Why Can't Other Plug-In Hybrids Copy Chevy Volt's All-Electric Running?

and get pips 50 mpg in hv mode.

 

HV mode fuel efficiency is not very important if you don't use it very often.
I'm more interested in fuel use over the year.

In other words, if I use the HV mode 3% of the time, the HV efficiency is not very important.

 

i'm not interested in all electric running, but it's not a matter of personal preference.

 

Voelkers' GreenCarReports: Tesla Spy Video, Malibu Hybrid, Utilities Vs Solar Power: The Week In Reverse

 

imo, he never quite seems to get it. props for trying i suppose.

 

That 3% of trips probably is around 30% of miles, as these trips are mch longer than average. Still you are entirely correct.

Let;s look at a 15,000 year and a 62% utilization rate (35 mile aer + 38 mile aer volt), 70% utilizzation likely for volt gen II, a 35mpg versus a 55mpg doesn't save that much gas

utilization 0%, 62%,70%, 75%
35 mpg - 428, 163, 129, 107
41 mpg - 366, 139, 110, 91
50 mpg - 300, 114, 90, 75
55 mpg - 273, 104, 82, 68

You can see if we get to a 70% with that new longer range even with a 35 mpg hybrid set up (worse than gen I volt) you burn only 47% of the gas of a hypothetical 55 mpg hybrid. Increasing efficiency from 41 mpg (rumored gen II volt) to 55 mpg (rumored gen IV prius) on a 70% utilization phev, only saves about 28 gallons a year.

One day the lightbulb will go on

 

My statement was based on month to month comparisons. Yes, it would take time for the i3 to roll out across the nation, but that appears to have taken 3 months. August 2014 to until now, its monthly sales have been near the same.
The new Volt was unveiled the beginning of this year, and this year's monthly sales have been less than half what the Volt sold in the months of 2014.

 

My 2001 Prius is getting long in the tooth, but still running reliability. The only Volt I would look at is the next gen. The step from the 2001 to 2004 Prius was huge. Even if the next Volt is less dramatic, just the shift from using Premium to Regular is enough to make me wait. You point about the waiting certainly applies to me. In fact, I would think most prospective Volt buyers are well aware of the payoff of some waiting.

 

Do you think I'm upset about using premium?

 

yup.

 

Well, 3.9 gallons of being upset.

(P.S. Most excellent way to convey a point.)

 

One of the members on the Volt Forums posted this. I doubt he worries about using premium.

 

That puts new meaning to the words "fossil fuel".

 

I agree - Much can change from now to when the 2nd gen Volt hits the show rooms.
The next 10 years will be an interesting time for the car industry - I expect great things to happen.
While the Prius isn't perfect - I am reasonable very happy with my 2010 Toyota Prius.
I picked the Prius over the Insight because the Prius owner/driver community was bigger and more active than the Insight's.
While all this new tech is great ... it can be somewhat overwhelming at times.
Hence my focus switched from machines to people helped me adapt to all this new stuff.
I've seen hi tech stuff come an go.
Nobody stays on top of the hill forever
What car will take the Prius' crown - will be interesting

 

Well this might be useful:

Hypermiler repellant ... or attractant?

Bob Wilson

 

it won't be the car with the above display.

 

There are carwings posts showing 18 miles/kWh. I'm thinking some folks know how to game the system. In fact numbers like that almost seem to defy the laws of physics. Perhaps GM has created A mileage calculating system more 'game proof' than carwings, and so the Volt numbers are in fact real.
.

 

There's no magic here. This guy just drives in battery-only mode so the engine is mainly starting up for maintenance reasons.

The more common mode ensures that the gas engine starts up and runs until it comes up to full operating temperature at least once every 6 weeks. This takes somewhere between 0.03 and maybe 0.10 gallons of gas depending on the ambient air temperature. This mode makes sure the engine is lubricated and any accumulated water is driven out of the engine.

The less common mode is for fuel management. It ensures that the gas in the tank has an average age of less than 12 months. After the gas is judged to be a year old it forces the Volt to operate in hybrid mode until the old gas is used up and/or sufficient new gas is added to the tank to substantially reduce the average age. You can see in the photo that this driver keeps the gas tank nearly empty to reduce the amount of gas that needs to burned off during fuel maintenance mode.

I personally have never seen either mode happen on my car because I'm using enough gas that the maintenance modes never need to run. Very few Volt drivers will ever see fuel maintenance mode.

 

He bought the wrong car. He should not be hauling an ICE if he did not want to use at all.

 

We don't know the year of the car. The picken's were slim early on.