Vauxhall Ampera electric car

[Caveman_nige]

I am not exactly a fan of electric cars as i am a bit a of petrol head, but i have to admit that they have done a nice job with this car even if it does look a little japanese

http://discount-vauxhall.blogspot.co...road-trip.html

[Keithy]

looks like a facelifted Pryus

[Jezzy]

looks like a facelifted Pryus

Perhaps so, but technologically, a Prius is like a Mk II Cavalier compared to the Ampera/Volt. The Prius will do about 2 miles on electric power before switching to conventional petrol power, the Ampera will do 30 miles before the petrol engine starts generating electricity, with the electric motor still pushing the car along.

[I cdti]

Been working on this in the virtual TcAE world, apart from the crazy PT, the thing that staggers me most is the complex cooling systems, generator / motor / CU / Battery all cooled. Pipes / valves / header tanks all over the shop! Anyone with the global EPC take a look at the Chevy! Can't wait to have a go!

[Jaffatubes]

for those who are interested, the website is up now (www.vauxhallampera.co.uk) and the 1st brochure is on the productforum.

I've got to say I really like it.

370Nm torque, from 0mph.

Shame about the estimated price of nearly £35k.

[Jezzy]

for those who are interested, the website is up now (www.vauxhallampera.co.uk) and the 1st brochure is on the productforum.

I've got to say I really like it.

370Nm torque, from 0mph.

Shame about the estimated price of nearly £35k.

£30k after the £5k govt susbidy.

[sparky71a]

It's not a hybrid either, as wrongly described on that website.

The car does indeed have a 1.4 Corsa engine fitted, but this is purley to charge the batteries and does not run the car via drive train etc, it's simply a battery charger. I have to say, after many false dawns by many makers, we may well be looking at the car that changed everything... im 39 at 69 I expect to see quite alot of electrics about, especially as the infrastructure changes in order to cope with the recharge,Basically I could give this a 3 hour charge, and a swig of fuel for the corsa engine and I could run down to the family in wales, and do the shops there, before needing a charge...when they start getting decent top end i'm going to really start to sit up and take notice, this one methinks is only a couple of generationns of that....

[GazVXLINE170]

It's not a hybrid either, as wrongly described on that website.

The car does indeed have a 1.4 Corsa engine fitted, but this is purley to charge the batteries and does not run the car via drive train etc, it's simply a battery charger. I have to say, after many false dawns by many makers, we may well be looking at the car that changed everything... im 39 at 69 I expect to see quite alot of electrics about, especially as the infrastructure changes in order to cope with the recharge,Basically I could give this a 3 hour charge, and a swig of fuel for the corsa engine and I could run down to the family in wales, and do the shops there, before needing a charge...when they start getting decent top end i'm going to really start to sit up and take notice, this one methinks is only a couple of generationns of that....

Technically a Petrol-Electric as like the Deisel Electric found on Ships and trains. Elimination of the gearbox means that the inefficiency of the average gearbox is removed from the system and replaced with the eletric motor.

Gazza4

[nibblitz]

Surely Hydrogen Cars are the future.. No Batteries, Long Range, Good performance, Zero Emmissions..

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/

All car manufacturers should push ahead with this, instead of wasting time developing rubbish battery cars being powered by petrol engines..

[GazVXLINE170]

Hydrogen involves a complicated process as you have to split water into it's components parts - Hydrogen and Oxygen - to obtain your fuel. The cell then does the opposite of this and therefore produces the electrical energy to drive the motor. Hydrogen powered cell will produce water as exhaust, hence it will produce a source of fuel (not the fuel itself). To obtain the fuel you would need to spend 'fuel' to retrieve it.
Imagine there are 100's of millions of Hydrogen powered cars in the future over the world... Personnally I don't know if a means to obtaining the Hydrogen would be economically feasible or even 'Green'. But that is my opinion anyway.

Gazza4