One of the biggest gripes I hear in the US about fully electric cars is that they aren’t practical because they don’t have enough range. But, what’s strange about this is, according to the 2001 US Department of Transportation National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the average person drives their personal vehicle less than 23 miles a day—a number that is more than sufficiently covered by the 100-mile range of most upcoming mass-market electric cars.
So, if the average person drives a quarter of the distance an electric car is capable of going in a given day, why do people still say that they aren’t practical? It certainly isn’t a feeling based in how people actually use their cars. No, it’s more of a feeling based on our obsession with risk aversion—trying to avoid potential problems even if those problems don’t crop up during 95% of the rest of our lives.
The gut feeling that electric cars are impractical is based on the “what if?” fear of needing to drive hundreds of miles on short notice. On the surface I can fully understand that fear, but it’s a fear that is only truly justified if your household has one car. If you’ve got two or more cars, I can’t think of any reason why an electric car wouldn’t be the perfect substitution for one of your gas cars. The electric car would be your short trip or commuter car, and your gas car would be your long trip vacation car.
In fact, I think it’s crazy that the auto manufacturers who are planning on blitzing the US market with fully electric mass-market cars starting next year—including Nissan, Mitsubishi and Ford—haven’t made this their rallying cry. I’m imagining a slogan like “If you’ve got two cars, make one of them electric” or a “Make One Electric” advertising campaign.
For a two car family—in lieu of robust and reliable public transit—having one electric car seems like the most practical transportation solution possible. It’s a veritable goldmine. From reduced energy costs to saved trips to the shop for regular maintenance to the environment, it’s a slew of benefits that I can’t imagine passing up.
And there are lots of two-car households out there. According to the 2001 NHTS, 92% of all US households have vehicles. Of those households, the majority have more than one vehicle. In fact, for the first time ever, the 2001 NHTS found that US households had more vehicles than drivers. If your home has more vehicles than drivers and you’re not considering buying an electric car to replace one of them, I implore you to think again.
PDF 
I only have one car.
Its true I only drive less tan 23 miles a day 95% of the time. The other 5% I go to dark skys for astronomy and do genealogy research out in the field which takes me way out of a electric cars range. Another consideration on the 100 mile range. What about evacs. Especially for people on the coast, with only one car. What, I only have this 100 mile range car so I’m going to have to wait for the government to move me, because I don’t need the capacity of a gas tank 95% of the time? Sorry, I’ll stick with a gas engine, and a hybrid in the future when I can afford one I can fit in. Buying a second car is not economically fisable for me either. Especially with insurance to take on top of that.
I only have one car.
Its true I only drive less tan 23 miles a day 95% of the time. The other 5% I go to dark skys for astronomy and do genealogy research out in the field which takes me way out of a electric cars range. Another consideration on the 100 mile range. What about evacs. Especially for people on the coast, with only one car. What, I only have this 100 mile range car so I’m going to have to wait for the government to move me, because I don’t need the capacity of a gas tank 95% of the time? Sorry, I’ll stick with a gas engine, and a hybrid in the future when I can afford one I can fit in. Buying a second car is not economically fisable for me either. Especially with insurance to take on top of that.
Mamoru,
You apparently missed my point. I’m not saying you should buy two cars even if you only need one. That would be silly.
If you only have one car, then an electric car may not be for you. If you already have two cars (like most of the US) then replacing one of them with an electric makes sense.
I agree range should not be a problem for most people on a regular day. Even if it was I’m sure solutions could be found like loading extra batteries and such.
Most households with two cars barely use the second one. I know I don’t. It sits in the driveway 75 percent of the week.
I agree range should not be a problem for most people on a regular day. Even if it was I’m sure solutions could be found like loading extra batteries and such.
Most households with two cars barely use the second one. I know I don’t. It sits in the driveway 75 percent of the week.
I agree range should not be a problem for most people on a regular day. Even if it was I’m sure solutions could be found like loading extra batteries and such.
Most households with two cars barely use the second one. I know I don’t. It sits in the driveway 75 percent of the week.
Great article! I enjoyed the read and am spreading the link amongst friends. My family is scared of electric cars.
Some day in the near future when I complete my MD and residency, my first major purchase will be an electric car.
Great article! I enjoyed the read and am spreading the link amongst friends. My family is scared of electric cars.
