Why 40 is the Chevy Volt's Magic Number
GM's top execs flank the Volt at GM's Centennial Celebration40 miles of electricity. Sounds pretty arbitrary, right? Wrong.
Yesterday, I wrote Volt EV Range: Is 40 enough? Would 80 be better? Should GM increase the Volt's EV range as battery technology develops?
More important, can the Chevy Volt really achieve 40 miles of electric range?
Finish: Why 40 miles is the Chevy Volt's magic number
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, Hybrid Vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:22 AM
24 Comments:
A good explanation. The average US driver commutes 43 miles every day in the average. However, the average daily for short-range trips is 20-40% lower. When driving from say New York to Washington the fuel efficiency is excellent. That is why, it is worth burning gasoline-ethanol mix.
what i like about this plan too is that it could help to scale down the costs of such vehicles quicker, at least that's GM's intent.
Just read an article from Motor Trend via EV World where they noted that Chevy was moving this car from being a "far-fetched concept to production-ready game changer in just a few years".
Ferdinand Porsche has a working electric vehicle with this 'satelite' generator in 1901! Not only that, he used Hub Motors, which is the next 'step' forward in the electric cars in my estimation.
'Far-Fetched' my ass. Begrudgingly shifting the paradigm maybe, but it's not a 'far-fetched' concept.
...also, per Wikipedia:
"The Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid was one of the earliest hybrid vehicles, developed in 1901 by Ferdinand Porsche. It was a series hybrid, with four electric motors mounted in the wheel hubs and electricity delivered by batteries and a small generator. In concept and general layout, it presaged the Volvo ReCharge Concept, the ****Chevrolet Volt****, the Opel Flextreme, and other modern series hybrids"
Tra-La-La-Lah=-Lah:
Here goes GM again at $30-40,000. A "People's Car" for all those who drive 43 miles a day. Lehman Bros., AIG, then GM. How do you reward people for stupidity?
Otto-
If GM can price the Volt at $35,000, after a tax credit, that's a price tag of $30,000.
It will take $.80 to fully charge the Volt at today's PEAK electricity prices. That number could be cut in half if charged during the night, for instance.
Add in smart grid technology and rates could go even lower.
Compared to conventional vehicles and $3.00 + gas, the Volt would save consumer at least $1500 in gas bills per year. If gas prices go higher, then that savings could be even greater.
Add in the fact that these vehicles are using almost NO oil and that these vehicles recover their costs in the long run, I'd say that's a worthy advancement, especially for those wishing to wipe out their foreign oil footprints.
"'Far-Fetched' my ass. Begrudgingly shifting the paradigm maybe, but it's not a 'far-fetched' concept."
That might be true, but most technological advancements stand upon the shoulders of previous breakthroughs.
To cost-effectively mass produce such a vehicle has been called far-fetched by many GM competitors and critics. Ultimately, it hasn't been GM saying the Volt was far-fetched, it has been those outside and critical of GM.
The Volt is still two + years from reality and many think it is still a far-fetched idea, especially if the average price of gasoline drops below $3.00. Even if that happens, this won't be a far-fetched idea in Europe, where a car like the Volt might make great financial sense.
Otto, you're missing the point. GM isn't betting the future on only the Volt. The Chevy Cruze is much more important to GM in the short term.
The Volt is about tomorrow. For once, GM isn't just chasing the advanced technologies of others. For once, GM is ready for the future.
WOW! 40 miles to the gallen, but at 30,000-40,000 bucks who can get it in the first place.
The MPG range is great, but the price is WAY to high.
It's not miles per gallon, it's miles of electric power. The first 40 miles, at least on the EPA's city cycle are electric power. It doesn't use ANY gas. If you go a little over the 40 miles you could still average as much as 150 mpg, or even more. Longer ranges could drop fuel economy to about 40 - 50 mpg, but that's more than 100 miles after the 40.
About 2 - 3 cents per mile versus 12 cents per mile in a conventional vehicle.
That has costs, especially at first, but if these vehicles can be mass-produced in great numbers, then costs will come down significantly.
And, just for a second, let's imagine a million US drivers using NO OIL for 80 percent of their driving. That's a dream I can buy into.
Car Blog,
the price will drop. It is a competitive market with Toyota and Honda jumping the bandwagon. In addition, the car would save its owner $1000-1500 per year right now and perhaps up to $2000-3000 at the moment of the car debut. But, if you think the price is too high, go get the BMW for comparison :-)
I can already tell you guys this vehicle will be well ABOVE my willingness to spend for a car. It'll be well over $30K.
Without doubt the first generation, probably even the second generation, Volt will be too expensive for many, but there will be no shortage of buyers.
