[Kobushi]

Has anyone read up on the Toyota Volta?
Hybrid sports car, due out in Germany in December 04, and the US 3 months later. (Pretty impressive imo)

I think the Volta, much like the new Accord Hybrid shows a suddena nd broad shift in what hybrid technology will be aimed at. "More power, less gas" seems to be a sudden universal shift by Ford, Honda, and Toyota reguarding hybrids. (While GM still clings to getting Fuel Cell tech viable)

So Im wondering, will this shift effect the Prius and the Insight as well?
Or will the companies keep at least one hyper-mileage vehicle around?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts,
--Ash

 

[jsanford]

Maybe there's already a clue out there...

What was the EPA City/Highway on the first generation Prius, and how does that compare with the second generation? Did it swing much, either way? The second generation Prius is a larger car and was promoted as a hybrid family car.

I know the mileage figures for the Accord hybrid don't impress me much; emissions information I haven't heard about (did it make ULEV or SULEV?)

 

[swhitevt]

The older Prius was rated 52/45 city/hwy, while the new Prius is 60/51. So, in this case anyway, even as the vehicle got larger, the EPA mileage rating got better.

Sara

 

[Foxpaw]

The Alessandro Volta is pretty nice, but it seems impractical to me. Based just on speculation it seems like the powerful electric motors would drain the battery pack very quickly. Also it has a lot of glass on it, plus the battery pack, and it doesn't have that much power. (for a supercar) Because of it's (speculated) poor performance (for a supercar) I don't foresee it selling very well unless the price is reasonable. (which seems unlikely because exotic styling seems to make car companies feel justified in adding a big, fat 0 to the end of the price tag)

 

[Kobushi]

The only performance figure Toyota has released about the Volta is 0-60mph in 4 seconds flat.

That places it quite faster than the 0-60 of most production supercars. (ie: not modified for race/etc). Only 0.5 Seconds slower than the Enzo, at a fraction of the cost. It should do well as a supercar.

As for charging, don't know, the curb weight is only 2756Lbs (Carbon fiber helps)... Lighter than the Prius (by 134Lbs)... so except for when your showing off/racing, battery drain would/should be LESS of a problem with the Volta than with the Prius. Also the direct drive front motors should allow for more efficient brake regen.

If I had the ~$72,000 to preorder a Volta, I'd have already sent it off.

Anyway, I don't want to bench race the thing or etc certainly it isn't the fastest car in the world/etc.

I was mainly curious if others thought the apparent shift in the hybrid paradigm would bleed over into the Insight as well, or if hybrid technology would become sort of a binary application. (Being 1: Ultra mileage, 2: More Power, Less Fuel)
My personal opinion is that the latter will occur... and that #1 will be rare, and #2 will usher hybrid technology into the mainstream.

I'm happy and proud to have one of the #1 variety, and hope some time I can also enjoy one of the #2 variety.

 

[Allnighte]

actually, it's not due for production. it's still a concept. a fake-news site released a story about its production and it spread through the internet like wildfire without many noticeing that it was fake

and the Honda Dualnote would beat the Volta in every way

 

[Kobushi]

Well, my mistake.

Though I did do some more searching around, and it appears that Toyota has said the Volta was not beling released in December... but wouldn't say that it was not being released... wouldn't comment much at all actually. Though one rep apparently stated that the Volta may see limited production in Italy to measure demand. (truth value unassessed )

The Dualnote was nice... but weighted a LOT more than the Volta.

Reguardless... the main iquiry of my post remains, but no one seems interested in offering an opinion


Thanks anyway,
Ash

 

[b1shmu63]

Ash: I think both trends will continue. The drive to economy will be driven by gasoline prices and the drive to build a super car with reasonable gas mileage will be driven by ego. Those that can afford a super car are not much concearned with the price of gas. Tires, depreciation and insurance are greater costs. Car companies like other companies make serious money catering to the afluent, so expect a lot of high end hybrids. The new Accord hybrid is projected to do 0 to 60 in 6 seconds! Toyota and Honda are serious competitors and both have expressed a desire to hybridize many of their fleet soon.

To me efficiency and the quest for better mileage are pleasures to be enjoyed in their own way (so long as I'm not blocking traffic flow).

I hope that Honda produces a worthy succesor to the Insight. As long as The IMA system holds the fuel efficincy crown, those who suggest that the IMA system is some how inferior to synergy can say little. If Toyota starts to do better on fuel economy then it may become an overwhelming choice for hybridization. Since the IMA system has some inherent advantages in certain areas such as towing capacity, this would be a shame.

 

[james]

Are talking about two cars with the same name? The Volta I remember reading about a few months ago (and wishing I had a spare $250K or so to buy) was a pure electric, using lithium battery packs.