Some day in the near future when I complete my MD and residency, my first major purchase will be an electric car.
Great article! I enjoyed the read and am spreading the link amongst friends. My family is scared of electric cars.
Some day in the near future when I complete my MD and residency, my first major purchase will be an electric car.
Often the second car in a household may be an older car that people wouldn’t feel secure driving for long distances.
I have nothing against electric cars, but just like to see both sides of an issue.
Plugin hybrids like the Chevy Volt will eliminate the need for the second car, while behaving like a full electric car for 95% of the time.
Often the second car in a household may be an older car that people wouldn’t feel secure driving for long distances.
I have nothing against electric cars, but just like to see both sides of an issue.
Plugin hybrids like the Chevy Volt will eliminate the need for the second car, while behaving like a full electric car for 95% of the time.
Tim,
I agree that Plug-in Hybrids (or EREVs or whatever you want to call them) like the Volt can be the all-purpose Swiss Army Knife that gets around the risk aversion part of our personalities. Indeed, in that way they are more practical than EVs.
But from an engineering and cost perspective they are far too complex and impractical. With EREVs you are essentially stuffing two cars into one. For this reason the Volt will likely cost $40,000 when it goes on sale. Do you think the Volt will be considered practical with a price tag like that? Meanwhile, the Nissan LEAF EV will have likely have a price tag between $16,000 and $25,000 depending on if you buy the battery with the car or lease the battery from Nissan. Compare that to a Prius or Fusion Hybrid and you start to see that pure EVs are very cost competitive with the competition, and make financial sense.
I’m not saying that cars like the Volt won’t have their day. Certainly EREVs will eventually satisfy the niche they were designed for. But to get battery prices down, test technology, and extend range, pure EVs are the way to start. I think GM has made a strategic error by first focusing on EREVs instead of EVs.
Nick, I think you are dead-on here. This has been the focus of many articles I have written on the subject. The problem is that new car companies don’t want to go there. Why? It means changing the way people think and act toward transportation. They would rather focus on giving the consumer what they want and leave the preaching to people like you and me and Plug-in America. Mamoru’s comment above just goes to show that people don’t get it. But really, I would rather see people convert that old car that sits in their driveway for a fraction of what a new EV or PHEV would cost, effectively supplanting an inefficient vehicle and placing an efficient one in it’s place. That’s the only way we’re going to effectively cut our oil dependence. But at the rate we’re going, it will take decades. I suppose that’s the way Big Oil and the Big Three want it, though.
Nick, I think you are dead-on here. This has been the focus of many articles I have written on the subject. The problem is that new car companies don’t want to go there. Why? It means changing the way people think and act toward transportation. They would rather focus on giving the consumer what they want and leave the preaching to people like you and me and Plug-in America. Mamoru’s comment above just goes to show that people don’t get it. But really, I would rather see people convert that old car that sits in their driveway for a fraction of what a new EV or PHEV would cost, effectively supplanting an inefficient vehicle and placing an efficient one in it’s place. That’s the only way we’re going to effectively cut our oil dependence. But at the rate we’re going, it will take decades. I suppose that’s the way Big Oil and the Big Three want it, though.
There is one fallacy missing in this “average usage is only 23 miles per day” story. if you meet the average, but only drive 2 days a week then you drive over 80 miles each time that you do use your car.
Until thenwe need hybrids or range extenders. A diesel electric could be a great way to solve this problem. If this can be effectively scaled down from trains it would provide great capability in range and towing capacity.
There is one fallacy missing in this “average usage is only 23 miles per day” story. if you meet the average, but only drive 2 days a week then you drive over 80 miles each time that you do use your car.
Until thenwe need hybrids or range extenders. A diesel electric could be a great way to solve this problem. If this can be effectively scaled down from trains it would provide great capability in range and towing capacity.
Range isn’t the problem … cost and reliability are the problem. Fully electric vehicles have not yet demonstrated comparable reliability to a conventional vehicle across the full range of environmental operating conditions. There have been several reports recently of electric vehicles not living up to their advertised range. I believe there were a few universities in Michigan that just returned their electric utility trucks because of poor performance. While this is certainly not true of all electric vehicles, it is a valid concern for potential buyers.
