Demand for GM Volt
August 14th, 2008 by john
If Dr. Lyle Dennis’ website is to be believed, over 35,000 people have already expressed an interest in GM’s hybrid Volt, not due to launch until November 2010. While the Volt is perhaps not as striking as the Tesla roadster, nor as fast, it is much more likely to be affordable.
The Volt has one other advantage over the Tesla: range. The Tesla can get away with limited range since it is not intended to be a long distance driving car; it is a fun sports car. To appeal to the mass market though, the Volt will need to be able to drive further than the 50-100 mile range typical of pure electric cars when necessary.
The Volt solves this by being a serial hybrid; different from today’s hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, in two ways: firstly, it can be plugged in to recharge the batteries while parked (although plugin Prius conversions do exist, they are not factory fitted just yet); secondly, the gasoline engine is not use to drive the wheels ever – instead it is use to generate electricity for the electric motor, and recharge the batteries.
While the Volt is not the only serial hybrid design out there (see our earlier post about the Fisker cars), it is the only serial hybrid design announced by a major car manufacturer.
Electric Driving
The estimated fuel economy of 50mpg is a little misleading, and unfair to the Volt. While that is the kind of fuel economy you can expect on long drives, for most people’s daily commutes the Volt will never use a drop of fuel, relying instead on its fully charged batteries to get you to the office and home. As plugin hybrids, and pure electrics, become more common, we can expect to be able to plug in our cars when we get to the office too, making that pure electric commute even more likely.
Clean Electricity
Some are critical of the cleanliness of electric cars. The argument is that most of the electricity is generated using fossil fuels (mostly coal). While that is true today in many places, there are already some communities where the electricity is cleaner, and with all the plans to increase solar and wind power in the US that can only improve.
The Volt’s engine is also able to use E85 instead of gasoline, making even that aspect of it greener than today’s hybrids.
Tags: gm, hybrid, serial hybrid, volt
