2010: Tesla WhiteStar v. Chevy Volt
Telsa ready to follow up the Roadster with a sedanThanks to $10 million in tax relief and incentives, Tesla will make its WhiteStar sedan in California, which should go on sale in 2010. Certainly, offering 225 miles per charge for $60,000 should bring more EV fans to Tesla than has the $100,000 Roadster, right?
Still, can WhiteStar compete with the likes of the Chevy Volt or a Prius plug-in hybrid?
While the Volt will only achieve 40 miles of pure electric power, it will essentially offer unlimited range as it can be fueled with gasoline to generate extra electricity. More important, the Volt will cost $20,000 less than WhiteStar. A plug-in Prius probably will offer the least amount of pure electric power, but it will offer more than 100 mpg and it will be the cheapest of the three.
Of course, different folks have different needs. Which car interests you most?
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, electric cars, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:50 AM
10 Comments:
Shouldn't Tesla figure out all the bugs in the Roadster before getting too caught up with a new vehicle?
2010. Amazing!!
I would LOVE to have this vehicle and 225 miles is plenty of range, especially considering all that is needed is an outlet to add range.
Unfortunately, I would need a 10 year loan to be able to afford it! Do you think this vehicle would qualify as an RV or second home? ;)
Finally, I wish that Tesla would offer this vehicle with a reduced battery pack that would shave 15 or 20 grand from the price...
I think its understandable that Tesla would like to be above 200 mile range, I think its a good psychological benchmark, especially with high gas prices.
In the future, I think you will see the kind of selection you suggest, but the EV industry will need a bit more time to mature.
I agree that $60,000 is a bit hard to chew, yet I'm sure they will find plenty of buyers for their first production run.
There's a lot of vehicles out there for $50k+, I don't think finding buyers would be really that hard. Giving up the gas would be toughter to most than forking out the cash...gotta start somewhere.
I think I would prefer the WhiteStar, and the big draw for me would be the simplicity savings.
I am referring to the one valid point made by the dust to dust study and that is the greater complexity of hybrids relative to either straight ICE or straight EV.
I don't know, but I would imagine potential savings for EV's relative to hybrids in a host of areas: maintenance, oil changes, reliability, etc.
Also, I think part replacement and labor costs for EVs in 5-10 years time will be simpler and cheaper than anything related to an ICE. I'm thinking do-it-yourself or fairly cheap electric motor or battery changeouts. Of course, I doubt first generation EVs will be designed with maintenance simplicity in mind, but I fully expect innovation in that area to the point where EVs might be marketed as offering super low cost maintenance thanks to simplicity of connections and such.
i'd probably take the plug-in prius. since i live on the goldline i barely drive anymore, except during the summer when i do a lot of long distance driving. if i commuted regularly in LA, i'd strongly consider the Tesla vehicle.
i think you're assumptions about EVs are pretty solid, but i think its going to take a generation or two, as you also seem to suspect. plus, if you look at my latest post today, i really wonder how many pure EVs or plug-ins will really be available in the next decade. while i hope i'm wrong, my hunch is that automakers are no real rush to EVs, and there has already been speculation by others that the Volt is cafe hedge in the short term.
when it took automakers until may of 2008 to realize that they might have to really start making more small cars, one can't get too excited about something as revolutionary as EVs, or PHEVs.
plus, if you follow the energy trade, there are many energy analysts whom believe that there will be an oil glut around 2010 that will last a few years. that could temporarily reduce gas prices significantly. still, as the past has proven, many americans will fall back into bad habits.
It's the truth. It is a great car. But there are many great cars, which is worth the money and that many people afford them. I would love to have one of this cars. And if I can afford one of these car, nothing would matter. Neither consumption nor the revisions price. Nothing.
About the complexity of Hybrids, it just occured to me that serial hybrids, like the Volt, should be significantly less complex than parallel hybrids like the Prius. It is basically an EV with a generator.
At any point, Chevy could make a straight EV out of the Volt by simply dropping the generator and increasing the battery capacity. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see REMOVAL of the ICE become the most popular Volt mod as soon as it launches.
That being the case, I take back my vote for the Whitestar and choose the Volt. Although I'm sure the Whitestar will be better engineered as an EV than the Volt, it seems to me the serial hybrid configuration has less compromises and complexity than parallel hybrids, and they probably have most of the "simplicity" benefits of an EV.
Question, are there any other serial hybrids on the horizon? The Volt is the first, right? I imagine a plugin Prius will still be a parallel hybrid.
the volt is the first mainstream series hybrid, although others, such as aptera, are going to also offer series hybrids.
is the series hybrid better than parallel hybrids?
its possible, but im not ready to make that assertation. in some driving conditions I think each powertrain offers advantages , but it will be cost-effectiveness that is key.
I love the volt, but my hunch is that parallel plug in hybrids offer a better immediate solution, simply because they will be cheaper.
However, in the long term, I think the series hybrid powertrain is superior.
The Volt is NOT a series hybrid. It is a serial hybrid. The Honda Insight is a series hybrid. The gas engine has to run all the time if the car is to move.
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