What produces extactly 723 Volts?

[Analog]

General Motors in September... 😀😀😀😀😀 😱


General Motors has repeatedly claimed a sales target for 2011 of 10,000 units for the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt sedan. But, nine months into the year, they've only shipped 3,895 off the lot. In fact, in September sales numbers, released an hour ago, GM sold only 723 Volts. Will GM fail to meet its own sales predictions?

To be fair, GM has claimed that sales would falter during the summer because of a pre-planned shutdown of the automaker's Hamtramck assembly plant. But, it was thought by most analysts that GM would have already swallowed that hiccup and by September we'd see higher sales. Despite more than doubling last months sales, we somehow don't think 723 units sold this past month is what one would consider massive sales momentum — especially given this summer's anemic numbers. And that's not to say there aren't any Volts on dealer lots. Cars.com shows over 2,600 units available in a nation-wide search of new vehicle listings.
To give you an idea of how few vehicles that is, here are just a few of the GM vehicles that sold better than the Chevy Volt this month:


Cadillac Escalade - 1,527
Chevrolet Colorado Pickup - 2,171
Chevrolet Avalanche - 1,861
Chevrolet Suburban - 5,246
Buick Lucerne - 1,068


http://jalopnik.com/5846097/is-the-chevy-volt-a-sales-flop

 

[SunnyD]

The premise of PUEL's are flawed. We reduce the reliance of fossil fuels by increasing our reliance on electricity, which is predominantly generated (in the US) by.... fossil fuels. *sigh*

 

[bignateyk]

It's not exactly cheap for a car that is supposed to save you money on gas. It would probably take longer than the car will ever run for it to be worth the extra cost.

 

[Patranus]

Don't you just love it when the government tries to pick which direction the market should take?

I mean they have been soooo successful in the past, why wouldn't they be successful in this case.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

The premise of PUEL's are flawed. We reduce the reliance of fossil fuels by increasing our reliance on electricity, which is predominantly generated (in the US) by.... fossil fuels. *sigh*

The efficiency of large scale production of energy through fossil fuels is more efficient than the average car engine, so even though its still using fossil fuels, it uses less of it per.

Also, electric cars have alternatives in where they get their energy from, assuming you know for a fact your lines are connected to a wind farm or something. Normal cars HAVE to use gas.

 

[rivan]

$41k = too much for me.

If I'm spending $41k on a car, it'll be very different from a Volt.

 

[lxskllr]

The premise of PUEL's are flawed. We reduce the reliance of fossil fuels by increasing our reliance on electricity, which is predominantly generated (in the US) by.... fossil fuels. *sigh*

Depends on where you live. Everything's nuclear, and hydro around me.

 

[edro]

lol... nice!

 

[destrekor]

The premise of PUEL's are flawed. We reduce the reliance of fossil fuels by increasing our reliance on electricity, which is predominantly generated (in the US) by.... fossil fuels. *sigh*

It's a stepping-stone style product.

Obviously, they'll need quite a few generations of these types of vehicles to really get things as awesome as gasoline-powered cars in every way, and the energy market needs some time to improve alternate energy and move past fossil fuels.

Let's not forget, charging stations will become more of a reasonable concept in the near-future.

Electric cars are definitely the future, but it's going to take time to truly live up to claims. Other styles, like LP or Hydrogen, probably won't stick around for a long time. They are more or less iterative stepping stones, trying to ween off oil, and wait until some of the issues with electric vehicles can be overcome; for instance, the ability to quickly and easily "top-off" the tank is a huge desire. Advances in battery technology, and other innovations in the electric world, will hopefully come sometime soon.

One way or the other, electric vehicles are most certainly the main successor to gasoline vehicles. How soon we get there... I can't even begin to imagine.

 

[PottedMeat]

saw a single one way in the back of a dealership the other day. had "VOLT" across the side - i guess it's their demo or something. lots and lots of escalades/CTS/V/pickups/camaros/corvettes though.

 

[zokudu]

It's a stepping-stone style product.

Obviously, they'll need quite a few generations of these types of vehicles to really get things as awesome as gasoline-powered cars in every way, and the energy market needs some time to improve alternate energy and move past fossil fuels.

Let's not forget, charging stations will become more of a reasonable concept in the near-future.

Electric cars are definitely the future, but it's going to take time to truly live up to claims. Other styles, like LP or Hydrogen, probably won't stick around for a long time. They are more or less iterative stepping stones, trying to ween off oil, and wait until some of the issues with electric vehicles can be overcome; for instance, the ability to quickly and easily "top-off" the tank is a huge desire. Advances in battery technology, and other innovations in the electric world, will hopefully come sometime soon.

One way or the other, electric vehicles are most certainly the main successor to gasoline vehicles. How soon we get there... I can't even begin to imagine.

