[danwaterloo]

My curiosity was piqued by Frank Weber talking about instant torque with the electric drive. I am wondering what would be more fun? Let's say the low-end Camaro goes 0-60 in 7 seconds and the Volt pulls off 0-60 in 7 seconds. Am I going to have more fun in the Volt or the Camaro?

My feeling is that a standard transmission Camaro is going to be a lot more fun than an electric car with no gears and no noise.

 

[Tagamet]

My curiosity was piqued by Frank Weber talking about instant torque with the electric drive. I am wondering what would be more fun? Let's say the low-end Camaro goes 0-60 in 7 seconds and the Volt pulls off 0-60 in 7 seconds. Am I going to have more fun in the Volt or the Camaro?

My feeling is that a standard transmission Camaro is going to be a lot more fun than an electric car with no gears and no noise.

I used to have a HOT Camaro, back in the 60"s (thats the 1960's). 4 on the floor and it MOVED, however, everything I see in the videos of electric car and motorcycle "take-off" suggests that the electric wins hands down. The ICE/transmission needs to build up the torque, the electric motor is right there torquing the wheels.
JMO.

 

[nlh_90210]

there's more fun than just get up and go

I used to have a Subaru SVX, which apart from having some nice get up and go, also had a low center of gravity and all wheel drive. It handled well, which to me is as fun as getting up to speed fast. Besides, I felt safe at 100 mph. The nice thing about electric is that you can drop the center of gravity down even further. I bet the Volt (if designed with any thought) will handle like a dream. As for AWD, well, who knows, but with wheel hub motors it is essentially a given. Electric cars in general will have a greater capacity to distribute power correctly to the appropriate wheels, much more so than the ICE to wheel transmission. Traction control would (should) be a no brainer. Not only do you get low-end torque but it is easier to avoid wasting it on burning ruber.

 

[DaV8or]

Your poll should have included "It depends" or something like that. I voted electric, but that is only theoretical. The electric car has the potential to be a real performance monster, but I don't think the first gen Volt will be all that stellar in performance. Bob Lutz says it should do 7 second 0-60, but the engineering team says 9 seconds. 7 seconds is not all that spectacular these days. Lots of minivans and SUVs can do that.

When I talked to the engineers at the Volt Nation event, I gathered that they were focusing on economy and not so much performance for this car. Future E-Flex versions however could be built to have very spirited driving capabilities, with rear wheel or all wheel drive, driver variable regen braking to be used like engine braking, bigger motors, lighter chassis, CVT or 2 speed manual shift. Lots of possibilities.

2010 Volt or 2010 Camaro? I would bet on the Camaro to be a better performance drive. However, until we have a production prototype with real world driving stats in, I'll reserve judgment. Camaro will definitely look way cooler.

 

[adric22]

My feeling is that a standard transmission Camaro is going to be a lot more fun than an electric car with no gears and no noise.

Hmm. Well, it depends on the audience. My electric car that I converted is very slow. I can't even give you a 0-60 time because it can't even make it to 60 mph. The fastest I can get is around 55. But I never built it for performance or highway speeds.

Still, my car is not "quiet" There is no engine rumble. But you can hear the gears in the transmission winding up and you can hear a high-pitched whine from the electric motor when zipping through parking lots in 1st gear.

I draw a huge crowd anytime I park my vehicle somewhere and somebody notices the "ELECTRIC VEHICLE" sticker on the rear bumper. After getting asked a thousand questions, people always want to stick around to hear the car drive off.

So.. it may not impress a crowd of muscle-car proponents or biker gangs. But it impresses most people.

As for fun? I don't know.. if the volt has good performance, I would say it would be more fun because it will be so different.

 

[Greenman]

Serial Hybrids Make Sense

I'm not sure if fun is the way to best describe transportation in the 21st century. The Earth is threatened, millions of people will likely die, and our children and grandchildren will be left with the result of our acute negligence.

We should be discussing the hydrogen economy, serial hybrids, and electricity generation off the grid. There is nothing fun about 100+ million people starving in Africa because of desertification.

 

[Texas]

I'm not sure if fun is the way to best describe transportation in the 21st century. The Earth is threatened, millions of people will likely die, and our children and grandchildren will be left with the result of our acute negligence.

We should be discussing the hydrogen economy, serial hybrids, and electricity generation off the grid. There is nothing fun about 100+ million people starving in Africa because of desertification.

You should know that if you want real change to happen in the masses that you have to make it fun (of course if real disaster happens to that person then that also gets them going). Preaching doom and gloom, although I do it often, only makes people shut down and do something else.

Thus, I say that electrical cars are more fun. That pure torque and smooth uninterrupted acceleration curve make it feel like an amusement park ride. Plus, the electrification of the automobile brings with it a brand new start. The changes are going to be fast and exciting, unlike the ICE-only cars. Watching all of this while gaining back our independence is going to be a wild ride that I want front row seats to. How about you?

