We’ve come a long way baby:
As the New York Times reported September 5, “For General Motors and the Obama administration, the new Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid represents the automotive future, the culmination of decades of high-tech research financed partly with federal dollars.”
Decades of research. Yield? 40 miles on a battery charge.
Meet the Roberts electric car. Built in 1896, it gets a solid 40 miles to the charge — exactly the mileage Chevrolet advertises for the Volt — the much-touted $31,645 electric car General Motors CEO Dan Akerson called “not a step forward, but a leap forward.”
The executives at Chevrolet can rest easy for now. Since the Roberts was constructed in an age before Henry Ford’s mass production, the 115-year-old electric car is one of a kind.
What a leap, no?
Yeah, I know, the Volt is much heavier, yatta, yatta, yatta. But seriously, if it was really a “leap forward” and the “culmination of decades of high-tech research”, why does it get the same per charge mileage as a car 115 years old?
I mean maybe I have a higher standard for things described as a “leap forward” and perhaps I expect too much from the “culmination of decades of high-tech research”, but 40 miles a charge? Come on.
So why didn’t the Roberts catch on then? Well, the market said “no”:
If you didn’t know there are electric cars as old as the Roberts, you aren’t alone. Prior to today’s battle of electric v. gas, there was another battle: Electric v. gas v. steam. This contest was fought in the market place, and history shows gas gave electric and steam an even more thorough whooping than Coca-Cola gave Moxie.
Now, of course, we find that the market isn’t to be trusted and government knows best – thus the “leap forward” (sound familiar to anyone?) and the brutally poor sales of the Chevy Volt.
Yes, friend, you’ve got it. We’re again seeing the government – which knows best – picking winners and losers. Except, as usual, the government’s winner is a loser.
Can you say Solyndra?
Meep on October 14, 2011 at 2:36 pm said:
It’s “yadda, yadda, yadda” unless you turned Japanese for a moment.
jefferson101 on October 14, 2011 at 8:35 pm said:
Well, shucks! Those fancy “Electrified” runabouts were all the thing back in about 1900. I always wondered why they didn’t catch on!
I guess if Bubba wants to take his GF out for a ride on the backroads, he’d better stick to the horse and buggy. That won’t run out of power before he finds a good spot to park.
Heh.
Starless on October 15, 2011 at 10:29 am said:
Two possible scenarios for the average Chevy consumer with $45k to spend:
[After buying a Volt] “Dude! Check out the mileage and small carbon footprint!”
or
[After buying a Camaro] “Dude! Hold my beer and watch this burn-out!”
Which scenario is more likely?
Southern Man on October 16, 2011 at 7:44 pm said:
Oh, please. The Roberts Electric “car” is a simple chassis on wheels that could carry one or two people at a few miles per hour. It would be more fair to compare it to an electric golf cart, but the golf cart carries more people in greater comfort, hauls more stuff, and has superior performance. And I’d bet real money that the only way the Roberts goes 40 miles is with a twenty-first-century battery.
IMHO Plug-in electric cars are the future. They’re not ready for prime time yet but they get better every year. Add a bunch of new nuke plants to charge them (or, in my dream, garage-roof solar panels that soak up that lovely free sunshine all day and transfer the energy to the car overnight) and we no longer have to import oil from countries that hate us. And that will be a Good Thing.
jefferson101 on October 17, 2011 at 11:31 am said:
The theory is all good and well, but the sticking point is in the range.
i could use an electric to go back and forth to work (8 miles each way), but that’s about all it’d be good for. If I’m going to go somewhere to do some shopping on the weekend? I’m looking at a minimum of about 50 miles each way. For that matter, I go 35 miles one way to the nearest beer, for that matter. And no. I’m not going to sit at the Liquor Store for a couple of hours while I recharge so that I can get home.
Get something that has a range of 200 or so miles per charge, and it may be a bit more practical, but I sure don’t have $45k, or even $30k to spend on something to ride myself back and forth to work. It’s not anything like cost effective, and as far as I can see into the future, it’s not going to be.
Fancy status symbols for wealthy folks? Yep. But practical in any real sense for the rest of us? Not so much.
Starless on October 17, 2011 at 2:01 pm said:
And remember that it’s only technically “all electric”. You’re still putting gas in it if you want to go over 35 miles. So in reality, it’s a hybrid and if you’re going to get a hybrid, why would you not get a Prius? It’s a tried-and-true hybrid model and it costs less.
At some point GM is going to have to face up to the fact that the Volt is going to be as successful as the EV-1. Then they’re going to have to face up to the fact that calling their other electric vehicle “Spark” isn’t the best idea in the world.
Starless on October 17, 2011 at 9:40 am said:
Southern Man, it may not be a precise apples-to-apples comparison, but I think the comparison does reinforce the fundamental question: is the Volt, after “decades of high-tech research” not to mention tens of billions in bailout money, really the best that Gov’t Motors can do? Particularly at an outrageous price.
Cube on October 17, 2011 at 10:42 pm said:
The electric car has a short range even after “decades of research” for exactly the same reason that people can’t fly with wings like birds. The energy density in gasoline is MUCH higher than in any battery. In both cases you’re going up against physics and that’s a battle nobody is going to win.
Faster-than-light space travel has the same problem which is why Captain Kirk is destined to be forever a fictional character. Bummer.