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Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Article Comments - 2011 Chevrolet Volt First Look
46 messages, Last post on Oct 22, 2008 at 4:38 AM
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2011 Chevrolet Volt First Look - The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is both more conventional than you might have been lead to believe and quite a bit more advanced than most potential buyers will know. (more)
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40 miles of electric drive range will allow me to get to work and back everyday without ever having the need to switch to the gasoline engine. So the question is.....why not making a full electric vehicle for city drivers without the need for a gasoline engine? The other question is, what problems will my gasoline engine experience over time by not being used very frequently?
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Replying to: pisulino (Oct 17, 2008 4:35 pm) |
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Replying to: pisulino (Oct 17, 2008 4:35 pm) Because, as they found with the EV1, then people are always worried about getting stranded somewhere when they run out of battery charge. That greatly limited the market for the EV1.
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Replying to: nedzel (Oct 20, 2008 9:20 am) I have an electric moped that I use and it gives me something like a 35 mile range, I charge it every second day and I have never been stranded and that is a cheap made in china moped. They could implement a small backup battery pack as a reserve for that matter. Something like.... a red light flashing and notifying you that the vehicle is low in primary batteries and it's switching to the reserve pack - let's say 10 miles. There are no more excuses for not having a 100% gasoline free vehicle for city drivers anymore. The electrics and hybrids offerings fall short from what can be done with today's technologies. Imagine the increase on the vehicle's range by removing the weight associated with all the components required to sustain the gasoline engine!! Not to mention space for more batteries...... |
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Replying to: pisulino (Oct 20, 2008 7:29 pm) Imagine the increase on the vehicle's range by removing the weight associated with all the components required to sustain the gasoline engine!! Not to mention space for more batteries...... Okay, I'll try to imagine this. I'd say the small ICE generator and components will weigh no more than 300 pounds. With regenerative braking extra weight does not have as big an effect on city mileage and it's effect on highway mileage has always been fairly small. I'd guess that if the Volt weighed 300 lbs less its electric range might increase by 5%. If you choose to add 300 lbs of battery in its place this reduced weight benefit is gone. This extra 300 lbs of battery would also cost more than the ICE it was replacing but you'd now have an EV with close to 100 mile range. So it will have the same or higher price tag as the Volt and still require most people to have a second vehicle. The Volt is an EV for city drivers, the ICE will never kick in. Your rational makes no sense. Basically you are stating that if you ever need to take a trip longer than an EV's range you want to be burning gas for the entire distance.
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Replying to: pisulino (Oct 20, 2008 7:29 pm) Sorry, but you still have the same fundamental problem -- if you go too far you are stuck by the side of the road and have to get towed. The number of people who would buy a very expensive car that can never be used on long trips is very, very small. "Imagine the increase on the vehicle's range by removing the weight associated with all the components required to sustain the gasoline engine!!" Actually, you wouldn't gain that much. A 1.4 liter engine and small gas tank are not that heavy. And since the Volt's gas engine doesn't power the rear wheels, there is no transmission either. But most importantly, it isn't the couple hundred pounds of engine and gas tank that are controlling the amount of batteries in the Volt -- the controlling factor is the cost of the batteries. The current 40 mile battery costs over $20,000 for the battery alone. Adding more batteries would increase the cost. And no, you don't save that much by eliminating the gas engine -- gasoline engines don't cost that much to build. The number of people who would want a $40,000+ city-only range limited electric car (and have an outlet that they can plug it into) is infinitesimally small.
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Replying to: nedzel (Oct 21, 2008 5:26 am) I understand that the batteries in the Tesla Roadster, which has ~ 4 times the capacity of those in the Volt are expected to cost in the neighborhood of $20,000.
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Replying to: michael2003 (Oct 21, 2008 5:57 am) |
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Replying to: tpe (Oct 21, 2008 4:56 am) If GM falls short from delivering an affordable and unique vehicle I may just as well buy the Prius in 2010 (25-30K) which will run about 60 mpg, and I don't have to remember to plug the darn thing. And If Toyota, which is probably 10 years ahead with this technology than the competition is not eager to release this type of vehicle it must be for a good reason. One probably being the mass production of lithium ion batteries.
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Replying to: pisulino (Oct 21, 2008 6:10 pm) GM is not the only manufacturer trying to bring a plug-in to the market. Toyota also plans on having a plug-in Prius by 2010. I think Ford is looking at 2011 for a plug-in Escape. Nissan, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and some smaller companies also plan on offering plug-in EVs by 2011. |
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