'Pretty Incredible': Dealership Offers Peek at Electric Vehicle

John Beaver, general manager of Southern Pines Chevrolet Buick GMC, drives a demo of the new electric Chevrolet Volt.

As of Wednesday, September 14, 2011

By Glenn Sides

The engine of the new electric Chevrolet Volt.

Nearly all car makers are preparing to introduce plug-in electric vehicles, but Southern Pines Chevrolet Buick GMC is the only dealership in Moore County that currently offers a sneak peek at the technology.

A demo of the Chevrolet Volt has been on the U.S. 1 lot for two weeks. About 20 people have given it a test drive, and three orders are pending.

"We were one of the first dealers in North Carolina to get a demo, so we're excited about it," General Manager John Beaver said Monday. "Of course, it will be a lot more exciting when we can have a few to sell."

Beaver expects that to happen by the end of October.

"We've been hearing about the Volt for years, so a lot of research and development went into it," he said. "They also put a lot of practical testing into it. And the customer feedback on this car has been phenomenal."

Southern Pines Chevrolet Buick GMC got one of the first demos because two of its sales associates and a service technician were certified to sell and service the car, respectively.

The Volt can run 35 to 45 miles on its electric battery until it requires either a recharge or power from its backup gasoline engine. The backup range is 340 miles. The car retails for $37,000 to $46,000, and there is a $7,500 federal tax credit available through the end of the year.

"I may be wrong, but I think the Volt technology is going to be the model for the industry," Beaver said. "It's not like anything else you've seen. It's radically different from a hybrid, and it beats any electric car I've ever driven by far. It's pretty incredible."

Steve Booker, a sales associate who completed his certification training in July, said most people coming in for a test drive have "range anxiety, perceive a lack of power, or both."

"Those are the two biggest fears. Because it's electric, people have the perception that it's going to drive like a golf cart instead of like a car with a V-6 engine," Booker said. "You don't have a transmission, so you have instant power. Usually, people are all smiles by the time they drive the Volt back on the lot."

Because plug-in electric vehicles do not send emissions out a tailpipe, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that they could lower the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 30 percent.

The Volt has keyless entry with a smart phone, push-button starting, a pedestrian warning button because it runs quietly, a rotating video ball in the dash that helps optimize energy efficiency, and three driving modes, among a plethora of other features.

"It's very easy to drive," Booker said. "Most of all, it's fun and exciting."

Progress Energy Carolinas announced Monday that it is providing 150 residential customers in North Carolina with plug-in electric vehicle charging equipment as part of a new research project. The Plugged In Program will provide the charging stations at little or no cost to help the company better understand their impact on the electric utility system.

"Plug-in electric vehicles will be rolling off local dealer lots in the near future and our infrastructure will be ready for them," Lloyd Yates, president and CEO of Progress Energy Carolinas, said in a statement.

The Plugged In Program is funded through a smart-grid grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grant will cover up to $1,500 of the equipment and construction costs of installing a "Level 2" charging station at a customer's home. Customers will continue to pay for the electricity used to charge their vehicle.

Level 2 charging utilizes a 240-volt circuit instead of a standard 120-volt home outlet (Level 1). A Level 2 charging station can charge a plug-in electric vehicle three to five times faster than a Level 1 outlet and provides additional safety due to the hardwired installation.

Progress Energy Carolinas will own and maintain the charging equipment for the duration of the research project, which ends April 27, 2013. Ownership and maintenance responsibilities will transfer to the customer at the conclusion of the project.

"This research project gives us insight into the electric system's state of readiness to accommodate vehicle charging equipment, which will help us as we transform into the transportation fuel providers of the future," Yates said.

While most charging will take place at home, public charging stations are starting to pop up in major markets across the country, including Charlotte and Raleigh.

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.

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Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

Great concept car ~ no doubt it will eventually change commuting in the future. I used to work for John Beaver and that's a good reason to find another purchasing opportunity elsewhere.

MikeNC 1 year, 8 months ago

Let's see, 35 to 45 miles on its electric battery until it requires either a recharge or power from its backup gasoline engine. And the vehicle costs $37,000 to $46,000 dollars. Do I read this right that an owner will have to have a special plug in system installed at their home? And a grant will cover $1500 of that expense. How much will not be covered...charge to the owner?

The article states that plug-in electric vehicles do not send emissions out a tailpipe and this will reduce emissions by 25-30 %. I would assume after that 35-45 miles of battery life, emissions will then be generated for that "Back Up range" of 340 miles by gasoline. Who's the target market with this car? Mike

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

@MikeNC: Well, it's obviously not you. You must have quite a bit of stock in the gas and oil companies as much as you complain about every other kind of energy. Sure, most alternative energy sources are far from viable now, but at least these companies are making an attempt. How is it in any way affecting you?

