BACKGROUND: the car Is being designed to be used only for short trips of about 40 miles powered by a 400 pound Lithium Ion battery and a 149hp electric motor. It has been estimated that this will serve the daily needs of most users going to and from work. The car is then to be plugged into a standard AC electric
outlet and recharged during the night and be ready in the morning for another daily 40 mile trip. Learning from their previous electric car disaster the EV1, GM is also including a 100hp gasoline engine with 7gal gas tank that will drive a large generator that will power the electric motor if/when the battery can no longer do so. This is take place primarily if the driver continues to operate the vehicle after driving it for 40mi and not recharging it. The gas powered generator is not allowed to recharge the battery under any circumstances.

PROBLEM 1: is purchase price. I do not know many people who are ready, willing and able to pay $40,000 for a small car to drive back and forth to work on a daily basis. Sure there are a few that will buy it but not nearly enough to make this product profitable. And all of the current “hype” that it gets 230mpg is all smoke and mirrors as new measurement standards are being developed by the EPA.

PROBLEM 2: is operating costs. Most areas of the country have tiered electrical rates. In other words recharging their Volt on a daily basis adds to highest rate that they are paying for all other utilities which is greater than the baseline rate quoted estimated a $.03 per mile cost. Realistically it is more like $.05 per mile which “equates” to about 60mpg Additionally, today’s gasoline prices are going down and electric rates going up putting a damper on the long term outlook. When driven more than 40 miles the volt is no better than most hybrids on the market today that cost a whole lot less and deliver about 50mpg.

PROBLEM 3: when everything is running according to plan the gasoline engine, tank and generator are “excess baggage and costs” used only for an emergency. I think that it would be a lot smarter to eliminate them and have warning lights indicating when the battery is getting low and will need recharging. The EV1 was too limited in mileage for this to be effective.

PROBLEM 4: if the driver wishes to use this car for much longer trips or on vacation the battery becomes 400lbs of excess weight and there is no easy way to temporarily remove it for this usage. I think that GM should include a switch that will allow the driver to recharge the battery while driving more than the 40 mile limit making it more like all of the hybrid vehicles that are now available.

PROBLEM 5. most people are not going to like having to plug in their car every night to recharge it especially in the winter or when it is raining. Additionally many drivers do not have easy access to an AC outlet, especially those who live in apartments and some condominiums.

PROBLEM 6: we have all been using Lithium Ion batteries for the last 10 years in our cell phones and laptop computers and have not experienced one to last more than 3 years with good functionality. And we do not subject these devices to outdoor summers of Arizona or winters of North Dakota. The battery in the Volt costs about $8,000 and will have to be replaced about every 3 years regardless of what the warrantee states. GM will not be able to continue to support or sell additional Volts until this problem is solved which will require a totally new design which is being partially funded by our government at this time.

PROBLEM 7: is depreciation. With technology changing so rapidly the value of a 2011 Volt will decrease rapidly. What else is new?

Im in Australia and hope they bring the Volt here. If they don’t, I fully intend to import one myself.

I believe a lot of houses have 3-phase power too, but those that don’t wil be stuck.

Our kids don’t get their hands burned due to earth leakage circuit breakers which my wife made me prove to her work I actually tested that it worked first, then shocked myself to prove it’s safe. Hardly a tingle

Another thought about EVs is the silence is deafening. I will be so pleased that the big V8 so-called super-car noise will one day be a thing of the past!

Hi Ian, I am not sure where you live but where I live in the U.S. I have 300 amp service at 240 volts to my house. My 2 fuse boxes break down the 240v to 120v (30 and 20 amp) where needed. I have many 30 amp 240 volt connections in my house and garage. I am sure one of them can handle a GM Volt if needed. You might say I have options. And one of them is my little kids will not burn a hand off if they put something in one of the 120v plugs.

Thanks
Joe

1) Capacitors will remain in their domain for what they are – high-energy capacity devices, not watt/hour storage devices. They will help the EV reach it’s peak demand as your post says, but they will probably never be watt/hour storage devices as the physics just does’nt stack up.

2) Interesting that the Americas are 15 or 20A houshold circuits when most of the rest of the world is 15-20A also – but at more than double the voltage (254V where I live!), hence more than double the available power and halving of the charge time. Is the US going to be at a disadvantage by their network then if recharging at home is the approach?.