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WHAT IS THE VOLT?:
The Volt is considered an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). It has a very powerful all-electric 161-horsepower 45KW (53 KW peak) motor that is the only engine to power the car at all times. This engine should be capable of moving the car from 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, and have a top speed of at least 100 mph.
The electric engine gets its juice from a very powerful high-voltage battery pack that can store enough energy to drive the car up to 40 miles in standard driving conditions. That battery pack is recharged by plugging the car into your standard home 110 volt wall outlet, just like you do your iPod or cell phone. The full-charge cycle should take about 6 hours. Yes, this will increase your electric bill, but you will charge the car overnight when rates are lower. Much more importantly, you will need NO GASOLINE for drives up to 40 miles. So, if gas prices continue to go through the roof, you really won’t care. In most areas, your electricity costs should amount to a gas equivalent price of 50 cents per gallon. Studies suggest that 78% of drivers drive less than 40 miles per day.
Another very important feature of the Volt, and the reason some people (not GM) still consider it a hybrid, is that it will still have an on-board gasoline/E85 combustion engine. Only in the Volt, this engine is the smaller one, and has only one task, it charges the battery pack when the stored power gets low. The motor is not connected to the wheels, it is only a generator. The brilliance of this feature is that you will have an overall driving range of 600-700 miles, greater than most gas cars now. The efficiency of this motor amounts to about 50 mpg, for each gallon you use to charge the batteries. The old EV-1 did not have this function.
This gas motor will not need gears or transmission, and only has to run at a single rpm. It could also be considered an emergency generator. If you have to drive more than 40 miles, you needn’t worry because the generator will allow you to continue to drive.
The electric motor also can generate a lot of instantaneous torque, and should be extremely responsive, and not require gears either.
All the technology for the car is here today, except for the battery pack. It will use lithium-ion (li-ion) technology. Current hybrids use nickel-metal hydride (NiMh), which carry much less energy per unit weight. The li-ion cell technology exists but putting it into tested and safe packs is what will take some time. There are companies working with GM and trying to get these Li-ion batteries and their packs ready for automotive use, and in fact as of late October 2007, GM has received the first of these experimental packs.
check out the picture gallery of this beautful car
http://gm-volt.com/image-gallery/
The Volt is considered an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). It has a very powerful all-electric 161-horsepower 45KW (53 KW peak) motor that is the only engine to power the car at all times. This engine should be capable of moving the car from 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, and have a top speed of at least 100 mph.
The electric engine gets its juice from a very powerful high-voltage battery pack that can store enough energy to drive the car up to 40 miles in standard driving conditions. That battery pack is recharged by plugging the car into your standard home 110 volt wall outlet, just like you do your iPod or cell phone. The full-charge cycle should take about 6 hours. Yes, this will increase your electric bill, but you will charge the car overnight when rates are lower. Much more importantly, you will need NO GASOLINE for drives up to 40 miles. So, if gas prices continue to go through the roof, you really won’t care. In most areas, your electricity costs should amount to a gas equivalent price of 50 cents per gallon. Studies suggest that 78% of drivers drive less than 40 miles per day.
Another very important feature of the Volt, and the reason some people (not GM) still consider it a hybrid, is that it will still have an on-board gasoline/E85 combustion engine. Only in the Volt, this engine is the smaller one, and has only one task, it charges the battery pack when the stored power gets low. The motor is not connected to the wheels, it is only a generator. The brilliance of this feature is that you will have an overall driving range of 600-700 miles, greater than most gas cars now. The efficiency of this motor amounts to about 50 mpg, for each gallon you use to charge the batteries. The old EV-1 did not have this function.
This gas motor will not need gears or transmission, and only has to run at a single rpm. It could also be considered an emergency generator. If you have to drive more than 40 miles, you needn’t worry because the generator will allow you to continue to drive.
The electric motor also can generate a lot of instantaneous torque, and should be extremely responsive, and not require gears either.