I don’t believe you can make a blanket statement that electric vehicles will always provide greater reliability and lower maintenance costs than conventional vehicles … there simply aren’t enough of them in the field to support that claim. Here in the wilds of Minnesota, for example, what’s going to happen to my 100-mile range when the car has to sit outside in the parking lot all day long at 30-below? That’s a bad time to find out that your batteries don’t handle the cold very well. Early adopters of any emerging technology must be prepared to accept the risks. However, since I don’t burn $20′s and $50′s in my fireplace to keep warm, that seems like an awful lot of money to risk on an unproven vehicle.
Which, of course, brings me to the second problem … cost. I don’t think anyone would dispute the fact that the upcoming mass-market EV’s are going to come with a substantial price premium over conventional vehicles in the same class. When you crunch the numbers, it can take a long time to make up that difference on fuel savings alone. In some cases, fuel savings may only be enough for the owner to break even. There are lots of variables … cost of fuel, cost of electricity, maintenance, battery life, etc.
Cars, in general, are a major expense. It makes perfect sense to me that people would be apprehensive about taking that sort of financial risk when they just might end up with an electric lemon. Rather than your ‘Make One Electric’ idea, I think the automakers should recognize the risk aversion in their customer set and offer, instead, a way to mitigate that risk. I see consumers being much more willing to participate in an electric vehicle lease program than to make an outright purchase. On a two or three year lease, you can essentially get your feet wet in the world of EV’s without any long-term risks. A customer who has had a positive experience with a leased EV would then be much more likely to purchase a next-gen EV a few years down the road.
Range isn’t the problem … cost and reliability are the problem. Fully electric vehicles have not yet demonstrated comparable reliability to a conventional vehicle across the full range of environmental operating conditions. There have been several reports recently of electric vehicles not living up to their advertised range. I believe there were a few universities in Michigan that just returned their electric utility trucks because of poor performance. While this is certainly not true of all electric vehicles, it is a valid concern for potential buyers.
I don’t believe you can make a blanket statement that electric vehicles will always provide greater reliability and lower maintenance costs than conventional vehicles … there simply aren’t enough of them in the field to support that claim. Here in the wilds of Minnesota, for example, what’s going to happen to my 100-mile range when the car has to sit outside in the parking lot all day long at 30-below? That’s a bad time to find out that your batteries don’t handle the cold very well. Early adopters of any emerging technology must be prepared to accept the risks. However, since I don’t burn $20′s and $50′s in my fireplace to keep warm, that seems like an awful lot of money to risk on an unproven vehicle.
Which, of course, brings me to the second problem … cost. I don’t think anyone would dispute the fact that the upcoming mass-market EV’s are going to come with a substantial price premium over conventional vehicles in the same class. When you crunch the numbers, it can take a long time to make up that difference on fuel savings alone. In some cases, fuel savings may only be enough for the owner to break even. There are lots of variables … cost of fuel, cost of electricity, maintenance, battery life, etc.
Cars, in general, are a major expense. It makes perfect sense to me that people would be apprehensive about taking that sort of financial risk when they just might end up with an electric lemon. Rather than your ‘Make One Electric’ idea, I think the automakers should recognize the risk aversion in their customer set and offer, instead, a way to mitigate that risk. I see consumers being much more willing to participate in an electric vehicle lease program than to make an outright purchase. On a two or three year lease, you can essentially get your feet wet in the world of EV’s without any long-term risks. A customer who has had a positive experience with a leased EV would then be much more likely to purchase a next-gen EV a few years down the road.
It’s articles like this why I check gas2 daily. This is exactly what I am waiting to do. Normally my wife and I drive less than 4 miles round trip to work each day. However we have 3 kids, a chocolate lab, and soon a mother-in-law visiting from Europe for the next several months. So comfortable seating capcity does matter to me. Most electrics are too small. In about 5 years that will change and the smaller car will be fine. I have been watching the Volt with interest. I also liked when GM was looking at voltec for a Saturn SUV with a 10 mile range(that would cover 90% of my driving habits). However they killed that. A pure EV would be fine if it could meet my requirements.
It’s articles like this why I check gas2 daily. This is exactly what I am waiting to do. Normally my wife and I drive less than 4 miles round trip to work each day. However we have 3 kids, a chocolate lab, and soon a mother-in-law visiting from Europe for the next several months. So comfortable seating capcity does matter to me. Most electrics are too small. In about 5 years that will change and the smaller car will be fine. I have been watching the Volt with interest. I also liked when GM was looking at voltec for a Saturn SUV with a 10 mile range(that would cover 90% of my driving habits). However they killed that. A pure EV would be fine if it could meet my requirements.
