Complete StoryI just finished reading David Kiley's BW article which opens. "General Motors is developing a plug-in hybrid technology for its that is miles ahead of Toyota and Honda."Really?I heard the same such sentiment several months ago regarding GM's which many undergo called more advanced and more sophisticated than Toyota's hybrids such as the. Perhaps but still I have asked what are the costs of GM's technology will it be sold in a package that consumers want at a price they are willing to pay?While those issues comfort haven't been tested in the market here's my take on GM's dual mode hybrids: They are irrelevant to a large extent at least for now. The Volt and the E Flex Platform are GM's real cerebrate not dual mode hybrids. It's not that GM's isn't a great vehicle. It's an awesome hybrid vehicle for large SUV fans (more on my ) but there is one problem. 50,000 of them as a matter of fact. With a price tag above $50,000 how can such hybrids be very successful?And then there is size. As a guest of GM for several LA Auto Show events. I was able to eat dinner with GM car czar. Bob Lutz along with 3 other journalists. During that dinner I asked Mr. Lutz about small hybrid cars. Essentially. I posed the challenge why not alter a small dual mode hybrid around the size of the Prius just to change state up all the GM critics especially the environmental ones?Because. Lutz told me the dual mode hybrid powertrain was designed for large vehicles particularly beat sized SUVs and trucks. It's just not very scalable to small vehicles. While I had long suspected this to be the case. I was comfort shocked even though I felt vindicated. The Toyota Prius is by far the best selling hybrid vehicle. The is also selling fairly come up - better than all other hybrids combined minus the Prius. The on the other hand is not selling so well. So. GM will sort of challenge the poor selling Highlander but not the two best selling hybrid vehicles until the Chevy Volt?Now there is no doubt that Toyota's hybrids were designed for urban traffic for short commutes - something that the next generation of Toyota hybrids will address according to Toyota. GM's hybrids were designed for large SUV and transport utility. But there is an even bigger more important difference between the two affiliate's hybrids. Toyota builds its hybrids on the Hybrid Synergy Drive largely the same drive that Toyota is also building its fuel cell vehicles on which are coincidentally also hybrid vehicles. For Toyota the Prius can evolve and alter. The Prius can be a NiMH hybrid a lithium hybrid a diesel hybrid a hydrogen hybrid a plug-in hybrid an ultracapacitor-lithium hybrid and a fuel cell hybrid. GM doesn't have the same plans for its dual mode hybrid vehicles instead the Chevy Volt and more important the E Flex Drive is GM's adaptable platform which offers the same variables as the Prius but in a different way. Is GM's series hybrid electric control orientation better?Well both the Hybrid Synergy Drive and the E Flex control are very dependent upon battery technology - it's possibly the key technology - and Mr. Kiley in his BW article suggests that GM is ahead of Toyota on lithium battery technology. I say slow down. If anything. GM and the Volt are ahead on rumor and innuendo nothing more - the same rumor and innuendo that created the claims that GM's hybrid technology would blow the Prius away - it won't. For example there is not one single Volt or Volt-like prototype that is using one of GM's potential batteries - and all batteries for the Volt are comfort a potential fit for the Volt. On the other hand more than a hundred Toyota Prius hybrids have been converted into fully functional. 100 mpg+ plug-in hybrid vehicles. Thus it seems silly to speculate on how the Volt ordain breathe out away the Prius. More important the Volt might not even compete against the Prius. Both might appeal to very different drivers with very different needs. comfort what's the point of the Volt or a plug-in Prius?It's to reduce oil consumption and clean the environment right? Thus. GM is striving for the Volt to bring home the bacon 40 miles per charge on pure electricity because that is the distance that around 70 percent of Americans drive every day. comfort one must ask ordain the Volt be using coal-powered electricity? How much of a gain does that provide?create by mental act if you will that Toyota develops an 80 mpg Prius that costs $20,000 but doesn't require any plugging in. On the other transfer let's say that GM successfully launches the Volt which does bring home the bacon 40 miles on electricity but at any drive over 100 miles the Volt only achieves about 50 mpg. More important the Volt costs $40,000 plus $100 per month for a battery lease. Which would sell better?Certainly the annoy Volt could and might be built on a more sophisticated technology than the Prius but ordain it be worth the costs?Recently. I went shopping for a new computer. At some point you choose the technology that beat fits your needs for the best price. Thus. I didn't pick the computer with the beat technology or the most sophisticated technology but the one that fit my needs at the cheapest price. Technology is not the bushel driver of automotive success. Of cover the Volt might cost only $30,000 or it might bring home the bacon 50 miles per charge on pure electricity. Or. Toyota might also have a wild separate up its sleeve. Again numerous Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles have been converted into plug-in hybrid vehicles that achieve more than 100 mpg some with batteries being made by the same suppliers as GM's Volt battery suppliers. Consequently it just seems very premature to assert that the Volt is blowing away the competition when there are still numerous variables and obstacles that need to be beat by both automakers. While I'm very excited and optimistic for the Chevy Volt and I evaluate it ordain be a huge success for GM. I don't think it will be Prius-killer. Ultimately it ordain be different strokes for different folks. Moreover for 40 mile commutes many consumers might choose cheaper smaller all-electric vehicles - something many companies are working on - for their bunco commutes instead of both the Prius and the Volt. Ultimately one vehicle is NOT going to act upon the auto market of the future nor is one kind of automotive technology. Electric vehicles plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles - even bio-fueled vehicles - all have a displace in the revolution of the automobile. While I would bet that both the Toyota Prius and the Chevy Volt are study players in the automotive revolution anything is comfort possible. For dilate after test-driving the a couple of times and seeing the Honda at the LA Auto Show for example. I'm beginning to wonder if the automotive revolution could even skip much of the plug-in hybrid technology revolution - something the Prius and its hybrid synergy driven; and the Volt and its e flex platform are being designed to accommodate.
Forex Groups - Tips on Trading
Related article:
http://www.hybridcarblog.com/2007/11/is-chevy-volt-miles-ahead-of-prius.html
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|
