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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: peralta (Oct 02, 2008 9:48 am) "The electric motor provides sufficient torque to get the car moving up to 30 mph, at which point the engine takes over with a single gear ratio roughly equivalent to top gear in a conventional car.." That was from your second link. I don't know if other articles dispute this point. If it can get 30 all electric and better petrol mileage by a decent amount than a Volt thereafter, it is a very close Volt competitor..
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Replying to: reddroverr (Oct 02, 2008 4:10 pm)
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Replying to: peralta (Oct 02, 2008 4:24 pm) This vehicle will probably weigh about the same as the Volt, which is estimated to be around 3200-3300 lbs. A vehicle this size with an 87 hp motor as it's sole source of power would have anemic performance. So I'm sure the ICE would have to supplement this power occasionally even during the first 30 miles, which would make it difficult to burn zero gas. I wonder how seamlessly this would work. Let's say your driving down the highway at 65 mph powered solely by the electric motor. Now you hit the accelerator to pass. The ICE, possibly cold, will have to start and get up to 3000+ rpms before it can provide additional power. There'd have to be a lag involved and I'm not to sure how good it would be for the ICEs longevity. |
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Replying to: peralta (Oct 02, 2008 4:24 pm) From the first link: "The Golf Twin Drive's electric-only range is targeted at 30 miles." So never mind. Though 30 EV does further limit the desirability...or where the bother (complexity and price) meets the utility. |
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Oct 02, 2008 4:55 am) There plenty of people in the Southeast who had a gas-free vehicle in recent days. Unfortunately they couldn't go anywhere! If I were in GM marketing, gas stations with "no gas" signs would certainly be part of my ads in that part of the country... |
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Replying to: edklein (Sep 17, 2008 3:25 pm) That is not correct. If the battery is low, the gasoline engine starts up and you can continue to drive the car -- you are just using expensive electricity generated by the gas engine, rather than cheap energy generated by the grid and then stored in the battery. If you can't recharge from the grid, the Volt just needs gasoline in the tank like any other car. |
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I go 11 miles to work each way 90% of the time. If GM gets this close and makes it affordable and fun, I want one. I'd rather it have all the bells and whistles and be called a Caddy. I will take my wife's minivan if we go on a trip. The volt may be more or less efficient than other cars, but the idea that I can avoid sending my money to Iran, Putan or Chavez makes all the difference in the world to me. Most USA electricity is created by Coal (not too clean, but from the USA), natural gas (USA, Canada and Mexico) or nuclear. Even if I don't save any money, those options sound better to me. And remember, most of us would recharge our cars at night, when the grid isn't being overtaxed. So, there is not likely going to be the need to upgrade the grid anymore than we have to already. Now, GM, how about building it really really well and not disappointing us who are willing to put our faith in you again? I'm game, if you are!
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GM is very close to bankruptcy. I suppose there will be a bailout. |
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Replying to: dms9 (Oct 07, 2008 3:08 pm) I just wonder if lower gas prices will kill the viability of the Volt, and that will be the end of GM. Or, will they start to sell SUVs again and be able to make some money? |
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| I have thoughts on this original question of will it succeed. Conceptually, the car works well as a commuter car. Imagine driving to work and plugging the car into an outlet at the parking garage or a college campus - great! Stylistically, I love the looks, but would prefer a wagon or hatchback for added utility. It looks like a car ought to look, though, unlike the beloved Prius. Men may like the beefier styling of the concept car, but I think this will appeal to the scorned female consumer, as well as young people keen to accept new technology. Economically, I have a huge problem with it. From the non-enthusiast perspective, there's no way I'd buy any car of any brand at $40K. I'm someone who wants to spend as little as possible on my transportation, and a person shouldn't have to pay through the nose for several years just to save the Earth. The Earth belongs to low and middle-income people, too; Chevrolet is traditionally the poor man's (and woman's) car in that we get reasonable quality at a reasonable price. As a $40K sedan, Volt just doesn't fit that image, as it would surpass Impala as the most expensive Chevy sedan. People these days have to buy what they need, and I personally don't see ENOUGH people buying Volt just to support a cause. | |
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