Chevy Volt thoughts

[goofy1]

i agree we need more time before the long trip electric gas. and the prius and volt are great cars. I just think it would be great if the gave more range to help for the long trips and then the gas motor(or on-board generator LOL) takes over. just thing about it. the ev1 had bigger range on old tech. battiers. so logically, do the same with new tech. you know? Or do what calcars does and have a choice of battiers with different ranges. so for like 30,40,50 or shoot 100 miles. the more choices they(gm,toyota,ford..etc)give the consummers the better. eveyone wins. the consummer gets the car,color,options and range and the car companys make a buck. so really it wouldn't be a "toy for the non-masses" ;-) it would be a a primary or second primary car for the man and wife.

[opelgt73]

Adding enough batteries to get 100 miles would kill the handling of the Volt, and remember the EV1 handled like dog S*#%T because it was so heavy. Given the price they are speculating (~$40K) it isn't exactly going to be a budget car either.

Contrary to everyones wishes this car will not be the savior of our country, it is merely another step in the right direction.

The technology simply is not there yet unless you start making drastic changes to the safety standards. The buying public must also make some compromises and re-evaluate what they REALLY need in a car. I think the Aptera will be able to attain a decent range but it is being registered as a motorcycle to skate around the car safety standards.

I kind of wish they would make an economy version of the Volt, 2 seats. Smaller, lighter. And make the generator portion modular. So when you weren't taking long trips you could disconnect it and leave it in your garage. Thereby saving dead weight while in EV mode. You could also make extra battery modules to go in the engines place to extend the EV only mode.

[GasSavers_Erik]

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

Pure electric vehicles are still primarily a second or third car, useful for little more than commutes and going to get bread/milk. You cannot jump in them and go three hours away to see Gran & Gramps with a load of kids & luggage. So, they won't be top sellers. Ever.

.

What's the fastest that you can charge the batteries?

I see a potential niche market of drive in restaurants/rest areas with restrooms with quick chargers. If they could bump the range up to 120 miles, stopping every 2 hours for 30 minutes wouldn't be a horrible inconvenience on a cross country trip. You could also charge up at night at the motel.

Perhaps they could be linked to mobile phones so you could pay by credit card and check availability/reserve a charging station in advance.

[Mayhim]

Gas autos will run on gas right up to the time the run out. What do electric cars do? I don't know, and neither do millions of other potential buyers.

What happens when an e-car "runs out of gas?" Can you carry a gallon can of electrons back from the nearest charging station? Will the AAA truck come out with a generator instead of a gas can?

It isn't just the engineering and infrastructure technicalities that are the hurdles, though that seems to be enough for the next decade at least...but also the perceptions of e-cars from the masses. You can't even get the bulk of them to check their tire pressures regularly, how are you going to get them into technically advanced e-cars?

As George Carlin said, "Think of how stupid the average person is, and remember that at least half of the people are stupider than him."

[dkjones96]

Honestly, if they sized up the electric motors a bit and got the 0-60 of 7-8 seconds down to the 4.5-5.5 second range and kept the backup generator unit these would sell like hot cakes at ~$40k. Or even had a performance package.

Option of a Dodge Challenger SRT8, Mustang GT500 or Chevrolet Volt SS. I'd pick the Volt. Probably win (with a full battery) every time at the drag strip since the electric motor would tear those gas engines a new *** off the line.

As is though, I'll take a 25K GT(not 500) with a mid 5 second 0-60 as opposed to the $40k volt at mid 7 0-60. I know this is a fuel economy forum but my car isn't for fuel economy.

As for infrastructure, it'll be progressive. The whole AAA truck with a charger may not happen but as more plug in hybrids are sold(if they can come up with a standard instead of everyone being proprietary which it looks like is going to happen instead) parking garages might start offering charging stations for people that park there and as that becomes more popular then people with 80 mile commutes to work can buy an EV that gets 120 miles to the charge and just plug it in when they are at work.

[goofy1]

in other countrys, they have recharge station all over their city. I think it's Sweden where they have e-bikes to e-car charging stations with a price $2.00 for 8 hours. think of it like this. how much does one spend on parking ONLY in the city. here it's 2-10 dollars. your gas car sits there and doesn't get filled up either. it didn't take them long to make these changes. the people spoke up, they listened(rare for any goverment) and now the have the recharge stations. I think most americans have it engraved in their head that gas is the only way to go and everything is hippie talk. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE sports. I love the sound of a high hp V-8 rumble in the engine bay. Eveything from Corvettes to Limbos. But if they are going to "run out" of gas(i really don't think they will, because think about it. everything this earth makes is renewable and with some proof oil is has well)then they need to do something before hand. the volt and prius are good starts. i just think they can UP the bang for the buck with more juice. on ev's speed and handling the telsa looks like it's great at handling. it's no wonder, the frame and steering is from Lotus for petes sake, they are like the top in the world for handling at high speeds. and ev's can be super fast. just go to youtube and type in electric car and you will a few ev's that can kill EVERY sports car money can buy.with the weight just do what Lexus, bwm, etc companys shoot for. perfect(or close to it)50/50 weight. batterys in front and back. or shoot like the Toyota iQ in the floor. I don't think ev's in everything garage will happen soon because of a few engraved ideas and the us goverments love of money from oil. Can it be done now or in a few year, sure. Will it? No. If we are going to keep using gas, then cars like the Prius and Volt are needed that just a fact. But the US has a way to go still. But hey at the end of the day, thats why we us this site. Hypermiling down to the last drop. Squeeze everymile from our tanks. Whether it's for saving $$ or just getting your moneys worth. We'll continue to Hypermile.

[GasSavers_GasUser]

From what I understand about the volt, the battery will provide all the power and the gas motor is tiny and not connected to the drivetrain. It's purpose is just to keep the battery charged. So you can just keep driving and the battery will stay charged, so it has range. Also, if you drive daily within the 40 miles (or whatever the battery range will eventually be) then when you get home, you can plug it in and recharge. The best of both worlds with the current emerging technology (so far anyways).

I guess we will have to see when it comes out in production.

[101mpg]

Originally Posted by dkjones96

Honestly, if they sized up the electric motors a bit and got the 0-60 of 7-8 seconds down to the 4.5-5.5 second range and kept the backup generator unit these would sell like hot cakes at ~$40k. Or even had a performance package.

This is the problem with America, WAY too many people think like this. Just last night I saw a HORRIBLE accident in Charleston at a 7-11. Half a dozen fire trucks, same ambulances, more policemen than that. In a 2-lane street, one in each direction, 30 MPH zone, a Chevy Cavalier (half of one after the accident), a truck with a bed of gravel, and a couple other cars involved, and several of the pumps at the 7-11 which are CLOSE to the street. People routinely get ticketed for 50 MPH+ on that street, and it's barely safe at 30.

This type of thinking is why we have so many SUVs and big cars around with single occupants, when who in the world needs this type of performance *ON THE STREET*?!?? People can't control the cars they have very well as it is, we do NOT need to make them go FASTER.

Just because America has a lot more room than Europe doesn't mean we need to make things worse by giving the untrained WELL more power than they need or can even use safely.