Article Comments - 2011 Chevrolet Volt First Look

46 messages, Last post on Oct 22, 2008 at 4:38 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Volt, Electric Cars, Future Vehicle, Sedan

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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#42 of 46 Re: all electric drive [pisulino] by nedzel Oct 21, 2008 (5:26 am)
Replying to: pisulino (Oct 20, 2008 7:29 pm) "Yes, but the EV1 was using 90's technology." 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. Replies to this message: michael2003 (Oct 21, 2008 5:57 am) tpe (Oct 21, 2008 6:19 am)
#43 of 46 Re: all electric drive [nedzel] by michael2003 Oct 21, 2008 (5:57 am)
Replying to: nedzel (Oct 21, 2008 5:26 am) Where did the information come from that 'The current 40 mile battery costs over $20,000'? 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. Replies to this message: tpe (Oct 21, 2008 6:19 am)
#44 of 46 Re: all electric drive [michael2003] by tpe Oct 21, 2008 (6:19 am)
Replying to: michael2003 (Oct 21, 2008 5:57 am) GM has been very tightlipped in regards to the battery cost. Maybe when they release the information about who their battery supplier will be this information will become available. I've read guestimates of $6-9k. That's still considerably more than a 1.4L ICE will cost. So replacing the ICE with a comparable amount of extra battery capacity would in all likelihood increase the price of the vehicle and you'd now be range limited. Not exactly two selling points.
#45 of 46 Re: all electric drive [tpe] by pisulino Oct 21, 2008 (6:10 pm)
Replying to: tpe (Oct 21, 2008 4:56 am) All good points guys. 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. Replies to this message: tpe (Oct 22, 2008 4:38 am)
#46 of 46 Re: all electric drive [pisulino] by tpe Oct 22, 2008 (4:38 am)
Replying to: pisulino (Oct 21, 2008 6:10 pm) If GM falls short from delivering an affordable and unique vehicle 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.