115-year-old electric car gets same 40 miles to the charge as Chevy Volt

And?? The Volt is a PHEV, not a BEV, despite the linked article and GM's own insistence.

The EV1, RAV4-EV, Etc. got more miles per charge.

The only progress GM has made since then is bailout money on the grand kids debt-tax slavery tab?

Whew. GM, that is bad. You can stick the taxpayer with the debt, but a loser is still a loser.

>

Makes more sense to buy a Zenn Motors vehicle for 1/4 the price and go pure electric to skip on maintaining 2 drive trains. Or better yet, a Tata Nano for say $3500 and get a heater that works, gets 52 mpg and Euro crash rated. And for less than a down payment on a GM Volt.

Trouble is, corrupt legislators may not allow the import of these vehicles into their jurisdictions to protect the corrupt and inefficient unions.

Volt was a bad idea and billions wasted. But Marxist Obama has Government Motors.

Each two years, a review was held by CARB of the ZEV mandate, and auto make= rs' progress toward their ZEV targets. Instead of progress, auto and oil in= dustry groups testified that the goal was unreachable, impossible, and that= no one wanted an Electric car like the EV1.=20

In 1994, they engaged a public relations firm run by Joe Cerrell to fight t= he ZEV mandate. A letter writing campaign, bused-in retirees, focus groups,= and other tricks were used to try to derail the ZEV mandate.

After years of acrimony, CARB and the AMA reached, in 1996, a Memorandum of= Agreement ("MOA") which seemed to be an amicable solution. Unfortunately, = this MOA was kept secret from the public, which was unable to review it. CA= RB is still allowing the AAM to scam the public by keeping exact ZEV number= s and status secret, to this day.

As events proved, the AAM had a couple of nasty surprises in store for CARB= . First, one ploy to weaken the Mandate was the idea of trading off pure ZE= V production for hybrids, and giving "PZEV" (partial ZEV credit) for better= gas mileage. This led to an injunction since it infringes on the federal g= overnment's sole power to regulate MPG and CAFE standards. In the aftermath= , auto makers used the hiatus to dismantle their battery ZEV programs and c= rush the EVs. Thus, CARB should have resisted AAM pressures, and stuck to r= equiring ZEV production. Their conciliation proved a weakness. The second s= hock was revealed at the CARB 2000 ZEV review: the MOA, contrary to the ide= as of CARB, did not commit the AAM to a "good faith effort" to build a mark= et. Rather, it only committed them to put out a certain number of ZEV cars = for a certain number of years. The fate of the ZEV was not spelled out in t= he MOA:

CARB staff thought the ZEV program would expand, and ZEV numbers on the roa= d would increase; while AAM intended, and the MOA text permitted, the ZEV to be taken back and crus= hed after the demonstration period ended. This is why GM, Honda, Ford, Nissan and, for a while, Toyota were able to k= eep control of the ZEV and not sell to the public (their worst nightmare!) = and were able to get away with never offering their ZEV for sale. It was on= ly Toyota, from Mar. to Nov. 2002, which offered the last 328 Toyota RAV4-E= V for sale to the general public.

GM VOLT: a plug-in, but not an EV.=20 Engine comes on to turn wheels, like a Prius. Nissan Leaf: A real EV, uses = no oil or gas while running.=20 No tailpipe! Can be fueled by your rooftop solar system, a rooftop system o= f only 6 to 12 square yards, 1.3 kw (cost: $8000 before rebate or tax credi= t) is enough to drive 1000 miles per month. Battery pack is located above the center of gravity, and between the seats:= meaning only a 4-seater, and with a less than stable feeling on turns. Bat= tery is located on the undercarriage, like the Toyota RAV4-EV, giving it st= ability and making it a 5-seater with more room in the cabin. Drives and feels like an oil-fired car, not an EV Feels and drives like a r= eal EV, peppy and smooth around corners Battery is too large (16 kWh) for the amount you are allowed to use (8 kWh)= because it's designed like a Prius, putting the gas engine prior to the el= ectric drive, so you can only use half the battery. Designed like a real EV= , 24 kWh which are 80% accessible. This lowers the wear-and-tear on the bat= tery and gives more range.

3900 lbs, much too heavy (heavier than the larger Toyota RAV4-EV) because i= t has the wrong battery and the wrong design. 3500 lbs., with a 660 lb. bat= tery pack. Still the wrong battery, since it only has a lifespan of 5 to 10= years and 80,000 to 100,000 miles.=20

Nickel is cheaper and longer-lasting, and less heavy in practice. A 30 kWh = NiMH pack weighs 1000 lbs., the 20 kWh you can access in the LEAF weighs ab= out the same per kWh (30 lbs. per kWh) but costs more and doesn't last as l= ong. The wrong battery. ironically, the 400 lbs. of Lithium in the VOLT yield on= ly 8 kWh (40 lbs. per kWh) while 400 lbs. of Nickel batteries would yield 1=

2 kWh (33 lbs. per kWh) Nissan plans to recycle used batteries into new bat= teries, enabling lower cost and eliminating the need for new mining of the = metals in the battery. Supposedly a car for all missions: but if you drive it long-distance, you w= ill pay 35 to 50 cents per mile in over-mileage charges, meaning it's too e= xpensive for long-distance. Those wanting to travel long-distance should an= alyze WHY: if it's to save money, take a TRAIN. If it's to see the USA, tak= e an RV. The idea of driving cars or trucks long-distance on cheap subsidiz= ed oil is PAST HISTORY.