Tom Hanks was the first person to buy a fully electric Scion, taking delivery on 2/15. This vehicle is very interesting. It is a modified vehicle with the mod coming from a company called AC propulsions.
They’ve actually made a Volt-like vehicle. It has a pure 160 HP (same as Volt) electric engine that powers the fromt wheels. Also like the Volt it has a 650 lb Li-ion battery bank to power the engine. Not like the Volt it has a range of 120-150 miles!!! And also not like the Volt and maybe why the range is so long it has regenerative braking.
Lastly , most not like the Volt, there is No Combustion Engine; its all plug-in.
GM should take note of this car – I’d say adding regenerative braking is a very good idea.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 12:38 pm and is filed under Competitors, PHEV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Feb 21st, 2007 (8:12 pm)I have to disagree with you on the regenerative braking. If you look at the pic of the instrument panel you will see that it shows Regenerative Braking. I could be wrong, or this could be a feature that they are going to add. I doubt that braking could make this car travel soo much further then the volt. There has to be another reason.
Feb 21st, 2007 (9:53 pm)BlackSheep
You are right about the photo, but as per GM, there is currently no regenerative braking in the Volt. See reference article here: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/27/some-reader-questions-on-the-chevy-volt-answered/
It seems logical that they should add it for the production car and that should extend range. How much is the question.
Feb 22nd, 2007 (2:21 pm)The Volt will have Regen Braking in the production model.
Feb 22nd, 2007 (2:37 pm)I’d love to buy an all-electric Scion XB, however, the price tag from AC Propulsion is about $70k. $15k for the car, another $60k for the conversion. Not something everyone can afford. Listen to my podcast with Tom Gage, president of AC Propulsion, about his company and their conversions at http://www.podtech.net/nextgear/technology/1642/ac-propulsions-e-box
Feb 24th, 2007 (2:54 pm)The issue with the EV range of the Scion vs. the GM Volt is two-fold:
1) the Scion conversion is taking the aggressive approach on estimating range. I.e. the 650 lbs battery will have a total stored energy of ~25 kWh, and if one assumes an aggressive energy use of 250 Wh/mi in light driving, then you can theoretically achieve ~100 miles range. As the battery approaches low SOC the performance of the vehicle will become sloppy.
The durability of the Scion battery is also an issue and pulling 100 miles a day from the pack may result in short battery life (
Feb 25th, 2007 (12:49 am)Can anyone answer some questions for me?
With electricity costing $.08 to $.11 per KWh, gas would have to be above $3.50 a gallon before it makes sense to charge up an electric car at home. Additionally, there are conversion losses when going from outlet to battery making it even more costly. Why would people pay more for a car and then pay more to fuel it up?
The other question is about the batteries. I have never seen a NiMH or Li Ion battery that lasts more than a couple of years. And battery life is even worse when they operate under temperatures as high as a typical summer in most parts of the United States. Does anyone have first-hand information about batter life with the current hybrid vehicles?
Nov 22nd, 2007 (10:48 pm)goldriver: Estimates say new EVs such as the Tesla roadster will only cost 1 to 2 cents per mile in electricity. You will be able to drive 250 miles for the price of one gallon of gas.
Jan 29th, 2008 (8:41 pm)gas engines convert their energy at approximately 35% while electric engines have an efficiency of at least 80% and most of the time more. Therefore, when you charge your car, you put less potential energy in your car, but can move farther on less total stored energy.
Jan 24th, 2009 (9:46 pm)Yeah! power them fromt wheels XD
Feb 26th, 2009 (10:14 pm)If it has the same battery and motor combo, why is the range almost 4 times as much as the Volt? If a small company can modify an existing car to get almost 4 times the performance using virtually the same parts as GM, why are we giving GM billions of dollars? Is GM trying to please their friends in Washington and the Oil Business by keeping the electric performance low and the demand for fuel high on trips over 40 miles? It sounds like at least to me that the Chevy Volt is already beaten and is a huge waste of money at a time when we can’t afford it. Also the Volt is over $40,000. How many do you think you can sell in this economy? This car will not save GM. It is going to help kill it.