[gollum]

Other than as a really cool car (which it is) the advantage of having the volt is that you can still go if no fuel is available. But if there's no fuel available people will probably be eating their neighbors anyway so I'm better off to plan accordingly. Having some stored diesel protects me from a month of no availability to get back and forth to work, after that the truck would only be used to haul wood etc and my remaining supply would probably last for a decade. Also even if gas goes to ten dollars a gallon the $600 payment on the VOLT will buy a lot of fuel. Having said all that it's a great car and eventually I want one if for nothing else than to be socially responsible, and kudos for the great video review

[The Practician]

Here's the perfect peak oil car. We built it. It goes about 30 miles on a charge, and if you run out of juice you can park it in the sun and it will recharge. You can drive it for a penny a mile and recharge it on a regular 110 plug. We have driven it and other cars for about 4 years now. It only costs about $200 a year for insurance and the 4000 miles we've driven has cost us $40.00 in electricity. Check it out at sunnev.com

I don't get it. Why would you want a four wheeled bicycle that you have to leave out in the sun to charge if you are traveling more than a measly 30 miles?

Don't get me wrong, it's a neat little science project. The problem is it's not actually a useful piece of technology in any meaningful sense of the term.

[Keith_McClary]

The best post PO cars will be those with a surviving manufacturer.

Well, we have been adjusting to our post peak existence for more than a few years now, and we still have nearly all the manufacturers we had before it happened. So, lots have survived, but I'll admit, not deservedly so.

It's been suggested that the world market will shake down to about 6 major companies. Anyone care to re-order this list by probability of survival? (Note: FIAT owns 53%? of Chrysler, other mergers are possible)

Toyota 8,557,351
GM 8,476,192
Volkswagen 7,341,065
Hyundai Motor 5,764,918
Ford 4,988,031
Nissan 3,982,162
Honda 3,643,057
PSA(Peugeot) 3,605,524
Suzuki 2,892,945
Renault 2,716,286
Fiat 2,410,021
Daimler AG 1,940,465
Chrysler 1,578,488
BMW 1,481,253
Mazda 1,307,540
Mitsubishi 1,174,383
Chana Automobile 1,102,683 2,378,052
Tata 1,011,343
FAW 896,060 2,572,260
Geely 802,319
Chery 692,438
Fuji(Subaru) 649,954
Dongfeng Motor 649,559 2,769,883
Beijing Automotive 617,725 1,504,083
AvtoVAZ 545,767
BYD 521,232
http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking-2010.pdf

Then consider whether the surviving companies will be serving where you live.

[Bruce_S]

Don't get me wrong, it's a neat little science project. The problem is it's not actually a useful piece of technology in any meaningful sense of the term.

Apparently it has been a perfectly useful piece of technology for Iver. Saved him plenty of money, provided thousands of miles of transportation without wasting crude, shows off his useful prepping skills, I think it is an excellent idea. Wish more of us had the gumption to fix our own problems rather than waiting for the mass manufactured one...but admittedly...the mass manufactured one is something we would probably all be more comfortable with.

[ritter]

Been thinking about getting something like this:



Seems like it would provide a lot of flexibility in hauling with no reliance on electricity or oil.

[Bruce_S]

I've got 5 of 'em, the things are great! But having a Volt around for those days when you don't want to get a shower before changing into work clothes at the office sure isn't a bad thing to keep in mind, particularly among the eco-conscious who might want any of their transportation choices to be earth-friendly.

[Maddog78]

\

I bought one of these this summer.
It's awesome. 0-60mph in 2.6 secs and I've been averaging 45 mpg combo city/highway.
I'm in the oil/gas bidness and I'm going to burn my share. It's job security.
Hmmmm, buy an overpriced piece of new technology from GM? GM? Bwahahahaaaaaaaaa.
Remind me to tell you sometime about the 2 GM products I've owned in my life.

[ritter]

I've got 5 of 'em, the things are great! But having a Volt around for those days when you don't want to get a shower before changing into work clothes at the office sure isn't a bad thing to keep in mind, particularly among the eco-conscious who might want any of their transportation choices to be earth-friendly.

If/when things get to the point I'm forced to ride to work, I won't be worried about changing clothes as I'll be walking into the yard/orchard instead of going to the office for the daily toil.

[Plantagenet]

Charging up a Chevy Volt burns another house down.

Another house burns down while charging up a Chevy Volt

Its not clear on this one if its the car that caught on fire or the charger. Duke Energy has told people to stop charging up their electric cars using Siemen's chargers until they figure out what the problem is.

[Bruce_S]

Charging up a Chevy Volt burns another house down.

Another house burns down while charging up a Chevy Volt

Better the house than what happens to you when dealing with this lethal gasoline stuff!!

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ ... r-20110919

[Bruce_S]

\

I bought one of these this summer.

Nice!! You must be one of those 1%- ers we keep hearing about! I always thought when peak oil brought the world crashing down around everyones ears that such extravagances wouldn't work out so well for anyone, but this oil and gas work you do would be appear to be a good career move for those complaining about how they can't find jobs and whatnot.

Those people camping out in New York should buy themselves a bus ticket and try their hand at some real work, although I imagine spending their time dreaming up how they are the victims of whoever requires all their time.

http://www.ktvq.com/news/bakken-boom-oi ... -for-work/

[Keith_McClary]

Those people camping out in New York should buy themselves a bus ticket and try their hand at some real work, although I imagine spending their time dreaming up how they are the victims of whoever requires all their time.

http://www.ktvq.com/news/bakken-boom-oi ... -for-work/

From the same site:
Earn $2,000 a night as a boomtown stripper

[Bruce_S]

Those people camping out in New York should buy themselves a bus ticket and try their hand at some real work, although I imagine spending their time dreaming up how they are the victims of whoever requires all their time.

http://www.ktvq.com/news/bakken-boom-oi ... -for-work/

From the same site:
Earn $2,000 a night as a boomtown stripper

Sounds like North Dakota has both the hard working male 99%-er covered but some of those hot looking hippy-chics 99%-ers as well! I heard Vegas was losing strippers who could make more by going to work in North Dakota.

I bet they don't buy many Volts in North Dakota in the oil fields right now, with decent jobs they can provide afford the $4/gal gasoline and diesel quite easily.

[MrEnergyCzar]

It's about using less oil now as an end user while you still have the ability to make the changes ahead of the masses... the volt uses the least oil without the range anxiety of a pure EV.. as long as you have to drive to work and get around, using 40 gallons of gas per year instead of 1,000 for my SUV will and is the right move... parts distribution, only getting 20 miles in pure EV mode 8 years from now instead of 35 are practically irrelevant. They said the same thing about the prius battery 10 years ago.

MrEnergyCzar

[Keith_McClary]

the volt uses the least oil without the range anxiety of a pure EV

I was looking for a pic of a Leaf with a generator strapped on top to relieve range anxiety, but this is all I could find:

[dorlomin]

You can get an electric bike with a 250watt boost motor for around £500 these days or around $1000.

Takes a bit of the energy needed out of the cycling and gives you an extra 10-15mph. Useful for an intermediary between the conventional bike that and needing to get somewhere quick but not using so much effort. People who commute 20 miles or so may find them usefull.

[Cloud9]

This is what I'm scrounging parts for now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgL0Ie4zrI

[MrEnergyCzar]

You guys are hilarious with the pictures etc... nice job.

MrEnergyCzar