Quote:
Originally Posted by Martinjlm
Well….yes and no. Ever notice how many times I say that? 
Up until the 11th hour of development there was no physical connection between the engine and the wheels. At the very end, Mountain Mode was added. During a validation trip at Pike’s Peak or another hill climb location, it was discovered that at a low state of charge, the battery couldn’t deliver enough energy to the electric motors to complete the climb, so Mountain Mode was added. It had to be selected by the driver, but it would allow the engine to connect to the wheels to both conserve battery state of charge and supplemental tractive effort. Most owners didn’t know it was there or what it was for. Over the lives of our two Volts we never used it. That’s the “no” part.
The “yes” part is that the normal operation of the Volt is the battery sends electricity to the electric motors and the electric motors power the wheels. The engine operates as a generator to put energy back in the battery. The difference between how the Volt was set up and how the Ramcharger will be set up is that the Volt was calibrated to maximize the amount of time the engine is off. The Ramcharger is calibrated to maintain the battery at an optimal state of charge, so it would turn on at times the Volt engine would not. |
As someone who has been a train nut since I was young, it seems like this is the current homerun. While I get it is not the "same" pretty cool that you can commute on "EV" and Travel on "ICE", they just need to make them a bit more "exciting". I am not exactly sure what that is but the current offerings are very bland-ish. Or maybe I am just used to grills and cooling vents, hehe
Is that due to areo? Since you do not need cooling, so to speak. I mean look at a submarine, jellybean and bland but effective. Maybe go full EV rolling into the jellybean shape. Dodge is trying, but that car is a disaster atm.