Quote:
Originally Posted by rgathright
The reason why the Volt was supposed to be so impressive (and warrant its price tag) was that it was a series hybrid, unlike any other vehicle to date.
In the original design it was:
Motor -->AC Motor<--> Inverter <--> Battery
..............|
..............|
..............V
.......Transmission
..............|
..............|
..............V
...........Wheels
With these changes, that were not revealed until now, it is:
Motor --> Transmission <--> AC Motor <--> Inverter <--> Battery
.................. |
...................|
...................V
.............. Wheels
|
I'm not sure why you think this is not a good thing. In this configuration (parallel), either motor can drive the wheels directly, for minimum mechanical losses. If all the ICE could do is charge the battery, you will have an inherent inefficiency converting mechanical energy from the engine to electricity, then back to mechanical energy to drive the wheels. You will have built-in fuel waste.