I think it's encouraging to read that GM has decided it's safe to use
more-or-less the full capacity range of the battery, knowing the drivers
will normally charge every day and only use a portion of the charge.
What I wonder, though, is the effect of topping off every day to 100%?
Or will they limit it to 85 or 90%?
Hmm, at 60kwh, and also assuming a 90% margin at the top and 5% margin
at the bottom, that would leave 85% or 51kwh. To go 200 miles, that
would be 4 miles per kwh. Maybe that's possible but it's higher than
normal, especially if you drive over 60mph. So, I'm going to conclude
they will allow charging to nearly 100%.
I hope it works out well for them. I charge my Leaf to 100%, but it's
usually every 2nd or 3rd day. After 5 years, it's down 1 bar.
Peri
------ Original Message ------
From: "brucedp5 via EV" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: 13-Jul-16 12:04:02 AM
Subject: [EVDL] EVLN: Bolt Bingo> w/ a 200mi EV you can forget all of
the searching for the next charge
[ref
http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Bolt-Bingo-gt-with-a-200mi-EV-you-can-forget-all-of-the-searching-for-the-next-charge-td4682907.html
]
http://www.plugincars.com/countdown-chevy-bolt-next-major-ev-milestone-131885.html
Countdown to the Chevy Bolt: The Next Major EV Milestone
July 08, 2016 Brad Berman
[image
http://www.plugincars.com/sites/default/files/2017-bolt-620.jpg
2017 Chevrolet Bolt
]
The recent EV news cycle has been dominated by chatter about the fatal
accident of a Tesla driver who over-relied on the company’s assisted
driving
system. Hopefully, focus on that disturbing and distracting incident
will
soon subside, so our attention can turn to what deserves more
attention: the
release of the first affordable mainstream 200-mile electric car.
Reminder:
It’s a Chevy.
Tesla is nearly two years away from selling its first relatively
affordable
model. Keep in mind that the first set of Model 3 units will likely be
expensive upper-level variants with price tags well beyond the
so-called
affordable $35,000 range. In the meantime, now that we’re in the second
half
of 2016, you can start the six-month countdown to the truly affordable
Bolt.
Shad Balch, manager of new product communications for Chevy, in an
April
interview with the Los Angeles Times, said, “There will be some
options, but
the base [Bolt] car will have most of our content and connectivity
features,
including active safety features. That will all be standard from the
lower
trim level.”
In other words, General Motors is not wavering or hedging on its
commitment
to its long-standing target price. GM is currently saying that the Bolt
will
be sold for approximately $30,000, after tax incentives, which are
expected
to be $7,500. (Besides, there's a strong chance that by the time the
Model 3
is in full production, tax credits for Tesla vehicles [
http://plugincars.com/most-model-3-buyers-will-not-get-7500-tax-credit-131591.html
] will be depleted.)
Pause and Reflect
Let’s be clear about GM’s achievement: the Bolt will be the first
200-mile
all-electric car offered anywhere near the net price of $30,000. The
company
is accomplishing this feat about two years before any of its
competitors.
That’s remarkable, but what’s mind-boggling is that it only took six
years
between the time the company first offered the Volt—a plug-in hybrid
that
babied its 16 kilowatt-hour pack by only using half its capacity—and
the
introduction of the Bolt, a similarly priced vehicle that utilizes
nearly
all of a pack that carries a whopping 60 kilowatt-hours of energy.
Yes, there have been improvements in battery chemistry and battery
management systems, as well as reductions in cost. But arguably the
true
breakthrough—gained by GM selling the Volt over two generations—is the
human
understanding of how people use plug-in cars.
By producing the Volt and studying how people drive and charge, GM
confirmed
that most drivers only travel about 40 miles on a single day; that they
are
quite comfortable with charging at home every day; and that what they
seek
is the comfort of knowing that there’s an abundant surplus of range
always
left in the car. That might seem obvious to any EV driver, but the auto
industry’s products are only beginning to reflect that understanding in
2016.
“Our studies show that 200 miles is the breakthrough point,” Larry
Nitz,
director of propulsion systems at GM, told me earlier this year. “Our
technology has evolved where we can do cars like this that are
cost-effective. We did it.”
Nitz’s insight is that an EV with a 200-mile range will very rarely get
used
to its capacity. If a driver plugs in every day and drives a typical
40-mile
commute, the battery will automatically get babied—just through normal
driving patterns. Therefore, GM engineers are confident about allowing
the
vast majority of the Bolt’s 60-kWh capacity to get used because it
won’t
happen very often. The 200 miles of capacity is available on an
as-needed
basis, while providing driver confidence all the time.
“If you have a car with 80 or 90 miles of range, your motivation is to
find
the next charging place,” Nitz said. “Can I plug in at work? Can I plug
in
at the mall? Where can I plug in? With the Bolt, you forget all of
that.”
Moreover, he said drivers will forget about range issues even on the
coldest
days of the year in Detroit, when battery range can be cut in half by
frigid
conditions.
“It’s a normal car,” Nitz said.
Bingo. That’s the achievement we’re counting down to see become real: a
pure
battery-electric EV, at $30,000, being thought of as a normal car. When
the
first Bolt customer takes the keys, that auto industry first will be
owned
by General Motors and can never be taken away from the company.
Perhaps that’s why the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV this week was placed on
the
list of 43 models under consideration for the 2017 North American Car
and
Truck of the Year award. And that’s why long-time EV-denying industry
analysts are now saying the Bolt could far exceed sales projections.
Will the car be a smash success? That’s unpredictable. Only time will
tell
if the overall driving experience of the compact EV is as powerful as
the
key 200-mile milestone. Its popularity will depend on currently
unanswered
questions like these:
The Bolt is promised to offer the interior room of a mid-size car in
the
format of a compact, but will it actually feel roomy?
GM says the performance specs—200 horsepower, 266 pound-feet of torque,
zero-to-60 mph performance under seven seconds—will make the Bolt truly
fun
to drive, but will it feel spirited behind the wheel?
The combination of Drive and Low modes, and a paddle for “regen on
demand,”
will mean EV aficionados can enjoy single-pedal driving, but will that
experience survive final technical tweaks?
Those finer points aside, the introduction of the first plug-in
cars—the
Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF—in 2010 was an undeniable breakthrough. Six
years
later, we’re poised for another one. Get ready.
[© plugincars.com]
For EVLN EV-newswire posts use:
http://evdl.org/evln/
{brucedp.150m.com}
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Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at
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