Johan de Nysschen: Chevy Volt Is a "Car for Idiots"

[LTC8K6]

I think it depends on how much fuel is required to charge the battery.

If that is the same amount of fuel I'd use to travel that 40 miles, then it's a wash.

If it's 25% or 50%, then it might make sense to be able to charge the battery with a small emergency fuel reserve.

The idea would be that if the car ran out of fuel and had a depleted battery pack, there would be a small reserve of fuel available to run the generator long enough to bring the battery back up so you could go 40 miles again. In this mode, the car would not move, it would just run at the optimum speed to efficiently quick charge the battery pack via the small fuel reserve.

Of course, it's still probably easier to call AAA or flag someone down to bring you a gallon of gas.

Or just don't run out of gas. 😀

I get the impression from comments around the net that people have the idea that they will never use gasoline in the Volt when they get one. Except for it's once a month maintenance engine run, that's entirely possible to do. Of course that means you are then dragging around a heavy engine and generator for nothing. 😀

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
I think it depends on how much fuel is required to charge the battery.

If that is the same amount of fuel I'd use to travel that 40 miles, then it's a wash.

If it's 25% or 50%, then it might make sense to be able to charge the battery with a small emergency fuel reserve.

The idea would be that if the car ran out of fuel and had a depleted battery pack, there would be a small reserve of fuel available to run the generator long enough to bring the battery back up so you could go 40 miles again. In this mode, the car would not move, it would just run at the optimum speed to efficiently quick charge the battery pack via the small fuel reserve.

Of course, it's still probably easier to call AAA or flag someone down to bring you a gallon of gas.

Or just don't run out of gas. 😀

I get the impression from comments around the net that people have the idea that they will never use gasoline in the Volt when they get one. Except for it's once a month maintenance engine run, that's entirely possible to do. Of course that means you are then dragging around a heavy engine and generator for nothing. 😀

I highly doubt that it will be significantly more efficient to charge the battery to a high level, at best it might be a break even situation. If it's only break even then you're better off just charging the battery enough to keep the car running. Beyond that I don't think that the engine is even powerful enough to be able to fully recharge the engine. They sized it a little larger than needed to provide the power to move the car in most situations with the extra oomph for fast acceleration or going up a hill provided by the batteries. When the engine is running and you don't need the full power from it the car will recharge the battery some. This would keep the battery charged enough to deal with any situations that require an extra bit of power, and I assume if the battery got above the minimum needed for battery only operation the engine would cycle off.


Here's a blurb from GM's website that explains this:

Extended-Range Mode: When the battery?s energy is depleted, the Volt seamlessly switches to Extended-Range mode. In this secondary mode, electricity needed to power the vehicle is created on-board by a flex-fuel powered engine-generator. This mode of operation extends the total range of the Volt for hundreds of additional miles, until the vehicle can be refueled or plugged in to recharge the battery.

The engine-generator has the capability to provide the level of electrical power that the Volt needs for the most frequent maneuvers. However, the battery will continue to generate some power and work together with the engine-generator to provide peak performance when it's required, such as driving up a steep incline or for high acceleration maneuvers. The engine-generator will then continue to provide electricity to power the vehicle and simultaneously return some energy to the battery to replenish and maintain a low energy level. The battery will not be recharged to a ?full? state by the engine-generator.

GM Media website

Sizing the engine much larger than that would cut down on efficiency, increase weight and increase cost. Anything beyond what is needed to keep the car moving would be a waste.

As for most people expecting to use no gas, that's the whole point of the car. It's designed for people that will drive less than 40 miles a day for the vast majority of the times they need to drive. However, the car is designed so that if they do need to go on a longer trip you don't have to do anything special, you just jump in the car and gas it up as needed. The whole point of the car is to provide a vehicle that will do the average daily driving without using any fuel but still let you do a longer trip in it with the convenience of just filling up with gas as needed.

If you were planning on driving much more than 40 miles every day you aren't in the demographic they designed the car for. It's for someone with a short commute that occasionally takes longer trips.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
I think it depends on how much fuel is required to charge the battery.

If that is the same amount of fuel I'd use to travel that 40 miles, then it's a wash.

That's the question of the day: Is the electricity from the generator constant? Or does the output vary based on demand - i.e. does the RPM vary when accelerating versus slowing down or completely stopped. If output is contant than I could see some advantage of using the excess power to charge the batteries.

But anything beyond that is worthless. The fuel needed to generate electricity to move the car 40 miles is the same as the the fuel needed to charge the batteries to move the car 40 miles. Conversation of energy and all that. Crazy laws of thermodynamics...

 

[ElFenix]

kinda got the pedo vibe from him

http://www.dailytech.com/Audi+...lness/article16166.htm

 

[Imported]

Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

 

[woodie1]

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

Can't compare? Why not? He did say, "at that price point."

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

Can't compare? Why not? He did say, "at that price point."

Because they are not the same philosophy...

 

[sandorski]

Someone needs to come in and set a Standard. Personally I like the idea of easy swapping BatPacks. Pull into a Station and in 5 or less minutes your BatPack is removed and replaced with a full charged BatPack. Would work best with Batteries that prefer Full Discharge and were capable of at least 300 Miles(pulled from the Air, but seems reasonableish) before depletion.

 

[woodie1]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

Can't compare? Why not? He did say, "at that price point."

Because they are not the same philosophy...

Does not compute.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

Can't compare? Why not? He did say, "at that price point."

Because they are not the same philosophy...

Does not compute.

Not targeted at the same Market segment. It would be like comparing a Diesel Crew Cab 4x4 Pickup with an Audi.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: woodie1

Originally posted by: AdamK47

Originally posted by: Imported
Weird.. I was discussing this very topic with my dad and a few other dinner guests a few weeks ago. I don't believe I called Volt buyers idiots.. but I did say I'd rather pick up a new A4 or 3-series over a Volt at that price point.

You really can't compare the car to the vehicles you mentioned. The Volt stretches egos in a totally different direction.

Can't compare? Why not? He did say, "at that price point."

Because they are not the same philosophy...

Does not compute.

Not targeted at the same Market segment. It would be like comparing a Diesel Crew Cab 4x4 Pickup with an Audi.

Yup it's just like the Prius or any other hybrid. They cost more but they are for a different type of buyer.