Chevy claims Volt gets 230 MPG

And if you believe that, I have a deed to the Brooklyn Bridge I'd love to sell ya.

Seriously...the math doesn't add up. Their mileage estimates are suspect, and even if they were accurate, at $40,000 per unit, the impact will be minimal.
 
That's because, unlike most hybrids, the Volt runs only on electric power for the first 40 miles after a recharge. After that, a small gasoline engine takes over to recharge the battery, giving it a total range of more than 300 miles. On other hybrids, the gasoline engine kicks in from the start, whenever the driver demands hard acceleration or the car is going up a hill.

gm
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Ok... So they really mean 40 miles... :d
 
They still havent gotten back even close to where they were years and years ago with the electric car they made. That thing could go what? 120 Miles on a single charge in city traffic? You could drive all over...

That compared with 40 miles... Hmmmm...

I'll take the one from 15 years ago. That thing was cool.
 
For $40K, I can get a Prius and enough gas to drive it for 250,000 miles (@$3.00 gal). You STILL have to pay for electricity on top of the $40K with the Volt.
 
Lionheart said:
That thing could go what? 120 Miles on a single charge in city traffic? You could drive all over...
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Until the battery was empty, then you would not go anywhere. Try going on a holiday with those cars! The Volt brings its own charger wherever it goes so you only need regular gas stations to extend your range.

I assume that if you do not recharge the batteries but only use the petrol engine for that the mileage will drop but it would probably still be the most economical car on the road today.

I'm very interested in cars like the Volt (And its European sister, the Opel Ampera) and it will be interesting to see if if lives up to the claims made by GM. 230 mpg is roughly eight times the mileage I get from my current car!
 
If the auto manufacturers ever make a vehicle with such good gas mileage, and can make it AFFORDABLE, then I will buy one. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.............

NC
 
At $40K each I'm perfectly happy to let all the rich folks buy the Chevy Volt first, then we'll find out if it's a lemon at their expense. :icon_lol:
 
The way I understand it, the thing runs full battery the first 40 miles, then with the gasoline engine 'hybrid mode' the rest of the 190 miles to aid the batteries, then it has to be recharged.

Guess the gasoline engine alone can't propel it any further regardless of how much gas it's carrying- 230 is it's limit.
 
MaddogK said:
The way I understand it, the thing runs full battery the first 40 miles, then with the gasoline engine 'hybrid mode' the rest of the 190 miles to aid the batteries, then it has to be recharged.

Guess the gasoline engine alone can't propel it any further regardless of how much gas it's carrying- 230 is it's limit.
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So it only carries a gallon of gas? And if that is true, then without the first 40 electric only, it still gets 190mpg, which is still about 4x better than the current high mileage vehicle.

On the other hand, GM is claiming as much as 640 miles on a single tank of gasoline, so it's got more than a gallon.

The gas engine runs exclusively as a generator, either charging the battery or powering the motor, depending on what the car is doing at the time (and it's energy requirements).

The big question is what in the heck does the EPA test measure? I assume it isn't the same as the gasoline/diesel tests.

Brian
 
i've got 2 big problems with electric cars ....

1 - plugging them in .... fine if you have a secure private garage with mains power ... but for everyone else it'll most likely be sat out in the street .... and then you'll have to most likely have to buy miles of extention cord and trail em out through the post box ... or through an open window/door (which aint exactly the brightest of ideas!) ... then some drunken sod would come along, see the cable, and nick it .. now you have to go back to the manufactor to buy a recharge cable ... which is naturally only available through them ..

2 - so everyones got an electric car and no ones useing petrol/gasoline etc ... now that wont make the oil giants very happy, so most likely they'll buy into all the electric companys and shoot the price up to cover their next pay bonus .. and its not exactly cheap at the moment!

I dont think we'll see a "green" car for many many many years to come, the big wigs with money just dont like the idea ... mainly because they wont profit from it, lets face it, they wouldnt have even looked at electric cars if it wasnt a good PR spin and made them look like they cared.
 
What I am thinking is this... The batteries deplete, the APU kicks in and begins charging process, the batteries charge up, your journey gets to continue. 40 miles later, the process continues.

The duration of the charging process is going to be the kicker. If its 2 hours, that journey will be 42 hours away, or just under two days exactly.

This is 'IF' the charger cannot charge as fast as the batteries are being depleted.


Formula with 2 hour charge time; 240 miles, 40 mile range, equals 21 recharge points, at two hours each, that is 42 hours total in recharge times alone, not adding in driving time.

We do not presently have a 'instant charge' battery on the market right now. We have high speed charge times, but not anything close to 'instant charge'. So my guess is that the batteries will need to set and charge.

If you think about it, charging the batteries 'should' take more fuel then this, unless it is a new Hydrogen powered thing. But I doubt it, since they are pretty tight with the Arabics.

Its a nice dream, especially if the range was 120 miles instead of 40. To work in Phoenix, if you live in the suburbs and work in downtown or Scottsdale, you blow your batteries one way. Probably down to 30 MPH by the time you get to work..


Sorry if I sound negative.
 
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