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Gm's Volt (i did a search)

I did a search and didn't see anything on the topic. But I thought this was interesting article.

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One plug-in hybrid, a version of its Saturn Vue, would have an electric range similar to that of the Toyota car: about 10 miles. The other is an entirely new vehicle called the Volt, an electric car that would use power stored from the grid for the first 40 miles, then rely on electricity from an onboard gasoline-powered generator for another 600 miles.
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The part about the generator is an interesting idea. Heck putting a small generator in the car I could disconnect the alternator lol instead of the solar panals.

Here is the whole article....
https://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/17664/

Sounds like an ideal car. Use the batteries for the short commutes. For longer drives let a small gas engine run at the most efficient RPM to charge the batteries for the extended ranges. It might get poor mileage when running with the gas, but for most of us the daily commute EV part would work great.

korax123 -

Quote:

Originally Posted by korax123 (Post 65473)

I hope they do it. The Volt and the Ford counterpart "leapfrog" the Prius technology by offering the plug-in hybrid out of the box. They are forward compatible to other "on-board generator sources", gas, diesel, fuel cell, hamster power, etc ...

Here is the Ford HySeries Edge plug-in Hybrid :

Ford Edge Plug-In Hybrid
https://www.greencar.com/index.cfm?content=ford_edge

Quote:

What?s the advantage? In a word, simplicity. Operating in series streamlines the process, eliminating the extra hardware and complex management software of two propulsion systems in favor of a single power flow. By the same token, this makes the HySeries Drive remarkably versatile. In the Ford Edge prototype presented here, the fuel cell acts as a range extender, providing electrical power when the batteries run low on their grid-sourced charge. But that range extender could just as well be an engine powered by gasoline, diesel, or some other alternative fuel. Any new fuel or propulsion technology could be swapped in as it becomes available. The underlying architecture of the HySeries Drive would be the same in any case.

CarloSW2

Volt is a great idea. But its GM,,, they will screw it up...

Quote:

Originally Posted by korax123 (Post 65473)

The part about the generator is an interesting idea. Heck putting a small generator in the car I could disconnect the alternator lol instead of the solar panals.

That wouldn't work well. Cars used to have generators, they have alternators because the alternator can generate a lot more power than a generator of the same physical size. An alternator can make full power at a much lower RPM than the generator can too, which is why they converted to the alternator to begin with. The generators in those electric cars are huge compared to the alternator.

I don't see why they are starting with generators for the electric cars, a large alternator would produce a LOT of AC power, and an AC motor could be used to drive the rear wheels with a voltage converter to convert to DC for the DC side of the house. Seems like it would be more efficient that way. Those dinky little alternators can provide 140 amps at 12V, a larger one used as a power generator, driven by a half liter gasoline or diesel engine optimized for the alternator it is driving, for hybrid car should be able to provide 300-400 amps at 120V, probably more than enough to drive a car at any speed.

Nah, they won't even build it. IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeekGuyAndy (Post 65485)

Well if you look at home depot they have a 33hp 17,500 watt generator with a 16gallon fuel tank. Says at half load it runs for 10 hours. So you can drive for a long time even running @ full load.

It would be cool to get a junk S-10 and convert it to EV then put that Home Depot generator in the bed of the truck and see how far you could go. GM states a 40mil range without the generator so I can make it to work and back home without even kicking it on. This car would be slick if it was under 18k I might buy one.