Don't Count Your Pennies Before You Have Them

You remember the old saying "don't count your chickens before they've hatched"? Well I made a slight variation on it when I was thinking up what to title my blog on the forthcoming Chevy Volt hybrid vehicle. All this week there was a lot of hype surrounding the car and the fact that it could potentially get 230 miles per gallon. Now that figure is astounding when you consider that so far, vehicles are only getting a maximum of around 30 to 40 miles per gallon at present. And before I get innundated with e-mails about people who have cars that get more than that and that run on kitchen grease or human methane emissions let me just say that I'm talking about mainstream cars, not something someone ginned up in their garage over the course of the weekend. If the Volt lives up to its promises then it could certainly change the auto industry around the world for a long time to come. Hell, if the car even only gets half of what they are estimating I'd still be impressed since it is far more than any of the other vehicles competing in the hybrid market at present.

Still, with everything good there has to be a drawback and the Volt is no exception. Now many people will argue that the fact that the Volt can (or could) get 230 mpg means that we'll be able to cut our dependence on foreign oil by a tremendous amount. The cost of energy could also be potentially affected in a positive manner. I mean if we're no longer so dependent on fuel for cars then perhaps the fuel needed in the production of electricity and such will also go down. The overarching benefits are really exciting to consider but then again if you think about it, while you're not stuck paying more fuel you may still have to shell out to power your Volt. Don't believe me? Well think about it. Here you have a vehicle that can go at least 40 miles on a single charge. Once the 40 miles for the battery nears the limit the gas powered engine takes over and powers the car while also continuing to charge the battery back up. Because of this cooperative 'arrangement' within the engine it means that the mileage numbers will go up. No downside right?

Well if you have to charge your car don't you think that's going to affect your electric bill? The car is built to be able to be plugged into virtually any standard home outlet. If one were to do that everytime that you have to charge the car then you can figure that the cost of filling up will be about $2.75 per kilowatt hour. That may not seem like much but over the course of time that tends to add up and it may end up that we're paying the same (if not more) in order to get good mileage. And if many more of us start driving cars like this then perhaps the fuel that we save from being pumped into cars will go into powering electric generators. That being the case then won't we now be paying (indirectly of course) for the fuel and the the electricity? Maybe I'm looking at things wrongly but that's what makes sense to me about the relationship.

I have no doubt that as more and more people start using these products then the cost of operations will go down. It's like most any such product in the market. If there are more suppliers then the product (and it's related support elements) also come down in terms of cost. But until that new equilibrium point establishes itself in the market as it were then costs will remain high. Sure there will be environmental benefits like lower emissions from vehicles on the roads but that assumes that sufficient numbers of these vehicles replace the smokey ones that still inhabit our roadways. And what about the rest of the world? Will the vehicle catch on there? I mean it's great if the emissions are down in our country but what about the rest of the world? I guess it could happen but still, it will take time. I know I have promoted the idea of patience in wanting to see results due to programs like this but I'm also realistic in knowing that unless there is immediate impact and benefit, there will be resistance in certain sectors of our society that will keep this and technology like it from prospering and that would be a real loss.