[satronev]

Some things work better than expected. My newly purchased 2017 Chevy Volt, has been getting me to work and back home without burning any gas that I can detect. The round trip is almost 60 miles. The information provided by the computer is telling that I have gone over 58 miles on a full charge. I forced the car to burn gas on Friday by running it in "Hold mode." The result was still very good; 41 MPG. On the battery, I have hit 128 MPG. My car payment is only a little more than what I was paying for gas each month. The car is greatly improved over the models up to 2015. All of the reasons not to drive electric are quickly melting away. The fact that I have solar panels in the back yard supplying energy to both the house and the car makes it even better. I am really sick of all the oil spills, the price of gas, and the politics of oil. I am mostly free of the gas pump; I may have to buy some gas in about 3 months or so just to keep fresh fuel in the tank for a long trip.
Before you buy another car, think not only about the price of the car but, also about the cost of the fuel over the life of the car. Gas has cost me $2,000 USD each year and in 10 years that is $20k. So, add 20K to the cost of any new car and now you have my bottom line and my reason for buying an electric hybrid vehicle.

 

[proddick]

Was your thread title to wind up European members who can't get the new version of Volt let alone a new Ampera model

Enjoy your 2017 Volt and excuse people who are being envious. Many would love to be able to buy one.

I am not good on converting USA MPG to UK, but assume new Volt would do over 50MPG on petrol if it where available.

 

[Spiny]

 

[Geoff]

Some things work better than expected. My newly purchased 2017 Chevy Volt, has been getting me to work and back home without burning any gas that I can detect. The round trip is almost 60 miles. The information provided by the computer is telling that I have gone over 58 miles on a full charge. I forced the car to burn gas on Friday by running it in "Hold mode." The result was still very good; 41 MPG. On the battery, I have hit 128 MPG. My car payment is only a little more than what I was paying for gas each month. The car is greatly improved over the models up to 2015. All of the reasons not to drive electric are quickly melting away. The fact that I have solar panels in the back yard supplying energy to both the house and the car makes it even better. I am really sick of all the oil spills, the price of gas, and the politics of oil. I am mostly free of the gas pump; I may have to buy some gas in about 3 months or so just to keep fresh fuel in the tank for a long trip.
Before you buy another car, think not only about the price of the car but, also about the cost of the fuel over the life of the car. Gas has cost me $2,000 USD each year and in 10 years that is $20k. So, add 20K to the cost of any new car and now you have my bottom line and my reason for buying an electric hybrid vehicle.

Could you use your custom build skills to convert some of these Volts to right hand drive and export them to the UK.?

 

[satronev]

Was your thread title to wind up European members who can't get the new version of Volt let alone a new Ampera model

Enjoy your 2017 Volt and excuse people who are being envious. Many would love to be able to buy one.

I am not good on converting USA MPG to UK, but assume new Volt would do over 50MPG on petrol if it where available.

I assumed that there would be a 2016, 2017, etc. year Ampera to equal the Volt hybrid but, I see that this is not the case. However, the all battery, Ampera-E would be an excellent car to own for anyone who can afford one. In the USA the car is known as the Bolt EV. That car would have been my first choice if I could afford to buy one new. Because I grabbed one of last year's models, I saved a lot of money and I am enjoying all of the benefits of driving a really finely made EV. For anyone who feels envious, I trust that there will be many alternatives available in the near future. Many brands of EV which are sold in the UK are unavailable to the US market. I have often been envious of both the offering of cars and the charging infrastructure in the UK. I have found it difficult to find an electric car that is both affordable and practical to drive. The USA is just getting started and few people even understand that there are any electric cars available. There are very few places to charge an all electric car here and acceptance of the concept is still low with exception of California. I am one of a few very strange persons in Michigan who insist on being different first by driving my modified 1994 Saturn and now a 2017 Volt.

 

[satronev]

Could you use your custom build skills to convert some of these Volts to right hand drive and export them to the UK.?

Well perhaps, someone in the UK with good custom building skills might do better to upgrade an older Ampera with a larger battery pack. I really don't know why the 2016 Ampera was canceled. Perhaps it was thought that the time for a pure electric vehicle has come and hence the Ampera-E was first pick. I might have purchased the Bolt EV which is the same vehicle made for the USA but, we don't have the infrastructure or, even the culture to well support pure electric cars. There might be a better chance that the average US car will soon burn coal. We have been loosing support for renewable energy and conservation.

 

[donald]

I really don't know why the 2016 Ampera was canceled.

Or a more direct question would be to ask why the UK 2014 Ampera was cancelled before production had even stopped!?

 

[proddick]

However, the all battery, Ampera-E would be an excellent car to own for anyone who can afford one. In the USA the car is known as the Bolt EV.

The Ampera-E is another car that many here (me included) would love to buy in the UK but was never made available (no RHD). There were some sold on mainland Europe, but with the PSA takeover of Opel the price has risen and availability is limited. We now have to wait for whatever electric cars PSA launch in UK, which might be a Corsa.

All-electric Vauxhall Corsa will arrive in 2020