Volt inspires a new language

[xcel]

The battery is never completely empty of charge — for a few extra miles to get home, it’s called the “limp home” feature.

Richard Chang – NY Times – Oct. 30, 2008

2011 Chevrolet Volt -- Game and language changer indeed.

To bad GM is changing the lingo from the standard lingo most have been using for years… Including PHEV -- Ed.

At the press walk-around of the Chevrolet Volt on Wednesday in Manhattan, Frank Weber, chief engineer on the project, mentioned something he called “range anxiety.”

General Motors had occupied Terminal 5, a nightclub near the West Side Highway, for the occasion. And on a weathered plank floor under a large disco ball sat a prototype model of the Volt, which does not go on sale until late 2010 (at the earliest)…

The Volt, which has a range of 40 miles (when all power equipment has been turned off, including air-conditioner, stereo and headlights), is an “extended-range electric vehicle,” Mr. Weber said, and is equipped with a gasoline engine to create electricity when the lithium-ion battery is empty.

A few moments later, Mr. Weber explained what most people in the room already knew: battery development is the biggest challenge to the Volt’s development. “We call the battery ‘the Diva’ because of the way it has to be treated,” he said. In other words, the battery was, um, in charge…

For companies like General Motors, they’ll have to acquaint customers on how to compare vehicles, using kilowatts instead of horsepower, kilowatt hours instead of miles a gallon. At the presentation, there was a display with the amount of electricity the Volt would consume annually on a list of common household appliances. The Volt’s position (2,520 kilowatt hours a year) was between a water heater (2,557 kWh) and a clothes dryer (1,079 kWh). Whether that’s good or bad is up to the customer… [Read More]

[Indigo]

I wonder how far the car will limp?

At least they now state openly that the 40 AER is a maximum. The way most folk drive (pedal to the floor, AC to max), the AER might be only half the maximum theoretical range. But then, I managed to get 32 MPG out of a Civic hybrid once by driving it badly on purpose.

[voodoo22]

This number will be lower in Canada where DRL are the law. It's great to see new technology, but it's always disappointing when you realize how long it will take before the new stuff will be made affordable and practical enough to easily justify.

[flatty]

The consumption figure is interesting. Jay (TheForce) is getting 5.4kwh overnight charges (1971 kwh annual) with his Prius PHEV and GM is estimating 2550 kwh.

That would be $280 annual electricity cost @ $.11 kw/h (US avg). Over 15,000 miles, which is roughly 40 mile/day average, that's just under .02/mile running cost.

(Of course, my 21.8 cent kws would be $555/yr and just under .04/mile...)

CO2 emissions per kWh = 1.9 lbs from oil here (use 2.1 for coal and 1.3 for other elec source):

- EV = .21 pounds per mile
- Gas car @ 50 MPG = .39 ppm (and .07 per mile fuel cost)
- Gas @ 65 MPG = .3 ppm (and $.06 per mile fuel cost)

Price of the car is the next thing to factor...

[atlaw4u]

Automobile magazine has a nice write-up about the Volt this month. However, what I did not like was the new expected price of the volt of approximatley $36,000 after the assumed $7500 tax credit. Yes, that's a grand total of $43,500. That's one expensive ride to save fuel. I think I will keep driving my Insight until the wheels fall off.