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GM is really gettin serious on the Volt, production to come out in 2010 and to be produced in the tens of thousands thereafter. The technology is nothing new, but revolutionary for cars. For those that are not with it here is a quick breakdown.A typical hybrid is gas/electric where the car runs off batteries but utilizes a small ICE (internal combustion engine) to give it that extra boost for accelerating and when the batteries are low. The Volt is purely electrically driven, the car can be plugged in at stops, should get 40miles on the charge with lithium ion batteries. And when that is low, the cars generator kicks in. Yes a generator. The small ICE does not drive the wheels, the electric motors still will, the generator will power them. Still confused? Think of a modern day Diesel/Electric freight train. Diesel generators power electric motors. The Volt can do this using E85 to start or regular gas, then hydrogen or other alternative fuels. But introductory it will be able to achieve an astonishing 150mpg, and get you 400-640 miles between fillups. That is basically like bringin you back to the days of the $10 fillup, where not even 2.5 gallons of gas will get you 400 miles! That is astonishing and something worth checking into. Come 2010 I will own the Trix and will either be looking at the G8 which I love, or potentially this car which looks so cool and has such awesome technology for a car that I could not pass it up.

The Volt will be a great car if they can keep the price down. It would be great if they could offer a more stripped down version for those of us who don't need every creature comfort on the face of the earth which GM seems to think everyone needs. From what I've heard its 40 miles on a charge and 50 mpg once the generator kicks in. If you never go more than 40 miles you'll never fill up.FYI, typical hybrids run off of a downsized gas engine and use the electric for the extra boost in accelerating. At low speeds some use electric only, but only if you go easy on the pedal.

At th 40K this is supposedly going to go for right now, it's not worth it. I wish it had a solar panel on the roof.

This is a great concept - if it will actually work. Most days I drive less than 30 miles - I would rarely need to run the engine. Combine widespread use of this with nuclear power, and we have a chance to make a serious dent in our oil usage. A win-win for everyone but OPEC.

volvo has a concept suv just like this were its each wheel has a electric motor and a IC to only charge batteries. Awesome concept, good distance, its just the cost now....

That 40k was a glitch. Currently they are estimating 30k for a price. I would imagine they could offer a stripped version but we shall see.I commute 50 miles round trip so I would dip into the generator a bit, but whose to say I couldn't borrow an outlet from my office garage, hehe.

That'd be easy in colder climates. Almost all hotels, workplaces, etc. have plug ins for block heaters. What I fail to see is that the power converted by the ICE to battery power issue. How does this actually save in the long run to get you the higher MPG? How would it matter if the ICE is driving the wheels directly, or driving them via the ICE via the batteries?

electric motors are hella more efficient than IC and they love to run at high rpms. Also since they wind down (aka slowing down or braking) they can recharge the battery at the same time. so the IC ONLY runs to charge the batteries, in the case of the volt, after 50 miles and then on the hwy every so often. I think they are using lithium polymer, so those batteries can charge in like 15 min to 80% or so and full charge in a couple hours to 4 hours. so you use TONS less gas to go more miles

Quote, originally posted by jimincalif »Combine widespread use of this with nuclear power, and we have a chance to make a serious dent in our oil usage. A win-win for everyone but OPEC.Agreed. This is kinda funny because my coworker and I were just discussing the Volt and the very point you made on nuclear power. We went on line and read everything that's been posted on this thread so far. I have to start wearing my aluminum foil helmet again, those satellites are back in my head.

The ICE in the Volt only needs to run at a specified rpm, so it can be designed to run incredibly efficient at that rpm unlike a traditional engine which must run great from 1000-6000 rpm.

Too bad I have no place to plug it in, apartment living... That would be sweet for my 32 mile commute!

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle »That'd be easy in colder climates. Almost all hotels, workplaces, etc. have plug ins for block heaters. What I fail to see is that the power converted by the ICE to battery power issue. How does this actually save in the long run to get you the higher MPG? How would it matter if the ICE is driving the wheels directly, or driving them via the ICE via the batteries? I expect the outlets for block heaters would need upgrading. Block heaters run on a few hundred Watts and the Volt would need lots more current to recharge the batteries in a reasonable amount of time. But if we get significant numbers of plug-in hybrids out there then I'd expect lots of locations to have suitable outlets - probably with card-swipe capability to pay for the electricity.The main gas saving is by eliminating the need for any at all when the car is driven for the first 40 - 50 miles after a recharge. For many people's daily car usage this will either be sufficient or at least close enough to save most of their gasoline usage. On long trips the savings are less but you still get some by only having the IC engine operate when needed for charging and then running it at a constant high load where it has the highest efficiency. Pollution controls are also much easier when the engine is operated at near constant load.

If you wanna know how the system works, as said it is similar to a diesel/electric locomotive. They get incredible mileage for the loads that they haul vs. mpg with the diesel.Next time you hear a diesel go by, regardless of speed, listen to the whine of the electric motors for the drive wheels and then try to single out the engine. It always runs at a constant, so the whole city/highway mileage and fluctuating numbers become obsolete thus leaving you with a solid mpg number. Although it would not really work on mpg's. You could convert it, but it would be more like hours of run time of the ICE generator.I also got into a discussion with my buddy about this last night, the car has an awesome coolness factor compared to something like a Prius, and it looks incredible. Hopefully they keep the similar styling.

I hope the production unit resembles the concept car. I love the styling. GM has a bad habit of making a cool concept, then rolling it through the ugly machine on its way to the production line. I don't know what gasoline will cost in 2010, but they will need to keep the cost down if GM wants this car to succeed. The price of the car can't be more than it costs to operate it, or nobody will buy them. I hope that GM succeeds.

well from what i read, the volt was just a concept platform. That platform would be used for many other "cars" but i think that they should keep a version thats a 2 door coupe.....

Bob Lutz on the Volt mule:http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/ar....html