Comments on: Chevy Volt Will Get More Than 32 MPG in Charge-Sustaining Mode

By: Bob Fisher

Bob Fisher — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:51:57 +0000

Im here to tell you i have a Toyota Echo. I commute 110 miles every day and gas milage is everything and cost is too. I have a stick, two door, with cruse added and i get 40 mpg day in and day out the cost of my vehicle new was 12600$ that included a 100,000 bumper to bumper warentee!!! At the time i was doing the math on preius and insight. by the time ya pay two times as much and would have to replace the batterys atleast once by now my echo is still cheaper to operate than any hybrd! Im hoping that the automanufactures wake up!! as to milage and cost. I would love to buy a new volt or two but the cost and the milage has to be within the realm of a normal person. If i had an extra 40 grand id buy a vett not an every day driver!!! Food for thought … Id love to have an electric car that is capeable of 70mph and have a crusing range of 300 miles and only cost 20,ooo$$$$

By: ug

ug — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:05:06 +0000

I knew that 50mpg was bogus from day one.

By: Shock Me

Shock Me — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:11:05 +0000

dagwood55: My 1982 (yes, ‘82) Cavalier managed over 40mpg on the highway. Simple physics wins. I have to wonder if Dan bought that car new or if he bought it used, years later, and that’s why he didn’t correctly remember the model year.

Yes, another J-Car with fuel economy numbers not much different from vehicles today. I think the model year you harp on is a an extremely irrelevant point. I think we can say that while MPG has remained fairly stable for most cars since the 1980s. At least it appears they are getting a bit more work out of them. Displacement certainly seems to be on a downward trend for a greater percentage of the passenger car fleet. That could explain the relatively flat trajectory of MPG. I think we would have to step backward to the days of the horsepower race of the late 60s to see MPG fall like a stone or even be a consideration. I don't think MPG should be the overriding consideration even now. The compromises necessary to go beyond 60-MPG simply aren't worth it for the types of vehicles people will need (or want). Give me a means to minimize oil use and provide local energy (ethanol or electrons) to break the stranglehold oil has on transport and I'm golden.

By: Texas

Texas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:56:19 +0000

Matthew_B: There are two reasons a hybrid has advantages even at highway speed. The first is engine size. A straight mechanical drive requires an engine big enough for the peak power. The hybrid requires an ICE sized for average power. This means that at the flat highway power requirement, the hybrid engine is running farther up it’s power range where it is more efficient. The second is that the hybrid has an advantage when you add hills and curves where the regeneration can capture power. Those two should be able to counterbalance the extra losses and put the volt in the same ballpark of a similar size car.

I should have said similar size hybrid car. Like a non-plug-in Prius, for example. My point is that the serial drivetrain is less efficient than a mechanical drivetrain when driving down the highway.

By: NZDavid

NZDavid — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:32:39 +0000

Lyle: I find it’s hard to please everyone with whatever change I make, but the goal is to please the greatest percentage…kind of like the Volt itself

I, for one, am very happy with the ‘new’ old system back. The nested quote system just took up too much of my time to follow.

LJGTVWOTR
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