Volt and future gas milage standards

[John H.]

http://www.designnews.com/author.asp...s_element& Interesting statement in the third paragraph though about real world driving. As the new standards are dictated, it will be interesting how they are met. Porsche touts the flywheel , but if you look at their showcase race car that uses it , the device is so big that it takes up the whole passenger seat in the cabin. As we all know, weight is everything. The idea of a gasoline engine powering an electric car was an amusing thought when I first heard about it. Kind of like powering wind turbines with diesel fueled fans when the wind dies down.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

GM is ahead of the curve as people who buy a volt now when gasoline is still fairly cheap reminds me of the people who bought VW bugs when gas was $.25/gal. my question is why now as gasoline will be the fuel of choice for cars for at least the next 20/30 years because the is no way you are going to convert 250 million cars owner to electric cars in any shorter length of time. if the govt mandates goes thru the gas mileage will be even better down the road so why buy a volt ?? my sons new cruze eco gets between 30/35 MPG every day driving

[Joe L.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

GM is ahead of the curve as people who buy a volt now when gasoline is still fairly cheap reminds me of the people who bought VW bugs when gas was $.25/gal. my question is why now as gasoline will be the fuel of choice for cars for at least the next 20/30 years because the is no way you are going to convert 250 million cars owner to electric cars in any shorter length of time. if the govt mandates goes thru the gas mileage will be even better down the road so why buy a volt ?? my sons new cruze eco gets between 30/35 MPG every day driving

clem------


Not too long ago I read that a GM engineer said that we were going to see 4 cylinder engines in cars that we never thought we'd see them in. That's coming true already.

For the 2012 model year, ALL Buick passenger cars (not including "cross-overs" and SUV's) will come standard with a 4 cylinder engine. A V-6 is available only in the La Crosse.

For Chevrolet, the only engines available in the Cruze, HHR, and Malibu will be 4 cylinder engines. All Impalas will be V-6. Camaro will be standard with V-6 and optional with V-8.

All Cadillacs will be V-6 except CTS-V.

CTS-V and Corvette will be the only GM passenger cars with standard V-8's.

With the new 54.5 MPG CAFE standard just set, I think we'll see this trend continue and, likely, accelerate.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

clem------


Not too long ago I read that a GM engineer said that we were going to see 4 cylinder engines in cars that we never thought we'd see them in. That's coming true already.

For the 2012 model year, ALL Buick passenger cars (not including "cross-overs" and SUV's) will come standard with a 4 cylinder engine. A V-6 is available only in the La Crosse.

For Chevrolet, the only engines available in the Cruze, HHR, and Malibu will be 4 cylinder engines. All Impalas will be V-6. Camaro will be standard with V-6 and optional with V-8.

All Cadillacs will be V-6 except CTS-V.

CTS-V and Corvette will be the only GM passenger cars with standard V-8's.

With the new 54.5 MPG CAFE standard just set, I think we'll see this trend continue and, likely, accelerate.

the problem with these 4 cylinder engine unless they are turboed is if you live in flat country you are OK but if you live in a hilly area you are going to be unhappy with the performance and the MPG. i had a friend in management at chrysler and he told me about the buy backs of those 4 cylinder mini vans that went to mountain states like west va.

[Joe L.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

the problem with these 4 cylinder engine unless they are turboed is if you live in flat country you are OK but if you live in a hilly area you are going to be unhappy with the performance and the MPG. i had a friend in management at chrysler and he told me about the buy backs of those 4 cylinder mini vans that went to mountain states like west va.

clem------


Yes, I totally agree. I recently had a Chevrolet Malibu as a rental car. It had a 2.4L Ecotec rated at about 169 HP. I didn't drive it, at all, in mountainous areas, but it was a "slug". I mean, if you've got a 3,500 pound car like a Malibu with 169 HP and about 175 ft/lbs of torque, it's going to be a slug. Plus, it only achieved 25 MPG during the 1,800, or so, miles I drove it. That's ALWAYS been the problem with US-made 4 cylinder engines----they have no power AND they don't get very good fuel economy.

Way back in 1980 I bought a 1980 Honda Civic GL. I drove it for 190,000 miles. It was a VERY fun car to drive and it had great power. Over the 190,000 miles it averaged 38 MPG. I still have the log book I used with that car.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

I still have the log book I used with that car.

