Volts should come with generators?
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt
While perusing the interwebs for interesting stories, we stumbled upon a letter to the editors at Automotive News that suggests the Chevy Volt should come with a generator. We're pretty sure that they are not talking about the built-in generator that the car uses to recharge its batteries on-the-fly. Rather, what's being suggested is that General Motors package the Chevy Volt with a gas-powered standalone generator that could recharge its batteries if the need arises. Um, where should we start on this one. First of all, that would be defeating the point of the car in the first place, but the biggest reason that this makes no sense is that the car will already come with a gas-powered generator built-in. If the grid goes down, the car will still run if it has gas inside its tank, as the on-board generator will recharge the batteries anyway. This serves as another reminder that the public at-large (including those who work for competing dealerships in Texas) doesn't quite seem to understand how the Volt technology works.
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BillySharps 7:54PM (10/13/2008)
If only there were a website that collected information about the world around us and presented it to us for free.
Seriously, ten minutes on Wikipedia would have given them all the information they'd need. Sometimes I wonder about people.
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rwcmick 2:05PM (10/14/2008)
Now, what would be handy in an ice storm is for the ability of the Volt to provide power to your house just like a backup generator. Many cars today come w/ a built in inverter to power up video games and what not, but what about a higher amperage socket located somewhere that junior couldn't stick his finger into it?
Lad 2:13PM (10/14/2008)
The Volt is a early to market, compromised automobile. Even when starting with a clean sheet of paper, the engineers have been hamstrung by management's need to make a profit. Thus, what you have is a management PR program to convince the Public that a serial hybrid with a 40 mile battery backed up by a heavy genset is "good." I don't think so!
The Volt is a transition auto at best, a platform initially designed to recoup development costs. Hopefully however, it can eventually become the platform to develop the car that's really needed--a light, 300 mile, freeway speed, battery only car that can be recharged fully in 5 to 10 minutes while on long distance trips.
BillySharps 2:40PM (10/14/2008)
@Lad
"The Volt is a early to market, compromised automobile. Even when starting with a clean sheet of paper, the engineers have been hamstrung by management's need to make a profit. Thus, what you have is a management PR program to convince the Public that a serial hybrid with a 40 mile battery backed up by a heavy genset is "good." I don't think so!
The Volt is a transition auto at best, a platform initially designed to recoup development costs. Hopefully however, it can eventually become the platform to develop the car that's really needed--a light, 300 mile, freeway speed, battery only car that can be recharged fully in 5 to 10 minutes while on long distance trips."
See this is what I'm talking about. Your post is full of ignorance. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.
1. How is the Volt Compromised? It is a good balance of the best of all possible technology. Up to 80% of all driving miles could be done on electrons.
2. That you think the Volt was built to make a profit is laughable. GM will lose money on each Volt sold for the first few years, not to mention the millions GM has invested in developing this platform in the first place.
3. As it turns out, something like 70% of Americans drive 40 miles or less per day, so it looks to me like 40 miles will be adequate for the majority of American drivers. There is even the potential to improve the range of the battery with a simple software update if GM decides the batteries are durable enough. Also, why do you call the genset "heavy"? It is a small 1.4l engine. The genset provides highly desirable range extension. I wouldn't want to be without it.
4. Of course the Volt is a transition vehicle. It's also a brilliant transition vehicle. It gets electric cars into the market without many of the disadvantages - limited range, slow recharge, high cost, and so on. And it will help provide incentive to develop a quick-charging infrastructure for fully-electric vehicles. Most of the time it will operate as an electric car, but it will not be limited in the same way that electric cars normally are.
Please take the time to learn about what the Volt actually is and the issues surrounding its development.
Eric 5:17PM (10/18/2008)
Would you be happy with a 20 mile battery and sockets for 3 additional 20 mile batteries?
