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Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

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Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#151

Post by benj111 »

bit_logic wrote: post #54

This was really shortsighted. PHEV is currently the best technology. I think the push for full EV is premature for mass market. It works for niche cases like Tesla, but not something that can be truly mainstream. With current battery tech and infrastructure, EV is a 50 mile technology. It has nothing to do with battery tech itself, doesn't matter how light or dense the battery is. The limit is infrastructure. 50 mile…

We already have cars with 200+ mile range. So even now you're talking 4+ hours driving. That to me is a 'shift' and I'd be looking to get some lunch or something, which can be done at the same time as charging. So that's 8+ hours a day driving. I don't know about you but that's enough driving for me.

And on a road trip I'd expect to be stopping, and looking at stuff.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#152

Post by black-tea »

jac_no_k wrote: post #143
avs733 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically...you can't build a car with a novice and expert operator mode as much sense as that would make. Also the amount of thought that goes into some decisions kinda amazed me.

Regarding "novice and expert" mode. Default should be novice mode. Extra steps to go into "expert" mode. Examples I could think of: * Launch control (maximum acceleration from a stop.) * Track mode (turn down or disable stability control) * One pedal drive mode. (Nissan Leaf e-pedal or just B-mode for strong regen) Ah well... It would be interesting to hear more of the reasons behind decisions.

No, expert mode is "turn all this crap off and let me control the throttle and gearbox directly".

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#153

Post by atq2119 »

usrusr wrote: post #140
lrem wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to my neighbour it is no problem to drive a Tesla 2700km from Switzerland to Finland, through Germany, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Just don't pat yourself on the back too hard for that. That route takes you through some of the most CO2-intensive electricity grids. A Tesla charged in Poland is a much dirtier car than a Tesla charged in California or Switzerland. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that making that trip is a terrible thing to do. I do worse things myself, e.g. traveling by plane. We all have the option of instantly reducing…

Is it still as dirty as an ICE car, though? Considering that electric engines are so much more efficient than combustion engines, which reduces the primary energy use significantly?

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#154

Post by black-tea »

chrisseaton wrote: post #27
avs733 wrote: post #18

>It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. Completely agree. I leased a first gen and am now leasing a second gen volt. I'm actually considering buying my current car at the end of the lease. As a bike commuter, it is my only vehicle, which is why I went the hybrid rather than full electric route. The…

> the shifter physical design was moronic The gear shifter? I thought electric cars didn't have those? I thought they were push-pedal-and-go like a go-kart?

For some reason car manufacturers have stuck with a gear shifter looking thing to change between drive modes on automatics for a really long time. They've only just started to change it to buttons.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#155

Post by mehrdada »

avs733 wrote: post #18

>It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. Completely agree. I leased a first gen and am now leasing a second gen volt. I'm actually considering buying my current car at the end of the lease. As a bike commuter, it is my only vehicle, which is why I went the hybrid rather than full electric route. The…

> it is my only vehicle, which is why I went the hybrid rather than full electric route.

At least in the US, I think you'd be underestimating how much one can rely on a proper fully electric vehicle (i.e. a Tesla, and perhaps Bolt?). I doubt a Model 3 LR holder would ever need a second sedan.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#156

Post by xvf22 »

mcny wrote: post #112
zeroping wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to know why the clock can't be set using the GPS.

Not a GM employee but I think the number of people who mess with their clock is bigger than we think. People are weird. They set their clock five minutes ahead or whatever. I also think an optional cellular/GPS based time update would be nice though.

This is true but you could allow the user to set an offset.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#157

Post by ThenAsNow »

byw wrote: post #97
gok wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why bother with an electric at all?

Regenerative braking, significantly simpler drivetrain, pure electric for the cities. Only problem I have is they use normal car engines as range extenders. Could've gone with a simpler/cheaper wankel or microturbine optimized for high RPM, but I guess it's quicker to slap on an engine you already have.

> Could've gone with a simpler/cheaper wankel or microturbine optimized for high RPM, but I guess it's quicker to slap on an engine you already have.

In these size classes, it's pretty hard to beat Otto or Miller cycle efficiencies, especially with a Wankel configuration or a small Brayton cycle ("microturbine"). You can get much higher power-to-mass with Wankels or gas turbines, but their thermal efficiencies (again, in these kinds of size classes) will be lower with today's technology. And since the overall fuel economy is less sensitive to mass than engine thermal efficiency, these avenues wouldn't make much sense. I do think there are ways to potentially meet or exceed Otto/Miller cycle efficiencies with a gas turbine, but it would require significant dedicated engineering. Not something that would make sense for GM to pursue when they can seek greater payoffs from lean combustion technologies, etc.

To put it another way, as far as the Volt combustion engine is concerned, GM made a sound engineering decision.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#158

Post by lrem »

usrusr wrote: post #140
lrem wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to my neighbour it is no problem to drive a Tesla 2700km from Switzerland to Finland, through Germany, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Just don't pat yourself on the back too hard for that. That route takes you through some of the most CO2-intensive electricity grids. A Tesla charged in Poland is a much dirtier car than a Tesla charged in California or Switzerland. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that making that trip is a terrible thing to do. I do worse things myself, e.g. traveling by plane. We all have the option of instantly reducing…

It's more about the surprise that Poland, with average salary country-wide being well below 15k$/year, is not a no-go zone for Tesla. I suspect you have to charge twice to get through the country.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#159

Post by craz8 »

xvf22 wrote: post #156
mcny wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a GM employee but I think the number of people who mess with their clock is bigger than we think. People are weird. They set their clock five minutes ahead or whatever. I also think an optional cellular/GPS based time update would be nice though.

This is true but you could allow the user to set an offset.

And now you’ve added 2 configuration options that need to be tested, documented, and supported for probably 20 Of your customers

This is exactly the hidden complexity that HN users love to add to products that adds no real value and sells no extra product

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#160

Post by sharpneli »

masonic wrote: post #146
ip26 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of phev as replacing two cars. Before you had to have one gas car and one electric, for long distance and local trips, respectively. Now with phev you can have only one car that's a bit more complex. That's the dream, anyway

Think of phev as replacing two cars Or as an ICE towing an EV, or vice-versa. You're lugging around both motors at all times.

Bit more than that. It’s just a hybrid car (like prius) with all the benefits of that like regenerative braking, but with larger batteries. Not as large as full ev.
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