Chevy Volt - 100 KM's on 1L of Gas

[Lurch]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

How many kWh of electricity does it take to fully charge the battery? Will the amount you save on gasoline purchases offset your increased power bill?

From an environmental angle, if you're living in an area where your electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels such as coal, will driving this vehicle increase or decrease your carbon footprint?

I read 8 kWh, which is about $0.60 worth of power in Calgary (EasyMax). For Alberta, 8 kWh is about 6-7 kg of GHG (Alberta grid intensity is just under 0.8 tonnes/MWh.) Gasoline has about 9 kg of GHG per US gallon, so you'd need something like 80 mpg in city driving from a gas vehicle for it to be cleaner in AB (and Alberta has among the most carbon intensive grids in NA).

If you compare costs to a typical gas car in the city, you are paying something like $0.15/L for fuel. If you drive 20,000 km per year, you'd save something in the neighborhood of $3000/yr assuming it was all city driving and you used no gasoline.

[HalifaxDrunk]

I'll take a Tesla please.



http://www.teslamotors.com/

Performance Specifications
Style
2-seat, open-top, rear-drive sports car

Drivetrain
Single speed fixed gear with electrically actuated parking lock mechanism and mechanical lubrication pump

Motor
375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. Output 248 peak horsepower (185kW) and 276 ft/lbs (375 nm) of torque. Redline 14,000 rpm.

Chassis
Resin-bonded and riveted extruded aluminum monoquoque. Four-wheel independent suspension featuring upper and lower unequal length wishbones and co-axial coil spring telescopic dampers.

Brakes
Hydraulically operated. Tandem master cylinder with vacuum servo and anti-lock braking system.

Acceleration
0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds

Top Speed
125 mph (electronically limited)

Range
About 220 miles
(based on EPA combined city/highway cycle)

Battery Life
Five years or 100,000 miles

Battery
Custom microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion battery with 6,831 individual cells. Weight 992 lbs.

Full Charge
About 3.5 hours using the Tesla Motors High Power Connector.

[MarchHare]

Thanks Lurch, that's exactly the info I was looking for.

I'm not likely to buy a GM vehicle, but all the major car manufacturers are working on similar designs. By the time my wife and I buy another car (probably 5-6 years from now at least), I'm sure that the technology will have improved and prices will have come down.

I bet we're only 10-15 years away from every vehicle sold in NA and Europe using this type of engine.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Swarly

they were never bankrupt, they entered bankruptcy protection, which they left after only 30 days.

Actually they are bankrupt. Look up Liquidation Motors on the stock exchange its GM's corpse.

[Regulator75]

Re: Tesla
Yeah it's sweet, just a tad too expensive. $129,000 CDN I believe.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Thanks Lurch, that's exactly the info I was looking for.

I'm not likely to buy a GM vehicle, but all the major car manufacturers are working on similar designs. By the time my wife and I buy another car (probably 5-6 years from now at least), I'm sure that the technology will have improved and prices will have come down.

I bet we're only 10-15 years away from every vehicle sold in NA and Europe using this type of engine.

As long as I can get 240 hp out of one of those bad boys and the same torque at low speeds, the same reliability, and similar size as my car now for a price that's competative, then and only then will I buy. Unless we plan on being fascist and tell everyone what kind of vehicle to buy I imagine that we're more than 10 years away from achieving that.

[Finny61]

I'm all for reducing the need for gasoline but that is an ugly car and too much money I honestly don't see alot of people buying into it other then the environmentalists or folks living in the inner city for commuting where speeds rarely go over 60.

[Devils'Advocate]

I can see them selling here in Ontario. McGinty, trying to reduce emissions, is offering to pay $10,000 of the $40,000 price tag.

[hkstylez]

its definetly a nice car.. but its not worth what its worth... i say its worth around the 20k'ish mark.. but tahts just my opinion.. idc what u all say... haha...

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by hkstylez

its definetly a nice car.. but its not worth what its worth... i say its worth around the 20k'ish mark.. but tahts just my opinion.. idc what u all say... haha...

English MoFo....Do you speak it???

[Blaster86]

??

