Like I said, I make no claims on the actual performance of the Volt in particular.
I was just surprised by the claim that it didn't charge the battery with the gas motor, because it was counter-intuitive, but then the explanation made sense, and it is probably the correct behavior for a vehicle intended to primarily be a plug-in electric car.
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Other factors (ie changing loads, constant maintenance, less reliability, etc) make home generation impractical.
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The biggest factor making home generation impractical is economies of scale, which a plug-in car can take full advantage of.
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Then suddenly those business school graduates will make electric only work? Well, that will probably be the technology in 30 years. But currently it still does not work - except in vehicles that never travel any distances.
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That is the intended market for the Volt; the gas engine is for the rare cases when it goes past the battery range.
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What is the worst (most destructive) thing to do to a battery? Run it all the way down. Then batteries must be replaced often. American hybrids (from companies who let engineers design) will get about 100,00 miles from a battery. Why? Batteries are not deeply discharged. One never wants to arrive with the battery empty.
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The second quote has quotes around 'empty'; it doesn't actually go to zero. The first quote says it sustains the charge of the battery, presumably at the level GM felt was the proper minimum for the battery type they were using.