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The only part of the Volt that is that low is the front air dam and yes, it is 3.5 inches (according to owners with GM citing 3.7" as the official measurent in a "dry" car), same as most Corvettes. The part is flexible and designed to bend out of the way, but it will wear and get damaged overtime. Chevy is offering a free replacement air dam that affords greater clearance to those who want them which gives the car around 4.9". By contrast a Prius has around 5" of ground clearance on most models. So, the updated, optional Volt airdam provides clearance similar to a Prius.
The entire reason the Volt has such a low air dam is to boost electric only range at highway speeds. Basically, they designed to eek out every ounce of juice possible to move the car on electric only at highway speed. Since the Prius (even the plug-in) is not designed in anyway to operate on electric only at highway speeds for anything more then a brief moment, they didn't go "all out" on the aero pacakge.
As for why no one else builds a "Prius" the reason is that Toyota owns the majority of the patents necessary to produce the most efficient common hybrid design (Hybrid Synergy Drive). They license these technologies out to other companies (like Nissan and Ford), but they restrict its use to becoming a drivetrain option in an otherwise production car like an Altima or Fusion. No one can build a hybrid solution like Toyota's Synergy Drive without infringing their patents and Toyota will not license the technology to anyone to make a "dedicated hybrid" which would be a Prius competitor. Ford is skirting this currently with the C-Max because the C-Max is a conventional powered vehicle sold in large volume in other markets.
What this really means is that for any company to gain an edge or inroad in hybrid design, they need to innovate. Honda did this with their solution which uses an electric motor inline with the transmission, but it is not as effecient as the Toyota solution. GM's solution was to create the Volt which is the "next step" in hybrid platforms by basically providing a true EV with a range extender. Toyota cannot build a Volt style vehicle, nor can they make the plug-in Prius remotely close to the Volt's capabilities because GM owns the patents for how to do it.
NJGOAT.... Thanks for your contributions on hybrid threads here. We just bought our first hybrid and your posts did a lot to both educate us and allay fears of mechanical and battery issues.
Remember too that the efficiency is required by federal law, the hybrids and smaller cars have to balance off the big trucks and SUVs that are still popular to meet the EPA standards.
My Ranger 4x4 has clearance of about 8', our Liberty 9.6", both more than double the hybrids, but then they are meant to handle rough road/offroad conditions. Cars are not built for potholes, because the manufacturers have nothing to do with road building and if anything, they stand to profit from damage
when you take it in for repairs.
Thanks for your thought. The Prius' ground clearance is 5.5, up to six with the larger tires.
I think the Ford Fusion is even larger, 195mm, though the mpg is not really that good at all.]
There was a cute little Fiat 500 in the LA car show, but I think it is all electric and not a hybrid. I enjoy smaller cars.
I wonder if there's a chance of getting a car from Europe? They are said to have a larger selection of smaller city type cars that are hybrids.
Well, on hybrids, the batteries don't last forever, the cars are expensive (and often, but not always) tiny.
A diesel is a simple device (just be sure to be religious about changing/draining the filters), and gets up to about 43 mpg, say on a TDI. TDI Clean Diesel
Some of the MB diesels are almost as fast as gas engines.
The purely electric cars can be really expensive to operate, depending on the cost of electricity in your area (though years ago I was at a company that would let you charge your electric vehicle, during the workday, for free).
Personally, I think the fad of 'hybrids', other than to help the CAFE for car manufacturers, is an attempt at giving an ego-boost to those that think they are being eco-friendly.
I agree with diesel part but I am not sure about the hybrid part. We have 3 hybrids and all get about 50MPG and none of them is a small car. Also cars were just a little bit more expensive than the top trims with all options (we have all options on hybrids). We have driven them for about 400K so far and the money we have saved is real. Batteries are still going strong and as far as I know they may last as long as cars themselves.
I agree with diesel part but I am not sure about the hybrid part. We have 3 hybrids and all get about 50MPG and none of them is a small car. Also cars were just a little bit more expensive than the top trims with all options (we have all options on hybrids). We have driven them for about 400K so far and the money we have saved is real. Batteries are still going strong and as far as I know they may last as long as cars themselves.
Well, if the diesel gets 43 mpg, and yours get 50 mpg,the hybrid is only 14% better than the diesel. That is nickels and dimes. At 400K miles, that is about $1,000 difference in fuel costs.... Don't know what you paid for the vehicles, but the break-even time when factoring in the cost difference, plus the time value of money... potentially your break-even time is decades. back to my statement in a former post... false economy.
Quote: "and as far as I know they may last as long as cars themselves."
So I assume you are qualified in battery technology, or are just speculating. One of my former managers owns a large battery company, and he may beg to differ with you.
Well, if the diesel gets 43 mpg, and yours get 50 mpg,the hybrid is only 14% better than the diesel. That is nickels and dimes. At 400K miles, that is about $1,000 difference in fuel costs.... Don't know what you paid for the vehicles, but the break-even time when factoring in the cost difference, plus the time value of money... potentially your break-even time is decades. back to my statement in a former post... false economy.
Quote: "and as far as I know they may last as long as cars themselves."
So I assume you are qualified in battery technology, or are just speculating. One of my former managers owns a large battery company, and he may beg to differ with you.
He can do whatever he wants. Also make sure he was talking about the same battery + software. Prius was introduced in 2000 or something and still there are hardly any complains about battery life.
He can do whatever he wants. Also make sure he was talking about the same battery + software. Prius was introduced in 2000 or something and still there are hardly any complains about battery life.
Anecdotal evidence doesn't have much relevance. Did you calculate when you will break even with a hybrid, given the cost differential of that vs. a standard car?
(And he makes the batteries that go into those cars... he is now a billionaire).
But, I don't think this discussion has to go any further. We all make our own choices. Some people just choose poorly.
Well, if the diesel gets 43 mpg, and yours get 50 mpg,the hybrid is only 14% better than the diesel. That is nickels and dimes. At 400K miles, that is about $1,000 difference in fuel costs.... Don't know what you paid for the vehicles, but the break-even time when factoring in the cost difference, plus the time value of money... potentially your break-even time is decades. back to my statement in a former post... false economy.
Quote: "and as far as I know they may last as long as cars themselves."
So I assume you are qualified in battery technology, or are just speculating. One of my former managers owns a large battery company, and he may beg to differ with you.
Your math skills are not so great.. especially considering diesel is almost a dollar more per gallon in many places. And "added expense" of a hybrid.?? Both a fusion and camry hybrid are about 1k more than a gas version. Some one you know may know alot about batteries but you certainly have SHOWN you dont know much about hybrids. And s*^ttalking others choices in your childish ways makes you seem like a lil brat.
Anecdotal evidence doesn't have much relevance. Did you calculate when you will break even with a hybrid, given the cost differential of that vs. a standard car?
(And he makes the batteries that go into those cars... he is now a billionaire).
But, I don't think this discussion has to go any further. We all make our own choices. Some people just choose poorly.
I am glad you made a better choice. I also don't think this discussion can go any further.
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