All the technology for the car is here today, except for the battery pack. It will use lithium-ion (li-ion) technology. Current hybrids use nickel-metal hydride (NiMh), which carry much less energy per unit weight. The li-ion cell technology exists but putting it into tested and safe packs is what will take some time. There are companies working with GM and trying to get these Li-ion batteries and their packs ready for automotive use, and in fact as of late October 2007, GM has received the first of these experimental packs.
check out the picture gallery of this beautful car
http://gm-volt.com/image-gallery/
I believe the name of the 2 hr movie on them is called: "Who killed the electric car?"... yes, that's it. I wonder if they'll do the same thing to these cars... http://www.videosift.com/video/Who-Killed-The-Electric-Car-1
check out
http://www.gm-volt.com
for more info
they have numerous interviews with the leaders of this project and talk at length about the support they are getting from GM as they believe this will turn their company around as no other company has anything quite like this. It will also wean our addiction to oil
So its an expensive, dirty, car with no range and low to average power. No thank you.
The point with this one- is that for your everyday running around you don't need to use any gas at all. But you still have the range of a conventional car if you need it with the included small generator.
You must not have watched the video- or read the comment right above you. It has a range of 650 miles. Not that much different than your hybrid- which I'm sorry - does not have an "endless" range either.
They already have working li-ion battery packs, even in automotive use, eg. the Tesla Roadster. And that (if you believe them) has a range of over 200 miles, not to even mention the performance difference. Sure, it's a light little thing, but still.
It looks like a Chrysler Crossfire with some beautifications made with a large sledgehammer (and the Crossfire already looked like a dog taking a dump).
It has a long bonnet, even though it supposedly has only a small gas engine and electric motors are also known to be quite small. So it doesn't have any room at the back. This would be acceptable in a city car, but by the looks of it, it ain't. And why would you need a car that can only do 40 miles if you're not using it in a city?
So it's a slow, ugly car with no place to put your stuff in, is completely useless on a longer trip compared to a normal hybrid, or even a normal car, is too big to be a proper city car, the batteries are going to blow out at some point, most likely in under 100k miles, and then you have to buy a new car.
Also the 50 mpg mentioned is pathetic, since many many many diesel cars nowadays can get more than 60 mpg, and the VW Golf TSI (gas) can get even more than that when you're going at about 40mph. If you drive less than 40 miles every day, chances are you're not going anywhere fast. "Studies suggest that 78% of drivers drive less than 40 miles per day" isn't really a good argument, since lots of people drive zero miles one day and 80 miles the next.
This car pollutes about as much as other cars in it's class while using gas, and the more people use electric cars, the more electricity is consumed, and the more pollution is created to provide that electricity.
Even better, they have a few systems in Germany that add water to diesel, which makes it more powerful, gives better mpg, and reduces the particle output (the only thing that's worse in diesels compared to best gas engines) to non-existant levels. It works for the same reason slighty moist wood burns better than bone dry wood. The systems are already working and require minimal modifications to work in existing cars.
Of course gas and diesel are going to run out at some point, and we'll have to use electric or hydrogen cars. But at this moment, and even in the future, the Chevy Volt is just rubbish.
It seems to me that having 5-7 engine variants of a car and allowing people the option to order an engine setup that fit them, like double the li-batteries in series for 70-80 miles, could lead to a new age in car design.
fine to call it ugly as you are entitled to your opinion. I find it beautifuly designed.
with 78% of the population driving under 40 miles a day, I'd say that is quite a large market for the car (in addition to it's 50mpg and 640 extended driving range)
you stated 50mpg is pathetic. while I don't even pretend to be the know all on cars, I can't think of one car here in the states that gets 50mpg. perhaps there are a few here in the states, but they are not the norm or widespread.
the car probably does pollute as much as others. I have not seen the data to support it either way. but i would speculate that it is about what other cars today put out (which in general is not good)
I have also not seen mention on the storage space, so I can't comment on that aspect. I would be interested to know where you got the information to come to that conclusion.
Overall, I'd say any car that tries to introduce more of electric aspect is welcome and will improve dramatically as the technology matures.