Chevy Volt achieving 40 miles of electricity on public roads
Lutz getting into his beloved Volt"Today is a big day," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Edmunds' AutoObserver.com in an exclusive interview Tuesday. "Today is the first day it is running on the street on battery power."
And the Chevy Volt isn't just running on the street on battery power, it's achieving 40 miles of pure electric range - a critical benchmark for GM's Volt program.
"It is reliably meeting its objectives. Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, etc. etc., it has been hitting its 40 miles on electric power," Lutz said.
I have few doubts that the Chevy Volt will meet its 2010 launch, I just wonder what the final price will be and whether GM can produce tens of thousands - even a hundred thousand - Volts by 2011 or 2012. If so a lot of Volt critics will be eating crow.
posted by Dahcredyns at
7:03 AM
4 Comments:
A lot of rice burner owners will eat crow. Let's see what the great Toyota will come out with. Just because they came out with the Prius, people think they are so smart to no end. Now, that GM is fully running on all cylinders and is fully awake after sleeping for 30 years, let see who will be the real leader. Give it about another two years and we will know.
I don't disagree with that sentiment. There are a lot of things to be impressed about when it comes to GM, especially compared to other US automakers.
Still, Toyota is very well positioned, as is Honda. I don't think either of those two will be eating any crow, and I expect a great bit of competition between the three of these companies.
More than anything else I'm glad that this E-REV concept is actually making inroads into production vehicles.
Having a single electric drivetrain, while still having the range of a hybrid is a great advance toward winning over those that don't think a hybrid will fit their lives. Once the electricity generation is decoupled from the motor moving the vehicle there will be many options available to consumers based on how they live and work.
I can't wait until they can get a 1/2 or 3/4 ton work truck to use this type of setup. Electric motors have plenty of torque, like the big Diesel engines. Even if you have a diesel generator charging the batteries, you are still saving fuel as the generator can run at the most fuel-efficient speed possible, which is where current hybrids like the Prius have the greatest gains.
They have been doing this for decades with locomotives. Even trains are experiencing the benefits of hybrid technology with the regenerative braking capability that is the other major component to the hybrid's fuel efficiency.
It's moving in the right direction. If this is what GM can come up with, I wonder what Honda will do to one-up them?
Honda has been pretty bearish on both plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles thus far, choosing cheap conventional hybrid in the short term, and then fuel cell vehicles in the long term.
still, i think they are missing the plug-in boat a little. even if you believe in hydrogen and fuel cells, the best fuel cell vehicles would be plug-in fuel cell vehicles, in my opinion.
fortunately, the Volt and its E Flex platform are scalable to such a possibility.
the Volt is incredibly exciting. i completely believe in this vehicle becoming a reality, i just hope it's cost-effective in today's world, or at least the world of 2010/2011.
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