Just curious what the issues with Hydrogen Fuel Cells is? In my mind I see electric as a stopgap until Hydrogen becomes a reality for the average everyday consumer. Why do you feel its the other way around. (Aside from most manufacturers shying away from it at this time due to cost reasons)

 

[LTC8K6]

Volt has some serious, and better imo, competition coming soon.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I get free electricity (base housing)... Having a volt would be awesome (can't afford it though)(don't have any car now).

 

[brblx]

i believe some people in the garage need to eat their hats. i called this catastrophe in like '09.

 

[ElFenix]

The efficiency of large scale production of energy through fossil fules is more efficient than the average car engine, so even though its still using fossil fules, it uses less of it per.

Also, electric cards have alternatives in where they get their energy from, assuming you know for a fact your lines are connected to a wind farm or something. Normal cars HAVE to use gas.

the beauty of the electric market is that your lines don't have to be connected to wind, all you have to do is subsidize the purchase of wind elsewhere (usually where its produced) for it to have the same effect.

 

[ElFenix]

Just curious what the issues with Hydrogen Fuel Cells is? In my mind I see electric as a stopgap until Hydrogen becomes a reality for the average everyday consumer. Why do you feel its the other way around. (Aside from most manufacturers shying away from it at this time due to cost reasons)

how do you think the chemical energy of the hydrogen fuel cell is converted to mechanical energy? it's electric. you replace the battery with the fuel cell. electric isn't a stop gap until hydrogen, electric is how hydrogen works.

 

[brblx]

hydrogen fuel cell is really just another battery. it's not an energy source, it's not an energy transport mechanism, it's just an energy storage widget.

what it is is not one, but two new places for energy to be lost- you're going to have to use electrolysis to get hydrogen, then use it to charge a battery, no? what the hell is the point, besides being able to carry around hydrogen slightly more effectively that you can a coal fired power plant?

 

[ElFenix]

what it is is not one, but two new places for energy to be lost- you're going to have to use electrolysis to get hydrogen, then use it to charge a battery, no? what the hell is the point, besides being able to carry around hydrogen slightly more effectively that you can a coal fired power plant?

you don't use the fuel cell to charge a battery. a fuel cell converts chemical energy into electricity, like a battery. but rather than recharging with electricity like a battery, you top the fuel cell back up with the fuel. primary benefit is that it's much faster to refuel than to recharge.

but yes, you'll need to get the hydrogen from somewhere, and right now that's power plants. maybe in the future we'll have photo cells that can strip hydrogen off of water without an intermediate electricity form.

to the extent the fuel is pipeline-able, it can be moved ridiculously efficiently (pipelines use very little energy). that could be a big gain over using the electric grid to provide electric power.

 

[Ns1]

yeah what they need to do is put that technology in a 5 thousand dollar car

 

[brblx]

i would figure there would still have to be some kind of energy storage system. not only would it be hard to measure the amount of gaseous hydrogen remaining, but i don't see a fuel cell rapidly scaling to power demands. plus you need to take the good bit from hybrid technology (the starter/generator integrated into the driveline) for optimal fuel economy- and that electricity from 'regenerative braking' (worst misnomer ever) has to get stored somewhere.

 

[Eli]

Just curious what the issues with Hydrogen Fuel Cells is? In my mind I see electric as a stopgap until Hydrogen becomes a reality for the average everyday consumer. Why do you feel its the other way around. (Aside from most manufacturers shying away from it at this time due to cost reasons)

Fuel cells are still very expensive.

 

[Eli]

i would figure there would still have to be some kind of energy storage system. not only would it be hard to measure the amount of gaseous hydrogen remaining, but i don't see a fuel cell rapidly scaling to power demands. plus you need to take the good bit from hybrid technology (the starter/generator integrated into the driveline) for optimal fuel economy- and that electricity from 'regenerative braking' (worst misnomer ever) has to get stored somewhere.

What's wrong with "regenerative braking"?

That's exactly what it is. Braking that generates power to charge a battery rather than just burning it all off as heat.

 

[ultimatebob]

I get free electricity (base housing)... Having a volt would be awesome (can't afford it though)(don't have any car now).

Even with free electricity, you wouldn't probably make up the additional monthly payment difference over a Chevy Cruze... even if you drove it a lot and were somehow able to keep it charged all the time.

Remember... you only get 60 miles or so on battery, and then you're using gas again. So, it's not exactly a good car for distance driving.

 

[LTC8K6]

Even with free electricity, you wouldn't probably make up the additional monthly payment difference over a Chevy Cruze... even if you drove it a lot and were somehow able to keep it charged all the time.

Remember... you only get 60 miles or so on battery, and then you're using gas again. So, it's not exactly a good car for distance driving.

40 miles is the battery rating...

It's just too expensive and there are better alternatives out there, and more coming soon.

 

[Slick5150]

40 miles is the battery rating...

It's just too expensive and there are better alternatives out there, and more coming soon.

There always has to be a first.