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bennelson -

Originally Posted by bennelson

It will be interesting to see what future aftermarket products become available for the Volt.

On the Prius, it went from the CalCars guys hacking one, to several companies commercially making plug-in kits, to Toyota finally making a Plug-in Prius themselves.

Maybe "Battery Pack Enlargements" will become a common aftermarket item?
Who knows!

(I'd hate to get spam for that though. "Impress her with your large battery pack! )

Toyota did make plug-in versions? I missed that. Ok. That means the cyber-hot-rodders did influence the Prius. Good for them. Here it is, also with a highway-mode issue :

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid First Drive - December 14, 2009

The Power-to-Weight Conundrum
The 2010 Toyota Prius PHV is about 300 pounds heavier than a standard Prius, which would put its curb weight at about 3,360 pounds. It turns out that the PHV's heavier battery packs are an advantage on short trips, where they make possible extended EV motoring, but become a disadvantage on the highway. When you jump on the freeway quickly, the acceleration drains the battery packs of juice, forcing the Prius to run on engine power alone. At this point, the PHV system offers no advantage, only dead weight. It's as if you were driving a regular Prius, but with two people in the backseat.

The PHV's disadvantage on the highway is proportional to time you spend at cruising speeds. Once the stored battery power is used up, the PHV's average mileage will begin to decline. On a very long trip — say, a cross-country route largely on the interstate — the Prius PHV's fuel mileage could even be worse than the 48-mpg highway rating of the standard Prius. In short, the more you do long trips on the highway, the less appropriate the Prius PHV would be.
...
The Bottom Line
While the rest of the industry argues over pure battery electric or hybrid, Toyota has seized the initiative by launching a plug-in version of its best selling five-door hatchback hybrid. Or has it? Toyota is still distrustful of lithium ion, and is only releasing Plug-In Prius models for fleet trials next year. If all goes well, then the car hits the showrooms by 2012, long after the Chevy Volt will have carved a niche in this area. With prices rumored to start at around $48,000, the plug in Prius is not cheap, but with oil headed north of $80 a barrel and new legislation in the offing, perhaps that electric-only running might be an edge to urban driving that drivers can ill-afford to ignore.

CarloSW2