Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO
Let's start the planning for a diesel conversion once the Volt hits the market. That will improve the mileage.  |
Actually, a diesel generator as a range extender for an EV sounds like a great idea.
I seem to remember when they were first working on the Volt, mention of a "modular" generator system, where you could possibly have a diesel or flex-fuel version as an option.
Old Tele Man's comment about EV charging stations is half-true and half circular logic. It's a chicken and egg problem. We can't have EVs without charging stations, and nobody will put up charging stations until there are lots of EVs around.
The truth is that we need to get both to happen at the same time - that's always a bit of a trick.
We DO have plenty of electricity all over the place, INCLUDING parking lots (count the light posts there!) unfortunately, it was always designed to keep it safely AWAY from everyone and vandalism resistant.
Now that we WANT access for charging EVs, it just simply isn't available.
Oddly enough, my local grocery store has electric outlets ALL OVER the parking lot. They use them to run the block heaters on diesel construction equipment used to clear snow in the winter. I inquired about charging my car at those outlets and was told that I couldn't because "it would drive up the utility bills for the building tenants"!
I wonder what the cost of running 2 block heaters 24-hours a day all winter is?