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Chevy Volt to get 230 mpg rating
Money.cnn.com ^ | August 11 | By Peter Valdes-Dapena

Posted on 08/11/2009 5:35:29 AM PDT by navysealdad

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Chevrolet Volt, GM's electric car that's expected to go on sale in late 2010, is projected to get an estimated 230 miles per gallon, the automaker will announce Tuesday.

(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: automakers; chevyvolt; electriccars; energy; generalmotors
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To: rawhide

Assuming you plug it in every night, it would never use any gasoline.

Of course, that’s not free but as far as gasoline goes, it is infinite mpg, since you’d never use any.

On the other hand, if you never plugged it in, after the battery went flat, it would use gasoline all of the time and you’d have a 60mpg car lugging around a heavy dead battery pack.

Basically, if you buy a Volt, you will need to plug it in every night for it to make any sense to own it.


81 posted on 08/11/2009 7:39:33 AM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: navysealdad
Basically the difference between the Volt and any of the hybrid vehicles is that is is initially charged by plugging it in overnight.

My wife's hybrid Mercury Mariner goes about 20 miles on level roads mostly on battery power especially in stop and go driving. However, battery power drops off sharply in cold weather ...about a 20% reduction in gas mileage at temperatures below 35 degrees. I would assume the Volt will have the same problem.

My question is what type of electrical hook up will consumers have to provide for this recharging? If the Volt is parked in a public garage then what? How long can the vehicle sit uncharged before becoming undrivable?

I hardly see the Volt as being a big seller.

82 posted on 08/11/2009 7:41:56 AM PDT by The Great RJ ("The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher)
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To: The Great RJ

As long as you put gasoline in the tank, you need never plug it in.

Of course you would be inefficient, but not stranded.


83 posted on 08/11/2009 7:46:33 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: navysealdad

per gallon of electrons?


84 posted on 08/11/2009 7:48:40 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Democrat Party: a criminal organization masquerading as a political party)
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To: Venturer

Let’s see that thing make it more than 3 miles with the heater, lights, and rear window defroster running in February. That thing will be running on gasoline the entire time. 230MPG.....yeah right.


85 posted on 08/11/2009 7:49:35 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Democrats: the party of Slavery, Segregation, Sodomy and Sedition)
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To: xsrdx

I hope it will have more zip than the Prius which I am told is an absolute dog on any steep hill.


86 posted on 08/11/2009 7:51:21 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Democrat Party: a criminal organization masquerading as a political party)
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To: sam_paine

Two important questions to all:

What is the estimated “life” of the battery?

What is the estimated replacement/disposal price of the battery?

Thanks!


87 posted on 08/11/2009 7:53:52 AM PDT by drummer10
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To: The Great RJ

Make no mistake, this is an awesome car.

Two drawbacks:
* Government Motors (sigh)
* $40k price tag would buy LOTS of gas.

You can recharge it via any household plug(!). I was seriously thinking of getting one before the government bailout.

I could go to work and back without a single drop of gas! I wanted to have our parking lot at work have a couple of plugs where you could (for maybe $1) charge your car for the 8 hours you are at work. It’d be sweet.

I think it came out to about $0.40 (40 cents for those in Rio Linda) to recharge the batteries according to GM. For $1.00 a day I could drive to and from work. That’d be $20 a month!

I’d spend about $40 a week in gas right now.

But that $40k price tag? I could buy a whole lot of gas for that. If the price hit $29k I’d start to get interested. No sooner.

But this is one very sweet drivetrain. Serial hybrids like this one are the way to go.


88 posted on 08/11/2009 7:53:57 AM PDT by rom (Israel got Saul before they got David. Where's our David?)
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To: Ouderkirk

Even in electric mode the system is not 100% efficient. The batteries get warm and so do the motors. A smart design would channel this waste heat into the cabin and through defrosters when desired.


89 posted on 08/11/2009 7:53:59 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Democrat Party: a criminal organization masquerading as a political party)
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To: The Great RJ

The Volt is driveable with a discharged battery. If the engine is running, then the battery is dead and it will stay dead until you plug it in.

Remember, the onboard gen will not recharge the battery pack above the 30% design level. Only plugging it in will recharge the battery to it’s “full” 80% design level.

If you went on a 640 mile trip in the Volt, the last 600 miles would be with a fully discharged battery pack.


90 posted on 08/11/2009 7:54:22 AM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: BP2
an all-electric car

Hey! Do you work for the MSM? Taking things totally out of context to make your point! =)

The Volt is a serial hybrid, essentially just a tiny little gas generator recharging an all-electric car.

So to answer your question: "And where does the electricity come from that charges those batteries?"

It comes from "a tiny little gas generator". ergo, same place it does now, just more efficently.

Now, as for your grid suggestion, you forget that capacity is fixed, load is not. Total capacity available has to meet peak afternoon (in summer) or morning (in winter) load, after that, the gap between load and capacity gets very, very wide. The potential for electric cars to utilize all that wasted night recharging resource is why some power companies are eager for their development.

91 posted on 08/11/2009 7:59:54 AM PDT by sam_paine (X .................................)
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To: drummer10

The battery’s design life is 10 years/150K miles. This is why they keep it between 30% and 80% charged.

We don’t know the cost of the pack or disposal yet.


92 posted on 08/11/2009 8:00:59 AM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: cranked

I heard it was $60,000.


93 posted on 08/11/2009 8:09:52 AM PDT by manic4organic (We Are S0 Screwed)
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To: drummer10
What is the estimated “life” of the battery? What is the estimated replacement/disposal price of the battery?

"Not very long," and "expensive!"

They certainly won't last more than the optimistically advertised 10 years, but should last at least 2 years. And they will be expensive.

94 posted on 08/11/2009 8:11:41 AM PDT by sam_paine (X .................................)
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To: manic4organic

Makes it even more convincing and compelling that the Volt will become a hot mainstream every-American-has-one item.


95 posted on 08/11/2009 8:11:59 AM PDT by cranked
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To: The Great RJ
I hardly see the Volt as being a big seller.

They aren't building more of these because of cost and environmental
concerns

What's going to happen when MORE people turn to the ELECTRON to
power their car?


... Supply and Demand ...


The cost per kWh will go up, as will EVERYONE'S electric bill:

BUT, it makes the buyer FEEL GOOD that he's helping the environment ... yeah, right...


96 posted on 08/11/2009 8:14:00 AM PDT by BP2 (I think, therefore I'm a conservative)
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To: navysealdad

So if we all go out and buy one of these, what is our government going to do about the short fall from the huge drop in gasoline TAX revenue? Nothing is free my friends.


97 posted on 08/11/2009 8:17:13 AM PDT by woodenickel
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Lets see how far that POS goes in February.

Parked and plugged in, in my driveway at -20 degrees F

22 miles one way to work.

6:30 departure time.

Are you suggesting that the car be kept heated while parked outdoors and plugged in?


98 posted on 08/11/2009 8:21:48 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Democrats: the party of Slavery, Segregation, Sodomy and Sedition)
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To: manic4organic

Kind of like a printer. Printer costs $29.00 refill cartridge
$39.00


99 posted on 08/11/2009 8:22:32 AM PDT by woodenickel
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To: reagan_fanatic

“Energy isn’t free, no matter how pretty it’s packaged. Too bad so many people can’t comprehend that simple fact.”

A lot of people want to believe in “magic crystals.”

Energy conversion is a dirty, dangerous business and it offends their delicate sensibilities.


100 posted on 08/11/2009 8:49:32 AM PDT by PLMerite (Speak Truth to Stupid.)
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