Engineering TV

Very interesting and informative.

1. Good to see GM's new product.  I own 4 GM vehicles.

2.  Can I have an electronic copy of the overview of the Volt powertrain system (including batteries, engine,  and transmission) as ashown in the movie with no people?  I would like to put it in the book (Automotive Engineering Design, about 1100 pages for graduate students), to be published soon.  

3. Thanks in advance.

40 miles range? Was that a joke or an error?

The GM "Volt" is for us folks that live in a big city, where the average commute to work is less than 20 miles.  (My work is 15 miles away.)  So, for people like ME (which is like most of the people in the USA), the "Volt" is perfect-- it will run 100% on electricity unless I am taking that rare long trip somewhere, in which case the engine will kick in to give me the extra range I need.

If you live in a more rural area, and your average trip is very long-- say 60 miles to your job, or 50 miles to town, then you are probably better off (money-wise) getting a small fuel efficient car-- (think: Toyota "Yaris", or something like that.)

Also, I live in an area with very cheap electricity, which makes the cost per mile about 1/5 to 1/10 of that of gasoline.  YOUR situation might be different, so it is important to take that into consideration before buying ANY "plug-in hybrid".

Plug-in hybrids will cost more to manufacture than a petroleum-fueled car, and so you need to take a look at the long term costs and make sure that you will get your money back (or break even at least).  Oil prices are being held artificially low right now, and they will eventually rise back up again, so keep that in mind in your cost vs. benefit calculations.  OR-- if you are like me, and you just want to help reduce the amount of foreign oil that the USA needs, then money is not that big of an issue.

I would like to see someone come out with a 100% electric car that is for SALE (not just for lease)-- something that uses a substantial lithium-based battery with at least 300 mile range.  The problem with this, is that this type of car will not need much servicing over 100K miles-- and this is where the car companies make most of their money-- so I doubt this will ever be made by one of the big car companies.  (I am looking into buying a "glider"-- which is a car that comes from the manufacturer with no engine, transmission, fuel components, or exhaust system-- for conversion to a 100% electric.  This is a VERY expensive option though-- no economy of scale, so the components are expensive.  I would rather just buy an already made 100% electric car that is backed by the dealer and manufacturer.)

Anyway (Kent), if you don't like the car for whatever reason, then don't buy it!  As for myself, I want one of these babies as soon as it comes off of the production line!