Depends. If you always travel less than 40 miles between charges, then you'll barely use any gas at all. If you travel further, you will kick the range extender on and use some more gas... and so on.
If it is so pathetic, can you tell me a reasonable electric-only range and tell us what car, currently produced at this price point and with as much total range, can beat it?
@paul34 http://www.codaautomotive.com Roughly 100 mi. range, and rumored pricing is very similar to the Volt. Or you could get the real winner (IMHO) in this electric automotive arms race, a Tesla, the S Series makes this look like a child's toy.
@Tijok I want the Model S so bad! Tesla is the face of the new auto industry, I don't care what the naysayers have to say. They're the only ones making electric cars people WANT to drive.
If I recall what I read on GMs website about the mileage, the gas engine will extend the range to ~400 miles on a ~ 8 gallon tank. So you're looking at about ~ 50 MPG rating once the extender kicks in
We all know that surely over 95% of all trips are under 100 miles, likely near 99% (guessing).
For the few trips that are longer, EV range extenders can be attached to the vehicle or towed to provide unlimited range w/ gas-stops, but without the need to carry around all that fuel and metal ICE for the majority of the time: http://www.evprogress.org/rav_longranger01.jpg
The concept is rational, but that will NEVER catch on for a multitude of reasons. Yes, the majority of trips are under 100 miles, but the Volt is a much better investment over the Leaf for instance, because it'll get you further for those times when you need to go the distance. Sticking on an external ICE defeats the very purpose of taking it out; consumers would do much better to have the best of both worlds and get something like the Volt.
The entire purpose of removing the combustion engine is not to have to use gasoline/diesel, and have an efficient cheap to operate vehicle.
Not having to carry around the weight of a big steel and aluminum generator and however many gallons of fuel when almost all of the time you will not need it is a GOOD thing, as it further improves electric only range. It also robs less interior space than constantly carrying around the ICE and gas tank inside the chassis.
And don't get me wrong, when I leave the house in the morning, I don't always know how far my trip will be.
But the amount of times that I drive more than 100 miles on a moment's notice are EXTREMELY rare, to where the inconvenience of having to swing by the house first is a non-issue.
And one last note, on the Volt they have to compromise with fuel tank capacity for size and weight concerns on the vehicle.
I believe its a 8 or 9 gallon tank.
With a EV range extender trailer though, you don't have to compromise on fuel tank size. You know you are ONLY using it when you really need to go on a very long trip, and you're not using up any interior room to do so. So you could easily house a nice 50 gallon fuel tank like on a Dodge Ram.
@Ducman69 -- "We all know that surely over 95% of all trips are under 100 miles, likely near 99% (guessing)."
That's true. 100 miles sounds like a lot... But remember, that's 50 miles out and 50 miles back. It should be enough for going to work though.
But my point is... you pay $25,000 for a car that you can't use for all of your travels. And at about the 95 mile mark I'd be freaking out!
If you have a family, the dad can drive the Nissan Leaf to work, and the wife can keep the SUV. Then you'd take all your trips in the SUV on the weekends.
But the Leaf is not a car to be used for everything. If you buy one, you probably have a 2nd or 3rd car already.
You're a motorcycle guy... so you know all about having a vehicle that you can't drive all the time.
And that's gonna be the biggest problem with the all-electric vehicle. At least until we have nationwide mass-transit
Oh trust me, I considered all that, and like I mentioned it is a rational idea. That said though it's still something that will never catch on.
For you, driving 100 miles may be a rarity, but for many others (myself included) it is not. Then there's the facts that some people will not want to risk being unavailable because their car cannot go the distance, and that people won't want to be bothered with the extra expense of buying an external engine for their engine-less car. It's much simpler and more elegant to get everything wrapped up into one nice package. Until the price and capability of all electric vehicles come within a general consumer's reach, this arrangement will be what the people want.
@Michael Scrip The car itself gave people the freedom to go where they wanted. The Leaf basically takes that away. Also I live in California so there are occasional charging stations around town (in the metro areas), so having a Leaf here is not really an issue. But... A trip to San Diego from here is just about 100 miles depending where in LA County your coming from and of course what effect does traffic have on battery life? These are largely unknowns until the car gets real-world use. The Volt is much more like a normal everyday compact car, it just uses an electric motor and an IC to keep the battery pack topped off. This is the car I want my parents to own, it offers the most flexibility, most of my mother's trips are way under 40 miles a day, but she needs to be able to go without thinking "Oh I have to charge it up first" She rarely drives after 5-6pm anyway, it would sit in the garage plug-in.
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what is the MPG on the Volt?
@dontbecreepy
Warp speed.
@dontbecreepy
has to be less than 25 if it has a 10gallon tank or greater
also 40 miles on electricity is pathetic
@dontbecreepy
Depends. If you always travel less than 40 miles between charges, then you'll barely use any gas at all. If you travel further, you will kick the range extender on and use some more gas... and so on.