I live in Portland Oregon, one of the cities the Nissan Leaf will be sold in next year. I hope to be one of the first buyers. As a 2 car household using an electric car as a second car makes perfect economic sense. I drive under 40 miles a day and do 95% of my driving in the metro area. I will keep one of my gas cars for occasional extended trips but might need to buy it a car cover since it will be sitting idle most of the time. With gas prices back on the rise the electric option cant come soon enough.
I live in Portland Oregon, one of the cities the Nissan Leaf will be sold in next year. I hope to be one of the first buyers. As a 2 car household using an electric car as a second car makes perfect economic sense. I drive under 40 miles a day and do 95% of my driving in the metro area. I will keep one of my gas cars for occasional extended trips but might need to buy it a car cover since it will be sitting idle most of the time. With gas prices back on the rise the electric option cant come soon enough.
I’ve been driving a Toyota RAV4 EV for 7 years and 75,000 miles with no problems. We use solar to generate kWh for our house and car with a resulting electric bill of about $100 PER YEAR. We haven’t been to a gas station in 7 years.
None of our money goes to the oil companies, and by extension, the Saudis. All of our energy money stays domestic.
If an EV is not right for you, the plug-in hybrid would be. The Chevy Volt and PHEV Prius are going to be very affordable cars once the $7,500 federal tax credit is used. Over time, the price premium will drop for EVs as the battery factories, already under construction, are brought on line.
If an EV isn’t for you, don’t buy one. But you should support their use by others since every EV that replaces a gas burner means your air and water are cleaner, your nation’s security and economy are stronger and your community quieter.
Eventually, as the price of oil inevitably rises due to peak oil, you’ll all be driving on electricity.
Guaranteed.
I’ve been driving a Toyota RAV4 EV for 7 years and 75,000 miles with no problems. We use solar to generate kWh for our house and car with a resulting electric bill of about $100 PER YEAR. We haven’t been to a gas station in 7 years.
None of our money goes to the oil companies, and by extension, the Saudis. All of our energy money stays domestic.
If an EV is not right for you, the plug-in hybrid would be. The Chevy Volt and PHEV Prius are going to be very affordable cars once the $7,500 federal tax credit is used. Over time, the price premium will drop for EVs as the battery factories, already under construction, are brought on line.
If an EV isn’t for you, don’t buy one. But you should support their use by others since every EV that replaces a gas burner means your air and water are cleaner, your nation’s security and economy are stronger and your community quieter.
Eventually, as the price of oil inevitably rises due to peak oil, you’ll all be driving on electricity.
Guaranteed.
I’ve been driving a Toyota RAV4 EV for 7 years and 75,000 miles with no problems. We use solar to generate kWh for our house and car with a resulting electric bill of about $100 PER YEAR. We haven’t been to a gas station in 7 years.
None of our money goes to the oil companies, and by extension, the Saudis. All of our energy money stays domestic.
If an EV is not right for you, the plug-in hybrid would be. The Chevy Volt and PHEV Prius are going to be very affordable cars once the $7,500 federal tax credit is used. Over time, the price premium will drop for EVs as the battery factories, already under construction, are brought on line.
If an EV isn’t for you, don’t buy one. But you should support their use by others since every EV that replaces a gas burner means your air and water are cleaner, your nation’s security and economy are stronger and your community quieter.
Eventually, as the price of oil inevitably rises due to peak oil, you’ll all be driving on electricity.
Guaranteed.
As someone who has to drive 150 miles once or twice a month and 300 miles once a month, I’m not in the group that Nick is talking about, although I definitely agree with his point. For two-car households, it makes a lot of sense to go with an EV and a conventional or hybrid vehicle. Someone else mentioned reliability, and using myself as an example, I live in Maine. I know from winter skiing and hiking that most batteries, or at least the ones in my devices, crap out pretty quickly in Maine winter temperatures. My camera often fails to work unless I keep the battery inside my clothing. Do EVs do better? Do they have a way around the energy-draining effect of cold temperatures?
I’m also curious about the net effect of running a car on electricity, 50% of which is produced in the U.S. by burning coal, vs. an internal combustion engine burning gasoline… Is that really beneficial to the environment, net of all related emissions?
