One Month of Volting

Today marks the one-month anniversary of the day we brought my Volt, Zippy, home with us.

As you well know (or at last you do if you've been reading this blog), the Zipster has changed lives in the Macon household, particularly mine. Do I think more about where I'm going and how I'm getting there than I used to? Do I intentionally make decisions about where to shop, eat, and be entertained based on whether I can charge my car nearby? Yes. Do I drive more slowly and use less air conditioning than I used to? Why, yes! Does any of this bother me one bit? No, it does not. I love my Volt and the way owning and driving one makes me feel. I feel good about driving electric because I'm helping the environment, helping my wallet, and most importantly, helping in my small way to ensure the future of alternative transportation technology for my children and future generations to come.

So what have I accomplished this month?

I've mastered the art of driving efficiently.

You can't do better than 100% (despite the fact that the American Idol judges might tell contestants they are "200% awesome" - don't get me started). And 94% climate efficiency when it's 84 degrees outside... well, that's best I can do in the summer and I'm happy with it. That efficiency is reached running FAN ONLY with the front windows halfway open but I'm comfortable at that temp in the mornings driving to work... cool wind in my hair and all.

I've routinely accomplished my 24 mile commute with only 18 miles of EV power. See here - I started with 50 miles this morning.

And yes, of the nearly 1500 miles I've driven this month, only 3.2 gallons of gasoline have been used, most of that by choice just to run the engine a little, on the highway, so I don't lower my EV miles on my guessometer. I can easily go several more months without putting gas in my Volt, and I probably will because at this point, the thought of pulling into a gas station, which I did routinely as recently as 5 week ago, seems like a distant and unsavory memory. In fact, I'm going to need to watch a video on how to open my pressure-sealed gas tank because I've never actually done it... yet.

And while each new drive brings the happy news of reaching 250+ miles per gallon (if only that number went higher on the screen!), I'm happiest about my lifetime average of 250+ miles.

How sweet it is!

I'm doing well, but I'm still wanting to do better. On Voltstats, I am currently sitting at #170 on the leaderboard out of 1332 Volts that fed data to OnStar at 10am this morning.

And yes, the irony that I'm being edged out of spot 169 by a Texan does not escape me. At the same time, I'm thrilled that someone in Texas is using that little gasoline... on purpose. Although, it's not such a big surprise when you realize....

He or she is in Austin.

As far as my own stats go, I'm working on improving:

And resting happy in the knowledge that all the places where I'm low on the list are simply because I haven't had my Volt very long. At this rate, I will be top 125 in MPG by the end of the year and top 100 by the end of 2016. 

Hey, everyone needs a goal, right?

Thanks for tuning in and I'll be back in a day or two with more EV fun and educational games. I plan to post these updates every month so those of you who are interested in my personal progress and stats can get your fill!