@DefPoet
If it is so pathetic, can you tell me a reasonable electric-only range and tell us what car, currently produced at this price point and with as much total range, can beat it?
@paul34 http://www.codaautomotive.com
Roughly 100 mi. range, and rumored pricing is very similar to the Volt.
Or you could get the real winner (IMHO) in this electric automotive arms race, a Tesla, the S Series makes this look like a child's toy.
@Tijok I want the Model S so bad! Tesla is the face of the new auto industry, I don't care what the naysayers have to say. They're the only ones making electric cars people WANT to drive.
@dontbecreepy
If I recall what I read on GMs website about the mileage, the gas engine will extend the range to ~400 miles on a ~ 8 gallon tank. So you're looking at about ~ 50 MPG rating once the extender kicks in
@Pacey -- "~400 miles on a ~ 8 gallon tank."
That's a more useful measure.
You can use electricity during the week... but you can also use it for longer trips on the weekend too.
You can't do that with the all-electric Nissan Leaf.
Sure, the Nissan Leaf is $10,000 cheaper than the Chevy Volt... but it's *only* for short trips. I wouldn't want my car to tell me where I can't go.
But, the Leaf will be perfect for some people... especially when charging stations become popular.
@Michael Scrip
We all know that surely over 95% of all trips are under 100 miles, likely near 99% (guessing).
For the few trips that are longer, EV range extenders can be attached to the vehicle or towed to provide unlimited range w/ gas-stops, but without the need to carry around all that fuel and metal ICE for the majority of the time:
http://www.evprogress.org/rav_longranger01.jpg
@Ducman69
The concept is rational, but that will NEVER catch on for a multitude of reasons. Yes, the majority of trips are under 100 miles, but the Volt is a much better investment over the Leaf for instance, because it'll get you further for those times when you need to go the distance. Sticking on an external ICE defeats the very purpose of taking it out; consumers would do much better to have the best of both worlds and get something like the Volt.
@JDubbs115
The entire purpose of removing the combustion engine is not to have to use gasoline/diesel, and have an efficient cheap to operate vehicle.
Not having to carry around the weight of a big steel and aluminum generator and however many gallons of fuel when almost all of the time you will not need it is a GOOD thing, as it further improves electric only range. It also robs less interior space than constantly carrying around the ICE and gas tank inside the chassis.
Hardly defeats the purpose.
@JDubbs115
And don't get me wrong, when I leave the house in the morning, I don't always know how far my trip will be.
But the amount of times that I drive more than 100 miles on a moment's notice are EXTREMELY rare, to where the inconvenience of having to swing by the house first is a non-issue.
@JDubbs115
And one last note, on the Volt they have to compromise with fuel tank capacity for size and weight concerns on the vehicle.
I believe its a 8 or 9 gallon tank.
With a EV range extender trailer though, you don't have to compromise on fuel tank size. You know you are ONLY using it when you really need to go on a very long trip, and you're not using up any interior room to do so. So you could easily house a nice 50 gallon fuel tank like on a Dodge Ram.
@Ducman69 -- "We all know that surely over 95% of all trips are under 100 miles, likely near 99% (guessing)."
That's true. 100 miles sounds like a lot... But remember, that's 50 miles out and 50 miles back. It should be enough for going to work though.
But my point is... you pay $25,000 for a car that you can't use for all of your travels. And at about the 95 mile mark I'd be freaking out!
If you have a family, the dad can drive the Nissan Leaf to work, and the wife can keep the SUV. Then you'd take all your trips in the SUV on the weekends.
But the Leaf is not a car to be used for everything. If you buy one, you probably have a 2nd or 3rd car already.
You're a motorcycle guy... so you know all about having a vehicle that you can't drive all the time.
And that's gonna be the biggest problem with the all-electric vehicle. At least until we have nationwide mass-transit
@Ducman69
Oh trust me, I considered all that, and like I mentioned it is a rational idea. That said though it's still something that will never catch on.
For you, driving 100 miles may be a rarity, but for many others (myself included) it is not. Then there's the facts that some people will not want to risk being unavailable because their car cannot go the distance, and that people won't want to be bothered with the extra expense of buying an external engine for their engine-less car. It's much simpler and more elegant to get everything wrapped up into one nice package. Until the price and capability of all electric vehicles come within a general consumer's reach, this arrangement will be what the people want.
@Michael Scrip The car itself gave people the freedom to go where they wanted. The Leaf basically takes that away. Also I live in California so there are occasional charging stations around town (in the metro areas), so having a Leaf here is not really an issue. But... A trip to San Diego from here is just about 100 miles depending where in LA County your coming from and of course what effect does traffic have on battery life? These are largely unknowns until the car gets real-world use. The Volt is much more like a normal everyday compact car, it just uses an electric motor and an IC to keep the battery pack topped off. This is the car I want my parents to own, it offers the most flexibility, most of my mother's trips are way under 40 miles a day, but she needs to be able to go without thinking "Oh I have to charge it up first" She rarely drives after 5-6pm anyway, it would sit in the garage plug-in.