As someone who has to drive 150 miles once or twice a month and 300 miles once a month, I’m not in the group that Nick is talking about, although I definitely agree with his point. For two-car households, it makes a lot of sense to go with an EV and a conventional or hybrid vehicle. Someone else mentioned reliability, and using myself as an example, I live in Maine. I know from winter skiing and hiking that most batteries, or at least the ones in my devices, crap out pretty quickly in Maine winter temperatures. My camera often fails to work unless I keep the battery inside my clothing. Do EVs do better? Do they have a way around the energy-draining effect of cold temperatures?
I’m also curious about the net effect of running a car on electricity, 50% of which is produced in the U.S. by burning coal, vs. an internal combustion engine burning gasoline… Is that really beneficial to the environment, net of all related emissions?
Good article. Many good points made. GM marketing has convinced a lot of people that the Volt is an electric car with a backup engine. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid with way too many batteries. Once the grid charge is gone it goes into hybrid mode but it is also lugging around hundreds of pounds of discharged batteries. The public thinks the engine will keep those batteries charged but it won’t. Think about it. What would happen to gas mileage if your engine had to move you and charge a pack that large?
The engineering tradeoff is that you can absorb more braking energy with a pack that size, which will help counter the extra weight. The thermal bottleneck between the engine and generator will be somewhat compensated for by the engines constant RPM design. Still no free lunches.
I concur that an electric car conversion aftermarket will develop. Eventually somebody will develop conversion kits with affordable lithium ion batteries. Conversions with lead acid batteries are hardly worth the effort. Car companies are not going to like this. Should be interesting.
Good article. Many good points made. GM marketing has convinced a lot of people that the Volt is an electric car with a backup engine. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid with way too many batteries. Once the grid charge is gone it goes into hybrid mode but it is also lugging around hundreds of pounds of discharged batteries. The public thinks the engine will keep those batteries charged but it won’t. Think about it. What would happen to gas mileage if your engine had to move you and charge a pack that large?
The engineering tradeoff is that you can absorb more braking energy with a pack that size, which will help counter the extra weight. The thermal bottleneck between the engine and generator will be somewhat compensated for by the engines constant RPM design. Still no free lunches.
I concur that an electric car conversion aftermarket will develop. Eventually somebody will develop conversion kits with affordable lithium ion batteries. Conversions with lead acid batteries are hardly worth the effort. Car companies are not going to like this. Should be interesting.
Good article. Many good points made. GM marketing has convinced a lot of people that the Volt is an electric car with a backup engine. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid with way too many batteries. Once the grid charge is gone it goes into hybrid mode but it is also lugging around hundreds of pounds of discharged batteries. The public thinks the engine will keep those batteries charged but it won’t. Think about it. What would happen to gas mileage if your engine had to move you and charge a pack that large?
The engineering tradeoff is that you can absorb more braking energy with a pack that size, which will help counter the extra weight. The thermal bottleneck between the engine and generator will be somewhat compensated for by the engines constant RPM design. Still no free lunches.
I concur that an electric car conversion aftermarket will develop. Eventually somebody will develop conversion kits with affordable lithium ion batteries. Conversions with lead acid batteries are hardly worth the effort. Car companies are not going to like this. Should be interesting.
Oh, another point that I did not see above, is that electric cars will shrink the spare parts business. No more fuel, cooling, lubricant, vacuum, or air pollution control systems to fail or maintain. Not to mention your electric motor will have one moving part that spins instead of hundreds that all jerk one way, stop and jerk the other.
You can see why the existing car companies are resistant to the idea.
Oh, another point that I did not see above, is that electric cars will shrink the spare parts business. No more fuel, cooling, lubricant, vacuum, or air pollution control systems to fail or maintain. Not to mention your electric motor will have one moving part that spins instead of hundreds that all jerk one way, stop and jerk the other.
You can see why the existing car companies are resistant to the idea.
Apologies for cluttering up the comment field. I strongly suspect that electric cars will set in motion non-linear changes in energy use. For example, it is fairly feasible to install a “few” photo voltaic panels to “help” keep your car charged. No need to tie to the grid if you have a big battery that often needs charging. That might also open up the possibility of easily removed packs that can be left at home to charge while at work with the other etc, etc. A lot of people would be happy with a ten or fifteen mile electric range, as long as you have fast charging. I know I would. My electric bike has about a 25 mile range which I rarely need. It charges in less than an hour.
