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calculation details of Volt's 230mpg city estimate

Discussion in 'Chevrolet Volt' started by john1701a, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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  2. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    The devil is in the details.

    We know for a fact that the "40-mile range" is ideal condition only. One report during the winter pointed out a reduction all the way down to just 28 miles due to heater and power demands. So, it's quite reasonable to expect less for real-world. Remember, the A/C requires electricity too.

    As for 50 MPG, how many 2010 Prius early tests showed results well into the 60's? Heck, I routinely see that now when doing nothing but suburb driving without the Heater or A/C. But that's not what my real-world average is.

    Show me the data.
    .
     
  3. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Really?

    Then why isn't GM planning to also offer one with a much smaller battery-pack?

    The cost, complexity, and weight reductions, along with increased production volume, could make it competitive. That could reach a much wider market too.
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  4. Felt

    Felt Senior Member

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    I read that the EPA is re-evaluating the methodology used to calculate EV's mileage, speculating that GM's stated 230 mpg would be un-validated.
     
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Yes, it would. And if cheese could fly we wouldn't need cars at all. If they ever actually provide a production Volt to a consumer, we will find out what mileage it will get. Until then, it's all just hot air. GM does not have a reputation for honesty, so I will believe only what an independent testing lab (such as Consumer Reports) finds out.
     
  6. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    Yes, Really. They could do as you say as well but the fact that they don't offer a smaller battery pack does not diminish the Volt in any way.
     
  7. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    Again pretty silly arguments here. If they make a production Volt? You could have played the FUD card last year but that is over, the Volt is happening.

    And honesty? I am a Toyota fan and have loved the Prius for a long time but come on! Have you been living in a cave? Toyota is not exactly the most honest company either. Lets talk about the CARS themselves.
     
  8. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    The purpose of business is to make profit.

    GM is still in serious financial jeopardy, still taking wild long-term risks without having much of anything solid to fall back on in the meantime. Remember the "too little, too slowly" assessment? Poor management can wreck a perfectly good technology.

    What is the purpose of Volt with respect to GM's entire production?
    .

    Again, what is the purpose of Volt?

    The "230" hype doesn't accomplish anything beyond getting that green halo Lutz yearns for.
    .
     
  9. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Let's talk about cars that actually exist. You say the Volt will happen. I don't believe that. But if and when it does happen, then we'll know how far it goes on electric (a useful 40 miles, or less than my Zap Xebra) and what it gets for gas mileage in CS mode (the 50 mpg its boosters are now touting, or a worthless 30 mpg) etc.

    Media hype aside, the Prius is still one of the most reliable cars on the road: only Honda does as well as Toyota for reliability.

    GM has a long history of lies, screwing the customer and the nation, and opposing every safety and efficiency requirement ever put forward. They'll have to show me a product, and let it be tested independently, before I'll believe anything they say. A company that claims its car is going to get 230 mpg does not deserve to be taken seriously or believed. You claim that's an EPA standard? I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts it was GM lobbyists who wrote that standard and bribed or browbeat the EPA into adopting it!
     
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  10. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    Yes, we know. You have told us so many times, yet there are now early production Volts driving around. The factory line is built. The battery production line is built. It is going to happen.

    You don't hear this kind of doubt about the Prius plug in even though its farther from production.
     
  11. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    That's because Toyota does not have a seventy-year history of lies, deception, screwing the nation and its drivers, and opposing with bribery and lies and lobbying every safety and efficiency measure ever proposed.
     
  12. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    We've been through all this already with Two-Mode.

    It was hyped to death. Production began. Sales confirmed the shortcomings we were concerned about prior to rollout.

    How is this different?
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  13. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    First of all, two mode was to complex. While HSD actually reduces the component count in a car two mode added greatly to the complexity of the cars it was in. While the Volt while quite different from HSD it does indeed drop out whole components such as the transmission. A serial hybrid can be less complex then a series/parallel hybrid.

    The two mode was marketed to large SUV buyers. Most people know that those buyers are MOSTLY not concerned about MPG. Most people who wanted to save gas were not interested in a large vehicle (that did not save that much gas!). The Volt is the right size and marketed to the right people.
     
  14. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    If you compare the last 5 years I think you would be hard pressed to find GM worse then Toyota.
     
  15. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    How much are they willing to pay?

    What MPG are they expecting to get?

    Shouldn't Volt be for the mainstream consumer?
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  16. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    Well that would be great but that is not necessary. The Prius was not marketed at first to the mainstream. The initial Prius cost well more then cars in its size and features class yet like the Volt was in a class by itself due to its drive train.

    At 10,000 for the first year, sales targets are quite reasonable as well. I am predicting they sell them pretty easily even to a list price of $40,000.
     
  17. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Mainstream consumers were most definitely the target for Prius. That's why Toyota designed it to resemble the look of upcoming new traditional vehicles of the time and priced the base model at $19,995. GM abandoned the original "nicely under $30,000" goal.

    How come you didn't answer the question about MPG expections?

    That and price are major purchase consideration factors. To be mainstream, a minimum of 60,000 per year must be purchased.
    .
     
  18. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Let's see now, GM went bankrupt because it refused to offer cars people want or the quality that modern technology can deliver.

    Toyota didn't go bankrupt because it did offer cars people wanted, and delivered quality.

    GM got a big government bail-out and is still paying its executives obscene salaries and benefits. We (the people) own GM, but GM is still being run by the same old crooks.

    Toyota runs on the profits it makes selling the cars people want at top quality. Whatever it's paying its executives is coming out of the profits they and their employees generate, not out of our pockets.

    Yes, I find GM to be very greatly worse then Toyota.

    All I'm saying is that if GM wants me to believe them, they have to show me a product, not just tell me about it. NOTE PLEASE: GM could have built an EV a decade ago. How do I know this? Because they did!!! But they didn't want us to have EVs so they took them all back and crushed them.

    GM is a pack of lying rotten thieving criminals. No, I'm not going to believe the Volt until it's on car lots for sale, in numbers sufficient that anybody can buy one, and at a price common people can afford. (You seem to want to compare the Volt to the Prius: Note that the Prius was introduced at $20K, while the Volt will cost $40K. That's DOUBLE the cost of the Prius! But more importantly, it's 1/3 more than the cost of the Leaf.)
     
  19. hampdenwireless

    hampdenwireless Active Member

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    Because we have beat that issue to death. I am expecting 45mpg. You are not.
     
  20. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    And there's the crux: Nobody knows because GM will not tell us. If you like GM you'll expect a high figure; if you dislike GM you'll expect a low figure. But we have no facts because GM does not want us to have facts.