“Confessions of a Chevy Volt Owner.” A surprising, frank interview with an owner of a Volt after one year of driving.

• 203 miles per gallon in the first year at 16,000 miles. Not a typo. His previous car, a Volvo, got 18 miles per gallon. (I get about 28 mpg in my ol’ benz.)
• “I wish I bought the car. I absolutely love it.” He leased it because he was skeptical of owning it. But, wishes he bought it.
• “I didn’t buy it to save money.” The biggest surprise here. He bought it to help eliminate the need for oil.
• “My home electricity bill is about the same as when my daughter lived here in high school.” After a year of plugging it in to his home, his electricity bill remains the same and didn’t go up as expected.
• He responds to the common criticism, “The Chevy Cruze is cheaper.” “Well, a bicycle is even cheaper and saves more gas than the Cruze. So is a used car. So is walking. Look, this isn’t about money, it’s about oil.”

The interview is short and surprising. Have a look.

UPDATE: Life Cycle Analysis suggests that electric vehicles produce the same emissions as a small car. Savings begin after about 80,000 miles. See here.

UPDATE II: See this short paper by German researchers comparing hybrid vehicle technologies. Concludes that EVs have built-in pollution problems at the supply chain side, which offset any savings on the consumer side. Couldn’t find a specific LCA on the Volt, though. Electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid energy efficiency and life cycle emissions (PDF).