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Originally Posted by Fearer2010SS
Yes and that is why the Lithium Ion Battery has a 8 year/100,000 mile warranty. Not that most people who the first owner of vehicle are going to own a Volt for 8 years or up to a 100,000 miles, but what about when these cars hit the used car market? Batteries all need to be replaced in time, even lithium ion. Like I said this is an issue already popping up with used Prius's. The last Prius I saw here in Phoenix that needed a replacement battery the ad stated that Toyota would supply one for $4,000 dollars. Now couple that with maintaining the gas engine you got yourself self a long list of stuff to maintain. Most cars gas engine cars are on the road 15 to 20 years, the hybrids will more than likely miss this mark by a large margin.
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You are simply stating anecdotal information to make your case. The ICE in a Volt just simply won't be running for most customers. I jokingly say the Volt will be the best source for hardly used 1.4 L engines down the road. The engine and drivetrain in the Volt will meet your 15 to 20 year expectation. There is no reason it wouldn't. The battery is a different discussion. You are correct, LiION batteries aren't cheap. That's why EVs are, at least for today, expensive.
And you grossly overestimate the reliability of a 15 to 20 year old car. Yes, the average vehicle on the road is something like 17 years old (there are over 300 Million cars in the U.S.) but those aren't the pinacle of reliabilty you seem to imply.
What everyone is missing is simply this. EVs are coming. Not today, not tomorrow, but with oil prices and the OMG we will run out of oil tomorrow Al Gores of the world, we will be finding ways to use less of it. The Volt is a choice that many will make. They will gladly pay the premium to have the flexibility of an EV WITH and ICE for extended driving. And in time, like most technogies, the price will come down.
And who knows, maybe there will be some other type of energy storage medium invented over the next few decades. The problem is, that today and for the forseeable future, oil is king. It's frankly just to cheap to procure, transport, store and deliver. Everything else on the planet from Bio Fuel to Hydrogen is wayyyyyy more expensive. But there is still a market for people that don't want to use gas........at all.
And yet the NUMBER ONE reason of concern for any EV purchase is .....drum roll please............RANGE ANXIETY. And that is the Volts Moon Shot.