But, what about those people who have to run several errands during the day? For example, were I to lose my mind and buy this POS, I live about 20 miles from the nearest shopping centers and, when I run errands, it is not unusual for me to drive a total of 60 - 80 miles round-trip.
Detroit (among the primary culprits) has created the image of a mobile society that allows us to live away from city centers and commute to the places we want/need to go so that everyone can enjoy "country" living. If there were a chance that I would waste my money on this, I would have to follow my wife driving the car with my SUV and a trailer so that when the charge is gone, I could load it up on a trailer and get it home. We both know that charging stations will not be installed at shopping centers, hotel/motel facilities and the like to accommodate these vehicles for years to come.
This is a classic example of Washington putting the cart before the horse because they pushed this vehicle out the door before the technology necessary to support it was available. And, how many people are going to throw $41K on a car that remains in the garage (with the monthly payments for the car and the insurance) in hopes that the supporting technology is eventually going to catch up to the places THEY go??
Obama didn't think this one through thoroughly (what a surprise!) and GM will discover that they threw a lot of R&D money away on something that likely has, at best, a tiny market among the most fanatical environazis who will resort to their Volvos when the batteries are out of juice.
In THEORY, electric powered cars are a good idea but, in practice, until the supporting technology is available, they are impractical.
Yeah, maybe inside a building, or on a golf course.
Nope. The gas engine would kick in. That's the whole idea behind this car -- it's a straight electric for short commutes, and a hybrid when you need the range.
It runs on purely electric mode for 40 miles, then will run on gas electric as far as you want to drive. It works like a locomotive, the engine turns a generator, the current runs an electric motor. That is more efficient than running the mechanical energy directly to the wheels. It can also be less expensive and more reliable if engineered correctly.
Once again, the pure electric range is not the same as the total range. It has a very small gas tank so the total range is apparently only about 300 miles, but you can refil the gas tank and keep driving cross country just like a normal car.
The theory is sound. I don’t think GM is implimenting it is the best manor as I mentioned in the post above, forget the pure electric range, only provide enough storage for performance and regenerative braking and reduce the price.