[ad#post_ad]Recently GM announced the Volt would have a Mountain Mode that allows users to turn the generator on eariler allowing a deeper battery reserve for steep mountain climbing.
This led some commentators to speculate about letting drivers save or hold the EV mode for a later point in operation.
To wit commentator a commentator named APC wrote:
If I know my driving for the day will be longer than 40 miles, it would be cool to ’save’ my EV range for the time I want to use it, like creeping around in the city. I’d pick CS mode for long freeway runs, and switch to EV once in the city. Will the volt allow manual switching between the 2 modes?
It turns out GM has been thinking about this idea for sometime. After all its a simple electronic control to do so. A recent report refers to the feature as a "hold charge mode." The use would be quite similar to what our commentator wrote, which it turns out may have value in Europe, but not the US.
In some European cities, drivers have to pay a fee once they enter city limits, except if they are driving a zero emission vehicle. So drivers coming into the city from the countryside may prefer to burn petroleum first and then turn the generator off and run on battery once inside the city limits.
Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz offers us the following comments:
Some of the capability and functionality that we are building into the VOLT will be truly exciting for the customers. Along with "mountain mode" we have other features planned that will further delight our future consumers.
Our friends at the EPA and CARB would not concur with a "hold charge" mode since it allows the customer to "burn gas" anytime they choose and is difficult to put a FE label on or otherwise regulate. (The) feature will likely make it for Europe. Mountain mode will essentially allow the same capability, i.e. saving your pure EV range for when you the customer wants to use it.
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