Posted by Lu R on August 20, 2009, 3:13 am
From what I've read about the Volt so far it seems it wont stand a chance
against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start. 2ndly, the
nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the Prius. 3rdly,
the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely to use as a
generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion. I think it's a
matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on their way to a 4th
gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
Posted by Fast Freddy on August 22, 2009, 12:59 am
Lu R wrote:
> From what I've read about the Volt so far it seems it wont stand a chance
> against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start. 2ndly, the
> nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the Prius. 3rdly,
> the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely to use as a
> generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion. I think it's a
> matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on their way to a 4th
> gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
>
>
while I do agree the price is too high, the principal is sound, the
drivetrain would be a lot simpler than the hybrid motor/engine in the
prius, no gears or diff needed, the 1litre engine would only kick in
when needed, as a daily driver to work and home the engine would hardly
kick in if at all, and when you do want to take it for a weekend run the
engine will give you a far better range than a pure electric car like
the Tesla would.
besides, isn't the 3rd gen of the prius going to have plugin charging??
Posted by Lu R on August 22, 2009, 1:22 pm
> Lu R wrote:
>> From what I've read about the Volt so far it seems it wont stand a chance
>> against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start. 2ndly, the
>> nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the Prius. 3rdly,
>> the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely to use as a
>> generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion. I think it's a
>> matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on their way to a
>> 4th gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
> while I do agree the price is too high, the principal is sound, the
> drivetrain would be a lot simpler than the hybrid motor/engine in the
> prius, no gears or diff needed, the 1litre engine would only kick in when
> needed, as a daily driver to work and home the engine would hardly kick in
> if at all, and when you do want to take it for a weekend run the engine
> will give you a far better range than a pure electric car like the Tesla
> would.
> besides, isn't the 3rd gen of the prius going to have plugin charging??
You mean Gen 4? Im not sure on the plugin concept..one more thign toahve to
remember to do/arrange as I see it each nite..
Posted by TKM on August 22, 2009, 6:10 pm
>> Lu R wrote:
>>> From what I've read about the Volt so far it seems it wont stand a
>>> chance against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start.
>>> 2ndly, the nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the
>>> Prius. 3rdly, the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely
>>> to use as a generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion. I
>>> think it's a matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on
>>> their way to a 4th gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
>>
>> while I do agree the price is too high, the principal is sound, the
>> drivetrain would be a lot simpler than the hybrid motor/engine in the
>> prius, no gears or diff needed, the 1litre engine would only kick in when
>> needed, as a daily driver to work and home the engine would hardly kick
>> in if at all, and when you do want to take it for a weekend run the
>> engine will give you a far better range than a pure electric car like the
>> Tesla would.
>>
>> besides, isn't the 3rd gen of the prius going to have plugin charging??
> You mean Gen 4? Im not sure on the plugin concept..one more thign toahve
> to remember to do/arrange as I see it each nite..
But that aspect is easily handled. See this month's issue of Smart
Computing and the article about magnetic induction battery charging. Just
drive into the garage and have an induction system "sense" the car and then
charge the battery -- no plugs required. Could be done in parking lots and
garages too, of course.
TKM
Posted by Lu R on August 23, 2009, 7:00 am
>>
>>> Lu R wrote:
>>>> From what I've read about the Volt so far it seems it wont stand a
>>>> chance against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start.
>>>> 2ndly, the nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the
>>>> Prius. 3rdly, the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely
>>>> to use as a generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion.
>>>> I think it's a matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on
>>>> their way to a 4th gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
>>>
>>> while I do agree the price is too high, the principal is sound, the
>>> drivetrain would be a lot simpler than the hybrid motor/engine in the
>>> prius, no gears or diff needed, the 1litre engine would only kick in
>>> when needed, as a daily driver to work and home the engine would hardly
>>> kick in if at all, and when you do want to take it for a weekend run the
>>> engine will give you a far better range than a pure electric car like
>>> the Tesla would.
>>>
>>> besides, isn't the 3rd gen of the prius going to have plugin charging??
>>
>> You mean Gen 4? Im not sure on the plugin concept..one more thign toahve
>> to remember to do/arrange as I see it each nite..
> But that aspect is easily handled. See this month's issue of Smart
> Computing and the article about magnetic induction battery charging. Just
> drive into the garage and have an induction system "sense" the car and
> then charge the battery -- no plugs required. Could be done in parking
> lots and garages too, of course.
> TKM
I see a mess of red tape as to how those recharges are paid for when out of
town..hybrids do away with dealing with it.
>
> against the Prius. $0 grand US versus $0 grand for a start. 2ndly, the
> nuisance of plug-in daily charge versus none at all for the Prius. 3rdly,
> the rather silly idea of carrying a 1 litre engine purely to use as a
> generator rather than as a secondary method of propulsion. I think it's a
> matter of too little, too late for GM. Toyota will be on their way to a 4th
> gen Prius by the time the Volt is available.
>
>