Many of us will have to wait for economies of scale to kick in. Still, by just the second generation, GM believes battery technology could be more advanced in two ways: greater capacity in smaller packages and the modularization of the battery.
any battery upgrades gm plans to put into cost reductions rather than EV range increases.
likewise, battery modularization will make battery maintenance more cost-effective. gm is preparing for the 10 year warranty that covers the battery to be utilized by significant number of Volt owners - as a precaution. so that if it happens they aren't surprised.
however, the more battery testing that gm does, the more reliable the battery appears. additionally, the next gen battery pack will be broken up into modules that will be more easy to repair, instead of the whole battery.
That's all fine and dandy but what do I do in the meantime?
Is the state of affairs of choices in the auto industry that abysmal that I can't even really choose something I really want?
Honestly, if tomorrow my POS Ford Focus broke down tomorrow, I seriously could not tell you what I'd want to buy in its place.
Nothing out there interests me at all. I'd either not buy anything or probably buy another small car like a Focus...which isn't what I want to do.
It's rather pathetic.
It is really pathetic. No doubt about that.
When I was in Detroit, I heard Larry Burns, whom is GM's advanced technology guru, state that he was very worried about gas prices. Specifically, if gas prices decline, that the impetus for automakers to become more efficient would quickly disappear.
Scary.
40 miles is the magic number?
It will only cover 35% of ALL the miles that will be driven.
You will have to count the miles on the winter mornings when the battery is too cold and gas engine will have to initially operate.
40 miles or less, statistically, is the average daily mileage for about 80 percent of the population. obviously, the real world is never is neat as statistical representations. still these statistics demonstrate that the Volt will make a compelling case for some commuters, if the Volt realistically achieves close to 40 miles of EV range.
certainly winter and summer driving, lead-footed drivers, etc. could have serious impacts on the Volt's range. this is something i asked GM engineers about last week, but this is still relatively uncharted territory.
nonetheless, there will also be hypermiling techniques that will extend the range of the Volt as well. so, we'll see what happens.
likewise, there is a lot of smart grid work being developed concurrently so that many parking structures might soon offer recharging at work, for instance. since grids might utilize battery capacity during peak times, this work charging could be free or even result in payments to Volt owners. this is something grids and third party companies are already investigating.
again, as i've stated before, i think the volt will make a lot of sense for some drivers, but it won't make sense for all drivers - if it can truly average 40 miles of EV range.
Statistically, people drive longer than the "typical commute". Statistic shows that 65% of all the miles are put on during the weekends or the holidays.
So, this 80% of the commute that falls under 40 miles is just a minor group that is critically focused on. Why?
Well, statistics are always messy, Dennis. They can always be skewed and two sides of a debate can often use the same statistics to counter each other.
40 miles per day, 7 days a week for a year averages pretty typical mileage for most Americans.
If you only average 20 miles per day and 100 miles on Saturnday and another 100 miles on Sunday, the Volt is still doing quite well if it achieves 40 miles of electric range.
The 100 miles during the week would be pure electric. The 100 miles each on Saturday and Sunday would achieve fuel economy well in excess of 50 miles per gallon.
If you drive 30 miles per day and 60 each day of the weekend, you might still achieve 100 mpg during weekend driving and pure electric driving during the week.
Again, statistically, there are going to be many whose driving patterns would make the Volt not cost-effective. For many others the Volt will be cost-effective, especially with the plug-in tax credit.
I will stay with my $20k prius and settle for 45mpg. I just don't trust GM to deliver a reliable product nor do I want to do business with a GM dealer who wants to trap me in their service bay.
If Toyota offered a 20-40 mile plugin EV mode on a Prius, even at 23mph, I would be interested. I figure the reduced wear and tear on the ICE drivetrain would extend the vehicle life well beyond the 200K mark as well as all the other operating costs. Oil changes at 20K miles, keep my fuel tank below two gallons so that I can keep it fresh. Maybe I can buy two gallon containers of a eco-synthetic gasoline (liquid hydrocarbon battery) at SAMS or COSTCO and forget the pump and the gas card.
I don't disagree last anon. I don't think the EVs, PHEVs or REEVs will make financial sense for most Americans compared to other choices for many years, lots of tax credits, or much higher gas prices, or some combination thereof.
Still, I think 40 is an interesting number when you compare an REEV, such as the Volt, to a plug-in Prius or a pure electric car.
I have been selling Chevrolets for 13 years and I do not understand why GM would take a fantastic looking concept design make it look like every other car. Exterior styling is the # 1 reason why someone is initially attracted to a car or truck. In my opinion they had it right the first time.
BW
If you believe GM its purely because of aerodynamics.
Look at the Insight, Prius, Clarity, etc. - they all share a similar design. There's a name for the basic design, but I can't remember.
If you hate the Volt's design, wait for the Cadillac version.
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