Chevy Volt gets 230mpg. How ass-inine.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
So today the Chevy Volt is announced and it claims an astounding 230 mpgs. To this I say, “What a crock!”
I really do have a problem with this and I’ll tell you why. It really isn’t 230 mpgs. The way they calculate this is that they start off with a fully charged battery. With a fully charged battery, the Volt is able to travel 40 miles without using a drop of gasoline. When this range is exceeded, the gasoline engine will activate and begin to provide the electricity to the electric motors rather than the batteries. In their 230 mpg calculations, they assume a daily mileage of 50 miles. With the Volt’s gasoline engine rated at 46 mpgs, that last 10 miles traveled will on only consume 0.217 gallons of fuel. So 50miles/0.217gallons equals 230 mpg.
But what they fail to do is calculate the cost of actually charging the battery to get the 40 mile range in the first place. I mean, its not free. You still have to pay the electricity bill and that electricity has to be produced somewhere.
So how would that mileage rating be affected if we factored in the cost of charging up the Volt’s battery everyday.
So the way the Volt manages its battery is as follows. The Volt will not use its battery if it’s below 30% of its capacity and it will not allow it to be charged above 80% of its capacity. This technique is used primarily to maximize the lifespan of its batteries, which is mainly true for nearly all rechargable batteries. To charge the Volt’s batteries from 30% to 80% takes 9.9kWh. As of today, Reliant energy charges 14.1 cents per kWh. That equates to $1.40 for a “fill-up” on the batteries. With gas prices currently at $2.40 per gallon, cost wise, the battery “fill-up” is eqivalent to .58 gallons. And as stated before, with a range of 40 miles on batteries alone, that equates to 69mpg. Now given this, lets recalculate the Volt’s rated mileage for that 50 mile per day average commute. 50miles/(40miles/69miles/gallon + 10miles/46miles/gallon) equals 62mpg.
Now, granted. 62mpg is waaaay better than 18mpg or 25mpg or even 35mpg but it’s no where near as impressive as 230mpg. In fact, 62mpg is about the same as some fuel economy diesels currently being produced in Europe and those diesels don’t cost anywhere near the $40,000 the Volt does. This forms the basis of my rant. Why are we producing these vehicles that only concentrate on improving mpg and only does so adequately. And why are we producing these much more complex machines that uses up even more environmental damaging materials? How and where are lead/lithium/acid/plastics being mined and produced? These cars will not solve our problems. It’ll reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it will never completely get rid of it. It’ll reduce emissions but it’ll never completely get rid of it. And at a time where the American car manufacturers are teetering on the brink of extinction, why invest in something that will only solve our problems 20 years out? Why not invest in something that will solve our problems indefinitely?
I believe Honda is going in the right step with its FCX Clarity. Hydrogen fuel cell is the way to go. I’ll explain why I believe this is the way to go sometime in the near future. I just needed to rant on this asinine Volt.
