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Since acquiring my 2015 Spark EV last summer, I've been collecting a variety of data from the car. My motivation has been to identify any battery capacity loss over time. Since my roundtrip commute is about 60 highway miles, which typically uses between 80 and 90% of the battery, losing 5-10%...

I made a 61 mi trip recently, 30 mi each way, first descending 3400', then returning and climbing back up. Both legs were under the same conditions, light rain and slow highway speeds (ave: ~55mph). I averaged 16.3 mi/kWh downhill and 2.9 mi/kWh returning along the same route uphill. The whole...

I did a simple test today trying to assess how much energy the Climate Control uses if the outside temperature is similar to what you want the cabin temperature to be. I was concerned that leaving the Automatic Climate Control turned on all time needlessly wastes energy and range if the fan...

Driving home today I was climbing a steep (10-12%) grade at 55 mph into a 30+ mph headwind. The cruise control was engaged, that is until it unexpectedly cut out. The car slowed quickly and so I floored the accelerator before getting rear ended. The steady power requirement was probably above...

I had a surprise this morning after leaving for work and realizing that my car wasn't charged. Fortunately I realized it before getting far from home, and fortunately I have a backup car. I suspect the car wasn't charged because the time was set incorrectly to PM instead of AM. My car...

When I gave my sister her first ride in the Spark EV, the battery was low and naturally we talked about range. I plugged my smartphone into the 12v USB charger I have in the car, since the phone was low as well. My sister questioned if that was a good idea since the car was so low and she didn't...

Yesterday I noticed that my OnStar app was unable to connect with the car to update the battery state and mileage. It was able to lock and unlock the door remotely. My wife's app is doing the same so I suspect either the car has issues or something is amiss with the ether between the car and...

A question for you higher mileage Spark EV drivers that have noticeably degraded batteries... What does the OnStar app indicate when the battery is full? Does it still say "Full" or does it say something like 95% and never get any higher? I'm wondering if the battery level percentage gets...

Using the data available from the car, or the OnStar app, how would one measure the total battery capacity and how much it degrades over time? I understand the battery capacity is 18.4 kWh, and all of that is available, off the showroom floor. Based on some generic EV charts, I'm guessing...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/can-you-unlock-gms-4g-lte-and-use-mobile-carriers-besides-att/ I too was lured by the headline. The key statement is: "Currently, the 4G LTE service is bundled with OnStar, and it’s a connection that runs deeper than marketing. AT&T provides the connection for...

The TireRack website, which seems like a reasonable reference, only lists the following as fitting the Spark: Ultra High Performance Summer Yokohama S.Drive Ultra High Performance All-Season Kumho Ecsta 4X Kumho Ecsta 4X II High Performance All-Season Kumho Ecsta PA31 Passenger All-Season...