watching the KwH usage tracks with the miles left.

The cause is that my house is 800 feet of elevation higher than work. So, most of the way in to work is relative coasting. On the way home, it's uphill so I'm using more energy. I get to see in the Volt battery exactly the same thing I would be feeling if I was riding a bike. Uphill is harder than downhill. I've just never had the detailed insight into energy usage with previous cars.

I'm now the proud owner of a Volt. Got a call from Al Serra Chevrolet. I had stopped in and given them contact info with the firm statement that I will buy one, but won't pay a penny over sticker. They called with a 2012 pretty loaded one they just received. The only option I consider a deal breaker is the leather seats. Anything else I can take or leave. Before I even agreed to come in and look at it, I asked if they were going to play over sticker games. I loved it when Bill asked the sales manager and the response was "only if he wants to pay more". So, I got it at sticker, which was right around $45K. Taking the tax credits into account, it's a $31K vehicle in my mind.

OK, that's just true across the board. I love this state. But now I have even more reason to love it. I discovered that Colorado has a $6000 tax credit for plug in EVs. That means I'll be seeing a $13,5000 'discount' on my eventual Volt.



Digging into it, it's only confirmed for 2010 and 2011, but it's intended to be extended. There are even table showing the future, but they are planning tables, not locked in. So there's some potential for it to go away in 2012. I'd be safer to buy it in 2011, but I'm not going to do anything stupid (like pay sticker + $7500 for a demo). We'll see how it pans out.



If you are looking into this, be sure to read about refundable / non-refundable tax credits. Non-refundable seems to limit your ability to use the credit up to the amount you owe.

So, a dealership in Colorado Springs finally got one in that's available for a test drive. It's a dealer demo from elsewhere with 5000 miles on it. Being a pretty hot day (80s), the A/C was running strong. The reason I mention it is that with the compressor and fan going, you can't tell there isn't an engine running. I was expecting it to feel like a regular car, but this took it over the top of being a regular car. Everything I read prepared me for it to be like driving a gas car, but now I've felt it and truly believe. The accelaration exceeded my expectations. I know in theory electric motors can apply torque instantly, which means they can be faster than gas. I also know GM did a lot of things to make the car able to have a 40 miles range. Just how much acceleration did they remove for that goal. Not much ... it's got some nice acceleration. Then there's sport mode, which kicks it up a couple more notches. The Volt will be my next car. Just not this one. The dealership is asking $7500...

Instead of the original $30,000 price tag, GM set the price at $41,000. They are marketing the $7500 tax credit as bringing it back down to mid 30s. But I was counting on that bringing it down to $23,000 which is only a moderately high price tag for a Chevy econobox. I'm not so sure about this now. I came to grips with the change from concept to egg shaped, but this means it's not a long term cost effective mode of transportation, even without paying for gas. I'd be left with buying it because it's the right thing to do now and for future generations. I really want to encourage GM that they have create game changing technology with the EREV.

Along with the Wall St. bailout, congress passed the EV tax credit. A tax credit (as opposed to a deduction) behaves as if you already paid this much in taxes. There are limitaitons and caveats, but generally speaking, this means buying a Volt will act as if I wrote a $7500 check to the IRS at the same time.

Sigh... the images of the production version released today. Not even close to the concept. In my head I understand the need to make it aerodynamic and all the impractical parts of the concept (turn signals are overrated aren't they?). But in my heart, I really like the look of the concept. Here's hoping for an SS option or something that brings back some of the concept styling.

After reading about and seeing concept pictures of the Chevy Volt, I've added myself to the unofficial waiting list at GM-Volt.com. Why? Because this car changes everything. It's an electric vehicle (EV) because it runs purely off battery power. However, when the battery gets low, there is a generator onboard that runs off gas to recharge the battery. The category it's defining is the EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle). I love the look of the car. Here's an image the concept. Pricing the car in the $30,000 range with the potential for tax incentives should make it an instant winner. Why am I excited about this car, but completely against pure EVs? It's what car makers call "range anxiety". Even the choice of this phrase drives me nuts. It makes it sound like some kind of imaginary problem. IF I want to drive an EV beyond...