Topic: Preview: 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV

[Erik]

Yeah, but they can't keep going after the battery runs out.

Which is fine.  But the price (compared to the Volt) of the Spark means you could have your Insight AND a Spark parked in the driveway and it would still cost less than a Volt.

Less? Not much. And I'd easily take a Volt over the Insight and Spark.

[rrocket]

Yeah, but they can't keep going after the battery runs out.

Which is fine.  But the price (compared to the Volt) of the Spark means you could have your Insight AND a Spark parked in the driveway and it would still cost less than a Volt.

Less? Not much. And I'd easily take a Volt over the Insight and Spark.

Lots less.  At least $5k.  And that buy TONS of gas...

[Erik]

Yup. Every other EV requires a second car.

And it would still be cheaper than the purchase of a Volt.

Your record is skipping. Better lift up the tonearn.

[rrocket]

Yup. Every other EV requires a second car.

And it would still be cheaper than the purchase of a Volt.

Your record is skipping. Better lift up the tonearn.

I know the hard facts are painful for you......

[Erik]

Yeah, but they can't keep going after the battery runs out.

Which is fine.  But the price (compared to the Volt) of the Spark means you could have your Insight AND a Spark parked in the driveway and it would still cost less than a Volt.

Less? Not much. And I'd easily take a Volt over the Insight and Spark.

Lots less.  At least $5k.  And that buy TONS of gas...

$5k?!?

[Erik]

Yup. Every other EV requires a second car.

And it would still be cheaper than the purchase of a Volt.

Your record is skipping. Better lift up the tonearn.

I know the hard facts are painful for you......

Sigh

[rrocket]

Yeah, but they can't keep going after the battery runs out.

Which is fine.  But the price (compared to the Volt) of the Spark means you could have your Insight AND a Spark parked in the driveway and it would still cost less than a Volt.

Less? Not much. And I'd easily take a Volt over the Insight and Spark.

Lots less.  At least $5k.  And that buy TONS of gas...

$5k?!?

Sure.  Insight cost ~$5K.  Spark ~$25K.  Volt ~$36K.

So yea...about ~$5K


The way to go would be a killer used luxury car (Lexus LS/GS) for highway duty + a Spark for work.  I was honestly considering the Spark, but was under the impression it would be $20K after the rebate. 

[me_2]

I had to read that twice...a range of 40km? I've got to say that seems...disappointing.  You'd think a bunch of university kids could make an EV car that would do 40km on a charge...as a class project.

Yup.  Sure you could get university kids to do better but a few will likely freeze to death in the process.  And the car will likely look more like a science project than the simply awsome car the Volt is.

I knew full well going in that the range will fluctuate (as with any EV).  Overall I will still likely average 60 to 70km's of range over the whole year.  It's only on bad days where I need heavy defrost use were I may hit the low 40's.  My commute to and from work is 42km's so on the worst days I might use a tiny bit of gas.  Plus on the days where the temperature is below -10C which thankfully in Kitchener is usually not too many days (probably 30 to 40 days a year).

In the whole month of November I used 2L of gas and drove ~1800km's.  And I'm no hypermiler.

My commute is almost about 36Km each way (72Km daily) and I recharge my Volt at work.

I have had twice this summer the EMM (Engine Maintenance Mode) because I did not burn any gas during 6 weeks (42days)

Nov 17th, my Volt reach 10,000Km and has burned 68.4L to date, this include (3) 500 km one day trip.
Last week, I used some gas due to the -10/-20C temperature and longer trip than usual.
Dec 5th, total gas used is 74.9L for 11,067 Km (0.676/100Km) because  I used 6.5L on my last 1,067Km and 3L were burnt the same day as picture below.

[rrocket]

^^Nice that you can charge at work.  I'm not so sure everyone could get a good deal like that.

[Northernridge]

I had to read that twice...a range of 40km? I've got to say that seems...disappointing.  You'd think a bunch of university kids could make an EV car that would do 40km on a charge...as a class project.

Yup.  Sure you could get university kids to do better but a few will likely freeze to death in the process.  And the car will likely look more like a science project than the simply awsome car the Volt is.

I knew full well going in that the range will fluctuate (as with any EV).  Overall I will still likely average 60 to 70km's of range over the whole year.  It's only on bad days where I need heavy defrost use were I may hit the low 40's.  My commute to and from work is 42km's so on the worst days I might use a tiny bit of gas.  Plus on the days where the temperature is below -10C which thankfully in Kitchener is usually not too many days (probably 30 to 40 days a year).

In the whole month of November I used 2L of gas and drove ~1800km's.  And I'm no hypermiler.

My commute is almost about 36Km each way (72Km daily) and I recharge my Volt at work.

I have had twice this summer the EMM (Engine Maintenance Mode) because I did not burn any gas during 6 weeks (42days)

Nov 17th, my Volt reach 10,000Km and has burned 68.4L to date, this include (3) 500 km one day trip.
Last week, I used some gas due to the -10/-20C temperature and longer trip than usual.
Dec 5th, total gas used is 74.9L for 11,067 Km ( or 6.5L / 1,067Km)

Hmmm...this sounds way better than 'my Volt got 40km on a charge'

[me_2]

I had to read that twice...a range of 40km? I've got to say that seems...disappointing.  You'd think a bunch of university kids could make an EV car that would do 40km on a charge...as a class project.