[Antithesis]

Wouldn't buy one of the first ones - not at that price, but anyone with rudimentary understanding of math could see the savings that are possible in the long run with a car like this. The price will (should?) come down a bit by the time I'll be needing a new car.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

As long as I can get 240 hp out of one of those bad boys and the same torque at low speeds, the same reliability, and similar size as my car now for a price that's competative, then and only then will I buy. Unless we plan on being fascist and tell everyone what kind of vehicle to buy I imagine that we're more than 10 years away from achieving that.

Electric vehicles deliver torque that and acceleration that demolishes anything currently produced. All that we are limited by is battery capacity/technology. And with the advances tesla is making, and with a big player like GM finally on board (lets forget the whole EV1 debacle) I figure we are only a decade or so from performance electrics capable of sub 3 second 60 MPH sprints and 500 + km effective ranges. The whole carbon footprint argument is going to shift eventually to how much power are you consuming. The other thing that scares me is that electricity will become the new gasoline, and I can guarantee you the power companies are licking their chops at that prospect.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

How many kWh of electricity does it take to fully charge the battery? Will the amount you save on gasoline purchases offset your increased power bill?

From an environmental angle, if you're living in an area where your electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels such as coal, will driving this vehicle increase or decrease your carbon footprint?

Coal power plants are much more efficient than small internal combustion engines. The added benefit is the pollution is centralized to locations where there is little population, or population you don't care about (Edmonton).

At ~40 cents per 60 km, you're looking at $4 per "tank" instead of $40-$50 per tank, and never having to stop at a gas station if you are just using it as a commuter. I can't imagine much better than that. The price is disappointing, but plug in hybrids could really do a lot to change the automotive world. Silent cars that don't pollute in rush hour... imagine not seeing a permanent brown haze over Calgary in the winter!

EDIT: Lurch beat me to it and had more accurate numbers for Calgary.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Finny61

I'm all for reducing the need for gasoline but that is an ugly car and too much money I honestly don't see alot of people buying into it other then the environmentalists or folks living in the inner city for commuting where speeds rarely go over 60.

Top speed is 160km/h.

[twotoner]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Considering they're bankrupt I dont think they can give heavy discounts.

The New GM is not at all bankrupt, it has the strongest balance sheet of all car companies in the world -- courtesy of you and me the Tax Payer

[twotoner]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

As long as I can get 240 hp out of one of those bad boys and the same torque at low speeds, the same reliability, and similar size as my car now for a price that's competative, then and only then will I buy.

I think once they work out the controller and battery issues that will inevitably crop up in version 1.0 of these things, you will have a way more reliable car. No oil changes, no transmission, no engine (except a little generator which doesn't really count). Nissan is going to offer an electric car in 2010 that goes farther and costs about 15k less. Tesla is working on a family version too.

Think about it, if lease payments for one of these get to be close to what you are paying out for gas each month, it won't be hard to ditch whatever your driving for an electric version.

Companies like www.nanosolar.com are producing real solutions to the electricity red flags people are raising here.

My EV costs about 10 cents a commute (I go about 60km round trip so 10 cents is more than most would pay). I park it for free closer to my desk than anyone else parks and it only cost me 2k or so. There is a small problem with it though, I get this stupid grin on my face every time I use it. Its called an ebike. I can also pedal too if I want to get some exercise. www.ebikes.ca, www.endless-sphere.com/forums for more info if you are interested.

[Nehkara]

I'll spend my money on one of these instead:



Tesla Model S ($49,900 after tax credit)

Pure electric car.
0-97 km/h in 5.6 seconds
194 km/h top speed

Coming in 2011 to be followed by an "economy" ($20-30k) model Tesla vehicle in 2012, code named Bluestar.

[3 Justin 3]

How can you guys think this is a good looking car? This thing is putrid, butt-f***ing, eye gouging, wrist slitting, jump of a bride on fire, have dinner with the inlaws ugly.

I hate the new Camaro's looks, I think it is ugly. But comparing the two, the Camaro looks like a masterpiece compared to this tripe.

Screw electric vehicles, screw the environment, I'd rather be getting 4MPG in this:

[SebC]

The economic analysis people are doing here is only for the early adopters. The more people buy electric vehicles the less you'll save on fuel by owning one - lower gasoline demand will lower gasoline prices.