Quote:
Originally Posted by Number 3
You are simply stating anecdotal information to make your case. The ICE in a Volt just simply won't be running for most customers. I jokingly say the Volt will be the best source for hardly used 1.4 L engines down the road. The engine and drivetrain in the Volt will meet your 15 to 20 year expectation. There is no reason it wouldn't. The battery is a different discussion. You are correct, LiION batteries aren't cheap. That's why EVs are, at least for today, expensive.
And you grossly overestimate the reliability of a 15 to 20 year old car. Yes, the average vehicle on the road is something like 17 years old (there are over 300 Million cars in the U.S.) but those aren't the pinacle of reliabilty you seem to imply.
What everyone is missing is simply this. EVs are coming. Not today, not tomorrow, but with oil prices and the OMG we will run out of oil tomorrow Al Gores of the world, we will be finding ways to use less of it. The Volt is a choice that many will make. They will gladly pay the premium to have the flexibility of an EV WITH and ICE for extended driving. And in time, like most technogies, the price will come down.
And who knows, maybe there will be some other type of energy storage medium invented over the next few decades. The problem is, that today and for the forseeable future, oil is king. It's frankly just to cheap to procure, transport, store and deliver. Everything else on the planet from Bio Fuel to Hydrogen is wayyyyyy more expensive. But there is still a market for people that don't want to use gas........at all.
And yet the NUMBER ONE reason of concern for any EV purchase is .....drum roll please............RANGE ANXIETY. And that is the Volts Moon Shot.
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I think the Volt is a giant step in the right direction. EV's are not for everyone, but they need to be developed NOW with the technologies we PRESENTLY have available. There will come a time where the fossil fuel market is not in jeopardy but will be very volatile and manipulated in the world market much worse than it is now.
I can't divulge details, but in things we are working for military uses, power/energy is the #1 priority. PERIOD. There are some recent "storage" technologies that may make batteries/monopropellant sources 3-4x+ more efficient than what we have today. That is HUGE.
Moved to the consumer market and given time that can make things more affordable and generally cost effective.
Now from one car enthusiast from another - will the Volt every replace the SST ? No. Will it replace the 4 cylinder commuter vehicle? Probably sooner than later. If someone did not make the leap of faith in their technology we would not be walking around with items such as cell phones, iPods, etc. that run for days and weeks on a charge.