[Steverino]

I would not want to be a Nissan Leaf driver in Atlanta about now. At least with the Volt you have a a backup fuel when the battery is drained. And for those who keep their Volt gas tank at a 2 gallon level, this situation illustrates why keeping a full tank might be a safer alternative.

"Thousands of Atlanta-area residents remain stranded in cars on highways around the city after a snow and ice storm crippled the ninth-largest U.S. metropolitan area yesterday and much of the nation’s Southeast region."


http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...ps-thousands-stuck-in-cars-on-iced-over-roads

 

[vdiv]

Seems that Atlanta was woefully unprepared for this, there was not a sufficient warning, or people did not heed it.

I have less than 2 gallons left in the Volt right now due to all of the ERDTT and about 2 miles left on the battery. I've been trying to hold off until after the Volt's second birthday tomorrow, but seems like I will be stopping to fill up on the way home.

 

[Codyozz]

An all-wheel-drive EREV 6-8 pax Voltec SUV would be fantastic in this situation. Could maneuver all the local roads picking up stranded BEV drivers!

 

[manitou820]

I would not want to be a Nissan Leaf driver in Atlanta about now. At least with the Volt you have a a backup fuel when the battery is drained. And for those who keep their Volt gas tank at a 2 gallon level, this situation illustrates why keeping a full tank might be a safer alternative.

"Thousands of Atlanta-area residents remain stranded in cars on highways around the city after a snow and ice storm crippled the ninth-largest U.S. metropolitan area yesterday and much of the nation’s Southeast region."


http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...ps-thousands-stuck-in-cars-on-iced-over-roads

Very lame comparison. You could just as easily only have a gallon of gas left in your ICE car as well.

 

[Easy Rider]

Seems that Atlanta was woefully unprepared for this, there was not a sufficient warning, or people did not heed it.

People forget too quickly.
This happens, to some degree, about every 3-4 years but it always ends up in a mess.
This one is just a bit bigger than usual.

The local media outlets should save reports and pictures from this time and.......
The next time something like this is approaching, they should "play it again" with a warning:
IF YOU GO OUT, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU WILL ***DIE***, because that is true.

The thing that holds true for ALL of the bad winter weather events in Atlanta is:
They are ALL over in 24 to 36 hours; every one.

 

[larry4pyro]

Very lame comparison. You could just as easily only have a gallon of gas left in your ICE car as well.

Anyone could be left with almost no gas in their ICE car, but why would do this if you are going to be driving where you can be stuck for hours? It's easy to full-up. I think the point is BEVs have no provisions for these types of emergencies, cars with ICEs do. The Volt having the benefit of being an EV the majority of time but having an inboard generator to produce electricity when you need it.

 

[manitou820]

Anyone could be left with almost no gas in their ICE car, but why would do this if you are going to be driving where you can be stuck for hours? It's easy to full-up. I think the point is BEVs have no provisions for these types of emergencies, cars with ICEs do. The Volt having the benefit of being an EV the majority of time but having an inboard generator to produce electricity when you need it.

The reason so many people got stuck is because they didn't know the ice was coming. It caught everyone by surprise. So go ahead and make sure you always have a full tank of gas every day just in case.

 

[rodmacpherson]

I was caught in one of these unexpected snow storms in Atlanta a little over 20 years ago. They were definitely unprepared. We had to stay at the motel we were in an extra night and dig our way out of the parking lot. Guests were using whatever they could find in their rooms as shovels... trash cans, headboards... by the time we got onto the interstate to continue our trip to Florida for spring break there were only Canadians and Military Humvees on the road.

 

[adric22]

Another advantage of the ICE in this situation is that if you are stranded in a traffic jam and you run out of gas, it is possible for somebody to give you a gallon or two of gas with a gas-can to get you back going for a bit.

If I were in my Leaf and stuck in that traffic jam, I'd most likely have to turn the heater off. Or at least turn it down to a very minimal level.

 

[telveer]

Very lame comparison. You could just as easily only have a gallon of gas left in your ICE car as well.

I don't think so. If a car runs out of gas, it is easy (and standard procedure) to fill it with gas. In a worst case scenario, you could even borrow some gas from another vehicle. Not so when a BEV runs out of charge - often, a tow is the only option. In some areas, they are testing mobile EV charging vehicles but in a situation like in Atlanta, it would be a whole lot easier to get a can of gas to the vehicle.

 

[Steverino]

Very lame comparison. You could just as easily only have a gallon of gas left in your ICE car as well.

Note my headline, "EREV vs EV", manitou820. Not EV vs ICE.

If you drive a Volt and primarily use the battery, the temptation is to run the Volt with as little gas in the tank as possible. Being stranded on the road in a many hour jam is one reason not to go commando like that.

My point was, if you are driving an EV, and typically have just enough to make it to work and back, a multi-hour traffic jam could literally leave you stranded, while the Volt could dip into it's 350 mile gas tank if needed. And if the tank runs dry, can be started up again with a gallon of gas. That's more safety net than a Leaf or Tesla has.

