Brilliant Idea From Chevrolet! Use Fossil Fuels To Power A Car

Chevrolet has learned that they can turn a nearly useless electric powered car into a semi-useful vehicle, by simply burning fossil fuels.

ScreenHunter_1842 May. 13 14.35

The next logical step is to eliminate the battery, and lower the cost by $20,000. Maybe even put a large internal combustion engine in it, and call it an Impala. People would snap them up if they did that.

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38 Responses to Brilliant Idea From Chevrolet! Use Fossil Fuels To Power A Car

  1. Andy DC says:

    That is when a car was a car! Not these mamby pamby pieces of shit they sell today.

    • Gail Combs says:

      Which is why all my trucks are 20+ years old. (Don’t have a car, they are useless.)

    • AZ1971 says:

      Agreed. I still remember how excited my brother was when he got his 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass even though it was larger than some sea-worthy crafts.

      • Gail Combs says:

        I had a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass V-8 with a five spd manual tranny and a carborator. I got 26 MPG

        A lot of the 4 and 6 bangers to day do not do that well with all the EPA crap added.

        • NancyG says:

          I had a Cutlass Supreme. It was stolen. It was the most popular car for chop shops back then. I loved that car.

          When I fill my Honda’s gas tank and get on the highway it says I can go 475 miles. All we have to do is raise the speed limit to 55+ everywhere for better milage. 😀

        • Gail Combs says:

          True Nancy, my Cutlass really did better gas milage when they raised the speed limit to over 55 mph. Then I could use fifth gear all the time instead of down shifting for ever little hill.

  2. John B., M.D. says:

    I’ve been averaging around 37 mpg and 600 miles on a tank of gas (with 1 gallon to spare) in my newly-bought used fossil fuel-powered 2014 VW Passat.

    I’m still trying to figure out how I’m exceeding the advertised city and highway mpg. “Hypermiling” may be one component but not the entire answer.

    Maybe it is due to all that CO2 in the air.

  3. Ted says:

    I was with you until you suggested that people would buy it. Have you driven a new Impala? They don’t make them like that red one anymore.

    On a more environmental note, the mileage on a volt is pathetic:

    http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2015_Chevrolet_Volt.shtml

    A friend of mine has a 20 year old Geo Metro that still gets a legitimate 55 MPG, in normal driving. My number one problem with hybrids has always been, and remains, their inefficiency. I’m all in favor of anything that works better. But the numbers for current hybrids aren’t there. Then there’s the environmental disaster they call a battery, but that’s a distant second to the fact that current hybrid technology just doesn’t work as advertised.

  4. KTM says:

    “Going nowhere slowly: The Chevrolet Volt

    Typical gasoline-powered auto engines are approximately 27% efficient. Typical fossil-fueled generating stations are 50% efficient, transmission to end user is 67% efficient, battery charging is 90% efficient and the auto’s electric motor is 90% efficient, so that the fuel efficiency of an electric car is also 27%. However, the electric car requires 30% more power per mile traveled to move the mass of its batteries.”

    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/04/09/how-to-convince-a-climate-skeptic-hes-wrong/

    • Chris Barron says:

      ” transmission to end user is 67% efficient”

      If it were that bad we would see steam coming off the power lines.due to the resistance.

      QUOTE
      “Transmission and distribution losses in the USA were estimated at 6.6% in 1997[11] and 6.5% in 2007.[11] By using underground DC transmission, these losses can be cut in half.”

      Call it 94% efficient ?

      Starting with 60% efficient gas turbine, transmit and distribute 94%, 90% charge Eff and 90% power drive Eff = 0.6 x 0.94 x 0.9 x 0.9 = 45% approx.

      Better than an internal combustion engine.

      The best thing about plug in hybrids is that you get the first (in the Volt’s case) 38 miles at a tenth of the cost of a petrol miles….my wife could run two weeks on that before she drives 120 miles in one day to visit here mother.

      At 30 miles per day, that’s about 40p (petrol equivalent over £4)

      In two weeks she would pay £5.60 in electricity …..or £56 in petrol, saving about £100 per month, £1200 per year.

      A Chevy Volt wouldn’t suit me of course…it has two wheels too many

    • Chris Barron says:

      I notice a lot of other people’s alarm bells rang at a 67% efficiency for T&D..

      EG
      “I am not sure where the 67% electrical transmission and distribution efficiency figure comes from, but that figure seems a bit low, to me. Quoting from
      https://www.nema.org/Products/Document/TDEnergyEff.pdf
      “Generally speaking, T&D losses between 6% and 8% are considered normal.””

      • KTM says:

        Fair points. But it appears that once the Volt engages its gasoline powered battery re-charger, its fuel efficiency falls to 40 mpg highway. A standard Chevy Cruze gets 46 mpg on the highway, so the Volt is 15% less fuel efficient, perhaps due to the extra weight of the battery, or perhaps due to inefficiency of the gasoline -> electricity -> drivetrain conversion process.

        • Chris Barron says:

          Its horses for courses…..the fuel efficiency of diesels is not suited to short town journeys, but on the highway it can be much better than petrol…..the Volt is an ideal commuter vehicle,or rather the plug in hybrid concept is.

          I never trust manufacturer consumption figures,the driver has the final say. I’ve just got a new VW Golf….supposed to return upto 72mpg…….its averaging 52, just like many of my colleagues who also drive tthem….some struggle to get over 47.

