Posted on 01/09/2007 10:06:35 PM PST by BlueSky194
Hybrid Technology Could Reduce Gas Fill-Ups, but Battery-Powered Engine Still Runs Expensive
Chevrolet's new Volt a concept hybrid that could conceivably get hundreds of miles to the gallon
Chevrolet's new hybrid car, called the Volt, has generated a lot of buzz this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
It's different from the hybrids currently on the market, making it the newest of the new technology in the car market.
Whereas other hybrid cars, such as Toyota's Prius or Ford's Explorer, use a mix of battery power and a conventional gasoline engine to move the wheels of the vehicle, the Volt runs only on electricity.
The electricity is provided by either plugging into a standard wall socket or by fuel which can be gasoline or some more environmentally friendly alternative that recharges the car's battery. General Motors said the Volt's technology could nearly eliminate the need to fuel up at the pump.
"When you get to the end of a range of the battery, which is 40 miles, you just continue to move along, and the only thing that you notice is the engine comes on and it generates more electricity," said John Lauckner, GM's vice president of global programs.
GM said research showed that almost 80 percent of American motorists drive less than 40 miles a day.
"Many, if not most, consumers in the United states would never need to buy gasoline, or buy gasoline very rarely," Lauckner said.
600 Miles on a Tank, but Engine's Expensive Using a full tank of fuel to power the motor, you could conceivably drive from Detroit to New York about 600 miles with no need to stop.
The only problem is that the battery needed to do all this is prohibitively expensive right now. If you wanted to buy this flashy concept version of the Volt today, it would set you back several hundred thousand dollars. So the success or failure of the Volt hinges on GM's ability to mass produce the battery and bring its cost down way down.
"Those batteries have to be developed, and the cost has to come down probably tenfold from where it is now," said Csaba Csere, editor in chief of Car and Driver magazine.
It remains to be seen whether it will ever be realistic to purchase one of these cars at a reasonable price.
GM says it's serious and not just trying to win public relations points.
"We really want to sell a lot of these," said Lauckner.
But the company becomes vague on exactly when you'll be able to buy a Volt.
"It's not as soon as some of us hope. But it's a lot sooner than a lot of people may think," Lauckner said.
That's likely to translate into four years at least
Big Three Seek Battery Subsidies
Wall Street Journal | January 9, 2007 | NEAL E. BOUDETTE and JOHN D. STOLL
Posted on 01/09/2007 6:54:12 PM EST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1764964/posts
GM goes electric with concept car
Reuters | 1-7-07 | Jui Chakravorty
Posted on 01/08/2007 12:55:24 PM EST by kingattax
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1764195/posts
1990 - 2005 Net Generation by State by Type of Producer by Energy Source
And after the initial charge is used, the engine is what provides all the power needed to charge the battery and move the vehicle.
>> I wonder what makes these batteries so expensive? What are they made of? <<
Dolphin fetuses.
>> Funniest, most on-target post on FR in 437 years! <<
Double-checked what post you might be referring to.
In 1678, 1200 Irish families sailed to Virginia and North Carolina.
APoxOnTheKing stated, "Yea, verily! Methinks that shan't be the last, for 'tis certain they'll discover Old Dominion Ale!"
In 1679, the Habeas Corpus Act was passed in England.
Jacobin commented, "'Tis finely crafted jurisprudence, to be sure, but forsotten, the pangs of liberals' fancy will be quieted not!"
A fire wiped out most of Boston.
FreedomRider1620 noted, "If thou hast inkling to assist in the resurrection of that haunt, mark ye well, she fond of government will grow!"
"Forty miles...and it is 55 miles north, or 55 miles south to the nearest "market town" that has any big stores. Nope; I'll pass."
If you could "recharge" at your destination, your one hundred and ten mile journey would cost you a gallon of gas.
Forty miles on electricity (battery)
Fifteen miles on gas (generator)
Recharge while shopping
Forty miles on electricity again
Fifteen miles on gas to home
So even in an extreme case, it could be of benefit.
Rule number one when driving a hybrid: Only pick up hitchhikers at the tops of hill, and drop them off at the bottoms.
...but their electric bill would go through the roof.
Gasoline is still much cheaper energy than electricity.
Does anyone have a good link to any studies comparing the miles per dollar efficiency of gasoline vs diesel vs electric power for automotive use?
100K Imaginon.
Not if it came down from the roof. Putting solar cells on the roof of your garage would give you more affordable mobility.
On days when you didn't feel like going anywhere ... you could stay at home and make money.
For shame!!
Waste all that momentum? Accelerate UP the other side? ONLY stop at hill tops.
It has been too many decades since I took any physics, but just how many KWH worth of motors are we talking about? How many HP & KWH on the IC/generator setup? Just how efficient is their super-expensive IC?
What about (as it will be by the end of the week) below zero temps drastically reducing the battery's efficiency?
Which brings us to creature comforts: climate control; 200+W stereo systems, heated leather seats?
Then we hit the foul weather & night driving drains: HEADLIGHTS, wipers, electric defrosters, etc?
It was hard to tell from the picture, but just what kind of seating, payload, cargo cubage, & towing capacity at highway speeds, assuming several miles of 4-6% grades, are they designing in?
For the flat-lander commuter, with rare to occasional longer trips to Grandma's or the beach, maybe; but when they mentioned their "600 miles without stopping" they left out a heck of a lot of caveats. Oh, for that trip, better add in an electronic cooler for the snacks & sodas, too.
You sound like an American. You want a sub-zero air-conditioner, tectonic-scale sound system, the ability to tow errant icebergs with or without a trailer, and to get more than 100 miles per gallon.
I'm with you.
I put in my time in old VW bugs, and even a Chevrolet Vega(ly-a-car). Now, I want my relaible comfort, since we tend to take long trips.
e.g., it was CHEAPER for the wife & I to drive a Ford Expedition from Rapid City, SD to Dover, DE & back to pick up a collectable pinball machine, than it was to get it shipped. Add in visits to friends along the way, and a side trip to Niagra Falls, and we had a trelatively inexpensive vaction as well.
Same thing with the F-350 & our 14,000# flatbed, to pick up a small dozer in Idaho.
Try that in a Volt.
I won't be satisfied with anything less than Fusion power.
And no, I'm not holding out for Antimatter engines. They're more dangerous than anyone lets on, you know.
Oh, and antigravity propulsion would be nice, too.
No; no anti-matter. Nasty stuff.
Bethe solar cycle mass-energy converters are the way to go.
Shovel BS in at one end, and get all the electricity you could ever use out the other.
Works good for tracelessly disposing of inconvenient bodies, too.
Warms you three times...once when you cut a cord of wood; a second time when you burn it (for ambience) and a third time when the smoke & ashes were fed into the converter.
That should be exceptionally popular in New England, unless you're talking about Boron Sulfide.
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