Volt to run the gas engine when the hood is opened

It violates my KISS principle of design, but it's probably not a bad idea.

I found this quote interesting, it address another thread from earlier today (or maybe yesterday?).

"In the coming months, don’t expect any news flashes about how the Volt works or drives. GM has move on to the sales process. “We’re at the point where the vehicle and the technology are pretty much locked in,†"

 

Ever notice how GM test drives are in small coned-off areas?

That's quite a contrast to Toyota's open-road, highway-speed test drives with the plug-in Prius.
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"sales process" it's all about the marketing. (lying)

 

That is rich: "Now that we are getting ready to put the car up for sale, information about the car is forbidden"

Only at GM

 

So Mr. Goodwrench isn't the sharpest tool in the shed since the ICE has to turn on when the hood opens. How do they manage to work on every other GM car? We asked "How will GM screw this up?" I submit this is the first way. IMO if the car is built for the neighborhood dumbass then the neighborhood dumbass can buy it--not me.

 

I wish GM well, but I am still buying a Nissan Leaf. Look at them... GM may produce between 5-10K in the first year, Nissan already has 12K preorders, and plans on 50K for the first year, ramping up to 500K worldwide within 2-3 years. Which one is serious about EV's and the environment, and which one is greenwashing? even if the Volt is a fabulous hit, they won't make enough of them to make a dent...

and running the engine when the hood is open? you must be kidding.

 

That's a *most* excellent way to put it.
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_H*

 

I'm not a mechanic, so I may be missing something here, but I always thought you opened the hood to work on the engine, and you want the engine to be NOT running when you work on it.

If the engine only runs if the hood is opened when the car is turned on, to let you know the car is on, why not just have a buzzer to tell you the car is on??? And what if you open the hood when the car is on but you want to look at some aspect that requires the engine to be off? After all, if the engine can be off while the car is on, there may be times when you want to observe it in that condition.

GM seems to be going overboard in their desire to assure that the Volt is a failure so they have an excuse to cancel the project!

 

I'll have to see this to believe it. With all it's flaws, I don't believe for an instant that GM could be that stupid. And they would be interfering with the natural order of things; Darwinian natural selection at its finest!

 

The next logical step is to always keep the engine running when the car is on to let the driver know it's on.

 

Perhaps that will be their excuse when the actual EV range of the Volt is zero. "No, ma'am, your Volt is in EV mode, it's just that the engine runs so you will know the car is on, unlike that confusing Prius."

 

GM has assured the Volts failure already, by stating "we are only going to make between 5-10K Volts the first year, cause we don't think we can even sell that many"

How about going "All In" like Nissan, GM? put up or shutup. It's obvious to even the most casual observer that they are not serious about the Volt.

 

I bet the Prius engine when not running is just as quiet as the Volt engine when it's not running.

Don't know why this cracks me up. It's a sign that marketing has taken over.

A Prius owner would never claim that their engine is quiet while off unless they gathered some data and plotted it over time to show that the lack of noise hasn't increased over time.

 

I'm trying to figure out why not just turn on a big LED or "ON" indicator when the hood is lifted and the car is still ON. Having the engine come on will result in a lot of legal claims that the car is "dangerous" as various people are scared by the unexpected starting. Give it time and maybe a wiser approach will be implemented. Otherwise GM may be in the silly situation of having to put an "ICE Simulator" in the all-electric volts that eventually follow.

 

I open my hood my Prius "ready" all the time for military/airforce/secret-clearance security checks. Really you are supposed to turn the car off and open everything up, but even with my Honda Civic I generally left the engine running and only the new guards that didnt know me told me to shut it off. With the Prius, there is no problem since it stays on with no ICE. I realize this isnt a typical situation, but still that would cross it out for me. The fact that it is a GM doesnt help matters either though...

 

Don't underestimate them. Everyone excels at something.

 

The volt will know if the hood is open, my Prius has no clue. Winner Volt!

 

And what difference does it make for the car to "know" when the hood is open? Zero! The Volt "wins" at something useless. It's kind of like saying lemons are "better" than apples because lemons can squirt you in the eye and apples cannot.