Just DROVE a Volt! - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

bennelson · 05-12-2011, 08:57 PM

I just drove a Volt!

Even though there are NONE for sale in my state yet, (I've been told they are being released 4th Quarter 2011...) I managed to find a dealership where the owner personally owns one.

The sales guy I was working with was super-nice. I shot a video interview of him talking about the car.

I grabbed some stills and some video I'll get up here later.

I also ran over my camera with the Volt.....

It was unusually warm today - 86 degrees F - it's not unknown to get snow in my area in May. I have officially decided that I like the air conditioner in the Volt!

Angmaar · 05-12-2011, 10:02 PM

It was crazy hot today. That must have been good for the efficiency of the Volt. What kind of kWh/Mile did it get?

gone-ot · 05-12-2011, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennelson

I just drove a Volt!

Even though there are NONE for sale in my state yet, (I've been told they are being released 4th Quarter 2011...) I managed to find a dealership where the owner personally owns one.

The sales guy I was working with was super-nice. I shot a video interview of him talking about the car.

I grabbed some stills and some video I'll get up here later.

I also ran over my camera with the Volt.....

It was unusually warm today - 86 degrees F - it's not unknown to get snow in my area in May. I have officially decided that I like the air conditioner in the Volt!

...uh, Ben, that's not how you're supposed to recharge your camera using a Volt.

bennelson · 05-12-2011, 10:28 PM

I didn't see any Watt-Hour-Per-Mile meter on the car. It has a display showing how many more miles you can go on your current charge. That number of miles changes while you drive, depending on exactly how you drive.

As for running over my camera with the car.......
It's a small video camera that I can set on the ground. Then I drive the car forward to show off the underside of the vehicle.

I did notice that the front-bottom air dam on the car actually is pretty close to the ground. I had the set my camera behind that, otherwise that lip would have knocked the camera over as I pulled forward.

Here's some photos for you guys.
PHOTOS LINK

And, of course, the typical bad self-portrait...

At least that helps prove that I don't just make up all my weird stories.

I'll have some video posted tomorrow.

-Ben

See more photos at this link

PS: After I ran over the camera, I then went and BACKED over it....

bennelson · 05-13-2011, 12:30 PM

OK - Now HERE'S what I meant when I said that I ran over my camera with the car!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEhHsnKvF8

gone-ot · 05-13-2011, 12:41 PM

...the "sharp" corners at the rear of the Volt remind me of the original Kamm back designs of years ago...making a come back?

...the underbody isn't as "clean" as I thought it would be.

euromodder · 05-13-2011, 03:17 PM

It's leaking !

bennelson · 05-13-2011, 03:21 PM

I've noticed too that there is less belly pan than one might expect.

I don't know if that' because there's all the ICE components under there or what.

The middle section has a belly pan that's very clear to see in the video. I believe that the batteries are installed from below the car, and then covered with that partial belly pan.

The front lip ground spoiler is pretty low. It's gotta be about 4 inches off the ground. Perhaps the GM engineers were thinking more about keeping air out from under the car in the first place than making the bottom aerodynamic.

I'm sure lots of Volt owners are going to scrape that front lip a bit on speed bumps and steep driveways.

The squarish rear corners of the car do seem to be a distinct feature of the vehicle. For some reason, they seem "Cadillac-ish" to me.