[zete]

There's been a correction to the correction. Not sure if it's been posted elsewhere, but the generator does charge the battery, but it's not its primary role.

As the Volt Turns.

According to Lauckner, the battery will receive power from the gas engine when load conditions are light (as in, not under acceleration). When the battery comes back up to a certain level of charge (that figure is still the subject of development at GM), the gas engine can cycle off and the Volt can run for an unspecified period on the stored battery power.

Thus, if through conservative driving one stores up enough juice, it'd be electric only again.

 

[megeebee]

I'm glad to see this. I am concerned though that the onboard engine/generator is not capable of fully charging the battery. If I take the volt on a long trip, I'll have to carry a very long extension cord.

 

[zete]

I'm glad to see this. I am concerned though that the onboard engine/generator is not capable of fully charging the battery. If I take the volt on a long trip, I'll have to carry a very long extension cord.

Pardon? It has a gasoline tank. Fill it up as you do now and you can go as far as you want. The initial charge is only for the first 40 or so miles, after that the gasoline generator kicks into provide power, the excess of which gets dumped into the battery.

So, if you go for a 2000 mile journey, the Volt acts like a normal car, requiring fill ups every few hundred miles. It's not like if you run out of juice you're hosed. If you run out of gas, you're hosed, but that's true of any car.

 

[Pedal 2 Metal]

What concerns me though is the whole Pikes' Peak thing. One of the Volt engineers basically said if you were to drive the volt on pikes peak at 80 MPH after your first 40 miles, you would continue to draw power from the battery even with the generator on. And once the battery is completely drained you would only be able to move as fast as the 50 kw generator allows. Which would be "a speed that’s reasonable".

 

[SuperSS27]

I wonder if GM is going to allow people to control the generator to some extent. So you can program is when to charge and such. Customize it to your daily commute so to speak.

 

[zete]

I wonder if GM is going to allow people to control the generator to some extent. So you can program is when to charge and such. Customize it to your daily commute so to speak.

I'd be surprised if the system doesn't learn what your daily commute entails. Modern transmissions learn shift patterns and driving habits of their owners, this will likely be more complex yet and intuit many things from your daily commute.

 

[fp115]

I wonder if GM is going to allow people to control the generator to some extent. So you can program is when to charge and such. Customize it to your daily commute so to speak.

That was already announced. You can program the car to know where you live and work that way it can possibly extend the range a bit without the range extender starting up.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

They said the engine will be 100hp. It won't race to the top of mountains but it will be twice as good as the typical 100hp car since it can draw extra from the batteries for acceleration if needed and then charge the batteries back up partially when not using all the gas engines power. Even if you had a typical 3500lb car with a 100hp motor you wouldn't need 100hp all the time, cruising along you would only be using a fraction of the power. Does it even take 25hp to cruise along at 60mph?

Even the Prius is challenged up mountains due to the very long grades but they still make it to the top at normal speeds you just won't be passing anyone. The Volt will likely be the same.

 

[johnstarnes]

I don't understand how "regenerative braking" provides energy for the Volt or any car...can someone explain the basics to me? How is the kinetic energy of braking converted to electricity?

 

[blkwrxsti]

I don't understand how "regenerative braking" provides energy for the Volt or any car...can someone explain the basics to me? How is the kinetic energy of braking converted to electricity?

If only there was some sort of website where people would post the answer to questions like this once and therefore not have to repeat them in a forum every time someone wonders:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_braking

There's never any charge for sarcasm, or awesomness.

 

[blkwrxsti]

If only there was some sort of website where people would post the answer to questions like this once and therefore not have to repeat them in a forum every time someone wonders:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_braking

There's never any charge for sarcasm, or awesomness.

Or if you just didn't want to read that whole thing - the electric motor powering the car can act as a generator - slowing the car down while the current induced in the coils of motor can be sent back to the battery to charge it.

 

[stk]

Does it even take 25hp to cruise along at 60mph?

22hp for driving at a constant 60mph, but that result is the figure of an 80's car, now with aerodynamism, I calculated around 18hp with my cobalt to drive steady at 60mph.

 

[tom3]

For 100 mpg or so, or better, I'd sure adapt my driving to suit the vehicle's requirements. Sure it would hurt to not drive up Pikes Peak at 80 mph but I'd survive somehow. But a $40k price tag would keep it out of my garage anyway.

 

[big swede]

What concerns me though is the whole Pikes' Peak thing. One of the Volt engineers basically said if you were to drive the volt on pikes peak at 80 MPH after your first 40 miles, you would continue to draw power from the battery even with the generator on. And once the battery is completely drained you would only be able to move as fast as the 50 kw generator allows. Which would be "a speed that’s reasonable".

All he is saying is that there are EXTREME conditions where the Volt will not be at it's best. If you build an electric car for those EXTREME conditions it will suffer in efficiency in the 99.9% of the other driving. Sure GM could put a huge battery in it with a more powerfull motor for those who drive up Pikes Peak or think an electric car needs a higher top speed than 100mph but all the extra weight would hurt it in all the other areas where this car is actually made to excel.

If you live in an apartment complex with no acces to electricity you will also miss out on a lot of the benefits of the Volt. This car is not for every single person out there just like any other car is not for every single person out there. You have to use common sense and see what parameters you're going to be driving in and then decide for YOURSELF if this car fits your lifestyle, just like any other car you would consider.

 

[fp115]

For 100 mpg or so, or better, I'd sure adapt my driving to suit the vehicle's requirements. Sure it would hurt to not drive up Pikes Peak at 80 mph but I'd survive somehow. But a $40k price tag would keep it out of my garage anyway.

Don't forget you would be financing it. At $35k it will cost you the same per year as it would for a $25k car with a combined 30 mpg EPA.

 

[goblue]

What concerns me though is the whole Pikes' Peak thing. One of the Volt engineers basically said if you were to drive the volt on pikes peak at 80 MPH after your first 40 miles, you would continue to draw power from the battery even with the generator on. And once the battery is completely drained you would only be able to move as fast as the 50 kw generator allows. Which would be "a speed that’s reasonable".

The VOLT is not a racecar. Its not designed for it anymore than a Lotus Esprit is designed for offroading.

 

[A.J.]

The VOLT is not a racecar. Its not designed for it anymore than a Lotus Esprit is designed for offroading.

Exactly! Driving at Pike's Peak at 80mph is NOT what the average Volt buyer would do.