Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

The Great Chevy Volt Hybrid Mishap Explained - KickingTires

As many of you already know, I was excited about owning the first Chevrolet Volt in my hometown. I built a solar power plant at my house and was prepared to pay the estimated $45,000 price tag because I had the belief that owning an electric car was the right thing to do. Fundamentally, electric cars have fewer parts which equates to less maintenance and lower cost of ownership per mile.:cool:

My mood changed today after reading the referenced article above. Specifically, it points out that the gasoline engine is an integral part of the Chevrolet Volt design. As we can all assume, that means GM's announcements about an all electric Volt were false. Worse this means we will have to contend with many moving parts and maintenance will be a nightmare.:mad:

Why did we bailout GM? One of the reasons, is at the time, many people thought they were going to produce an electric car to solve the acute gas crisis.:confused:

Thanks for reading and pass this on to anyone you know that was interested in an ALL AMERICAN electric car. Turns out it was just a marketing scam similar to Enron.:eek:

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Yup, overpriced Prius would be a fair assessment.. Worse yet, it gets WORSE mileage than a Prius while being significantly more expensive than one. We bailed out GM because government is dumb and wasteful. However, with all of this said, this is actually good news because the Volt was a crappy electric car to begin with but now is just a merely ok/overpriced Plug-in hybrid. This system is technically more efficient since now there is no loss in the engine charging the batteries which is used to power the electric motors but instead the engine directly propels the drivetrain. If anyone was satisfied with the range figures they were quoting previous, then specifically this announcement shouldn't affect that. The announcement that the range is 25-50 miles on the other hand, now that should piss you off, though IMO shouldn't be a surprise to anyone with the ability to smell bull****.

Anyway, I'm glad of this announcement because it not only confirmed a few held beliefs I had about the vehicle but also explained certain things like why the car didn't actually charge and top off the batteries once the generator got started, and the reason is because it's a plug-in hybrid....wouldn't want the gasoline engine charging the batteries if the batteries are going to be charged by the wall outlet anyway now would we?

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

^That's a very good assessment! :thumbup:

Although, the relatively small range should be no surprise since it is so much larger and heavier than EV1 and the tech isn't really any better.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Here's the best article I've found yet explaining the Chevrolet Volt PHEV. Looks like another instance of fool me once. Thanks for nothing GM.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/e...cks/index.html

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

GM Hear that??? That's the sound of all the other car manufacturers laughing their arses off at you!!!

GM Volt, what a joke:(

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

https://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...est/index.html

MT tested it

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

The good news is that it's a slightly more efficient design than previously implied. The bad news is that they misled us, or perhaps even directly lied (it's hard to keep track now). Why wouldn't they have dispelled the misinformation?

Bad GM! :mad:

From the article:
Chevy’s engine and motor/generator both remain decoupled from the whole works most of the time.

Chevrolet’s approach permits full EV capability over 30-40 real-world miles

So, it still operates as we always thought. You plug in, charge up, and drive an electric vehicle for up to 40 miles; then if you don't recharge you are powered by gasoline. Granted, it does make sense to allow the gas engine power the wheels when it's running, as it is quite wasteful to turn rotational energy into electricity only to turn it into rotation again, but I don't think that is what we were sold.

The part that sucks is that it is no longer the easy stepping stone we thought it would be, where the gasoline engine was supposedly modular so you could remove it and replace it with a larger battery pack, a diesel, or whatever else you wanted.

It's still a stepping stone, but the next step is another car, not a modification.

Outside of technical discussions like this, this discovery won't make a difference to most people.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Here's my $.02 worth... I've been kicking around the idea of purchasing a new DD once the bike is paid off, and only drive The Beast when hauling or 4wd were required. Despite what everyone's saying about it, the Volt is still very appealing to me. Why? Because I live 2-3 miles from work. I can charge the vehicle at work, and drive on 100% electric power for about 95% of my weekly driving. Factoring in the gas I would not be purchasing, the $7,500 tax credit, 0% APR financing, and charging the vehicle at work, I could afford it.

On top of all that, its a nice looking car. Not like a Prius, which IMHO is even uglier than an AMC Gremlin.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I just need an EV that can cruise at 65MPH and go over a tall interstate bridge on a daily 35 mile round trip. The 40 mile range in the Volt is going to be stretching it!

Does anyone remember the first few Chevy Volt commercials that were promising all electric and much longer ranges?

May I suggest the Nissan Leaf instead? Polar bears love it!
https://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content..._bear_main.jpg

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Remember the good old days when the GM spin machine was in full swing?
https://gizbuy.com/wp-content/uploads...olt-230mpg.jpg
Smooth move GM.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

You'd still have to, very rarely, buy gas with the Volt. The system does periodically turn the engine on to circulate the fluids.

The Leaf, or if you can wait, the BEV Focus, would be better in that situation. Even better, assuming you can take a route with a 25 to 35mph limit, would be NEV, like a GEM, Zebra, or even a souped up golf cart.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

um, judging by the re-estimated range of 25-50 miles, I'd say the scenario of the engine never coming on due to the need of it to charge the battery would be pretty unlikely. That engine is going to come on not to circulate the fluids, but because it needs to come on..

