This kinda thing can't help but keep fuel prices down.

rk911 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

spoon059 wrote:

minnow wrote:
Interesting that GM is reportedly killing off the Volt, the only EV that runs on electricity generated from its internal combustion engine(after the initial battery charge is depleted).

I wonder why car companies haven't capitalized on this idea. Most trains are diesel electric... why aren't there more diesel electric cars that can generate electric power and store it to be used upon demand. Between a diesel engine running and regenerative braking it seems that a lot of power could be made and stored. I'm sure there is a reason, just curious...

Trains don't use diesel-electric due to efficiency. Direct drive would be more efficient. The problem is how do you build a mechanical transmission that can handle over 6,000hp and coordinate up to 6 engines on a single train. The electric motors are effectively acting as a transmission. It also makes coordination between multiple engines easy.

As far as the Volt, GM isn't killing it. It's just not a profitable vehicle. The media is hung up on range but it's not the issue. The issue is cost. EV's (yeah volt is technically a plug in hybrid) cost $10-20k more than they should. A Volt with a 20mile range and a $20k price tag would probably sell and you would likely see 80-90% of all miles done under electric power.

are you kidding me? people do a lot more driving than the average 15-mi one-way daily commute. grocery stores, music lessons, banking, dry cleaners, hardware stores, doctor visits, school activities, yadda, yadda, yadda. all of that adds up to way more than 20-mi per day. don't believe me...set your trip odometer to 0 and drive for a week. heck, I put 10-mi on the jeep just going round trip to the doc and 5-mi round trip going to the bank (yup, some folks still actually go to a bank...not everything can be done on line). a cheap daily go-to-work-and-run-around-town EV had better have a range of at least 100-miles, be able to sit at least 4 or 5-people and have adequate cargo room. maybe we'll get there....one day.

I don't know about 100 miles every day but I agree that would be and was what we were looking for as far as range. Most if not all of the current crop of lower priced EV's have that range but the price is still to high by 4 or 5 grand. I would think the sweet spot would be 20,000 bucks and most of the cheaper EV's are around the 25000 and up right now. As the batteries get cheaper this may be achievable in the next few years. Time will tell.