USA / Global
Articles by Eric Cote
General
Op-Ed: Where the 2016 Chevrolet Volt Falls Short
There's a lot of great enhancements in the new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, and many people (myself included) are excited at the potential that the new Volt holds to gain mainstream market appeal. That being said, there's a couple key areas where I feel Chevrolet missed the mark in choosing not to address them.
May 22, 2015
General
Nissan LEAF And Chevy Volt Go On A Camping Trip
No, that's not the start of a lame joke. Rather, it's what took place a week prior to Labor Day, 2014. I decided to go try the you're-not-really-camping activity of car camping at Wellesely Island State Park, NY nestled within the Thousand Islands at the border of the United States and Canada.
Dec 12, 2014
General
GE DuraStation Chargers: Great Value, Tough to Procure
My employer recently installed 4 GE DuraStation dual pedestal chargers, in conjunction with a building generator project they were undertaking. These chargers (also available at Lowe's and Home Depot) are a great alternative for workplace charging when compared to some of the more popular brands out there. For example, GE DuraStation chargers optionally come with an RFID unit to allow for lim...
Jan 19, 2014
General
Is Cheap Gas Here to Stay?
Gas Price "Heat" Map From GasBuddy.com What's with the cheap gas? Is it from the mild hurricane season? A reduction in travel? Perhaps a conspiracy of some sort? Weren't people warning of peak oil? All across the United States, the cost of a gallon of gasoline continues to approach the $3.00 per gallon mark. Ironically, this once psychologically high price is now p...
Nov 15, 2013
General
Op-Ed: A Response to Climate Central's EV Analysis
Climate Central's next report may suggest the space shuttle Discovery had a higher MPGe than a Nissan Leaf A few days ago, one of our most dedicated and pro-EV writers, Eric Loveday, published a story about a recent Climate Central report that, in summary, made the claim that traditional hybrids remain more environmentally friendly in most states than today's plug-in hybrids....
Aug 24, 2013
General
Volt Crossover May Debut in 2015
Volt MPV5 Concept There's been a great deal of speculation and interest around an SUV variant of the Chevrolet Volt. A recent story on Truth About Cars discussed a guidebook produced by Morgan Stanley that details upcoming product offerings of various auto manufacturers, including GM. The little gem that may interest the readership here comes at the end of their writeup ab...
Feb 16, 2013
General
Update: VoltStats.net to Return Soon!
As we reported a few days ago, the third party VoltStats.net data tracking website has been unable to access updated Chevrolet Volt mileage statistics since October 13th, due to a request from Onstar and GM, citing vague security concerns. Today, however, an update on the VoltStats.net Facebook site states that GM will be working on a new interface to allow the site to start polling vehicle dat...
Oct 25, 2012
General
GM Halts VoltStats.net Access to Vehicle Data
Since October 13th, Voltstats.net, a popular site for tracking efficiency statistics for the Chevrolet Volt, no longer has access to Volt data. VoltStats.net was started by Volt owner Mike Rosack in April of 2011, and is not affiliated with GM. It allows Volt owners to voluntarily sign up to have their Volt's mileage and efficiency statistics tracked online, and viewable to anyone who visits t...
Oct 22, 2012
Battery Tech
Should the US Postal Service Fleet go Electric?
The United States Postal Service has over 140,000 Grumman Long Life Vehicles (LLVs) in their fleet. These vehicles are intended for urban delivery, and their shells are built to last for many decades. According to the USPS, as of 2007, the average LLV is roughly 16 years old, on its second engine, and third or fourth transmission. Because of the nature of their delivery routes and short dail...
Sep 14, 2012