So an EREV like the Volt has the advantage over the EV.

 

[srmarti]

Seems like a Volt with a full tank would have exceptional duration in a traffic jam like Atlanta. The major issue there is a population and local government that's unprepared for the weather. Most places that are accustomed to snow cope with 2.5" precipitation with very little drama.

 

[madmike]

As a general rule, filling your tank prior to a winter storm is always a good idea. One problem with the leaf is that battery life can vary quite a bit with temperature differences but anyone can get in trouble in a storm. I really like having the engine back up in the volt

 

[vdiv]

Note my headline, "EREV vs EV", manitou820. Not EV vs ICE.

If you drive a Volt and primarily use the battery, the temptation is to run the Volt with as little gas in the tank as possible. Being stranded on the road in a many hour jam is one reason not to go commando like that.

Hehehe, going commando... I like that

So an EREV like the Volt has the advantage over the EV.

And over an ICE too as the Volt would only run the engine intermittently to keep the cabin warm. A regular ICE would idle needlessly poisoning the occupants with carbon monoxide and if it doesn't kill them it would run out of gas sooner.

Not sure what an ICE with a start/stop system would do, but probably behave like a Volt and like hybrids by cycling the engine to keep the coolant/cabin warm.

 

[saghost]

Not sure what an ICE with a start/stop system would do, but probably behave like a Volt and like hybrids by cycling the engine to keep the coolant/cabin warm.

I'm not positive what'll happen - it depends on the programming of the cars. I think most of them override start-stop when the A/C is on - but I don't know about the heat. It might stay shutdown (thus defeating the heat,) or stay idling, or cycle at some coolant temperature.

In situations where the engine is being run solely for heat, the Volt has a substantial edge over nearly all other cars. Because it has both the engine and electric heater, it can extract more usable cabin heat from a given amount of fuel than a normal car or most hybrids which will get cabin heat only from the ~1/3 of the heat that gets dumped into the engine block and thus the coolant. In the Volt, the ~1/3 that becomes mechanical motion can be converted to electricity and then back into cabin heat.

The newest Prius uses a coolant heater in the exhaust to speed initial warm-up - I imagine it might use that in a heat only situation, too - giving it potentially nearly the same efficiency in a completely different way by capturing the last third that's normally dumped down the exhaust.

 

[volted2012]

That's why EREVs have the better outlook than EVs

ICE-generator:

- no range anxiety
- you'll be tempted to drive it as EV as much as possible
- in cases like Atlanta you'll have a generator to keep you warm= safety

So many advantages...

 

[Loboc]

It doesn't matter what kind of car it is.

If the road is blocked (and you can't off-road) you are stuck. The news said that cars were being abandoned IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD and their drivers/passengers were walking out. They needed tow trucks to get the road cleared of these vehicles before they could salt/sand the road.

 

[khhite]

My 2013 Volt was great during the Atlanta "snowstorm". Left Chamblee at 3:30 PM on Tuesday and finally arrived at my home in Marietta at noon on Wednesday. Stayed in my car the entire time. I had an almost full tank of gas when I started the trip. Due to the temperature the ICE ran intermittently. I kept the climate control on Comfort and was very comfortable. Tilted the seat back and slept on 285 during the night hours. The battery range during this time stabilized at 4 miles remaining and the total range was indicating about 300 miles during the night. I remember looking at the fuel used sometime during the early morning hours and it was indicating a little less than 2 gallons used. After daybreak and we finally started moving I saw several Leafs abandoned on the interstate. The Volt handled very well on the icy stretches as long as my speed was reasonable.

 

[bro1999]

I really wonder what state and local officials were thinking...."Let's release state government workers, shut down private businesses, and dismiss schools early ALL AT THE SAME TIME while it's snowing and icing up everywhere. There should be no problems at all!"

Stupid.

 

[Steverino]

My 2013 Volt was great during the Atlanta "snowstorm". Left Chamblee at 3:30 PM on Tuesday and finally arrived at my home in Marietta at noon on Wednesday. Stayed in my car the entire time. I had an almost full tank of gas when I started the trip. Due to the temperature the ICE ran intermittently. I kept the climate control on Comfort and was very comfortable. Tilted the seat back and slept on 285 during the night hours. The battery range during this time stabilized at 4 miles remaining and the total range was indicating about 300 miles during the night. I remember looking at the fuel used sometime during the early morning hours and it was indicating a little less than 2 gallons used. After daybreak and we finally started moving I saw several Leafs abandoned on the interstate. The Volt handled very well on the icy stretches as long as my speed was reasonable.

Thanks for a post from "the front lines", khhite. That you saw abandoned Leafs while your full tank of gas helped you make it through the night speaks to the point I am making about EREV vs EV. The Volt has more flexibility, like an amphibian

Off-topic, but by all accounts, meteorologists had been predicting the Atlanta storm for days but both the mayor and governor claimed no one could have known, and so there was nothing they could have done. Here in Illinois, we have a long history of firing politicians who have tried that excuse.