The moment when a Volt runs down

[n2doc]

Alan Boyle writes: I barely noticed when the Chevy Volt stopped acting like an all-electric car. And that's exactly what General Motors is going for.

The Volt has been touted as the "ideal near-term solution" for drivers who want to pass up gasoline pumps most of the time, but still need to take trips that go beyond where any battery can take them. So for the first 25 to 50 miles, the Volt is powered purely by the juice from its 430-pound battery. But there comes a time when a gasoline-powered motor revs up to give the batteries a boost.

For us, that time came as we were heading up Interstate 5 in Tacoma, 32.9 miles into our 800-mile trip from Seattle to San Francisco. A green, battery-shaped icon on the Volt's high-tech dashboard display went poof, and was instantly replaced by a blue icon shaped like an old-style gasoline pump. Another display, off to the side, lit up with a green engine sitting above a computer simulation of the car's turning wheels.

I felt as if someone was playing a video game right beneath the windshield — and I had to take care to keep my eyes on the road instead of watching the game. But in terms of how the car felt and handled? No difference. No difference at all.

more, and some good comments on how the car operates in the real world at the blog

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/11/5271220-the-moment-when-a-volt-runs-down

[wtmusic]

1. The instant-start technology in parallel hybrids is equally amazing.

We just bought a Ford Escape hybrid, and the transition between electric/internal combustion is seamless.

Toyota deserves credit for being the pioneer.

[Pab Sungenis]

3. Actually, Toyota wasn't the pioneer.

GM had a parallel hybrid design in 1969, which is more similar to today's hybrids than you can imagine.

If we'd had today's battery technology in 1969, we might have been almost off petroleum before 1980.

[KeepItReal]

2. I hope GM puts that gas-electric powerplant in more platforms

I was looking forward to the Cadillac Converj before they killed it.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Converj