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

and i meant how is the Volt affecting you before you jump all over me...

blake 1 year, 8 months ago

(Sorry, I do not mean to answer for MikeNC)However, the program above was made possible in part by a $30.5 million grant administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Recovery Act Transportation Electrification Initiative. Also, the each purchase of the Volt is subsidized by a $7500 tax break. This is crony capitalism at its worse.

MikeNC 1 year, 8 months ago

Jeesh...I was just asking some pertinent questions that are unanswered in the article. Still don't have any answwers....Mike

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

Here's an interesting article...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/automobiles/electric-car-makers-quest-one-plug-to-charge-them-all.html?pagewanted=all

obviously still a good bit away from being practical for most drivers but heading in the right direction.

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

Hemblocke ~ there are subliminal problems with rechargeable batteries regarding disposal issues. Last time I read any information on lead mining in China, and disposal in the US, there are inherent issues with lead - period....China is one of the few countries in the world recycling electronic parts containing lead. I'll try to find the article I read and share....

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

the volt and leaf use lithium ion batteries

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

lead acid batteries don't hold enough of a charge to be practical in an electric car, would have to pile in way to many of them

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

I'll have to familiarize myself with lithium ion batteries. The articles I've read addressed the disposal issues with lead used in batter construction.

Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago

Old article...I think it was puplished during the R&D of the first all electric autos.

molonlabe 1 year, 8 months ago

You need to read up on lith-ion batteries, no lead!

TooHot 1 year, 8 months ago

The sales of the Volt car are dismal.

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

I'm sure they are. It's a far from perfected technology, much as those crazy horseless carriages were back in the day. Consider the volt as a beta test for electric cars. Gotta get em out there so they can get feedback from a larger control group than just internal testing. The more people driving them, the more feedback the car companies get, the faster they can improve the tech.

TooHot 1 year, 8 months ago

125 Volts sold in July 2011 - for the entire United States!

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

"The car retails for $37,000 to $46,000,..."

that's a generous price for a test car purchased by an owner. Perhaps they should consider providing BETA testers to drive the car for a year or two to work out the bugs before laying down that much cash + interest.

Hembloche 1 year, 8 months ago

I'd be interested to know what kind of savings you'd be looking at as far as gas costs vs recharging costs if any. I haven't been able to find any definitive numbers. If the savings did add up to enough it would most likely be well worth the extra cost for the car itself. You also have to consider that the volt and leaf don't have an actual "engine" like traditional cars do so that may cut down on maintenance costs. But then i suppose you'd also have to look at the reliability of the batteries as i've read that the batteries themselves can cost up to $24,000.00

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

One would think the jury is still out on electric technology as a daily mode of transportation. On piece shown on the History Channel showing the assembly of the Volt, shows where the batteries are set into a "pan" on the underside of the vehicle. One can only wonder what it would labor costs would be to replace the batteries much less the cost of the batteries.

teufelhunden 1 year, 8 months ago

Anyone heard of Nissan Leaf? What's going on with that one?

Matt_Woodruff 1 year, 8 months ago

My brother (who works for Nissan) just got one. They are testing them on a small scale around their headquarters in TN.

lakeforestsw 1 year, 8 months ago

A nice public television show (many months ago) told of Denmark's efforts to support the electric car market. The electric utility owned the batteries in the cars - owners were charged for power on their utility bills. "Gas stations" were being redesigned so that a car could pull in and a robotic device would quickly change out the battery under the car. Recharging stations were set up throughout the country - the utility using the car batteries to manage peak loads in the utility infrastructure. Nissan was heavily involved in building cars to support Denmark's efforts.

San Francisco and other techie areas will move a similar direction. Questionable how long it will take this infrastructure to reach North Carolina?

Folks should give some thanks to electric car and hybrid owners for reducing the demand on gasoline - as it holds down the gas prices for everyone in the country (now over a million hybrids on the roads).

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

"lakeforestsw 3 hours, 41 minutes ago"

you offer a good perspective on the future distribution of electric cars. Based on your screen name I'm sure you remember in the late '60's when an electric car was being sold in California. Big auto and Gas companies resisted the development and subsequently bought the technology and scraped plans for future development. The technology has been around for decades, just in a safe at Exxon.

blake 1 year, 8 months ago

I am a fan of fuel efficiency and new technology. I think hybrid cars are pretty amazing and am a fan of the Prius. I just do not understand the present fascination with the Volt. It is way overpriced and only affordable due to government subsidies. Yes, it does not have emissions from a tailpipe but the electricity in the US is derived from >70% fossil fuels, most of which is coal. It simply shift the pollution to the location of the power plants. Not until we change how electricity is produced in this country does this become a worthwhile endeavor. Presently, it is not much more than a gimmick to make drivers feel good about themselves. Plugging in your car is like buying steak at the supermarket instead of going to the slaughterhouse.

madstork 1 year, 8 months ago

Blake, you nailed it. Electric=coal. At the end of the day, the free market will determine the success of this car. The push by the current administration for programs like this play right into Agenda 21.

