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    Chevy Volt is NOT AN ELECTRIC CAR!

    By a dude named steevo on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 6:50pm |

    Throughout the past several years I have been following, with great interest, the development of electric cars.  Ever since I saw the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car" I have wanted to own an electric vehicle.

    Early Concept Model

    I have been following the development of the Chevy Volt and have witnessed a deterioration in the ambition of the GM engineers to deliver a true electric vehicle.  Now the GM marketing department has taken over and every article I have read over the past several weeks keeps referring to the Volt as an "electric vehicle" -- it is not an electric vehicle!

    The Chevy Volt is more acurrately classified as a series hybrid and shares a very similar drivetrain to the diesel-electric locomotive that was developed back in the 1930's.  The Volt has a gasoline engine to charge the batteries after the charge has diminished, but the total electric range is only going to be about 40 miles (much less than the Nissan Leaf or the Tesla Roadster).  It was supposed to be a true series hybrid, all the power would be delivered to the wheels by electric motor, but now GM admits that even that won't be true 100% of the time.  So, the Chevy Volt will be, arguably, a slightly advanced Toyota Prius, a plug-in hybrid.

    Preproduction Model

    It is not an electric car!

     

    Comments

    AIUI, to take the Volt out of 100% electric drive mode, you have to drive it over 70 mph. I don't see that as a serious failure.

    Nor do I see the 40 mile range as all that bad, since most people commute less than that.


    by Donal on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 7:34pm

    Dude. Beyond wanting it to be a "true" electric vehicle, what's your problem? What's the hang-up?

    And no, it's not best classified as a series hybrid at all. It's a PLUG-IN hybrid, with the plug-in part being incredibly important. The point is that a useful plug-in has its battery expanded from ~1.5 kwh's to 5-25 kwh's, and this allows the driver to do the vast majority of their daily driving on electricity. There are dozens of reasons why people don't want to go all-electric, from cost to rage to the condition of the grid to the weight of the excess batteries etc. 


    by quinn esq on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 1:14am

    Actually, it is a series hybrid (the prius is a parallel hybrid).  An electric vehicle is a lot less mechanically complicated than a hybrid and more efficient.  I just am pissed off that they are marketing this as an "electric vehicle" when it is not.


    by a dude named steevo on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 1:57am

    Not too bad . . .

    The Volt looks cool, it's American made, but ... will it really compete?

    My nephew owns a Nissan dealership here in California and we've taken the following all-electric car and put it through it's paces for a three week test and found it to be more than adequate for street and freeway, comfortable and so quiet and really smooth riding. It's designed specifically for those using it for inner city commuting.

     

    2011 Nissan LEAF with 100 Mile Electric Range

     

    http://pulse2.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/nissan-leaf.jpg

     

    Currently, if you're looking for city/highway use the hybrid models are the only alternatives.

    ~OGD~


    by oldenGoldenDecoy on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 1:29am

    I agree. I regularly make 180 mile trips between cities and other long trips to out of state projects, so the Leaf would only work as a dedicated commuter car. We've chosen to get by with one car, which would push us towards a hybrid like the Volt. If it was affordable. And if, unlike the Prius, it can handle well in the snow.


    by Donal on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 6:51am

    WSJ  reminds us that EV batteries remain expensive.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870373580457553624293452850...

    The gorilla in the EV world is how long batteries will last and who has to replace them. So far parallel hybrids seem to nurse their batteries along for years because they have a predictable discharge cycle. With full EVs, and even with the Volt in EV mode, no one knows how far the driver will discharge the battery in a given day.


    by Donal on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 8:22am

    As far as I know i read almost everywhere that Chevy Volt is an electric car and I was about to buy it. You are saying its a hybrid car, I think I need to inquire some more about it. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.


    by Jacksmith (not verified) on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 2:51am

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