Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
Dirty Frank
Well-known member
If you have a few minutes to kill this guy is fairly entertaining.
Adjust speed in settings to 1.5x
Adjust speed in settings to 1.5x
I think the Chinese manufacturers are getting PHEVs right. Many of their PHEVs have electric ranges over 100 kms, while not a single PHEV with 100 kms range is available here yet (the coming Ramcharger will be the first). I think if one was available, I'd rather have a PHEV with an all-electric range of 100 kms than an EV, mainly for road tripping.
Ramcharger is interesting but I'm surprised at the large generator chosen. 271 hp generator is insane. That is constant output, it's really hard to use that much power for long. It seems more dick measuring than engineering. A 100 hp constant output would allow unlimited range (only limited by gas tank size) for 99.99% of people and driving. A ram 1500 on the highway uses <60 hp average at 60 mph. With the ramcharger, any downhills would be charging battery (with regen and gas) to makeup for the up hills. The generator they spec'd may allow max tow weight at 70 mph cruise which is an insane way to spec a powerplant.
Ramcharger engine is chosen largely by "that's what's in production" plus a bit of "that's what people will accept" (marketing), plus also the use as a generator will allow it to run in a decently efficient operating range. Actual usage might seldom need 270 horsepower at 5000 rpm much, but that engine can run efficiently, quietly, and smoothly at 1500 - 2000 rpm all day.
It's probably the tow rating. It needs to be able to tow a lot to be considered a serious truck. I think if they build a car in a class where people aren't normally concerned with tow ability (eg sedan, smaller SUV) then they should be able to get away with a much smaller generator.
This is basically a Gen2 Volt.
GM was just too early to the party with the Volt and the market wasn't ready for it. Not marketing it worth a crap didn't help either - nobody really understood what the heck it was when it was in production, all they heard was "85km range? That's useless!". The whole PHEV thing was lost on people back then.
If they kept on with the Voltec drivetrain just a few years longer they could have been throwing it into some small SUV's right now and they'd be selling like hotcakes. Instead they walked away and shuttered everything in 2019 when they cancelled the Volt.
Trailer towing for sure. Nobody is going to buy a pickup truck that can't pull a big box on wheels camper, and that'll need every one of those 271 horses sometimes. As someone who has experience pulling a camper with both my Gen1 Volt as well as our Gen2, the Gen1 just doesn't have a big enough engine and the drivetrain just runs out of ability at high speeds or stiff headwinds. It's been fine for 80kph backroads, but the 401 is pretty much out. The additional HP and overall beefier drivetrain in the Gen2 is the difference between the Gen1 being of limited use vs the Gen2 having taken us all over the eastern seaboard with the trailer in tow, eating anything you can throw at it on cruise control without even breaking a sweat 95% of the time.
