What if?

[Fulgerite]

This is a silly thread about perpetual motion. No it will not extend the range. No there is no magic trick to make the Volt go forever.

[John_Hatchett]

This is a silly thread about perpetual motion. No it will not extend the range. No there is no magic trick to make the Volt go forever.

Silly yes, but we are a silly bunch thinking we can go forever without gasoline.

[jeffhre]

This site, these cars, those concepts were incredibly silly...until Martin Eberhard went to AC propulsion and said, "Has anybody tried a lithium ion battery in one of these?" Keep dreaming fellas, the future has yet to be written.

[Mike McG]

I always like to wonder. It is was keeps the world going. As for having them physically linked, It seems it would lessen the margin of error. Who knows though. And theoretically, IF we could get 1 or 2 extra miles out of that combo, couldn't we get more if we added more cars to the caravan, all effectively pushing each other?

[Steverino]

This is a silly thread about perpetual motion. No it will not extend the range. No there is no magic trick to make the Volt go forever.

Everyone knows all you need to do is put a windmill on top of the Volt and it would generate the electricity to drive the car.

[Bzzzt]

How about the Volt being a toad on a motorhome?

Remote control inside RV would control the transmission. Left On, in Neutral- I'd think it could be towed, obviously at some cost in power, but not as a generator. A brake controller would interface with the Volt, providing 'dynamic braking' like a diesel electric locomotive. The RV wouldn't need a genset, because it could pull power out of the Volt as a superefficient & quiet gen set.

If the RV was a VW microbus, the Volt could have an additional 'drive' mode control for helper use in going up mountains. Or maybe the Volt would just need to drive all the time, behind a microbus.

[flmark]

Well, I won't get into discussion about perpetual motion and other applicable items, but I will say this-
I towed my Volt from FL to NY on a dolly behind my Tahoe Hybrid. I must add that I went slower than I would go with Tahoe alone, muddying the picture a bit. However, I calculated that it cost me 13 extra gallons to tow the Volt (versus the Tahoe without anything attached). By comparison, if a second driver had driven the Volt on its own I would have consumed 18 MORE gallons TOTAL than both vehicles linked up. Yeah, you can discuss drafting or a number of other reasons. I just like to think 'overhead'. Each vehicle has its own overhead (to run on its own) and if I can dump that overhead onto a towing vehicle, the total picture might be less gallons used. Debate as you will; I know I saved gas (and certainly time) by having one driver with the two vehicle combo.

Oh, and yes, Mike, the concept of training vehicles on superhighways is actually a topic of discussion for how to increase efficiency for future transportation. It would take infrastructure changes for all vehicles- and only the lead vehicle would control speed, braking, etc. But with lots of vehicles not having to overcome their own drag (or the bulk of it), vast amounts of fuel could be saved.

[doggydogworld]

Car trains do indeed offer the potential for better highway MPG (and/or EV range). Slaved cars could safely follow a foot or two behind, reducing energy usage by half or more. The ideal would be highway car trains on electrified rails. Huge wins in petroleum consumption, safety and individual productivity are available with today's technology.

[scottf200]

You could just tow it with a gas car/truck <Grin>

The fastest way to charge your Nissan Leaf without power supply

[Cord]

We are doing this all wrong
The Roads Must Roll-Robert A. Heinlein