Greaseman,
I’m an experienced mechanical/structural engineer. Without fail when I try to explain the concept of a Volt perpetual motion machine I get a mechanic telling me I’m wrong. You just filled that niche.
Apologies for cluttering up the comment field. I strongly suspect that electric cars will set in motion non-linear changes in energy use. For example, it is fairly feasible to install a “few” photo voltaic panels to “help” keep your car charged. No need to tie to the grid if you have a big battery that often needs charging. That might also open up the possibility of easily removed packs that can be left at home to charge while at work with the other etc, etc. A lot of people would be happy with a ten or fifteen mile electric range, as long as you have fast charging. I know I would. My electric bike has about a 25 mile range which I rarely need. It charges in less than an hour.
Greaseman,
I’m an experienced mechanical/structural engineer. Without fail when I try to explain the concept of a Volt perpetual motion machine I get a mechanic telling me I’m wrong. You just filled that niche.
Apologies for cluttering up the comment field. I strongly suspect that electric cars will set in motion non-linear changes in energy use. For example, it is fairly feasible to install a “few” photo voltaic panels to “help” keep your car charged. No need to tie to the grid if you have a big battery that often needs charging. That might also open up the possibility of easily removed packs that can be left at home to charge while at work with the other etc, etc. A lot of people would be happy with a ten or fifteen mile electric range, as long as you have fast charging. I know I would. My electric bike has about a 25 mile range which I rarely need. It charges in less than an hour.
Greaseman,
I’m an experienced mechanical/structural engineer. Without fail when I try to explain the concept of a Volt perpetual motion machine I get a mechanic telling me I’m wrong. You just filled that niche.
Greaseman,
“..I fail to see your point with the nonsequitorial mentioning of a perpetual motion machine?..”
Didn’t expect you to. GM is not marketing to rocket scientists …nonsequitorial mentioning?
“..Color me fascinated, care to elaborate?…”
Color me wiping up the beer I just spewed on my keyboard, and sure, I’ll bite:
“..50mpg gets you power to drive normally and all excess power goes towards charging the battery when possible..”
That’s nonsensical. If you think the Volt can completely recharge its pack using a generator powered with an internal combustion engine without impacting gas mileage there would be no reason to plug it in. Just program it o idle in the drive until the batteries are charged and turn off when done.
Also, an electric car with an internal combustion reciprocating engine and its attendant fuel, cooling, lubrication, pollution control, and ignition systems is clearly more complex than an electric car without all of that. Have no illusions of you ceding that point. Debate is to convince the audience.
Greaseman,
“..I fail to see your point with the nonsequitorial mentioning of a perpetual motion machine?..”
Didn’t expect you to. GM is not marketing to rocket scientists …nonsequitorial mentioning?
“..Color me fascinated, care to elaborate?…”
Color me wiping up the beer I just spewed on my keyboard, and sure, I’ll bite:
“..50mpg gets you power to drive normally and all excess power goes towards charging the battery when possible..”
That’s nonsensical. If you think the Volt can completely recharge its pack using a generator powered with an internal combustion engine without impacting gas mileage there would be no reason to plug it in. Just program it o idle in the drive until the batteries are charged and turn off when done.
Also, an electric car with an internal combustion reciprocating engine and its attendant fuel, cooling, lubrication, pollution control, and ignition systems is clearly more complex than an electric car without all of that. Have no illusions of you ceding that point. Debate is to convince the audience.
@Russ,
I think you still don’t get what he is saying and how the Volt works. The ICE is tuned to run in, I believe, 3 specific power bands to maximize thermal efficiency, just as most generators are. It also has to, at any given time, be able to provide enough power to maintain normal operation. So with dead batteries, you could go from a downhill slope, to climbing Pike’s Peak, in a matter of milliseconds. Less severe would be that at any given time, the driver is fluttering the pedal to maintain a constant speed on a mildly varying grade. Since the ICE does not infinitely adjust its RPMs, there is a whole lot of time where it is generating more electricity than the actual drive motors need. Instead of throwing that power away, it is stored in the batteries, for use later. The gas burned when all the power is not needed does not go to waste since the drive motors will use the stored electricity. So driving around with a few hundred pounds of near dead batteries actually serves a purpose, and as a direct result, the total MPG is increases substantially.