          Anyhow, due to the cost and energy involved in building a new car, the worse thing a driver of a gas guzzler can do is to buy a new car with better mpg. Its better for the environment to keep running the old cars…..unless gas prices become an issue then a Volt might save some people some money

      • rah says:

        Not much interested in anything that could spontaneously combust and burn down my garage.

  5. IbSnooker says:

    Does the key switch of death come standard on these new Volts, or is that a pricey option?

  6. ren says:

    A cold front from the north Pacific storms will bring to California.

  7. DD More says:

    Nitch market.

    type of cars— %sales–2014— Change–2013
    Total BEV——-0.39% 63,325 & 33.20% => 47,559 Battery Electric
    Total PHEV——0.34% 55,357 & 13.10% => 48,957 Plug-in Hybrid
    Total Hybrid—-2.75% 452,152& -8.80% = > 495,771
    Total CNG——-0.00% 751 & -65.80% => 2,198

    Total Auto Sales -100.00% 16,435,286 5.80% 15,531,706

    But just think of the growth potential of fuel cell cars being sold.

    Although not charted, 12 Hyundai Tucson fuel cell vehicles were reported by Autodata as sold for December, up from 10 in November, 1 in October, and 6 in September. A single Honda FCX Clarity FCV was reported also after a string of zero units leased the past several months.

    http://www.hybridcars.com/december-2014-dashboard/

    • Chris Barron says:

      One large source of hydrogen which is expected to be brought online is large scale electrolysis. Compared to using the electricity to power a BEV directly, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manages to go only half the range for the same amount of electricity consumed as the BEV.

  8. BallBounces says:

    “Call it an Impala”. Great name for a car — you’re a genius!

  9. Tel says:

    Since the electric motor and battery are largely there for show and for feel good factor, maybe we can make a miniature hybrid drive system that regular car owners can dangle off the rear view mirror? Then anyone can see you have a hybrid, but for driving around it feels just like a regular car.

  10. rah says:

    Had blue 1968 Impala convertible with a white top. Had some great times in that car. Harmonic balance gave way and flew off one night and that 327 still made it the 30 mi home without over heating.

    • I. Lou Minotti says:

      Harmonic balance is always important, whether with women or four speed transmissions. I’ve got a white top now, but the old 8-track is still working as good as ever.

  11. Anthony S says:

    Top Gear discovered the same thing with Geoff.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfNfwNWWphI

  12. SMS says:

    If most hybrids are like the Prius, they are gutless crap. When I go driving up in the mountains of Colorado I am most frustrated by the slow traffic created by Prius’s not being able to keep up with the traffic. It appears to me that Toyota has tuned the car for maximum gas mileage in the city and it has no extra power for anything other than a flat surface. If they were to take the battery, electric motor and extra switch gear out, it might have a chance in the mountains, and still get decent gas mileage.

    Buying a Prius is just another form of self flagellation for the environmental movement. Doesn’t make sense buying one but you feel blessed doing it.

    • The one I was renting was great between Fort Collins and Denver. I didn’t try driving up any hills.

    • rah says:

      There are one heck of a lot of them on the road. When I bought my FJ Cruiser in November 2013 the dealer had 4 different Prius models on the show room floor. The FJ only gets about 17 mpg but on the other hand I have only put 8,300 miles on it in 17 months.

      I think it is the best on road 4wd production vehicle out there and probably about the 2nd best true 4 seater off road. The Jeep Rubicon being the best stock off road that is also good for on road but I refuse to ever buy a new vehicle from any of the manufactures that took the bail out ever again. When it’s time to replace my 92 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup truck and I decide to buy new, it’ll be a Ford despite the fact that for most of my life I was a GM man.

      It’s nice to know that when the going gets tough I can get out of my driveway and go even when there are 3′ drifts. The FJ handles it all with no problem. My only complaint with the vehicle is wind noise at highway speeds. Seems the top luggage rack causes that in the rear of the vehicle. But other than that it is a great utility vehicle. Haven’t gotten stuck in it yet.

  13. Moors710 says:

    Hybrids are really a good increase performance, not save fuel. A battery dump from a lead acid could give you a great boost when passing or climbing small hills. This not “saving the earth” is nonsense when the battery packs that go into the hybrids are far worse at pollution than the fossil fuels and lead acids batteries of conventional cars.

    • rah says:

      Then there is the fact that when the batteries give out the replacement cost is rather expensive. $1,000 being the very bottom line running up to $6,000 depending on the year and make.

  14. Alan Poirier says:

    LOL. I so miss my 78 Olds Tornado.

  15. dmacleo says:

    should have gone with a low speed diesel driving a generator with electric motors instead of batteries.get the torque benefits of diesel and electric.
    liquid fuel cars generate heat.
    in maine (and many other places) that heat is required.

    • Gail Combs says:

      Yes, and then you can put regenerative braking to good use.

      Even here in the sunny south I have to flip on the defroster sometimes when we get a thunder storm and the windows steam up. It is really weird to be driving with the temperature in the 70s or 80s with the heat on. (My A/C has long since croaked and the EPA mandated up grade cost more than the truck is worth that is IF you can find the parts.)

  16. Pops says:

    Well, I don’t miss my ’65 Buick. My ’02 Maxima accelerates twice as fast, has a much higher top speed, gets double the mileage commuting, never needs tune-ups, has no rust, has AC, and is going to last twice as long. The only things it’s missing are the bench seat up front and the V8 rumble.

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