2nd Channel Video-Discussing the death of the Chevy Volt Concept
I had these thoughts recently, and while I am fairly confident that bigger batteries are the right direction, I've also begun to wonder if perhaps an improved Volt would actually reduce emissions faster because we could conceivably build more of them sooner, and not have people worrying about range anxiety. It also provides an opportunity for people to learn the limits of EVs without ever being challenged by the limits of an EV, and there's a lot of value there.
It's long, rambly, and very much off-the-cuff, but if you're into electric cars it might interest you. The most interesting part starts around the 15:00 mark where I actually explain how the Volt's drive system works.
Comments (13)
Interesting how difficult this is to explain. Probably due to all the emotions. But as a summary (I'm certainly not an expert): there are different kind of cars that employ both an electrical and a gasoline engine. First you have an EV vehicle with an engine to produce electricity, such as an BMW i3. Then you have an gasoline vehicle with an electrical engine as a side kick (for low speeds, extra power and breaking), such as an Toyota Prius. And as a in between category, the Chevy Volt can do both. Very smart. Without a big chunky automatic transmission. Does that sound about right, or didn't I pay enough attention. Anyways, you forget the important factor that people happily work one day extra or more to actually pay for the car. It's a mindset thing. My daily commute is 6km (about 4 miles) which I do by bycicle. For long distance, I just rent something. So yeah, it's a pretty difficult discussion ;-)
Thanks for explaining this. I always figured the Volt was just like the i3 REX, but that's cool to know that the ICE can connect to the wheels. It's also interesting that the the motors are packaged into a form that's similar to a typical transition.
Aha! The viking oil worker I remember at epcot! http://bit.ly/2M3TYz4
Is it my imagination or have I seen that viking oil worker on your shirt on a ride at epcot? Also, couldn't agree more with the missed opportunities with the volt. As somebody that drives around 80 miles commuting to work but also sometimes drives 1600 miles cross country a couple of times a year, a combination fossil fuel/electric is ideal. I hope the concept returns someday
Fun fact: BMW had to cripple the software of their i3 so it could legally be classified as a range-extended vehicle in the US. European models feature a "hold" mode that allows the range extending engine to kick in even when the battery is not discharged; this is disabled on the U.S. model in addition to software-limiting the capacity of the gasoline tank.
not uncommon for US i3 owners to "hack" their cars with the european firmware
You know way to much about the Volt. Alex - stop learning new things now!!! Your head will explode!
The unmentioned option for occasional longer trips (eg, less than once a month), is just to rent a specific vehicle for that trip. Especially if the trips are just a day or two, the day rental cost across the year is probably still less than the incremental vehicle cost to have the larger / longer range “just in case” vehicle. Particularly if people can be persuaded to do that, shorter range electric becomes a great “98% of trips” solution. Ewen
And lots of people are effectively renting their main vehicle two. So why not have a bundled “time share” kind of rental which is 95% small electric but includes some days of “long range vehicle” in the base package. Just saying. Ewen
I think a highly-underrated aspect of it is that it's a mid-tier sedan in a world where sedans of any sort are growing ever less-popular. If the tech could be applied to a mid-size SUV, I think Chevrolet would have a very different story on their hands. Then again, it seems like the mass adoption point for all-electric EVs isn't too far away. People are genuinely excited about the concept and will pay a premium for it, so the logic of the Volt may no longer be compelling to the general public. I think the novelty and cool factor of long range on all-electric is something that attracts many people to the EV space these days. It's sad that such thinking crowds out more logical options, but I think it's still a mostly-positive development.
In a large sprawling city like Houston (+air conditioning), I'm not sure 38 miles would get you much of anywhere, commute-wise. And in cities like San Jose with extremely busy highways and backups, you might find yourself dead on the road.
Now I want to go out and buy an electric car! I would love to not need an oil change ever again!
Great content as usual! And quite the coincidence that I got the email about this video while I was ordering my Tesla Model 3! Your videos about EVs inspired me to take the plunge :)