GM: Yes, the Volt's gas engine can power the wheels

I was waiting to see who'd post about this...lots of news with people upset about gm's misleading advertising (or flat out lies depending on how you feel) about being an electric vehicle vs a hybrid and the huge underdelivery of advertised mpg/range.....


Im upset for a number of reasons (I really wanted a US automaker to do something great and instead it's looking like same-ol' same ol') but my biggest gripe is that it looked like they promised an incredible car to get government money (which I take as "our tax dollars") then just before delivery, changing it to something much less impressive and very realistically unworthy of winning that funding.

There are so many alternative companies who could have really done something spectacular with that funding. I just feel let down really.

 

The mechanical pathway was talked about since January. GM has consistently denied that it would physically drive the wheels through the pathway. The question is why is GM's pr machine so out of whack. They could have just kept silent and avoided the controversy. The psd is quite different than the parallel serial hybrid plug in hybrid volt. The original motortrend review has lots of good information, including comparisons with the phv prius.

The volt looks promising especially on a 3 year lease for those that drive 12,000 or fewer miles a year.

 

A lot of us saw this coming. Volt is turning out to be a $41k Prius Frankenstein.

 

Doesn't this infringe on Toyota's patents? I am guessing the late news may be because Toyota challenged the infringment and subsequently lost, who knows.

 

LOL I couldn't count all the posts saying what a waste the ICE is on the volt if it can't power the wheels. Now someone is saying it can in some situations and it just makes things worse.

I willing to bet if the car was released and the stats changes to 100 miles of EV range, 50 mpg in gas extended mode. And the price came down to 30k, half of you guys would still bash it. the other half would admit their interest.

 

yup - you called it.

I'm disappointed because I wanted to see how well a true series-hybrid would work out.

I wonder if GM initially intended this thing to be a series-hybrid and then realized it was not viable after the marketing hype was unleashed.

Shame the public does not get to look at their data from test mules.

The Fisker karma is supposedly a series hybrid, right?

 

HAHAHA. GM fails. Volt fails. The Volt is as much a gov't myth as Obama's birth certificate. LOL

 

Hi All,

Toyota did not invent the PSD Torquer/Speeder motor transmission. Nor did that goofball in Florida. It was invented in the late 60's by engineers from TRW. This concept is well out of patent protection.

So, NO, just because the Volt has a PSD, does not neccasarily mean that GM is infringing on any patents owned by Toyota.

This truely a bizarre car. It has all the weight penalties of the 40 mile batterieis, AND the heavy weight gearing in the transmission to take shock loads from the road when being driven by the engine. It seems the original engineer's elegant concept was twisted into a Simpson mobile!

 

Oh dear, this new Volt should give 300MPG...
The engine that can really make the wheels turn? WOW.
I thought the big 3 made cars, but this one must be a Not-car.
To GM: hurry up, many people have registered to have one...you must choose between technologies before production. Also the engine delivers heat, you might capture some and produce steam, and make it a hydrogen-wanna-be just emiting to the tail pipe.

 

And I thought GM had no problems other than the UAW. LOL.

 

Baseball, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.



Take the time, sit back, and watch this 1946 Disney short.
When it's over, tell me...
Is this is, or is this isn't, the story of the development of the Volt in microcosm?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN5-Nd9h1vY]YouTube - Disney's (1946) Casey at the Bat[/ame]

Oh! The bumbling, the bufoonery, the empty promises, the lies,
but always the intimation that Casey, that is Chebby, would certainly
hit a home run.

Stee-rike Tha-ree! You're out!

 

Hey - Welcome back! Where'd you go?
. . . . . and what do YOU think of GM's belated admission?

.

 

Worse for GM IMO is that the initial fuel economy ratings from the C&D test show that the real 'gas-free range' according to GM now is 25-50 miles.

C&D ran it through 3 ranges
..all out on the highway at 80+ mph and got about 26 gas-free miles
..spirited backroad driving and got about 30-35 gas-free miles
..very tenderly driven at < 60 mph and got in the high 30's gas-free.


So..what we have is..

• backtracking on the 230 mpg fuel economy claim
• backtracking on the all-electric vehicle claim
• backtracking on the gas-free range
• we still need to know the fuel economy in CS Mode
• but the price is right in line with initial expectations.

This isn't their finest moment.

 

i'm kinda annoyed by reading this. is is a copy of toyota's system but set up in a different order... then again... nobody owned a planetary gear.

(i saw this the original forum)

the volt is

...... Electric ==|
...................... |== wheels
.Gas/Electric ==|


while the prius is

.Electric ==|
..... Gas ==|
.Electric ==|== Wheels

the tops being the inner gear...


it reminds me of a honda hybrid with it's motor/ice.. yet it has a 2nd motor to control acceleration.

both systems rely on the center ring for acceleration... (prius & volt)

 

i can't seem to fix spacing.... i'll use periods or something...

 

HOw is this different than any PHV ?

 

The Autoblog article had a link to Motor Trend Explains the Volt’s Powertrain which contains a comparison of the Volt's transmission vs. the Prius' PSD. There's also Unbolting the Chevy Volt to See How it Ticks - Motor Trend.

 

Is following page familiar?
Unbolting the Chevy Volt to See How it Ticks - Motor Trend

Ken@Japan

edit: 3 minutes late than cwerdna.

 

Max speed in EV only operation.