I'm surprised you don't still have the car.

[Joe L.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

I'm surprised you don't still have the car.

Patrick------


Actually, I wish I still had it. You have to buy a hybrid today to get a car that delivers 38 MPG or greater.

All I have of the Civic is the log book and the factory service manual. It's probably the best service manual I have ever seen. Using it, almost anyone could do just about anything on the car.

[Michael F.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

my 83 toyota supra with dual overhead cam in-line 6cyl, 5 speed with 4.10 limited slip with 385,000 miles gets 24 on highway and 20 in town .... bought when 6 months old in 84 and it weights about 3100 lbs. of course my 03Z06 gets 28-29 on highway at 70, 20 in town if I drive sanely and is much, much more fun.

[David H.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

We get a spell of hot weather and areas go into electrical power brown-outs. How are we going to put transportation on the power grid (electric plug-in cars) when we don't have enough power to run air conditioning?

[Frank E.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

We get s spell of hot weather and areas go into electrical power brown-outs. How are we going to put transportation on the power grid (electric plug-in cars) when we don't have enough power to run air conditioning?

The answer is we're not. The infrastructure isn't ready for the change and won't be for many decades. I'd wager that most people couldn't afford to buy a car that gets 54.5 MPG. The technology to get there is going to be very expensive and with only a few years to develop, there isn't enough time to spread the R&D costs to get the technology affordable. We have plenty of oil and we should use it while developing the next fuel to power the planet. I would think that the used car market is going to be a boom in a few years....

[George J.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

I, personally, can't wait to drive an electric car and stop sending money to the middle east, Canada, Venezuela, etc. We should start building dozens of nuclear plants, imho.
I don't think people are factoring in the cost of all of our "outside" activites related to the price of oil. I also don't think the generation on this Board realizes how intiutive it will be for the next generation driving cars to plug them in for their power as opposed to going to a "gas station". Everything a twelve year old has (and they have a lot - ipad, ipods, phones, etc) is plugged in. I think they will look at us in ten years as they drive by us filling our Corvettes with gas and just shake their heads. "You have to go drive somewhere to put stinky, nasty, gas in your car to make it go?!?"

George
31887

[Patrick H.]

Re: Volt and future gas mileage standards

Patrick------


Actually, I wish I still had it. You have to buy a hybrid today to get a car that delivers 38 MPG or greater.

Probably because we've added hundreds of pounds of "safety", comfort and convenience items to the cars in the last 20-25 years. Compare the weight of your 1980 Civic to a current base model Civic - the new one is 600 pounds heavier. You can't haul that around without an mpg penalty.

Patrick

[Terry M.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

We get s spell of hot weather and areas go into electrical power brown-outs. How are we going to put transportation on the power grid (electric plug-in cars) when we don't have enough power to run air conditioning?

If you really want to charge an electric car get after your utility to get their stuff together to build for you and your brothers/sisters who want the same thing. Utilities respond to business opportunities, and if they think there are enough of you they will invest the capital to accommodate you. Utilities don't make any money when the customer has no power.

You will also have to contact your state utility regulators with your desires to charge electric vehicles. Regulators allow utilities to make a certain profit and they (the regulators) can keep that profit low enough (I am not saying that is your case. I don't know.) that there is no incentive for the utility to invest in modernizing their infrastructure. Of course the regulators will tell you they are acting in the best interest of the consumer to keep rates low. You will have to fight that thinking both among the regulators and your neighbors. Good luck.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

We get a spell of hot weather and areas go into electrical power brown-outs. How are we going to put transportation on the power grid (electric plug-in cars) when we don't have enough power to run air conditioning?

like the administration says,"shared sacrifices" so you have to give up your A/C so people can charge their cars.

[Michael W.]

Re: Volt and future gas milage standards

I, personally, can't wait to drive an electric car and stop sending money to the middle east, Canada, Venezuela, etc.

Our electrical exports to the US already support a large part of the requirements in your north east grid. Switching to an electric car will still support 'evil' imports................

If you guys don't buy our oil and electricity, how are us furriners going to buy your Corvettes and other products?