Yup.  Sure you could get university kids to do better but a few will likely freeze to death in the process.  And the car will likely look more like a science project than the simply awsome car the Volt is.

I knew full well going in that the range will fluctuate (as with any EV).  Overall I will still likely average 60 to 70km's of range over the whole year.  It's only on bad days where I need heavy defrost use were I may hit the low 40's.  My commute to and from work is 42km's so on the worst days I might use a tiny bit of gas.  Plus on the days where the temperature is below -10C which thankfully in Kitchener is usually not too many days (probably 30 to 40 days a year).

In the whole month of November I used 2L of gas and drove ~1800km's.  And I'm no hypermiler.

My commute is almost about 36Km each way (72Km daily) and I recharge my Volt at work.

I have had twice this summer the EMM (Engine Maintenance Mode) because I did not burn any gas during 6 weeks (42days)

Nov 17th, my Volt reach 10,000Km and has burned 68.4L to date, this include (3) 500 km one day trip.
Last week, I used some gas due to the -10/-20C temperature and longer trip than usual.
Dec 5th, total gas used is 74.9L for 11,067 Km ( or 6.5L / 1,067Km)

Hmmm...this sounds way better than 'my Volt got 40km on a charge'

I re-wrote my last sentence, the 6.5L was confusing. Neromanceres is right, it can even be below 40Km (YMMV).

[Neromanceres]

Yup. Every other EV requires a second car.

And it would still be cheaper than the purchase of a Volt.

No it wouldn't the Spark EV is a "cost effective" EV and in the US is going to cost about $32K.  So in Canada it will likely be closer to $35K.

On my old vehicle (a dodge grand caravan).  I was spending about $4000 a year on gas.  On my Volt I will use about $400 a year on gas and about $500 a year on electricity. So every year I'm saving $3100 in energy costs.  And the Volt a far far nicer vehicle. There is a reason why the BMW 3 series is in the top 5 vehicles traded for a Volt.

[JohnM]

So what is the range of the SparkE (my own term - GM, please send cheque to ....)?

Also what is the kWhr capacity of the battery?

Extreme performance in extreme silence.  Big engine in a small car.   Under $30k in Canada.

A lot to like.

Cheers,
John M.

[me_2]

So what is the range of the SparkE (my own term - GM, please send cheque to ....)?

Also what is the kWhr capacity of the battery?

Extreme performance in extreme silence.  Big engine in a small car.   Under $30k in Canada.

A lot to like.

Cheers,
John M.

http://media.gm.ca/media/ca/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/ca/en/2012/Nov/1127_Spark-EV.html

The GM Canada Chevy's Spark media release says:
"20-kWh lithium ion battery" ... "Using a dedicated 240V outlet, Spark EV recharges in less than seven hours"
"At initial launch in Canada, Spark EV will be a Fleet vehicle only and pricing will be announced closer to launch. It will be eligible for Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia provincial EV incentives."

---
From the US media release:"Retail pricing will start at less than $25,000 after federal tax incentives"
---
You can figure US$25,000 + US$7,500 = US$32,500 + other fees
Only my own guesstimate: cdn$35K/36K in Canada when it becomes available thru the retail channel unless new competitors eat up this market..?

[redman]

Why do companies like G.M. still think that people who want an electric car want them in a small fugly configuration. Here's a thought, how about an electrified version of a mid-large size vehicle within a decent price range. The Volt is not that car btw.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Why do companies like G.M. still think that people who want an electric car want them in a small fugly configuration. Here's a thought, how about an electrified version of a mid-large size vehicle within a decent price range. The Volt is not that car btw.

Why do you think a mid-size vehicle would sell better? You may find it fugly, but my wife pointed to one in traffic and thought it was very cute. I think it's fairly generic.

The larger the car, the higher the materials cost. Full EVs are already criticised for being too expensive. Would you want a $50-60k Accord EV?

[redman]

Why do companies like G.M. still think that people who want an electric car want them in a small fugly configuration. Here's a thought, how about an electrified version of a mid-large size vehicle within a decent price range. The Volt is not that car btw.

Why do you think a mid-size vehicle would sell better? You may find it fugly, but my wife pointed to one in traffic and thought it was very cute. I think it's fairly generic.

The larger the car, the higher the materials cost. Full EVs are already criticised for being too expensive. Would you want a $50-60k Accord EV?

A larger car would serve a greater demand especially within the U.S. market where they like larger vehicles. Recall their top selling vehicle Camry & ours the Civic.
You can't really think that their is really much of a price difference to make something larger do you. Super sizing is a marginal cost that would be easily offset with greater sales numbers.

[hemusbull]

Car will be imported in Canada only for fleet's needs? What a mistake! Even now Leaf and Volt aren't available for the common public. Plus onsidering their premium price, these are vehicles definitely not for the masses. What's the point here reworking a typical cheap mass car to became a special class ...Chevrolet? Come on, GM, this one is a wrong strategy at least for the future of the mass electrical car transportation!

[rrocket]

They are only selling this in 3 markets in the USA also.  So either way...this car will be sold in limited quantities.  The prevailing thought is because GM is scared this will take away sales from the Volt.

[Mike]

They are only selling this in 3 markets in the USA also.  So either way...this car will be sold in limited quantities.  The prevailing thought is because GM is scared this will take away sales from the Volt.

It is 16 (or maybe 18) markets is what was said at the unveiling.