Chevy's Volt not the answer for the future

By Joseph Capparella     10/28/10 7:00pm

In 1999, the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, the Honda Insight, was introduced to the U.S. market. Shortly after, the Toyota Prius joined the Insight, starting what was, at the time, thought to be a niche market phase that would die away as initial enthusiasts lost interest. However, as can be seen on the roads today, the hybrid movement has gone mainstream within the past 10 years, with the Toyota Prius at the forefront, surpassing 2 million cumulative sales in September. A new wave of electric cars has swept the auto industry as of the last two years. On Monday, Chevrolet brought its newest car, the Volt, to campus to offer students an opportunity to test-drive "the car of the future." Introduced in 2007 as a concept vehicle, the Volt is dubbed a " range-extended electric vehicle."

While the Prius was originally touted as the hybrid-electric vehicle that "doesn't need to be plugged in," the Volt prides itself on its ability to plug into an ordinary wall socket. Running on electric power alone, the Volt is estimated to have a range of approximately 40 miles, depending on various driving conditions. When the battery is exhausted, the gasoline engine fires up to charge the battery. The appeal of this drivetrain focuses on customers with a daily round-trip commute of fewer than 40 miles. These people's daily driving routine could be accomplished in the Volt without using a drop of gasoline, while still allowing these customers to go on longer trips when necessary by using the gasoline engine. The Volt is scheduled to appear in dealerships in select markets across the country by the end of 2010 for approximately $41,000 before any tax benefits or subsidies.

Nissan has taken a different approach with the Leaf, a pure electric car estimated to have a range of 60-100 miles. The Nissan differs from the Chevrolet in that it does not have a gasoline engine, meaning that it must be plugged in once the battery is depleted. Sales are scheduled to begin in December, with estimated pricing near the cost of the Volt.

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So, what's all the fuss about? Just like the Prius and Insight in 1999-2000, the Leaf and the Volt represent the teething stage for electric cars. However, don' t expect this craze to catch on as quickly as hybrids did, for one crucial reason.

When the Prius and Insight debuted in the U.S., there was already a widespread infrastructure in place that made them a practical alternative to " regular" cars: the gas station. The reason that hybrids were able to catch on so quickly was because they could be filled up at the gas pump just like any other car. With the Leaf, Nissan is betting on the fact that the electric infrastructure will grow as the cars become more mainstream.

This is circular logic. Think of it this way: If banks developed a new type of credit card that could not be processed through current card-readers, consumers would not be expected to use these new cards before the infrastructure changed to support them, would they? The Volt reaches a better compromise with its innovative drivetrain that can be filled up both at the gasoline station and the electric socket, but when operating the gasoline engine to sustain a charge in the battery, the Volt only averages between 30-50 miles per gallon. This means that, in range-extending driving mode, the Volt is less efficient than a Toyota Prius, which is rated at 50 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving .

Granted, the Volt will use less gasoline overall than the Prius because of its enhanced electric capabilities, but every time you take a trip longer than 40 miles in the Volt, you are marginalizing its efficiency. After riding in a Volt on Monday, I think that it is a great car. However, in my opinion, it is not as far of a step forward as the hype might suggest. With the Leaf, a bigger problem arises. Say you had a 30-mile drive from your house to your workplace. If you drove a Leaf, you would ordinarily have just enough juice to go to work and back home, where you would plug the Leaf in each night to recharge. However, imagine if your spouse called and asked you to pick up your child on the way home from work. If your child's school was 10 miles out of the way, you would be up a creek without a paddle. There are gas stations practically at every corner, but how prominent are electric car charging stations?

Electric cars will face an uphill battle in the coming decades. The gasoline infrastructure is so deeply ingrained throughout the country that electric cars will struggle to reach the mainstream. While I commend Chevrolet and Nissan for their admirable efforts in getting these two extraordinary vehicles to market, I have a hard time seeing Nissan sell many more Leafs (Leaves?) past the 20,000 that have already been reserved in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Similarly, Chevrolet has set a goal of selling 10,000 Volts in 2011 and 45,000 Volts in 2012. While the early adopters of electric car technology have already shown great enthusiasm, they will be just that: early adopters. So, if you got a chance to test-drive the Volt, good for you. It's an important car with important technology. Unfortunately, America might not be ready yet.

Joseph Capparella is a Brown College sophomore.

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