Sweater, gloves required when driving Volt in cold

What would Charlie Sheen do?



RD

 

It is a smog former, depletes the ozone, and is a ghg. If I remember right it is about 300x more powerfull greenhouse gas than CO2. Most releases are from agriculture and crop land.

:focus:

I think it is silly to claim that you need to wear extra clothing in a volt when it is very cold out. If you want to run to the office in the cold, fine, but you are an outlier and can probably handle the temperatures in a volt. Even the prius is cold when I get in on very cold days and takes awhile to heat up. That being said, it appears that the volts electronic heater is undersized for the vehicle and gm should increase its power. This may be as simple as software or may require a redesign.

 

In the first gen I heard of, but never had the personal horror of seeing this thing known only as:

Turtle mode

 

I heard about that in the first gen, but if people in San Franciso cannot get into their driveways in reverse I'd say that's an esoteric problem to such a degree as to be an interesting anecdote only, not anything of real relevance. Certainly of less import than the inability for, say, the current Insight to run its AC when it cuts the engine at the lights

 

You would think testing in the Michigan winter would discover this issue....

 

Its worse than that, they tested the thing in canada for cold weather. My best guess is all the drivers kept their warm cloths on and didn't even notice.

 

Hey, it wouldn't be the first time the big wigs put something to launch even though the engineers said let's wait

 

Here is an idea for the EV market. Set up a seperate system for the heat. Use another type of fuel for ANY and ALL heat needed, and only use the battery to run the vehicle.

Charge everyday, and every now and then check your heater fuel. Don't install an ICE motor, just install a Natural Gas Heater.

One reason an ICE is a bad idea is because you would increase the weight of the vehicle which = less range per charge.

Could also have the container removable for summer time to increase MPC (miles per charge)

 

+1.
I like it. It's worth experimenting with, and although it uses hydrocarbon combustion, it's a lot better than an ICE.

 

A small rotary engine would be good. It's inefficient, so lots of heat, it's small, and you could even get it to create a few electrons while you're at it. It would be a good addition to a leaf in a cold weather package.

 

This is in the idea in an audi

 

Perfect. Tie it into satnav, if you won't reach your destination then fire it up to extend, and run in super cold temps to heat the cabin and batteries.

 

You guys are now describing a volt, except with a rotary

 

I have wondered about that too, and I think the answer is yes. But it is not going to be a dramatic event, since the ICE is only supplementing the motor.

 

: shrug :

I have to wear gloves, coat, and a touque when I drive my Prius - beacuse if I turn on the heat, the mileage is as crappy as any other car.

-Iain

 

you have a prius?

 

How much longer?

What should we expect?

The concerns have been the same for 4 years already... and it turns out, they were valid.
.

 

What's a touque? BTW, block your grill and the mileage will go up 6 to 8 mpg, and you can use your heater without wearing a toupee (or whatever).

 

You bring up an interesting point: as you run the engine to provide heat, you could also have several generators hooked to it, with heating coils on the interior of the car. Setup properly, it could quickly heat the cabin. The traditional water-cooled engine could have the heating coils optimized to provide maximum heat to the interior of the vehicle.

 

Ok, never mind. Just force GM to give up after a few MONTHS of production. There is no way they could make it more efficient while in "hybrid" mode, or electric mode for that matter. Impossible. Oh, and no way they can add a functional heater, lord knows i need to be able to take off the coat I ALREADY HAVE ON when I get in. Toyota needs no competition. We all made the perfect car choice.

You all feel better? I know I'll sleep better.

This whole anti-Volt thing feels so much like Yankees vs Red Sox, or Cowboys vs Steelers to me. You know, the kinda thing that happens on GRADE SCHOOL playgrounds? I see no point in bashing the Volt except to protect one's psychological investment in Toyota. Or, in Octane's case, his financial investment in the Enginer add-on. (NOW does your EV range equal the Volt's?)

Anyway, you guys carry on. It must be OK to bash the Volt, since Volt owners bash the Prius. MUST DEFEND THE PRIUS FROM RUTHLESS BASHING. Frankly, I don't care enough either way to carry on this discussion. I have no Volt, and don't intend to buy one. I have a Prius, but would happily trade it in if something better were to come along.

I'm STILL utterly dismayed that having to put on a sweater is such a big deal.

Zhe Wiz