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Future Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Concept
28 messages, Last post on Jul 30, 2008 at 3:44 AM
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The idea of the Volt is superior to the Prius, whether or not GM is honest about making it. Probably, they are not honest, have not stopped trying to kill the EV. But the argument that serial hybrids cycle vastly more than regular EVs is false. A parallel hybrid's tiny battery cycles each time you accelerate and brake, because it's tied to the gas engine and can't run at highway speed on the battery alone. It's just a tiny boost. But we know that real EVs work; and that's what a serial hybrid resembles. It starts at 100% full, and drives solely on the battery, until that battery is, say, 10%. Then, and only then, does the gas genset chime in, and only to charge the battery or run the EV directly. That's ONE deep cycle. GM, and this poster, are correct that you choose the battery size for the daily commute. So if the daily commute is 100 miles, put in a battery like the 120-mile-range Toyota all-electric RAV4-EV, many of which are just ticking over 100,000 trouble-free miles. If the daily commute, like most of them, is only 40 miles, put in a 40-mile battery. That means, only one cycle per day. If you charge up at the destination (called "convenience charging", although most charging is done off-peak at night, when electric goes begging for customers) that would be exactly TWO cycles per day. Hence, the folks arguing that the Volt "cycles more" really mean they don't understand that the SERIAL plug-in hybrid runs like an EV, not like a gasoline internal combustion ("IC") car. The Prius runs like an IC, the Volt, whether or not it's produced, runs like an EV. The Volt allows you, conceivably, to drive oil-free, but the Prius will always be just a more efficient IC car. All of the Prius energy comes from the GASOLINE PUMP, ultimately. The Volt, or any plug-in serial hybrid, allows you to choose a battery size suited for your daily grind, but also use the same vehicle for occasional gasoline trips. The Volt restricts the gasoline IC engine just to occasional use, and needs very little IC maintenance.
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Replying to: liveoilfree (Jan 19, 2007 5:24 pm) from the article: The recent documentary film, Who Killed the Electric Car?, accused automakers (GM, in particular), of sabotaging the electric car, specifically GM's EV1. GM engineers say the Volt and GM's E-flex wouldn't have been possible without the invaluable lessons learned from the EV1. In fact, many of the same engineers who worked on the EV1 are working on the Volt and E-flex. "EV1 was a good idea, but the Volt is a better one," insists Posawatz. The EV1 carried only two passengers; the Volt accommodates four. The Volt will take a quick charge and requires less than 6.5 hours to fully recharge; the EV1 took eight hours to recharge. The EV1 had no backup system when the batteries died, and its driving range was between 60 and 90 miles. The Volt has a small gasoline engine that kicks in when the battery runs down, delivering a total driving range of 640 miles. "There would never be a situation in which you didn't get home," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz assures us. The Volt accelerates from a dead stop to 60 mph in less than 8.5 seconds (the EV1 took about a second longer), and has a top speed of 120 mph. (The EV1 would barely reach 80 mph.)
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Replying to: liveoilfree (Jun 08, 2007 7:14 am) A serial hybrid will cycle more than a regular EV. This will be because the battery capacity will have a shorter range than what would normally be considered acceptable in an EV. Using the RAV4 EV as an example, the battery would allow 120 miles per charge cycle, but the Volt battery is expected to only provide 40 miles per charge. This means that the Volt battery must cycle 3 times for each one time that the RAV4 EV would need to cycle. It would be great if GM would actually allow some flexibility in the battery range they will make available, but I guess, if GM actually produces the vehicle, we'll just have to live with having this limited range. Personally I'd like to have an 80 mile range to allow a full days commuting. Since each person has different requirements, it would be in GM's best interest in trying to cater to the widest possible audience without the fewest compromises. While I know that at least one study has determined that 78% of US customers have a commute of 40 miles or less; I believe that there would be a greater percentage of customers in the 22% that aren't being considered that would have a more significant interest in considering a vehicle like the Volt. |
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| The roof on the Volt looks like it would be even lower than the one on the Chrysler 300. I hope that's not the case in the production Volt since I kept hitting my head on the upper door frame whenever I rode in a friends 300. | |
I think if the Volt concept could be mass produced now, Toyota would already be doing it. If I'm wrong, then G.M. is missing a great oppoprtunity. The Volt is a slam dunk if they'll make it and do it before the other guys. 
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Replying to: thebike45 (Jan 23, 2007 10:15 pm) As usual, oil company flacks either are ignorant or purposefully lie. The EV1 was just as good when GM forcibly crushed it as when it was new. None of the auto makers want to make an EV, that's the reason they fought so hard to STOP California's Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. Get it? They DON'T WANT to make EVs, they are making too much money selling you oil. The majority of GM stock is held by funds that hold far bigger stakes in oil companies. GM's total market value ($18B) is less than one years' profit from ONE oil company. |
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Replying to: jd10013 (Jun 30, 2007 5:51 am) GM would, if it were serious, rebuild the market for EVs using the EV1 fan club (yes, it still exists, http://EV1-Club.power.net ) and re-start the EV1 line. Instead, they closed it down, and arrested would-be EV1 buyers for blocking the sidewalk. |
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Replying to: michael2003 (Jan 18, 2007 4:27 am) ON LEAD ACID. IF GM WERE SERIOUS, THEY COULD RELEASE THE VOLT NOW WITH LEAD BATTERIES. STOP JIVING, AND GET IT: THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT, THEY JUST WANT TO GREENWASH THEMSELVES. |
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| I hope Chevy puts a programmable timer in the Volt so that you can pre-heat/cool the car off the grid 120v prior to the morning commute. | |
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Replying to: timothyf (Oct 13, 2007 6:03 pm) |
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