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Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
545 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 12:57 PM
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Replying to: coldcranker (Sep 28, 2008 3:08 pm) And they've already said 50mpg, so the battery must be assisting during peak loads and recieving a small charge from the engine and braking to maintain a minimum charge state. I also expect the Volt's engine to run in far more efficient rpm ranges than a Corolla or any other conventional car including the Prius. |
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Replying to: coldcranker (Sep 28, 2008 3:08 pm) GM has stated many times they expect the Volt to get 50 mpg after the battery has been depleted. I've got to believe their engineers know a few things about transmission efficiency. While 50 mpg may end up being a little optimistic, especially with the new EPA ratings, it's hard to imagine that GM could be as far off as you are suggesting. Again, it's speculation on both our parts but if there was a way to bet on whether this car will get over 30 mpg with the ICE I'd definitely take that bet.
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Replying to: peralta (Sep 25, 2008 7:29 am) http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2008/112_0809_2011_vw_golf_twin_dri- - - ve_preview/index.html http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/10/twin-drive-is-g.html
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Replying to: peralta (Oct 01, 2008 6:33 pm) |
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Must plug in and gas up...and since the engine works daily, you will have to have more maintenance. Huh? More maintenance than what? Doesn't your current car's engine "work daily"?
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Replying to: stephen987 (Oct 02, 2008 3:19 am) I understand there will be a program to run the engine occasionally, so even if you never drive past battery range you'll go through a tank a year. |
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Replying to: tpe (Sep 29, 2008 5:41 am)  1500-1800 rpms all the time with shutoff when there was little or no load. That's essentially what the Prius 1.5L rates on the highway under the old EPA testing cycle. That's also what most drivers get in real life if conditions are perfect and speed is not too high. 50 mpg is very attainable with a combination of ICE and battery for an extended period....the current Prius is driving proof. Essentially what GM has is a vehicle that will be equivalent to the Gen 3 Prius and prolly the new Insight for extended trips with no recharging. However it will also have the flexibility to be a gas-free vehicle for times around home ( or a recharging infrastructure ) where trips are short.
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Replying to: stephen987 (Oct 02, 2008 3:19 am) the vw engine would run after reaching 30 mph while the volt only kicks in after 40 miles driven. Therefore, the VW engine would run daily, while for a lot of people (me) the volt engine would run only a fraction of use days. my current car isn't a Volt.
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Replying to: reddroverr (Oct 02, 2008 9:04 am) Not necessarily, if you look at other articles of golf twin drive, it has 82 hp electric motor that can move the car at highway speeds. If the trip is more than 30 miles, the ICE steps in around 30 mph (within the optimum efficiency range of ICE) to mazimize range. However, it is ideal to use all the battery juice before the next recharge to the grid where the energy source is cheapest. That is why the integrated navigation comes into play to calculate to deplete the battery just in time for next recharge. With battery depleted and the ICE being the sole motive force, the VW will likely beat the Volt in fuel efficinecy by a significant margin. However, a current prius with Hymotion add-on lithium battery which is already in the market can run on pure EV up to 30 miles range of up to 52 mph. A more aggressive right foot will quickly summon the ICE for additional power. This thing is already in the market and a number of people (actual owners, not R&D staff) are driving them. |
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Replying to: peralta (Oct 02, 2008 9:48 am) My understanding of that article is that the ICE will not be the sole motive force even after 30 miles. Acceleration up to 30 mph will still be provided by the electric motor. If the ICE is directly powering the electric motor up to this speed then that is no different from the Volt. Now once the speed get's past 30 then the ICE will be directly coupled to a one gear (high) transmission. I've driven small cars with small engines. If you shift them into high gear at 30 mph the acceleration is terrible and it's hard to believe it's all that efficient. Probably more electric motor assist going on here that eventually has to be returned by the ICE. In city driving I doubt this VW configuration will provide much, if any, better mileage than the Volt. After battery depletion. With this single gear transmission what do you expect the rpms to be at 30 mph? Let's say around 1500. That means at 80 mph the engine would be turning at 4,000 rpms. It's hard to believe that using a single gear throughout this wide range represents efficiency. If it did you wouldn't have seen the evolution of automatic transmissions and CVTs resulting in more speeds that produced higher mpg ratings.
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