New posts from Gas 2.0! |
- Do Electric Cars Mean the End of Spare Tires?
- Video: Volvo Bringing KERS Hybrid System to the Streets?
- Miniaturized Electric Hummers Coming to a Resort Near You
| Do Electric Cars Mean the End of Spare Tires? Posted: 02 Jun 2011 03:37 PM PDT
According to a post over at GM-Volt.com, poster "VoltSoundz" found himself hitting a pothole in his all new Chevy Volt, and was rewarded with a flat tire. It's a sucky situation for anybody to be in, made even suckier by the fact that the Chevy Volt comes without a spare tire. While GM is picking up the cost of the tire and provided the user with a rental car, his Volt has been down and out for two weeks while he waits for a replacement tire or, more likely, a replacement rim. Why no spare tire? It has actually become increasingly common to forgo a spare tire in place of say, a tire inflation kit (which comes on every Volt standard.) So I'm not going to drag GM across the coals for doing what others in the market are doing as well. The Volt's primary competition, the Nissan Leaf, also forgoes a spare tire in place of a tire inflation kit…not that you'll ever be stranded too far from home in the first place. Even some gas-powered cars now forgo the spare tire in lieu of the smaller and cheaper “tire inflation kit.” So GM is hardly alone in this, and they probably have good reason to do what they're doing. You could make the argument that forgoing the spare tire saves weight, increasing efficiency by the barest bit. It is also possible that the extra space taken up by the battery made adding a spare difficult, if not downright impossible. Where the Chevy Cruze's battery is located, underneath the floor panel in the trunk, lies the Volt's APM and AGM auxiliary batteries. Which brings me to my next point. With the rise of hybrids and electric vehicles, interior space may increasingly come at a premium, and every inch counts. Right now, many gas-powered cars are being retrofitted to take electric drivetrains, which means working around the existing architecture. As cars are designed from the ground-up as pure electric vehicles though, the engineers may decide to just leave out the clunky cutout in the trunk where most spares go, in order to devote that space to more batteries or control systems. The spare tire is on the endangered species list…which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, in the case of VoltSoundz, his Volt is out of action for two weeks while he most likely waits for a replacement rim (which will have to come new from GM.) And given that electric cars face special challenges when it comes to towing, calling a wrecker may end up wrecking your costly EV. Will the loss of spare tires mean more inconvenience for the average driver? Or will the spare tire disappear with nary a tear shed? I know I will miss the spare tire, but what about you guys? Source: GM-Volt | My Nissan Leaf Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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| Video: Volvo Bringing KERS Hybrid System to the Streets? Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:30 AM PDT
Thus far only a handful of high-end car manufacturers, including Porsche and Ferrari, have played around with KERS systems. In racing cars, energy recovered from braking is used to spin a flywheel system, which at the press of a button can be used to provide an extra boost of power by dumping that rotational energy to the wheels via a special transmission. Such a system makes sense on the race track, but Volvo claims that using a KERS system on a four-cylinder street engine can "make it feel like a six-cylinder" while improving fuel economy by 20% by allowing the engine to be deactivated during deceleration and acceleration. It also does away with expensive battery systems, bringing down the cost of this system and making it more applicable to a wider ranger of cars. The more clever solutions we have to alternative fuels, the better, and the KERS-style hybrid system may also offer a bump in performance as well as saving fuel. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Source: Volvo via WorldCarFans Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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| Miniaturized Electric Hummers Coming to a Resort Near You Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:45 AM PDT
This isn't some cheap Chinese knockoff vehicle either, but an officially licensed and shrunken Hummer HX, built by MEV, or My Electric Vehicles. Designed as a resort get-about, the Hummer HX looks like the real deal, and even bears the Hummer logo and louvered grill. But gone is the gas-guzzling V8 engine, and in its place is a 72v drive system using nine 8-volt lead-acid batteries, which provide up to 60 miles of range. An optional lithium-ion battery pack extends the range to 100 miles (!) As you might expect from a Hummer replica, there are a plethora of luxury options, including an LCD screen displaying how many miles are left, and the option for either golf-bag straps, a tow ball, or even rear seats. No word on how fast it is, but it is equipped with front disc brakes as a means of bringing this electrified beast to a halt. It's hard to imagine anything with the Hummer label as being eco-friendly…but wouldn't it be nice if GM reimagined and resurrected the brand as a green "guardian of the Earth" sort of deal. It'll take a lot of greenwashing to accomplish that sort of badge reengineering, but an EV Hummer resort vehicle is a nice start.        Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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