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

The Leaf doesn't excite me. I may be interested in an electric Focus, but its projected availibility is late 2011, and I'll probably buy a car by then.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

thinking the exact same thing.. Also if you want an idea of how the leaf will drive, just test drive the Nissan Versa as the leaf is based upon the Versa.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Dad's Focus is a really fun car to drive, and its a decent looking little car. My only fear is that an electric version would most likely be an automatic, which may take all the fun out of driving it. (Dad's has the 5 speed manual) My sister's Focus is no fun at all, Its a 1st generation Focus with an automatic, and I hate driving it.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I'm guessing if the electric Focus uses a conventional transmission, Ford will go with a double clutch, like in the Fiesta. Hub mounted motors would be sweet, but unlikely.

In the event a Volt is owned by someone who never exceeds the electric range, GM has programed the control system to idle the engine every once and awhile to circulate the oil and get fresher fuel into the lines. Not everyone knows about sta-bil.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

If I owned a Volt, I'd never exceed the range on workdays, and rarely on days off. Maybe 1 day a week I'd exceed the electric range. I would keep sta-bil in the tank at all times, and I'd only run synthetic fluids in it.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

GM's web site states that the Volt will use up all 9 gallons of gas in the tank over a year's time by design. The systems computers will start the gas engine without the driver's consent when they want to.

Volt owners will no doubt be informed/reminded that they WILL need to fill up at least once per year or surprise - you are stranded if your battery is drained down too far and your gas tank is empty.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Epic Fail. Thanks, GM.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Oh no, 9 gallons a year. Thats terrible! :eek:

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

It is terrible if you think about it in the concept of wasted fuel.. However I find it unlikely for this to happen especially given this car's limited battery only range.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Guess you can't park it in a garage then.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

As I understand, it will only run the gas engine when it's being driven. Parking in a garage ought to be fine.

It won't be entirely wasted. It will surely offset some battery usage when it runs.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I think I use 9 gallons a year just revving the engine at stop lights to scare the **** out of pedestrians.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

na, I think it'll act like the Prius where the engine will come on at startup or sometime during the drive cycle, even if it's totally unnecessary.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

If this is the case with your driving usage, then you would hardly use any gas at all as I understand it.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Well it looks like I will be able to test drive the Volt sometime in December.

Two of my customers bought Volts and have already put in 240v plug in stations at home and their work.

The other thing I can't wait to see is that both of these will be tested in a mountain terrain area.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

One thing I don't understand is how inefficient this car is when the ICE is enabled. Its truly pathetic!!! Is it the engine... drive train or something else that makes this thing a fuel hog!!!

Its great for a short commute while in electric mode but if you need to go on longer trip more then 50 miles you might as well take another vehicle and leave this over priced inefficient car at home.:thumbdown:

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Where are you getting your 'inefficient fuel hog' data exactly? Citation?

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I for one would like to see an unbiased and real world write up of the pro's and con's of the volt and how it performs under 2 different modes.

1) Drive it like you stole it pedal to the metal and see how it would do in the worst possible case scenario.

2) Drive it normally.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I have jump the gun and made accusations based on the information that is available at this time. I will retract my last post and let GM disappoint me in the way they intended... a few months later from now.;)

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I don't see what all the fuss is about...everybody's descriptions of the "defects" in the Volt sound pretty much like what I heard about before its introduction described as its "features". Why were they so wonderful then and horrible now? Still seems like it'll run rings around the average car...

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

The 127mpg in real world driving sounds pretty good to me. I wish my car did that.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

The friend that will have his Volt sometime in December was told from GM that he would see anywhere from 30mpg to 45mpg in charge-sustaining mode.

It sounds like this is why its so hard for GM to give a straight answer. I think the mileage will be all over the place because of the charge-sustaining mode.

But this is just speculation on my part and I truly hope that the Volt will deliver great numbers. No matter what, its a step in the right direction for a major car manufacturer.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I don't think that's speculation, I think those were actual numbers from GM as I've been reading the same stuff as well. Feels like the engine and all that was a second thought in the Volt even though it plays a pretty big role in the emissions equation especially if you plan on going on any long trips. The vehicle is a joke, just wait for the plug-in Prius and everybody will be asking themselves "why the volt"? Reminds me of when the 4 door Insight Debut just before the 2010 Prius came out.


How's this for an update:
https://green.autoblog.com/2010/10/23...an-prius-or-j/

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I know this is just my personal opinion, but my answer to "Why the Volt?" is that IMHO, the Prius is one of the ugliest cars that has hit the streets in a long time. I would sooner drive a Pontiac Aztec, or an AMC Pacer.

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

I agree, CARB is run by a bunch of morons. How can they say that when the Volt gets 127mpg in 300 miles of real world driving? They really need to get their heads out of their collective ***.
https://blogs.motortrend.com/127-mpg-...told-2724.html

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

"CO limits for SULEV status is 1.0 grams per mile, while ULEV is 2.1 g/mi. Volt produces 1.3 g/mi."

I wonder if this was in Extended One Motor Mode or Combine Driving Mode? Or a combination of the two?

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

Another good read.

https://gas2.org/2010/10/14/motor-tre...ot-quite-true/

Re: Breaking news! Chevy volt technically driven by gas engine!
 

From the above link:
LOL ok, I guess this guy is entitled to this opinion, no matter how wrong it is. How is this not real world driving? Does he expect the owner of a volt to never charge the car? Please. He goes on to say.
No sh!t sherlock. That was the whole point of the original article.

I don't know what the whole uproar is about. Its a 3700lb car that gets 36mpg in the worst case scenario and well over 100mpg in the best. Show me another production car that can do better? You have the leaf and maybe the tesla. Thats it.