You also seems to be someone who is against the obvious complexity of a system like this over a simple EV. I really can’t quite understand that when current battery technology simply makes it impossible to do what the author wants, at least at a reasonable price. You do know that GM decided to make it a 5 minute job to swap the battery pack, right? That’s with the forward thinking that battery tech will improve and customers will want to upgrade as time goes on. As I said, the ICE range extenders will be needed less and less, but needed they shall be for a decade at least. I also believe that we in the US shall not see EVs like the Leaf, Imiev, etc, until at least 2013, and at a much higher price point than their current pre-marketing is hinting. Just my opinion.
@Russ,
I think you still don’t get what he is saying and how the Volt works. The ICE is tuned to run in, I believe, 3 specific power bands to maximize thermal efficiency, just as most generators are. It also has to, at any given time, be able to provide enough power to maintain normal operation. So with dead batteries, you could go from a downhill slope, to climbing Pike’s Peak, in a matter of milliseconds. Less severe would be that at any given time, the driver is fluttering the pedal to maintain a constant speed on a mildly varying grade. Since the ICE does not infinitely adjust its RPMs, there is a whole lot of time where it is generating more electricity than the actual drive motors need. Instead of throwing that power away, it is stored in the batteries, for use later. The gas burned when all the power is not needed does not go to waste since the drive motors will use the stored electricity. So driving around with a few hundred pounds of near dead batteries actually serves a purpose, and as a direct result, the total MPG is increases substantially.
You also seems to be someone who is against the obvious complexity of a system like this over a simple EV. I really can’t quite understand that when current battery technology simply makes it impossible to do what the author wants, at least at a reasonable price. You do know that GM decided to make it a 5 minute job to swap the battery pack, right? That’s with the forward thinking that battery tech will improve and customers will want to upgrade as time goes on. As I said, the ICE range extenders will be needed less and less, but needed they shall be for a decade at least. I also believe that we in the US shall not see EVs like the Leaf, Imiev, etc, until at least 2013, and at a much higher price point than their current pre-marketing is hinting. Just my opinion.
@Russ,
I think you still don’t get what he is saying and how the Volt works. The ICE is tuned to run in, I believe, 3 specific power bands to maximize thermal efficiency, just as most generators are. It also has to, at any given time, be able to provide enough power to maintain normal operation. So with dead batteries, you could go from a downhill slope, to climbing Pike’s Peak, in a matter of milliseconds. Less severe would be that at any given time, the driver is fluttering the pedal to maintain a constant speed on a mildly varying grade. Since the ICE does not infinitely adjust its RPMs, there is a whole lot of time where it is generating more electricity than the actual drive motors need. Instead of throwing that power away, it is stored in the batteries, for use later. The gas burned when all the power is not needed does not go to waste since the drive motors will use the stored electricity. So driving around with a few hundred pounds of near dead batteries actually serves a purpose, and as a direct result, the total MPG is increases substantially.
You also seems to be someone who is against the obvious complexity of a system like this over a simple EV. I really can’t quite understand that when current battery technology simply makes it impossible to do what the author wants, at least at a reasonable price. You do know that GM decided to make it a 5 minute job to swap the battery pack, right? That’s with the forward thinking that battery tech will improve and customers will want to upgrade as time goes on. As I said, the ICE range extenders will be needed less and less, but needed they shall be for a decade at least. I also believe that we in the US shall not see EVs like the Leaf, Imiev, etc, until at least 2013, and at a much higher price point than their current pre-marketing is hinting. Just my opinion.
Love it! I’ve been saying for a couple of years that I’ll be one of the first to get an all-electric plug-in when they hit the market, but I’ll keep my cute 9 year old Beetle with only 60k miles and use that for my road trips and longer drives until maintenance becomes an issue.
Love it! I’ve been saying for a couple of years that I’ll be one of the first to get an all-electric plug-in when they hit the market, but I’ll keep my cute 9 year old Beetle with only 60k miles and use that for my road trips and longer drives until maintenance becomes an issue.
Love it! I’ve been saying for a couple of years that I’ll be one of the first to get an all-electric plug-in when they hit the market, but I’ll keep my cute 9 year old Beetle with only 60k miles and use that for my road trips and longer drives until maintenance becomes an issue.