So I was trying to give the Volt another chance but then I started to do the math - it may be designer's math but still...GM maintains the Volt is meant to be driven around the 40 miles making it an electric car with no emissions. Let me remind everyone that even electric cars have emissions based on the production of electricity and batteries.
Let me get this straight - GM wants to claim 100 - 150 mpg based on their speculation of how people will use it? This includes the assumption above that most consumers will minimally use the gas engine.
If you wanted an electric car, why not just buy one - maybe a ZAP? Why spend $48,ooo or even $30,000 (once GM decides on a price) on a Volt if you don't plan to use it as a real car? And what's the point to the industry or society if you don't design it to be used as a real car?
I say there is no point.
So, if I take the car say from Los Angeles to San Francisco - approximately 400 miles - what would the MPG be? Would it even make it? This means the Volt would MAYBE last 40 miles on electricity headed out of L.A. with all the hills headed north. Therefore we have 360 miles left to run on its gas/electric hybrid configuration. But 360 miles is it's planned maximum range - it could be as low as 300 miles! And this is on 8-12 gallons of fuel once they decide on a fuel tank size.
Therefore:
360 divided by 8 = 45 mpg. This is best case scenario. Not bad - this is close to the Prius' freeway mileage.
More likely is:
300 divided by 10 = 30 mpg
So by adding the 40 electric to the 300 gas we get a total of:
340 divided by 10 = 34 mpg - but that's with 8 hours of charge time!
First of all, we wouldn't make it to San Francisco. Second of all, we're not getting much better mileage than a current Chevy sedan. And third and most disturbing, to get the 34 mpg we have to also wait for 8 hours to charge the batteries. And lastly, why isn't the Hybrid system working better beyond the initial depletion of the batteries? Once the batteries are depleted, shouldn't it just start working as a hybrid? So with say 10 gallons of gas in the tank, shouldn't we get AT LEAST an additional 400 - 450 miles before the next fuel up or battery charge like a Prius?
Does anyone else think this is a racket?
BTW, just a reminder - the Prius specs as of today (9-25-2008) from Toyota's website are:
580 mile range divided by 11.9 gallons = 49 mpg
We'd make it to San Francisco easily with gas left in the tank to run around all weekend. And, I could walk into a dealer today and buy a Prius for $28,000 - and that's before I even start to wheel and deal!
4 comments:
get ready for the Honda Prius which will get equal or better mileage than the Prius and cost about 20% less!!!! I think the Volt is an interesting car, but I don`t think it will have a real and immediate impact at all for GM. It is advance but is simply not a mass market car. The electric charging infrastructure is not set up and people are slow to adopt new things. Plus, I think GM will only have a limited number produced and available for sale. GM is tooting their own horn. Toyota is the real deal. Honda are a bunch of nerds that are always late to the game but produce quality products which sell so well. no doubt the Honda Prius will be a success.
dc
You are SOOOOOO right! As I mentioned, Toyota and Honda are both so much more advanced in getting USABLE products on the road. They're also better at getting good design on the road when it matters. I definitely respect Honda for their continued commitment to more eco-friendly products - they continue to remember where they came from and what's kept them successful. They don't overstep their bounds and keep getting better at what they do.
As my post implies, GM (despite the 40 mile electric range) is behind the ball. Likely, the Volt will do far less than 40 miles in real-world driving and therefore it will have no impact on sales, the eco movement or the design industry.
I have the same doubts that the Volt can be that much better than a Prius or the next generation Honda Insight.
It's an indication that GM is acknowledging the shifting market (hmmm do they?)
and
They might get a bailout if the sales of the Volt tanked so they can get funding for R&D to stay behind Honda and Toyota....stupid socialistic capitalism.
People pay for corporate greed and stupidity.
N
The Volt is more of a marketing ploy than an actual real product aimed at effecting people's lives. I honestly don't think GM has it in them to come to market with something relevant at this point. By the time they do, the competition will already have cars on the market with proven technology that will do better than the Volt. I think that if they really could develop the technology, which is still a big IF, then maybe in the long term future they may have something that can be applied to every day vehicles and every day people. But as it stands now, the Volt is nothing more than a supercar for the eco conscious elitist.
GM is more focused on their global markets, namely China, where regulations allow them to continue with their current technology and be profitable without having to really do anything. For whatever reason GM has had and continues to have tremendous brand equity there. But if they do business the way they've done it in the US, then that market will disappear for them as well. China's consumers may not be as concerned about carbon emissions or scarcity of resources as they make their push as an industrial power, but that will change as well. And when it does, GM had better be ready to bring something relevant to the table that can compete head to head with the likes of Honda and Toyota. But quite honestly, I have yet to see anything from GM other than the tired old rhetoric of how they're going to change the world with nothing to show for it, while Honda and Toyota let their products do the talking.
If anything, I'd like to see Toyota start applying their technology to their line of trucks. Not the car based ones like the Highlander, but their body on frame trucks like the Tacoma. There will always be a need and use for pick up trucks as workhorses, and with Toyota's extensive line of gas hogging trucks on the market, it would be nice if they could develop a drivetrain that would allow their worst fuel offenders to benefit from hybrid technology as well, since they do have just as many trucks and SUVs in their lineup as any of the domestics.
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