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

"blake 9 hours, 40 minutes ago"

I am total agreement with your analysis. I too believe the Volt is a feel-good gimmick. The number of recalls after the cars have been on the road for sometime will provide potential purchasers with better insight into reliability and cost effectiveness. The direction this nation should be taking is with other sources of energy other than coal fired power plants. Ergo, we have quadrillions of metric tons of coal in our own back yard. A viable resource and acid rain as a side effect! There goes the forests....

Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago

Toda,, You should go check out the car...Make sure if you talk to a salesperson to turn on your BS filters..There is alot of Propaganda out on this car and the electric technology in general..Again,,make sure you read with filters...

Like any new technology, there will be a trial period..Much of the trial period has taken place in other areas..Only now are they getting the car out to a larger market..

If your wondering about the annuall fuel cost,, it could be as little as $20 or so..If you work or shop within 20miles of your home and dont use the car for trips,your monthly fuel cost would be near 0.So far the electric companies are saying around $60 a month to fully charge your car daily..Most people probably wont do this...I say "near and around $20 annually" because Im not sure what the (service or maintainance running) cost would be...The engine cant not run for months or years at a time without having issues..So it will most likely have to run occasionally.. If you figure the fuel cost of the average mid-size sedan it runs around $1500.00, It would take several years before it would pay for the difference in cost of new car..Im going to wait a few years and see how things go with it,But its near the top of the list for my wifes new car..

Toda 1 year, 8 months ago

Like I said in my first thread - I used to work for a brief time for John Beaver and Scott Olsen...trust me, if I ever were to step foot on that car lot it would be because I got lost. His motto: "what ever it takes to get a lot up on the sales floor, we'll take over from there" I've seen people who was just shopping leave in tears from the bantering that took place. I am fully aware of their tactics and it's not pleasant ~ that's way I left.

Aberdeeniac 1 year, 8 months ago

I'll stick to the FORD MUSTANG..........

Fastest MT-82 2011 5.0L GT In the Country! 10.20@134.85mph by Lethalcamp

buddysmith 1 year, 8 months ago

well if your home, or were you recharge the car, is using electricity from a coal fired electrical plant, there is still emmissions and pollution involved. the only way this technology could help the environment is if the car could recharge itself on solar power! maybe someone is working on that???

corwin 1 year, 8 months ago

Put solar panels on your roof. Tech is already available.

corwin 1 year, 8 months ago

Rotating video ball?

MikeNC 1 year, 8 months ago

After reading all of this, my basic understanding of the Volt is this...if you buy such a car it is more a feel good thing than actually owning a real car. Have to drive to Raleigh or Charollette to recaharge the batteries. Basic upkeep and expense is not even understood yet. Most likely you just threw away $30,000 to $40,000 thousand dollars of your own money plus another $7500 bucks of tax payers money. No wonder Toda said folks walk away in tears from the car lot...Mike

corwin 1 year, 8 months ago

I think your understanding is a little too basic. See this link for charging options: http://gm-volt.com/2009/08/20/charging-the-chevy-volt/ As far as maintenance, it might not be understood, but it doesn't take much imagination to realize that an electric motor with 5 moving parts is probably going to have less issues than in internal combustion engine. The battery replacement time and expense is the unknown part.

MikeNC 1 year, 8 months ago

And the batteries are the huge unknown expense. I wonder where them batteries were made? Perhaps Japan? Mike

Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago

There was another GM electric car, The owners liked the cars, but GM bought them all back..

I would rather "feel good" about buying a mid-size American sedan, than some little compact Jap-Crap, because it gets 30mpg...

Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago

Now, that's revolting.

Courseaire 1 year, 8 months ago

If you bought a Volt, then bought a second one, is that ReVolting?

Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago

Thats probably the term that will be used when you have to have a major repair done.

MikeNC 1 year, 8 months ago

And a battery replacement will be a major repair...Imagine that! Mike

Arestorer 1 year, 8 months ago

Will be interesting to see if the utility companies get more involved with the battery maintenance and disposal..Also the life of the Lithium batteries..The retail market has already seen substantial price reduction on Lithium batt's..Do you know whats up with recycling of said batteries...Can they be "recycled or reuse the products" or are they going to be stored like Nuclear waste..

'Pretty Incredible': Dealership Offers Peek at Electric Vehicle

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