Those are pretty good numbers for a car of this size. I still would have range anxiety though. You never know when you will hit gridlock traffic or other scenarios that will eat power.

Source: Motor Trend

 

When you're stopped in traffic the electric motor shuts off to conserve power.

 

Ha. What about the radio and A/C on a hot day or the heater on a cold one?

 

What's the sticker price? I think I saw Tesla claiming a base price of 49,900 after the tax credit. I guess that's not bad for an electric luxury sedan with that kind of performance. I was expecting 7 series money.

 

The model reviewed is the most expensive, most powerful and is over $100,000. The base model ($49,900 after tax credit) is quite a bit slower and has considerably less range.

 

Keep in mind the battery stores the energy equivalent of 2.5 gallons of gasoline. If somebody drove 238 miles on 2.5 gallons of gas in a large, high performance car, we'd all say it was a hoax.

 

Is that the one where if the battery drains completely, you have to replace it (for $40,000)? I bet GM could double the all-electric range on the Volt if they put that little asterisk on the bumper to bumper warranty like Tesla did.

-Geoff

 

Ok yeah, that explains it.

 

If only there was some way to put a gas generator in an electric car for long range trips.

 

I still like my idea of battery service stations and having battery packs that can be "hot swapped" in 10-15 minutes.

You place them every 100-200 miles along the interstate. You incorporate the battery service station with a regular gas station and/or fast food restaurant. Instead of purchasing gas, you lease the battery packs and pay a service fee each time you swap them out. The packs are then recharged on-site and "leased" to the next customer. (Think of it like those LPG replacement tanks at gas stations, supermarkets and hardware stores... drop off the empty, get a full tank and pay a small fee.)

Of course this would all require the manufacturers to get together and standardize the battery packs, carriers and methods for "hot-swapping" them. But in theory it could be done easily... it would just take capital. (Money.)

There just isn't enough demand currently to implement such a venture. However in 10-20 years, there could be.

 

Might as well make 'em hydrogen fueling stations too... whatever happened with that???

The last place I worked at had lots (and I mean a lot) of hydrogen powered fork trucks.

 

Yes, however the torque used by the motor in getting the car rolling just to be stopped again over and over uses quite a bit more juice than simply cruising for the same amount of distance traveled. Still, 238 miles is pretty freaking good for an electric car with this kind of practicality (besides the price). That's only a couple dozen miles short of my old Z28 before needing a refill. As charging stations start popping up more and more I think the market will respond in a significant way in favor of electric cars. Hopefully Elon Musk will help make it happen!

 

Stop and go mileage (city) on an EV is usually better than highway. Regenerative braking charges the batteries.

 

The other issue is that electric motors don't make as much power, nor are they as efficient, at higher RPM. Hence the Volt getting gas motor assistance at higher velocities.

 

Negative. For any given average speed and assuming level ground the EV would get better mileage if it just remained in constant motion. If EVs actually did get better mileage by stopping and going repeatedly then that would mean EV's get an ultimate surplus of energy from the energy exerted to get going in the first place which would mean... free energy! And we all know that isn't true. The regenerative brakes can't recoup more than 100% of energy spent in getting the car rolling at a given speed. Thus, if the car just remained in motion without having to stop and then get going again it would get better mileage. Just because EV's get better mileage in the city it doesn't mean that a gridlock situation would result in beneficial mileage. The EV would get better mileage if it were to just continue to stay in motion.