Chevy Volt is 99% Ready

Smooth = yes
Quiet = yes
Same Performance = yes
Efficient = no

The reports, so far, have pointed out observations of CS-mode MPG around 40. They have also revealed that winter driving conditions reduced electric-only driving range considerably.

Doesn't matter though, as long as traditional vehicles are produced by the millions, the better hybrids & plug-ins affordably priced will be competing against them... not each other.
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Even if the price tag were the "only" reason, that's a pretty darn big reason.

 

I was referring to the interior volume as EPA categorize based on it. Compact cars like Corolla and Civic seat 5. Subcompact normally seat 4. Volt probably will have more cargo than most subcompact because it is a hatchback.

 

I am truly amazed at how many people are complaining about the ICE mode on the volt. I do not understand why this is a problem? First of all, I suspect most of the people who buy a Volt will barely ever use the ICE. That is the whole purpose behind the car. Second of all, I can't imagine to the driver it would be any different that the gas engine running in your Prius. As for efficiency, GM has stated 50 mpg. But even if you only get 40 mpg in real-world driving then who cares. That is far better than most cars, and even better than a lot of hybrids. Take a Toyota Camry hybrid, for example, it gets like 38 mpg. So big woop. To be honest, I wouldn't care if it got 20 mpg because if I had a volt then I'd be running it on electric 99% of the time. As it happens, I ordered a Leaf because the Volt is out of my price range.. but I'd be happy with one.

 

ICE will come on every 60 days to keep the gas flowing. This can not be avoided.

Leaving the car unplugged outside in the winter will turn the ICE on to warm up the battery pack.

Having said that, it should turn on less often than a hybrid obviously. Calling the Volt an EV is misleading and owners may be disappointed to find out the ICE turning on in those occasions.

 

I am not doing it to the car but to the hype that was spread. They are marketing it as an ER-EV with initial 40 EV miles. It is not and the information is out there and not many people know about it (judging from the posts on internet).

The size comment was direct to the post comparing the Volt to the Prius. They are not comparable and it is even the case for you.

 

** As long as your dealership is located in Mich, DC or SoCal. Initially these will be the only three regions to get the Volt.

I believe that the total production schedule for the entire first year is 5000 units, that's about 500 per month. 10,000 units in Yr 2 and then reassess.

 

The high pricetag is obviously a key reason why the Volt will not threaten the Prius sales for the foreseeable future. In addition GM has stated that it's going to go slowwwwly, very slowwwly in the ramp up of this very important vehicle. GM will be selling 5-10K Volts annually while Toyota is selling hundreds of thousands of Prius' all over the world. They are not even the same order of magnitude.

But even more so the entire concept is self-limiting. All the plugins will be marginal vehicles for a long time. I'm very confident in saying that the plugins are vehicles for the decades of the '20s, '30s and beyond. The infrastructure, the public acceptance and the ease of use are simply outside the scope of the general public.

A few wealthy suburban buyers with perfect buying needs will step up and raise their hands. I'm ready to be proven wrong. As the technology stands right now I won't be a buyer for a long time ( 150 mi commute, price too high in relation to the proven Prius ).

 

I agree with everything you said in the first paragraph. It is not my responsibility but the buyer's. If someone posts inaccurate information, I just have to correct it.

Regarding the battery pack, it takes about 4 cubic feet of interior volume. It does not affect the size outside but it does affect the size inside. 4 cu.ft. can lower the class from midsize to compact or compact to subcompact.

 

It was in reference to seating 4 which subcompacts do.

Chevy Cruze just made it to the mid-size class with 110 cu.ft. The Volt may be close.... The battery pack may take extra room but the hatchback will increase it. We'll have to see but it will only seat 4 as there are only 4 seat belts.

 

The geek in me loves that fact it's a serial hybrid.

The mere fact it is driven at all speeds by the electric motor makes it a huge leap over the Prius - ICE running or not.

Why? Battery technology is just going to keep getting better and better. In 10 years, there may be replacement battery packs for the Volt so good that the ICE could conceivably be removed!

Unlike the Prius PHEV, the car is architected as mainly an electric vehicle - there is a space for a huge battery.

The only question marks are the quality (the Chevy Cruze reviews make it out to be a mid-pack blahmobile) and the performance while the ICE is supplying the motive juice to the electric motor, especially in the mountains.

Yeah, the prius is great, but cars like the Volt and the Leaf are the future. The Prius PHEV is a day late and a dollar short...

 

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle]Pareto principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

So... the claim is Prius could never use a larger motor or power-carriers configured to support a faster speed?

I haven't seen anything to support that. In fact, the current limits appear to be just a balance of power & price, chosen to draw a massive market quickly.
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No. The claim is that the Prius architecture is designed around the ICE which it is. Most cars including the Prius could be converted to be a full electric, but are really not designed around a large battery pack. The Leaf and the Volt are designed around a large battery and indeed improvements to batteries could eliminate the ICE in the Volt or just replace it with more batteries (of the same or similar weight) and could improve the Leafs range as well.

I think that it is obvious that for a hybrid where you expect to use gasoline that the Prius HSD design is the best design for that job. As battery and hybrid technology evolves further the mpg of the Prius could go up even more. For a PHEV with more then a dozen miles of range the best design will change to a series hybrid and then finally evolve (as batteries get better and cheaper) past the serial design into the full electric designs of the EV1 and Leaf.