The Chevrolet Volt

[wt2ga]

Looks Familiar

http://www.i4u.com/article7574.html

[marlboromike]

if u distort your viewing...it has a SKY front end....but your viewing must have some imagination...

[Rick Tinley Park]

I would not mind having that as a day to day driver (w/a 40 mile range). I work 10 mi from home.... It looks cool (yeah a LOT of SKY there)
Then I'd have my SKY for fun drives only...

[Ernest]

Looks like a flattened AURA, come on guys what will the tree huggers think of next?

[CenterIce]

There must be data somewhere comparing the cost of using hydro power to the current gas prices. I mean, what's the point if it your utility bills are substantially more than the pump? Also, hydro grids all over North America are running at capacity as it is and if everyone starts plugging in their cars would the oil be now used to fire boilers to generate electricity instead of gasoline? At least with hybrids, the electricity is generated from the vehicles momentum.

Not that I have any expert knowledge of any of this....just wondering.

[larry4pyro]

Here's a detailed article on the Volt:

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=42982

In response to CenterIce's questions;

Cost - The article says 6 hours of charging on a 110 Volt circuit will provide enough charge to go 40 miles. I pay around 9 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity. Assuming a 20 amp circuit is required (this is what most homes are wired with), that means the Volt requires 20 amps X 110 volts x 6hours, or 13.2 KWh. Which works out to about $1.19 to go 40 miles.

Availability - Is there enough power on the grid to support the added load of millions of plug-in hybrids. The answer is no. That means our electric infrastructure has to be beefed up considerable. We can do it with coal and petrolium fired power plants, but that does little to help the environment. We can think about solar and wind power. In my opinion these have promise. I have a 3.4 Kw solar array on my house that averages about 15.5 Kwh a day. If we believe GM's numbers, that's more than enough to power a car that will take me 40 miles a day. While solar and wind have potential, I believe near-term needs have to be supplied with additional nuclear power plants.

Before we go off and start celebrating, I'm afraid I have to throw some cold water on GM's data. One horsepower is about 746 watts. That means the 6 hour re-charge is only enough to support a 17.7 Hp motor for one hour (13.2 Kwh/0.746 kw/hp). If the 40 miles is driven in half an hour, the energy is enough to supply a 35 hp motor. Quite frankly, I don't think a 35 hp motor car move a vehicle in a manner that would supply the general public (meaning it would be really slow). Throw in other losses such as heating and air conditioning, and I think there's a credibility issue here.

Despite my reservations, I believe we should credit GM for moving off in a new and exciting direction.

There's a nice web site that has GM videos on the Volt and other autos released at the Detroit auto show.

http://gmtv.feedroom.com/ifr_main.js...101.6939743364

Regards,

larry4pyro

[Rick Tinley Park]

Originally Posted by larry4pyro

Here's a detailed article on the Volt:

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=42982

In response to CenterIce's questions;

Cost - The article says 6 hours of charging on a 110 Volt circuit will provide enough charge to go 40 miles. I pay around 9 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity. Assuming a 20 amp circuit is required (this is what most homes are wired with), that means the Volt requires 20 amps X 110 volts x 6hours, or 13.2 KWh. Which works out to about $1.19 to go 40 miles.

Availability - Is there enough power on the grid to support the added load of millions of plug-in hybrids. The answer is no. That means our electric infrastructure has to be beefed up considerable. We can do it with coal and petrolium fired power plants, but that does little to help the environment. We can think about solar and wind power. In my opinion these have promise. I have a 3.4 Kw solar array on my house that averages about 15.5 Kwh a day. If we believe GM's numbers, that's more than enough to power a car that will take me 40 miles a day. While solar and wind have potential, I believe near-term needs have to be supplied with additional nuclear power plants.

Before we go off and start celebrating, I'm afraid I have to throw some cold water on GM's data. One horsepower is about 746 watts. That means the 6 hour re-charge is only enough to support a 17.7 Hp motor for one hour (13.2 Kwh/0.746 kw/hp). If the 40 miles is driven in half an hour, the energy is enough to supply a 35 hp motor. Quite frankly, I don't think a 35 hp motor car move a vehicle in a manner that would supply the general public (meaning it would be really slow). Throw in other losses such as heating and air conditioning, and I think there's a credibility issue here.

Despite my reservations, I believe we should credit GM for moving off in a new and exciting direction.

There's a nice web site that has GM videos on the Volt and other autos released at the Detroit auto show.

http://gmtv.feedroom.com/ifr_main.js...101.6939743364

Regards,

larry4pyro

In the article I was reading, they mention that the car is years away from production and will require some major battery improvements to become reality.... Not holding my breath

[marlboromike]

Originally Posted by wt2ga

Looks Familiar

http://www.i4u.com/article7574.html

I am waiting for the Camaro...

[Graysky]

This is available now. This guy sold PayPal to ebay for 1.5 billion and now he is building these:
http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1