The BMW Volt?

Ok, at the end of the video, the driver stepped out of the vehicle to pee! LOL

 

That blog post is unreliable. It says the Volt has an "Atkinson" gas engine which is not true.

The business about the Volt design being changed to "not regenerate power by braking" is nonsense. The Volt has regenerative braking both via the brake pedal and when the Accelerator pedal is released (mild normally, relatively strong regeneration in 'L' "gear").

The 2-mode program that BMW, Chrysler, and GM developed together has not been abandoned by GM. GM sells several large SUVs and pickup trucks that use the RWD version and they are working on a FWD variant of it for use in a Cruze plugin that may be released in 2014 to compete with the PiP and Ford Fusion Energi plugin.

Frank Weber is German, I think, so it's not surprising that he might want to go back to Germany and develop plugin cars for BMW.

 

How the Chevy Volt Became a BMW - TheStreet

 

It's nice to see BMW actually making an effort.
Mercedes is probably still working on the next GLK-650 AMG that gets 11mpg.

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Is this the same BMW that is airing commercials that say:

We don't build hybrids, we don't build electric cars....we build BMWs?

gotcha.

 

Does anyone have a bargepole I can borrow? I need to not touch that car.

Luxury brand = high-margin price and higher margin maintenance.

 

It's only about the money?

 

No, Its Not About The Money!

 

Sorry, but actually, the Volt (At least the 2011 model) that I was looking at, and speaking with the Salesperson, does NOT have regenerative braking. And this is from the Chevy dealership I visited in Santa Barbara to fulfill my curiousity while he was trying to sell me on it and give up on my Prius v after I told him several times I was curious, but not interested in buying.

 

That blog was full of misinformation. BMW & Mercedes have killed their two mode SUVs because of costs and built a lower priced hibrid system together. I doubt they are using two mode technology in there. The car is built for speed. It does have a turbo 3 cyl engine like the volt concept, but this is a 220 hp high power version using the latest tech. It also is a through the road hybrid, with front wheel/rear wheel/awd modes.
BMW i8 Concept - First Look - Automobile Magazine

Mercedes Presents Its First Extended Range EV - AutoObserver
They are building a less expensive B class phev

Car salesmen can be idiots. He was giving you bad information.

 

Mind you, the volt he was showing me was the 2011 model, which has that big gaping hole showing the cargo area and a 10/6 EPA Smog/Emissions. The 2012 models have no gaping hole in the rear seat area and a 10/8 EPA

 

You believe car salespeople when they tell you technical details about a car?

Try the Google instead. Try watching the power flow screen (similar to the one in the Prius) show (with a text title at the bottom) that power is being regenerated into the battery when you take your foot off the accelerator or press on the brake.

Actually, the 2011 Volt can regenerate up to 60kW when braking at highway speeds which is way more than the Prius or PiP can regenerate into their battery packs.

By switching from 'D' to the 'L' gear selector position you increase regeneration when the accelerator pedal is released and get around .1g of regenerative braking which is equivalent to light braking using the brake pedal but is guaranteed to not use friction braking. Stepping on the brake pedal will then add further regeneration.

Here's a video posted by GM on their own social media website for the Volt which talks about regenerative braking:

Chevrolet VoltAge - Volt Intuition: Regenerative Braking

 

The 2011 and 2012 Volt have identical seating arrangements.

The ChevroletVoltage link I just posted was uploaded in May 2011 and was describing the 2011 Volt (details about the 2012 Volt had not yet been disclosed). I own a 2011 Volt and have read the service manual and the various SAE technical papers submitted by GM engineers about the car.

The 2011 Volt has regenerative braking.

 

Glad they don't go into more complicated hybrids unless their current cars are known for;
Better reliability,
Lower emissions,
Better gas mileage,
Lower maintenance,
compared to the competition

 

It makes sense. Volt was supposed to be a pure series hybrid. GM decided to throw in the simplified 2-mode hybrid plugin from the discontinued Saturn VUE plugin. That's probably when the planetary gearset and 3 clutched came about.

 

There's an optional thingie you can buy that fills up the gap between the rear seats. It's the same for both model years, you just saw one with it and one without.

I'm not going to get it because my dog is going to love putting his nose through that gap

 

Frank Weber is German, I think, so it's not surprising that he might want to go back to Germany and develop plugin cars for BMW.

 

Well, I guess we know that this car did not come equipped with luxury seats with the built-in urinal option.

BMW, The Ultimate Driving Machine -- well not quite....

Keith

 

20-mile all-electric range, Will they call it a Plug-in hybrid or an EV?

Amusing, Autobloggreen is giving BMW credit for out-of-the-box thinking "20-mile all-electric range, then a 1.5-liter three-cylinder extended range".

BMW nixes plan for M version of i8, but production car to have more power? [w/video]

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