Hybrid buzz: Is the Volt drawing too much electricity?
Honda believes cheap hybrids, not PHEVs are the futureAround 2010, GM is going to do something interesting - it's going to sell 4 different types of hybrid vehicles. Mild lithium hybrids, dual mode hybrids, dual mode plug-in hybrids and range extended hybrids.
Why? Some of this diversification is no doubt a technological hedge. The rest boils down to costs - most Americans are not going to be able to afford a vehicle like the Chevy Volt.
Thus, in 2010, lithium will make mild hybrid technology, such as that powering the Chevy Malibu hybrid, as efficient as today's Toyota Prius. Of course, it will also turn the 45 mpg Prius into a 60 or 70 mpg Prius - for the same price, maybe even less.
Hence, does GM risk pushing consumer expectations too high by focusing so much buzz on the Volt? For example, if potential hybrid consumers can't afford the Volt, will they settle for a lithium-powered Malibu mild hybrid, or will they head to another brand in disappointment?
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, Hybrid Vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:14 AM
10 Comments:
More people should learn about electric vehicles as a solution. "Zero emissions" is something that's going to be required by law one day (you know it will). Making the decision to go electric is far cheaper anyway, like 10 cents on the dollar vs. gas. (source: zapworld.com)
I think it will be hard to justify spending the money on a 35,000 to 40,000 dollar Volt. That really makes for a hefty monthly payment and with the state of our economy lately, the last thing we all need is a huge car payment. I agree with the opening post that the majority of the US populace will have to settle for the mild hybrid and 45 mpg performance, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Personally, I only want a hybrid vehicle that I can plug in and if I have to settle on the Saturn Vue plug-in, then so be it. Or, there may be another manufacturer, such as Toyota, that will give us more options, which is my real hope. If the Volt premieres for $40K, I don't know if I would be able to justify the expenditure even though I want this vehicle so bad it hurts!! :)
Paz-
First, 10 cents on the dollar is only if you can charge your vehicle between the hours of midnight and 4:00 AM, or 2 and 6 - I can't remember exactly.
Second, achieving 4 - 10 charging will require tens of billions - probably hundreds of billions - of smart grid technology that is not in place today.
Third, most electric vehicles do not fit consumer expectations very well. 100, or 150 mile range, just doesn't cut it, unfortunately, in terms of consumer expectations.
Fourth, electric cars are no where close to zero emissions when electricity generation is considered. Many electric plants in America are still creating electric with decades old dirty coal technology, for example. (Nonetheless, I'd still take electric cars and their emissions over foreign oil dependency any day.)
I agree that American consumers need to be re-educated about the automobile, but it isn't going to happen anytime soon. Today's electric cars are not even a consideration for most consumers.
Even outside of America - in congested European cities, for example - electric car makers have tried and failed.
The electrification of the automobile is going to happen, but not for a few more decades, and we need to do much more today. More interesting, I think millions and millions of cheap hybrids help us get to electrification sooner.
jabroni-
I have a hard time justifying much more than $20,000, although I'd push my limit for a good plug-in.
Fortunately, I live in a part of LA with easy access to light rail and subway, which I've built my life around, so I can probably settle for a much cheaper plug-in scooter!
We forget that one of the ways we can always reduce our consumption is to drive less and change our driving habits.
These are immediately implementable and easy to...and will have more impact than any new or current technology out there.
I can vary my fuel mileage by 10-12 MPG depending on how I drive....what currently technology can offer this type of increase on fuel mileage so cheaply?
People just need to change the way they think.
Thinking of buying a new car... thanks to Edmunds.com for providing me the related information.
How are you arriving at the assumption that the Prius would get 60 - 70 mpg? And, by the way, its still a Prius (ie: ugly)
"Second, achieving 4 - 10 charging will require tens of billions - probably hundreds of billions - of smart grid technology that is not in place today."
Better then a $7,000,000,000,000 war that we can't win.
I'm arriving at 60 - 70 mpg because of third generation hybrid synergy drive technology and the addition of a lithium battery which i believe will make its way into the Prius around the time GM starts selling mild-lithium hybrids.
thomas-
i agree. still, it's the government that enables our foreign oil dependency addiction and the same government will be required to implement smart grid technology - that leaves me with an uneasy feeling.
nonetheless, the ultimate point is that today's grid cannot handle plug-ins, and that issue needs to be addressed, especially in a way that makes the switch in a cost-effective way.
for example, in california, if i want to add solar to my house and sell excess electricity back to the grid when the grid needs extra electricity, I get screwed on the rate, even though i'm providing a huge favor to the grid, possibly even helping prevent a blackout. the laws for such an arrangement favor big utilities, not homeowners. that's pathetic.
if we go from oil to massive utility companies, i'll bet PHEV drivers will again get screwed in favor of big business, which is why i bring up smart grid technology and our deteriorating grid.
we need to think distributed energy in a way that rewards those producing their own clean energy, not in a way that simply hands all power over to a few utilities.
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