I still want an electric car with 20 mile range and sockets on back to connect a generator trailer. Trailer would have luggage rack on top and contain engine, generator and fuel tank. I would only use trailer for trips to big city or grandmother's house. My wife's electric would never need trailer. All standard genset trailers should have outlets to provide house power after storms and fit most electric cars. One diesel generator might outlive 3 cars, so why sell it with car?
Your electric car might better have sockets for 3 additional 20 mile batteries.
Steve-O 8:17PM (10/13/2008)
Yep...Insert Brain Here.
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rob 8:38PM (10/13/2008)
Perhaps the writer of the letter sells generators and was hoping to drum up business? cough* cough* Honda cough* cough*
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jpm100 8:43PM (10/13/2008)
Maybe he meant to say Tesla. ;)
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ivor 9:40PM (10/13/2008)
Perhaps they were thinking that it's gas engine could double as a generator for your home electrical needs if the power goes out? That *would* be a neat feature.
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Chris M 11:37PM (10/13/2008)
Theoretically, it would be possible to design the gas engine, generator, cooling system and fuel tank in one unit that could be removed when not needed, so the owner could convert from battery only to plug-in hybrid and back. The engineering challenges would be huge, and the effort and hassle of removing or installing the generator unit would hardly be worth it.
But the idea of having a 120 volt AC output for backup power, as Ivor suggested, would be really neat and worthwhile. Perhaps as an extra cost option?
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CDTi 8:04AM (10/14/2008)
Yes, but what if that generator was in a small trailer? You could use it on long trips and leave it at home (95% of the time). Probably better...you hire a generator trailer and return it when you are done.
cwj 11:45PM (10/13/2008)
I reject your journalism and substitute my own!
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tankd0g 12:08AM (10/14/2008)
Since that site requires a login I'll have to take your word for it as to what the letter said. However, while a gasoline powered generator would be....retarded...one that runs on CNG would make sense and be quite useful in places where rolling blackouts occur and are only going to be more frequent as people start charging their gas on the grid.
Then again, I don't think this car needs another $10,000 on top of the $40,000 price tag right now.
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Luke 10:13PM (10/14/2008)
Hopefully the Volt engine is no bigger than necessary. In addition, it would be nice for GM to offer more batteries and no engine for those who would like that.
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David Bevington 9:56AM (10/14/2008)
The Volts on board motor/generator should not be using a conventional four cylinder gas engine. It should be using a compound Rotapower wankel engine, running on a mix of something like 75% bio-ethanol / 25% water.
The compound wankel engine (see www.moller.com) has the theoretical efficiency of a good diesel, and is small, clean, light, and quiet.
The Rotapower engine runs beautifully on 75/25 ethanol/water, and this mix can significantly lower the cost of ethanol production, as removing all water to get 100% ethanol is costly and energy consuming.
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DasBoese 10:50AM (10/14/2008)
Yeah, if such an engine actually existed, I'm sure they'd be happy to use it. Only it doesn't.
I used to be enthusiastic for Moller and his ideas too, but time and again he has failed to convincingly demonstate any of his claims.
David Bevington 11:12AM (10/14/2008)
True the compound Rotapower wankel engine doesnt exist, except as a design, but the single stage Rotapower engine running ethanol/water definitely does exist. Even this less efficient engine is pretty "green" when running on bio-ethanol, and has significant packaging advantages.
I suspect that the reason GM is not talking to Moller, and putting in the R&D money needed to go from design to production reality has more to do with the old "not invented here" syndrome than practical problems.
tankd0g 4:29PM (10/14/2008)
Um, this is GM we're talking about here. You're lucky it doesn't run on coal...
David Bevington 4:54PM (10/14/2008)
True, but we are also talking Bob Lutz here, not your normal GM exec.
GM is proably right to put a simple existing engine into the Volt Mk1. Too much new technology at once is probably not a good idea. However they should now be working hard on an ethanol burning compound wankel for Volt Mk2.
But I expect yo're right, we'll see flying pigs first.
immrc 6:04AM (10/14/2008)
It should come with a grill for making cheeseburgers too, because I like cheeseburgers and I buy cars sometimes. Cheesburgers!
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