Plug-in Ratings: Both Congress and the EPA confused
What's the value of plugging in?When tax credits for plug-ins become available, neither electric range nor fuel economy will matter, only battery capacity - a move that appears to strongly favor GM's Chevy Volt versus the Toyota Prius.
However, when it comes to the EPA and CAFE, it's fuel economy that will matter. And that is the standard that Congress will judge automaker fleet fuel economy.
So why the double standard? Shouldn't there be just one way to judge plug-ins?
Dan Foley, of the Automotive X-Prize has been suggesting MPGe as a better rating "MPGe is a measure that expresses fuel economy in terms of the energy content of a gallon of gasoline, asking how much energy was delivered to the vehicle, and how far did it go."
Labels: CAFE, fuel economy, hybrid tax credits, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:51 AM
5 Comments:
Who cares. GM has clearly demonstrated that the VOLT can get 40 miles in a single charge under any driving conditions is good enough. Almost all Americans drive less than 40 miles. That's plenty for most folks. A backup 1.4L ICE kicks in when the battery is drained to provide power to electric motors that will move the car until the battery is recharged at home. EPA should adjust the rule to make way for RE-EV.
dahc,
I still need to think more in terms of independence from oil, but another thought occurred to me about the battery credit.
I think it might be the case that Congress passed this Large Batter Credit, because GM, Ford, Chrysler have told Congress they are NOT going to invest heavily in regular hybrids. And so there is no point in creating a battery credit that would incentivize efficient, small battery hybrids. Only Asian car companies are investing in those models and why should congress create a credit for those cars. California has already done that kind of credit and only Toyota and Honda were able to take advantage of it.
I'm not saying Detroit is right in ignoring regular hybrids, but don't you think that Congress creating a subsidy that only Toyota and Honda are in any position to exploit is a non-starter?
The other side of that coin is the question of what it would take for Detroit to be able to compete with the Prius and Insight. Do you think Detroit could ramp up a cheap hybrid effort? What kind of subsidy would congress need to offer?
I don't have time to edit my ramblings so sorry if they're all over the place.
"GM has clearly demonstrated that the VOLT can get 40 miles in a single charge under any driving conditions is good enough."
No they have not.
Researchers at a battery conference at Argonne Lab have claimed that a combination of aggressive driving and heavy AC use could bring Volt EV range down to less than 15 miles of range.
Last week, I asked Tony Posawatz, vehicle line engineer for the Volt about this and could neither confirm or deny.
GM is shooting for 40 miles of EV range based upon the EPA's city cycle, which is very inaccurate.
alcatholic-
well, hyundai is skipping NiMH and will use lithium to develop Prius-like hybrids starting in 2010. these hybrids will offer a 70 percent increase in fuel economy.
hyundai will also use the same lithium battery supplier to concurrently develop a volt-like plug-in hybrid.
the battery partner that hyundai will use is one of the potential battery partners for the Chevy Volt.
nonetheless, i'm not trying to help toyota or honda. i believe that any automaker that can develop a 100 MPGe vehicle, regardless of battery capacity, should be equally rewarded.
i believe we need competition, and i worry that creating arbitrary standards could lead arbitrary results.
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