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Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
544 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 1:11 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: tpe (Sep 17, 2008 10:00 am) Using two methods of PROPULSION, not two methods of FUELING, is what correctly describes a hybrid. So adding solar panels would not at all affect it's "hybridity." For example, in the current crop of hybrid vehicles, the electric motor AND the gasoline motor contribute to the turning of the wheels at some point - providing PROPULSION. In the Volt, the ONLY form of propulsion is the electric engine. At no point does the gasoline engine, which is there with a sole purpose of recharging the electric batteries, contribute ITSELF To the propulsion of the Volt. Unlike other hybrid vehicles which use either the petrol or electric engine to move the car, or some hybrids like Honda’s IMA which uses the petrol all the time with no electric-only mode and uses the electric motor only for assist, the Chevrolet Volt runs on the electric motor at all times. The electric motor produces 150 horsepower and 370Nm of torque and gets power from a 16-kWh lithium ion battery (220 lithium ion cells) which is recharged via brake energy regeneration or the internal combustion engine. The combustion engine (powered by gasoline or E85) only kicks in to charge the battery and because that is its only function it can be tuned to be extremely efficient at this, working best only at a certain RPM range required to drive a dynamo and charge the battery. GM calls this type of hybrid an E-REV or Extended-Range Electric Vehicle. So even GM is not calling it a hybrid. It's not one. It uses only the electric motor to propel the car forward.
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Replying to: larsb (Sep 17, 2008 10:13 am)
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Replying to: coldcranker (Sep 08, 2008 1:48 pm) Say the Volt runs $38k. Are there really enough people willing to buy a reduced ev capability at $34k that would not buy the full at $38k? Can it possibly justify the extra model design, production and inventory? Let's face it, the all electric capabilities are what the volt is selling. Some insulation against gas prices, some insurance in case of supply disruptions, and the cool or enviro factor of going mostly EV. Whittle that down and the lure fades and the less expensive alternatives gain. Maybe some day, but not now...and hopefully, even someday, the electric storage will improve in functionality and price so the norm is higher and not lower ev mile capabilities. |
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Replying to: tpe (Sep 17, 2008 11:14 am) Are they being called EVs? 
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Replying to: reddroverr (Sep 17, 2008 11:53 am) I don't know but they should be. |
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You know, I have been watching the development of the Volt with interest. But, after Ike came through Houston, nearly 5 million people lost electricity and most are still without it. Reports we're hearing around here are that most areas are still WEEKS away from getting electricity back on. Many gas stations are without power, but more are coming on and the lines are noticeably shorter today vs. yesterday. So, a gasoline driven car remains viable transport in this area. To continue to operate a Volt, I'd have to have a gasoline powered generator at the house to charge it up each night. Not too promising.
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Replying to: edklein (Sep 17, 2008 3:25 pm) |
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Replying to: edklein (Sep 17, 2008 3:25 pm) The Volt can also run on gas alone. Actually a bit more flexible for disasters. |
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First, somebackground. I drive a 97 Chevy Cavalier. It gets 27-28 mpg in 60/40 city/highway driving. It will have 80K miles on it in a few weeks and the most serious repair it has had just occurred - new alternator. I drive it between 7-40 miles per day to/from the park n ride and ride the bus, which costs $3 to get to work. I have no car payment. I've been watching hybrids - the cabbage patch era continues (to my amazement). I won't buy one. At the end of the day, it's lubricated and propelled by dinosaurs. Here's the bottom line America. We need a transportation infrastructure that runs on electricity, preferably produced by means other than combusting dinosaur remains. So, the Volt - they did it again. They have the design spec and they ended up with a car that has an engine that needs to be lubricated with processed fossils. Maybe the next engine can be anything and this is the future, but that's too far away with these types of stall tactics, imho. In college, any rational engineering professor would give this an 'F' The Volt may succeed, but it does not yet deliver what Americans really need, whether they know it or not. 
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Replying to: hoyahenry (Sep 17, 2008 7:11 pm) I'm now listening to Bob Lutz talk to Steven Colbert on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Colbert just asked Lutz if he could plug the future Volt into Colbert's Hummer (like he has one..) and Lutz said, truthfully, "yes, the Hummer has a 115v AC outlet which can recharge the Volt". There is a joke in there somewhere.
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