Purple State, USA

A Leaf We Can Drive.

I saw in a comment on the Do you know what an E-REV is? blog that someone mentioned Nissan coming out with a car (the Leaf) to compete with the Volt. I received an email yesterday with more information on the vehicle.

It does, indeed, get up to 100 miles per charge, though--unlike the Volt--it is truly an EV. That means that at 100 miles you have to find a place to recharge the battery in order to keep going. If the Volt was a pure EV, given what we know of the expected battery output (see comments to the previous post), it would be able to go about 80 miles on a single charge. So the message on what we can expect lithium ion batteries to deliver seems to be fairly consistent across manufacturers.

Given that, why does the message of 40 vs 100 make GM appear so far behind (again)? Mostly because we, as Americans, have turned into headline readers. We read headlines and repeat those to our friends, family and colleagues, creating our own kind-of-correct version of the truth. In this case, the Volt can't wait for the batteries to be completely depleted before recharging (without interrupting the drive), which is why GM can only tout 40 miles as "all electric." In short, it's not exactly comparing apples to apples.

Advantages vs disadvantages? In the midwest, where there is more "sprawl," I believe that the Volt--and cars like it--will have the advantage. At least until there is a way to plug a car in while working or eating at a restaurant. That might well be the future we are headed for, but it won't happen in the next year, which is why it's hard to believe cars like the Volt and the Prius won't still have a bit of an edge.

Do you know what an E-REV is?

Today I received a mass email stating that work on the Chevy Volt is continuing and that its anticipated release is still November of 2010. For someone with a propensity for sports cars and the kind of pick-up trucks I used to see when visiting my grandparent's farm growing up (neither of which are kind to our planet or helpful in lessening our dependence on foreign oil), I have to admit that the potential release of this four-door family sedan has excited the ever-lurking nerd in me. 

E-REVs (or Extended-Range Electric Vehicles) are different from hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles supplement their gasoline engines with electricity. Opposite that design, E-REVs run solely on electric power (for up to 40 miles if we are talking about the Volt), then use a gas powered generator to recharge the batteries as they deplete. Unlike hybrids, there is no gasoline engine connected to the drive-train. The purpose of the generator is only to permit the electric motor to run beyond its 40 mile charge limit, which is significant to overcoming some of the issues consumers had with early electric vehicles (uneasiness about a car that might need to be charged up in the middle of a road trip).

Although E-REVs still rely on gasoline for some portion of their power, GM states that more than 75% of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day, which would virtually eliminate their need for even the gasoline generator, turning their commute into an all electric experience. It is said that consumers will be able to charge their cars via a standard 120v outlet in about eight hours, or--if they install a 240v outlet--in about three hours. GM has said that the Volt will charge in a way that would give it an equivalent "appearance" on the grid as any other large appliance we run in our homes and that charging overnight (off peak hours) is likely to further reduce the associated cost. On top of it all, the latest reviews of prototypes suggest that the Volt also runs quietly and with enough power that accelerating the on ramp of a major interstate might not be completely terrifying.

What do you think? Can GM pull this off? The estimated cost of the vehicle is 35k-40k. Do you think enough people will buy it so that the next generation of this technology will start to become more available to Americans who perhaps can't afford the first version? Is this the end of the gasoline engine? Or just another ambitious vision headed for failure?

-Juli

Read more about the 2011 Chevy Volt.