AZEqualizer
02-26-2009, 08:29 PM
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/assets_c/2008/09/Volt2Final750-thumb-400x266-thumb-300x199.jpg
In a report on Green Car Advisor (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/02/study-finds-plug-in-hybrids-with-lots-of-all-electric-range-wont-be-cost-effective.html): Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that the extra cost and weight of the batteries a vehicle, such as the Chevrolet Volt, must carry to achieve its targeted 40 miles of all-electric range make it too expensive to be cost-effective transportation for most people.
The Carnegie Mellon researchers say in their study of plug-in hybrid cost-effectiveness, but if an owner hopes to recoup ownership costs from fuel savings, a rechargeable hybrid vehicle capable of that much all-electric range isn't the answer.
"Forty miles might be a sweet spot for making sure a lot of people get to work without using gasoline, but you're doing it at a cost that will never be repaid in fuel savings," Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor who led the study, told Bloomberg News in an interview.
While so-called long-range plug-ins such as the Volt may not pay for themselves with fuel savings, the Carnegie Mellon researchers do find that they "could minimize [greenhouse gas] emissions for some drivers and provide potential to shift air pollutant emissions away from population centers."
One scenario the university researchers didn't address in their study is the impact that nationwide gasoline shortages and rationing would have on the cost-effectiveness of a vehicle that can run a substantial distance on its grid-charged batteries before requiring a petroleum engine assist.
In a report on Green Car Advisor (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/02/study-finds-plug-in-hybrids-with-lots-of-all-electric-range-wont-be-cost-effective.html): Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that the extra cost and weight of the batteries a vehicle, such as the Chevrolet Volt, must carry to achieve its targeted 40 miles of all-electric range make it too expensive to be cost-effective transportation for most people.
The Carnegie Mellon researchers say in their study of plug-in hybrid cost-effectiveness, but if an owner hopes to recoup ownership costs from fuel savings, a rechargeable hybrid vehicle capable of that much all-electric range isn't the answer.
"Forty miles might be a sweet spot for making sure a lot of people get to work without using gasoline, but you're doing it at a cost that will never be repaid in fuel savings," Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor who led the study, told Bloomberg News in an interview.
While so-called long-range plug-ins such as the Volt may not pay for themselves with fuel savings, the Carnegie Mellon researchers do find that they "could minimize [greenhouse gas] emissions for some drivers and provide potential to shift air pollutant emissions away from population centers."
One scenario the university researchers didn't address in their study is the impact that nationwide gasoline shortages and rationing would have on the cost-effectiveness of a vehicle that can run a substantial distance on its grid-charged batteries before requiring a petroleum engine assist.