Exclusive! Driving Chevy's Volt

12/4/2010 2:19 PM EST

Thanks for the early field report! There has been a lot of discussion about what this car does and does not do. Can you confirm that the gasoline "range extender generator" charges the batteries / powers the electric motors and NEVER mechanically drives the vehicle? I thought that claim had been refuted as a marketing ploy until patents were filed on the new planetary gear set. According to www.dailytech.com (Oct 11, 2010) "In a wild twist, Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of electric and hybrid powertrain engineering, has revealed that the gasoline engine actually will drive the Volt mechanically" ... "The internal combustion engine (ICE) ... and AC electric motor both feed into a planetary gear set and three electronically controlled, hydraulically activated multi-plate clutches." The Volt is therefore simply another PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).

12/5/2010 3:59 AM EST

Edmund's say the Volt use the gas engine to charge the batteries and that is GM's official line if you look at the GM website. "The Volt hybrid uses a 111-kilowatt electric motor as its primary propulsion system. When the lithium-ion battery pack is depleted — typically after about 40 miles — the 80-horsepower gasoline engine kicks in to generate electricity to the motor and battery pack, extending the vehicle's effective range to 300 miles or more."

12/6/2010 11:05 AM EST

The gas engine is not mechanically connected to the wheels. It charges the battery and will drive the electric motors "electrically" if more torque is demanded by the driver's input (pedal). (See the "Chevy Volt Flap" string of comments for more on this.)

12/7/2010 8:28 AM EST

The Volt is said to be the most efficient hybrid car (or EV if you want) so far. I think it is smart to build a "EV" this way as we still has long way to wait for enough charging poles and short enough charging time for the battery. Vehicles like Volt at least can help reducing pollution. I also think it provides good enough data for people to improve the electric motor tailored for vehicles.

12/7/2010 12:39 PM EST

Cars like this would greatly improve air quality in cities by moving gas-burning activity from inner city to the suburbs or further. States are willing to spend money on air quality, so my guess is that you'll see fleets of government EVs as well as charging stations popping up.

12/8/2010 10:11 AM EST

Any idea how many charge/discharge cycles before the battery pack will need to be replaced and the estimated cost of the pack? Don't get me wrong this feels like progress, but at $41k and a $6k battery pack every 100k miles (estimates for argument sake), this doesn't look viable in the least yet. Don't even get me started on our government giving out money that it doesn't have to incent wildly speculative technology in company that it has ownership. What's wrong with this picture!

12/8/2010 10:34 PM EST

Go GM Volt! Or should I say 'Charge' ahead!

12/8/2010 11:05 PM EST

It seems like an interesting attempt! I wonder what the "gas mileage" is in pure gas driven mode (via generating electricity to power the electric motors)? Is it really better than my old (rest in peace) Honda Civic 1300 that got almost 40mpg on the highway? Until charging stations pop up in sufficient quantities and distribution this will remain a niche car for short around town hops.

12/9/2010 9:40 AM EST

I drive an '05 Prius, and I can tell that the battery pack isn't what it was initially (I'm at 105k). I have experience with batteries from the UPS business, and this outcome isn't surprising. The pack may not need to be replaced, but I'd really like to have a super-cap in parallel with each cell.
My opinion is that the Volt is DOA; it's a Chevy priced like a luxury division vehicle. And John Petersen over at AltEnergyStocks.com is all over the EV issues (like *true* cost per mile: http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2010/12/alice_in_evland_part_ii_the_hall_of_mirrors.html)

12/9/2010 10:55 AM EST

My wife drives a Civic hybrid, at routine service, dealer said it needed a new battery pack just before the warranty expired.

I have worked in power management, I trust electronics, and would really like to have an EV, but I do NOT trust chemicals (batteries).

I am seriously considering LEASING the volt, that way I turn it back in before the batteries go, I get the satisfaction of a cool toy and the quoted lease rate of $350/mo is within my threshold of pain.

12/9/2010 10:56 AM EST

and I'd still keep the full sized 4wd truck for weekends.

12/9/2010 2:35 PM EST

I don't think purely electrical cars will be practical until charging or replacing a battery can be done as easily and as fast as filling up a tank of gas. Plugging your car into an outlet overnight will not work: you can't stop and charge your battery like you can fill up a tank at a gas station.
Eric.

12/10/2010 8:25 PM EST

I just had an online meeting. It covered about 300 miles round trip, and cost less than 2 cents for the power and access expenses. I would have gotten 150 miles per penny. If I had bought 2 cents worth of gas, I would probably have been able to turn over the engine once, if that, after which the engine would have sputtered and stopped, and my miles per penny would have been zero. If I had an electric vehicle, my 2 cents worth of electricity possibly would have gotten me just far enough to make it uncomfortable to push the car back home.

12/12/2010 2:07 PM EST

I would love to drive one of these just for the experience of the technology. If I could afford to buy one, I think I would. Although, as with any new model, I'd wait until year two to make sure more of the bugs are worked out.

I'm not of the mindset that hybrids, plug-in hybrids, extended-range hybrids, range extended electrics, or whatever you call them, are a long-term solution. The problem is that they use two powerplants to do the job of one. Ultimately, the inefficiencies added by the second powerplant will limit the possible environmental and economic gain to that of an increment which is not enough to solve our fuel and emissions problems.

I do see them plug-in versions as a good stop-gap and a good interm solution. And I think the technology will have a much greater impact when it is widely applied to large vehicles.

If I take a 35mpg econo-box and increase its fuel mileage by 10mpg, I can save about 1,200 gallons over a 200,000. On the other hand, if I can take a 12mpg truck and increase it's average economy to 15mpg, I can save 3,300 gallons over the same 200,000 miles.

12/14/2010 7:23 PM EST

As a Honda Civic Hybrid driver for 88,000 miles at an actual 50 mpg, saving energy and improving efficiency interest me. I'd like to think that the lessons learned in these advanced technology vehicles would be utilized in other (even conventional) vehicles. By capturing energy as my car slows down, not only do I have energy to accelerate later, but I also reduce wear on my brakes which are lasting three times longer than they did on previous cars. This summer I rented an Audi diesel in Portugal; it got nearly 50 mpg and the engine shut off each time it stopped to save energy (as my car does). Applying these techniques could help reduce the environmental impact of all vehicles in congested areas.

12/16/2010 9:15 AM EST

DrQuine: The stop-start technology would be a major advance for our auto industry, and the estimated cost per vehicle is fairly low (hundreds) and it could be applied to almost every vehicle produced.
But (there's always a "but") today's lead-acid battery can't cut it. Refer y'all again to John Petersen at AltEnergyStocks.com for the rather technically/financially interesting problem of getting a battery that can meet the specs; he says:
"The conventional vehicle cycle is simply a 1-second starter load of 300 Amps (blue spike) before the alternator kicks in to recharge the battery. The stop-start vehicle cycle, in comparison, has a 60-second accessory load of 50 Amps (pink block) with a one-second starter load of 250 Amps (red spike) at the end. While we naturally tend to think of engine restart as the main issue, the truly serious problem for stop-start systems is the accessory loads that account for a whopping 92% of total energy demand."
And "The Department of Energy believes the most promising short-term alternatives are third-generation devices that combine carbon nanotechnology and lead-acid chemistry in a monoblock battery."