The CarGurus Blog

Chevrolet Volt

Sometimes the universe chooses crazy ways to tell us things.

Whether in life, love, or work, sometimes things happen that are just too much to write off as coincidence and can only be described as the work of fate.

In addition to pulling the strings of how and when people meet or opening the door to new potential career paths, it seems the universe has taken an interest in the furtherance of electric cars.

Allow me to explain.

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As modern civilized humans, we expect quick results with nominal effort. We want magic weight-loss pills, we want to get rich with the simplicity of buying a lotto ticket, and we want to find love by posting a picture on a dating site.

Of course, there’s no quick way to guarantee any of those things. You just have to work hard and keep your mind intent on what you want. The mentality of instant gratification and quick fixes has fueled many marketing campaigns. Companies have learned how to tap into the minds of consumers and get them to part with their cash in exchange for products that promise to make life easier and better while solving a multitude of problems.

The cars we drive are certainly not immune to such marketing. Products that promise to increase fuel mileage, clean your engine, keep your gas from freezing, and more line store shelves. But are these products worth the money?

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I’ve never been excited about an electric car. Ever.

I don’t even like electric golf carts or those little shuttles that sneak up on unsuspecting travelers in airports. Put a gas engine in those things and watch folks get out of the way!

As I’ve said here many times, my problems with electric vehicles stem from their limited range, outrageous cost and, most of all, the misguided notion that fueling a car with coal-produced electricity is any better than efficiently using gasoline. Not to mention the toxicity of making, and disposing of, the battery packs.

With all that said, the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi could be a car that begins to change the minds of people like me.

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Really?

There’s a war among automakers, and the casualties are beginning to pile up.

It’s a war to claim the best miles-per-gallon figures in a market where consumers are heavily influenced by the numbers on the window sticker or touted in TV commercials.

To get the attention of more buyers, and to get them to hand over their hard-earned money, would automakers be willing to inflate those numbers? We certainly won’t accuse anyone of misleading the public on purpose, but two automakers in the last month have been hit with claims that their stated MPG numbers are higher than actual results.

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While I don’t think we here at CarGurus can take *all* the credit, we are pretty excited about some new diesel-powered vehicles entering the U.S. market. On this blog alone, we’ve sung the praises of the oil-burner for years and made the case for more of them here, while watching the gas/electric hybrid run away with the hearts of Americans.

Can you feel the shift coming, though? I sure can.

In addition to existing diesel offerings from Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, Mazda, Audi and Porsche will soon join the party. And once those floodgates open, who knows what will come next.

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The very satisfying Chevy Volt

The Chevrolet Volt: Electric without the anxiety.

If I sat on the marketing team for the Volt, that’s a slogan I might throw out there for consideration. While it’s possible to drive the Volt for months on end on electric power only, thus never needing to stop at a gas station, the car provides the option of driving from Boston to Seattle if the owner so chooses. That’s because the Volt’s genius powertrain allows for all-electric trips of roughly 40 miles or can use its small gas engine to extend range all the way to… well… Seattle.

While the car costs way too much (in my humble opinion), has suffered from a terrible marketing campaign and has been at the center of a heated political debate, owners seem to love the experience of the Volt and would buy one all over again. Which is more than Nissan can claim about its fuel-efficient Versa.

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2013 Ford Fiesta

In my book, many interesting conversations can be had using the words “turbochargers” and “superchargers.”

In a conversation with a friend this weekend, though, my mention of the words were met with a blank stare. I guess not everyone is into cars or even terribly knowledgeable about what makes them tick.

Our talk began with a question. My friend asked, “What do you think of electric cars?”

Well, that’s quite the can o’ worms in my world, and talking through the answer took the better part of the next 30 minutes. We discussed everything from the environmental impact of battery manufacturing to electricity production to supporting infrastructure to the mechanics of how superchargers and turbochargers work in gas and diesel engines. Of course, my bottom-line answer to her question was this: Electrics have the right idea in saving fuel, I’m just not convinced of their execution. I’d prefer to go with an economical turbo gas or diesel vehicle.

Like maybe the 2014 Ford Fiesta, with a 1.0-liter EcoBoost 3-cylinder.

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I may have picked the wrong time to go to Los Angeles.

October is normally a nice time to visit, as the heat has eased off and the perpetual smog and/or fire smoke has been cleared by the freshness of early Autumn. This year, though, my timing to visit Southern California could be some of the worst yet. Not because of fires or earthquakes or Academy Awards ceremonies, but because of gas prices.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a city more reliant on personal transportation than L.A., with miles of freeways all jam-packed with frustrated motorists burning fuel while slogging toward the next interchange.

Fuel that now costs, in some places, over $5 per gallon.

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It’s only just begun official deliveries to customers, but the Tesla Model S already looks like it’ll be the greatest electric car to ever hit the market. To get the one with the largest range, though, customers are looking at a price tag of a little over $100K.

The Model S with the 265-mile driving range costs $105,400, which puts it in the same league as the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG and Porsche Panamera. Incredibly, the electric Tesla puts up performance numbers that rival those of the fossil-fuel-powered German hot shots. Zero-to-60 times hover between 3.5 and 3.9 seconds, horsepower ranges between 415 and 550, and 60-0 braking distances happen between 105 and 113 feet.

The Model S could be the car that ushers in the acceptance of EVs in the Unites States. Especially when it starts to hit the used market!

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I haven’t made a secret of the fact that I’m not sold on hybrid or full electric vehicles.

While I believe cutting back on our use of oil can only be a good thing, doing so through the use of chemical-laden battery packs and coal-produced electricity kind of misses the point of helping the environment.

Since this hybrid hype began many years ago, I’ve been a staunch believer in the humble internal combustion engine. Many automakers believed the ICE could be refined to offer the kind of fuel savings the planet, and the planet’s drivers, need. Smaller-displacement engines and turbocharging can go a long way in boosting MPGs while keeping costs down. Why invent new technology when we can improve existing technology? I saw two stories this weekend that helped cement that belief.

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