Z28x

I got thinking about the Volt's plug-in competition coming from Ford and Toyota and it got me thinking. If the batteries cost $1k for 1kWh, then why not offer a Volt with a 6kWh battery as opposed to the current 16kWh. The 6kWh version could sell for $29,995 and get about 15 miles of EV driving to a charge. This is close to what the Fusion and Prius plugins are expected to get. The car would also be lighter and probably get better gas only mileage too. DI should also be added to the 1.4L.

GM should continue to offer the current battery size and maybe in the 2nd generation offer 3 sizes, or 2 sizes and make the large battery car EV only.

What do you guys think? Is my math right? I know the smaller battery wouldn't get the $7500 credit, but I believe there is a smaller tax credit for other small battery plug-ins.

soul strife

it's not a bad idea. I don't know the technical cost ratio but, to me, it sounds smart. They could compete with a larger customer base by providing differing levels of EV for differing prices.

jg95z28

I still say they should offer a turbo diesel I4 version.

King Moose SS

I think marginal returns apply hear. I don't think the $1,000 for 1kWh is perfectly linear. A 6kWh motor probably would make the volt as-is $35,000.

Koz

eh, the Volt is supposed to be a game changer. De-electrifying it to make it more mainstream doesn't seem like a good idea.

I'm sure GM could/will make some other plug-in hybrid though, more in the price/range that you're thinking about.

97QuasarBlue3.8

I think if anything, the Volt needs a larger battery pack. There were rumors of 600mpg at one point and all sorts of numbers surrounding range. It was magical in a way.

IMO, the production vehicle-- neat, but not so magical. It seems like they went to a lot of time/effort/expense to produce something that is truly unique, but is only slightly better than the competition.

Honestly? I think they should expand the Volt lineup to be a highly customizable green fleet. Gas/electric, Diesel/electric, Fuel Cell, and all Electric. I realize fuel cell is not *quite* there in terms of production viability just yet, but can you imagine if GM laid down a trump card like that? A customer could pick their eco-hipster poison and bug the green-hell out while rolling those things around like the first of the snooty Prius owners.

Plague

I don't think that you would chop 10k off of the price doing it that way, and the current tax break would be $2500. I think that it might be 32500 before the tax break, and then it would be $2500 difference in price. I also don't think that the lease rate would be that different either.


I think that in the end, the Volt will get bigger batteries as the price goes down, and a more efficient motor as well.

Koz

Motor, or engine?

Z28x

Well it looks like Honda stole my idea They are doing 6kWh in a Volt like system

http://wot.motortrend.com/new-honda-...er-37389.htmlk


I assume you mean the gas engine? If so than I agree. The current 1.4L being used doesn't even have direct injection. It would be interesting to see how this car does with a small diesel as its generator engine.

Plague

I meant motor. I don't know how efficient the electric motor in the Volt is currently, but every bit will help.

Smaller engines are hard to add direct injection to. Also, DI adds HP, but only affects mpg by a small amount (10% hp gains and about 1-2% mpg gains). That isn't going to make this much better really.

The Honda system, I don't think that is stealing your idea. The plugin Prius essentially does this now.

Z28x

10% HP gain means they can reduce the engine down to a 1.2L or maybe even 1.0L 3cyl.

Why is DI hard to add to smaller engines? I've never heard of this. Might be a good reason to go with a 3cyl. then. larger cylinders but less of them.

Plague

I agree, it would be nice if they could downsize the displacement, but it didn't work well with the 3.0L engine that GM had. Hopefully it will work better in other engines.

Here is a link as to why Hyundai isn't doing DI in smaller engines.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...EM06/301259972

Cost and complexity become a problem when there is less room to work with.

HAZ-Matt

It's mainly due to small bore sizes. Hard to fit the injector into a space that has to be shared with multiple valves and the spark plug.

routesixtysixer

Ford has a 1.0 liter EcoBoost...
Ford's tiny 1.0-liter EcoBoost to net 177 hp?

jg95z28

That's exactly what I'm talking about. If you're already required to use premium gasoline, the cost is not much more for diesel, and you should also get better fuel economy for when you do need to use the range-extending function.

A diesel/electric version of the Volt would be far greener than the current gasoline/electric version. Especially if they were to make it biodiesel capable directly from the factory.