Hi all,

First, I apologize if this topic has been discussed before and I imagine it has. I was looking for discussions about the EV-1s mileage capabilities compared to the Volts capabilities and couldn't find anything. I did a search for EV-1, which returned no results and then EV1 and was instructed that the search term is too short. (Is GM trying to hide any discussion about this car??) Anyway...

What I would like to know or at the very least hear people's comments on is, why did the EV-1 have a mileage capability of up to a 100 miles whereas the Volt can only travel 40 miles before needing gas? I find it hard to believe that the battery technology is not better today than it was ten years ago. Heck, my laptop's battery lasts longer today than the one I had three years ago. It would seem at this point you could make a battery that got more than 100 miles. Maybe I'm being naive here, can anyone shed any light on this?

TIA

There's a multitude of reasons (well, several):

First, the EV-1's battery was about 3 times as heavy (over 1000lbs I think) as the Volt's battery (400lbs).

Next, the Volt only uses 50% of its battery capacity. Yes, that means there's enough battery to go 80 miles but the software won't let you. It baby's the battery to help it last through 10 years of daily charges. That means it has to be charged 3600+ times - just try to do that with your laptop, it won't make it... and neither will the EV-1's battery. The EV-1 battery only lasted about 3-5 years, and you'll be lucky if your laptop battery holds a full charge after 3 years. My 2 yr old laptop's battery is down to about 75% capacity already.

Why 10 years? That's what they are warranteeing the battery for - I think it's because some states require it.

They determined somehow (I presume through studies) that about 80% of people drive 40 miles or less on a daily basis. That means they can cover 80% of daily travel with 40 miles of battery. Convenient...

The EV-1 was a 2-door, 2 seat car. The Volt is a 4-door, 4-seater, with a regular trunk (or hatch) - but anyways, it is basically a standard vehicle - sedan/hatchback/whatever you want to call it.

Having a smaller battery allows more room to put in a generator to remove the #1 hurdle people have with electric vehicles: Range anxiety. What do I do when I'm out of battery and not near an outlet? Also, some people could have a second car for longer trips but others couldn't.

The EV-1 was a niche car - it only appealed to those who really wanted an electric car, and that's about it. The Volt is capable of replacing almost anyone's car - commute to/from work for almost free, take the family on vacation without worry, it gives us the best of our current cars (unlimited range based on common fueling stations) and gives us the advantages of an electric car (cheaper short-distance travel, ecologically clean - much cleaner than gas). No compromises.., or at least very few.

(statisticians and nit-pickers: I know some of my points are somewhat innacurate but it takes a long time to explain accurately and people's eyes glaze over).

Fishmahn

PS: This site isn't sponsored by GM. There is a smattering of discussion on the EV1 - maybe you'll find something useful if you look for 'who killed the electric car' or something like that.

The NiMH version of the EV-1 battery has a still unknown life. There are Toyota Rav4 EV's with over 150,000 miles and are 6 years old with the original battery pack. The only place you will find the truth about the EV1 is at

http://www.ev1.org/