P.S. I hope you were just joking around. If not, I suggest you relax and take up flower arranging.

 

[Eric E]

Fast and responsive

I think responsive is the word.

We love cars that handle well with tight responsive steering. By comparison, the "gas pedal" is squishy and slow to respond. However, the instant torque of a motor will be a great new responsive feeling, especially when coming out of tight corners and when accelerating at speed.

I see a time when people will look at gas cars as "those old slow, dirty, clumsy, contraptions".

IMHO

 

[imflyn]

the "gas pedal" is squishy and slow to respond

Well, that just depends on the car you drive
I figure I'll have several vehicles in the driveway in a few years. Effecient dd, truck for utility, and sports car for the weekend. Cheap electric sports cars are a long way off me thinks.

 

[chevonly]

Perfomance

Dont forget this is still AMERICA. You can bet that within 6 to 8 months after the Volt hits the road performance mods will be available. Remember that performance chips are available now for almost any car with fuel injection. I even think that some of the GM engineers that worked on the EV-1 would be interested in modifications for the Volt once it comes out. IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME, maybe not the first generation Volt but future models could even come with a performance mode thats the beauty of computer controls and electronics. Now if we could just create cold fusion that was sustainable we could be on our way.

 

[pennor1]

Ther's nothing like the sound of a Chevy 350 running through the gears at the drag strip, or the feel of a 454 Corvette when you mash the gas and break both rear tires loose. Now that's fun.

Then again, there's nothing like being able to drive by the local service station and thumb you nose at them as you ignore their $4 gas.

So I own a 283, and a 454, and I'm ready to buy a Volt last week if they'd just get one out at my Chevy dealer. Which is funner? All three I'd say. Just in much different ways.

 

[YourSailor05]

Really?

It seams pretty funny that 3/4 of us have voted for electric when probably most of us have never drove an electric car. Now I'm sure the instant torque of the electric drive will be a blast... Ya know... smoke em tires

 

[deckofficer]

I have an electric truck and a modified electric scooter using the famous Etek motor. This DC motor is rated at 15 hp but only weighs 22 lbs. I used to race this scooter against gas scooters and enjoyed overwhelming dominance. The group I raced against decided to handicap my ride by having a race cover 50 miles on Route 66 in Arizona. I ended up towing a 450 lb. battery trailer behind the little scooter. BTW, this same scooter would out run my Vette to 40 mph. And most of you know the Tesla electric roadster pulls a 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds.

 

[timlange3]

Fun is a Pontiac Solstice GXP on twisty and hilly roads. Having a spirited ride at the speed limit (not the yellow sign recommendations), shifting through the gears at the right time, keeping the engine at the optimum rpm for the conditions, taking the perfect line through the turns. Yes, the car can go much faster, yes, it will be much, much more exciting, but not as much fun. This is a car you become part of, you feel it work, twist, and bend as you accelerate and brake, you know what the rpm is by the sound it makes, how abrupt you are on the throttle by the way the turbo blow off sounds. You know the limits of tire adhesion by the sound they make scrubbing through the turns.

Fun is a Chevrolet Volt, gliding noiselessly through a parking lot after the play lets out and having those from 18 to 80 look in wonder. Passing gas stations you use to stop at and no longer need Gas Buddy on your phone. Driving through campus and having future engineers yell to their friends "Hey, there goes a Volt!"

Fun is having both vehicles in my garage and a perma-grin on my face when driving either!

 

[mikeg3]

Fun is taking money from our enemies in OPEC and sending that money to Detroit USA.

 

[Upper5Percent]

http://www.carsuk.net/top-gear-toni...ectric-hovercraft-car-hugh-jackman-is-siarpc/

If you want an electric car you want this one...

http://www.carsuk.net/mercedes-sls-amg-e-cell-first-prototype/

 

[jbfalaska]

Sort of like asking in the early 1900s, what's funner, horse and buggy or one of those gas things. I'll take electric.

Nothing fun about sending men and women to the desert to fight for America bashers. Pass. And, the Volt is ecstatic fun anyway,.

 

[CoryB]

Sort of like asking in the early 1900s, what's funner, horse and buggy or one of those gas things. I'll take electric.

Nothing fun about sending men and women to the desert to fight for America bashers. Pass. And, the Volt is ecstatic fun anyway,.

Here is the electric you could buy back then, it had the same range as most current electric cars. Without the extra electric gadgets of course
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/jay-leno/vintage/4215940

 

[murdoc158]

Holy thread revival Batman!

 

[David Friedenberg]

Fun? Quick movement from lane to lane. Single pedal controlling your position in moving traffic. Corners like a GTO or Camaro,

On the weekends my 8 second Pro-Stock truck at the drag strip fulfills another "need".