What is the Chevy Volt? Is it truly 100% electric-powered?

Question

GM seems to be making strides with this vehicle. any info?

Answer 1

unfortunately electirc cars give the illusion of being emission free. the electricity you use to plug in your car has to be generated somewhere. imagine if everyone on the planet had to plug in an electric car each night, what would our electric power grid look like, how much fuel would IT use? its actually less efficient because you have to transmit the energy over power lines which uses a portion of the power generated. hybirds are a great transitional technology because they enhance the efficiency of hydrocarbon fuels, however, plug in cars are not a step towards a cleaner environment. you may save on gas but watch the electric bill.

Answer 2

It's a plug in hybrid.  It is 100% non-competative.

Answer 3

No, the Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid.  It's basically right inbetween a regular hybrid and an electric car.

For the first 40 miles it acts as an electric car, and then after that it acts as an electric-gas hybrid.  Then to recharge the batteries, you plug them in.

So it's basically an electric-hybrid gas/electric hybrid.  A gas/electric/electric hybrid!

Answer 4

It can and mostly runs only on electricity.  But it also has an on-board motor and generator to charge the batteries.

Unlike the hybrid vehicles of today, the motor is not connected to the drive-train.  It is only used to recharge the batteries.  You can also plug it in to an electrical outlet to charge the batteries.

This vehicle is intended for short commutes of 40 miles or less daily.  But most people commute less than 40 miles a day so this would not be a problem.

The next part is from the Chevy Volt page.

If you’re lucky enough to live less than 20 miles away from work, you could drive solely on electricity every day. That means zero gasoline and zero emissions. Recharge Concept Chevy Volt every night with a common 110-volt household outlet. Then drive it up to 40 miles daily on a single electric charge.

Wide-scale use of electric-powered vehicles such as Concept Chevy Volt would help reduce our dependence on petroleum products.

Estimated annual gasoline savings: 500 gallons

Estimated cost savings: $900 after using electricity to recharge

Assumes price of gasoline is $2.40 and equivalent costs of electricity from grid are $0.60/gallon, $300 annually. 40-mile range based on EPA city cycle. Actual range may vary depending on driving habits and driving conditions. Fuel economy estimates based on GM simulation data.

Follow the link and get the information straight from Chevy

Answer 5

the GM Volt is a marketing exercise that runs on hot air, to try & pretend they didn't crush all their EV1s, in the face of massive user/customer protest. http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com

and to stop any start-up electric car company getting a loan because any business case has to allow for the fact that GM  would bury/undercut/sue/pressure componet suppliers... any newcomer that tries to enter the market today with a car people want.

Hence the Tesla only make 100 or so expensive niche cars.

http://www.teslamotors.com, which has the advantage of actually looking like a sports car, not another stupid ugly vehicle.

Electric cars are much more efficent well-whell than infernal combustion, even if using fossil fuel it is burned close to source, unrefined, in constantly monitored and maintained large generators running at optimum load and temperature; then transmitted over a 90% efficeint grid system. Petrol/deisel car engeines don't come close.

Electric motors provide max torque from 0 rpm from cold, recover energy when slowing down, are smooth, quiet, simple, low maintenance, refuel at home or work, or in 10 minutes at a service station while having a coffee. for 200 mile range.