Eight GM Volts Hit Interstate Highways in Longest Test So Far
Even as Detroit is felled by horrific 28% unemployment levels unseen in this nation since the Dust Bowl era, eight Government Motors’ Volts headed out for their first long distance real world test drive this month.
They drove on real world Government Interstates from Milford in Michigan to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see if they are going to able to make the transition from being just another concept vehicle - to actual reality, now that they’re government funded.
Apparently, yes they can.
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The route was 300 miles and they drove it in 9 hours in one stretch. That is the longest test so far of the Volt, and the engineers considered it showed up the virtues of the range-extender over a straight EV.
The engineers fussed over the interior saying “Seat comfort evaluations are also being conducted. We have our top 3 comfort configurations from previous activities. So far, the top choice seems to be clear, but there is still some work to do.” They also made some discoveries about minor improvements to be tweaked, but apparently there were no serious problems (depends on your definition of serious: seat comfort becomes extremely important when you’re stuck in a car for 9 hour stretch!)
“Development drives are key milestones for every vehicle program,” said GM spokesperson Rob Peterson. “The extended seat time allows the engineers to experience every aspect of the vehicle—from ride, handling and performance to the comfort of seats. The drives also help uncover engineering issues that need to be resolved before the vehicles are put into the hands of customers.”
GM is going to put $200 million into fixing up old factories in Flint, Michigan to build the Volt’s range extenders. I hope that’s enough.
Image: GM-VoltBlog
Source: GM-VoltBlog
9 hours from Milford to Pittsburgh? Were they driving 30 mph the whole way or did they hit a 4 hour traffic jam in Toledo?
I think they probably had to take an extra long route to experience all different kinds of driving environments. It wouldn’t be much of a test to simply take the highway the whole way.
Come on, Tim. They could have experienced the different terrain in reverse with a conventional powerplant. Maybe it was the fact that it has a 150 mile range and takes almost 6 hours to recharge. If your time is worth anything, this doesn’t seem efficient.
Is it that unusual? I seem to remember I used to take 8 hours to get from SF to LA and that’s like 300ish miles. Its not all freeway driving. I think the idea is to test city driving in combination with just racking up freeway miles.
In any case, according to my source “The cars were driven for more than 9 hours and 300 miles continuously”
From the north side of LA to the southeast side of SF is 347 miles - a nominal 6.5 hour trip with no traffic. Electric cars will have the fastest battery drain at highway speeds - thus the greatest test of their capacity. The using back roads, etc., they can make use of the cars regenerative braking to extend the distance traveled on a single charge, etc. Besides, going across northern Ohio, where I have lived for 25 years, is about like throwing a bowling ball down the lane - it’s flatter than a pancake until you get almost to the Pennsylvania border. This would have been no test of the cars mountain terrain capabilities.
If they really want to test this car, give it to me for a week or two. I’d be glad to take it on one of my road trips. I can guarantee a complete range of terrain and temperatures…
I would like more information on how well they did, before judging. Dence traffic and flat driving conditions are different from the mountains and the 100 miles between towns here. So how well would they do in all parts of the coumtry?
Time to cut the “car” crap America! Time to face facts: We need “Bullet Trains” in a very big way! The Horse Shiite era is over! Bar-Cars here we come! Computer plug-ins on trains, to save office time, are at hand! Give up that old gasoline-drinking substitute for your horse, give up that last vestige of the Old West, put your six-guns away, get out your lap top, and work the commute on the trains like civilized Europeans do! Electric Trolleys, and Trams will get you where you are going from the train station! buy a good umbrella! (Bowler Hats anyone?) Sell your petrol-stocks, they will soon be useless, and the jet planes and their horrific termini will soon be history, replaced by Electric Bullet Trains, designed in Japan, or Europe, or Canada, by enlightened non-automotive influenced engineers, computer controlled, safe as your bed at home, faster than driving ever was! Volt be damned! China has the BYD, tested in Taxi service in Shanghai and cheaper than anything re-tooling Detroit will cost! Cheaper to sell in America than we can build at home, Fools! It is all over for GM(America) The Diesel Prius, soon to be unveiled will wipe away anything new Detroit has to offer! VW withdrew a better Diesel/Electric plug-in Hybrid from the American market than the Volt ever will be, because they saw the Bullet Trains on the tracks, ready to take over as soon as the falling dollar, rising oil, price curves meet - and it will happen! The Volt is not a restoration of American Automotive Prowess, it is a hard run backwards to Detroit sheetmetal and grease-pit technologies follies! Don’t think so? Check out Aptera, Tesla, Riversimple, and a host of other entries in the all-electric commuter field, bypassing long highway hauls, leaving them for the bullet trains and astounding transportation cost cuts they will provide! Convulse if you will, America, this paradigm shift is a necessary evil, and long range, a change you have to make! Economics and sustainability deem it so!
I’ve covered their mountain terrain test previously here:
http://gas2.org/2009/10/10/gm-volt-climbs-steep-mountain-in-name-of-research/
The info is as detailed as I could get from ‘the horses mouth’ (the engineers site)await more. The test goes on…click on my source link to follow