GM breaks EV range world record with Chevy Silverado EV Work Truck. 1059mi in Extraordinary Conditions, but I don't want one!

[etbrown4]

I know this is a Ram forum but this might be relevant based on what Ram is doing.

Evs are electric junk to me but this is likely where many vehicles are headed in the next decade or two. I still don't want one!

Operating conditions for the test were NOT normal, and were tweaked to max out the range, so maybe the ordinary test might be a third or half these numbers:

• When it was safe to do so, drivers were advised to maintain an average speed of 20-25 mph and to minimize any hard braking or quick accelerating.
• For the majority of the test, there were no passengers in the truck.
• The windshield wiper arms were set to the lowest acceptable position to reduce drag.
• Tires were inflated to their highest acceptable pressure for lower rolling resistance.
• The spare tire was removed to lighten the vehicle.
• The wheel alignment was optimized.
• An accessory tonneau cover was added for smooth airflow.
• Climate control was turned off for the duration of the test.
• And finally, the test was performed in summer for optimum ambient temperature for battery efficiency.

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[Mojo88]

LOLOL, a useless FANTASY WORLD test.........

 

[KeithP]

LOLOL, a useless FANTASY WORLD test.........

Umm yes, no, maybe. Conditions were certainly not reality but it doesn’t mean they didn’t learn something from the experiment.

Back in the early 90s when my wife was still in college she worked with a professor who was experimenting with EVs. The school had a 2500GMC Savanna van converted to electric power. It still had the OEM tranny, with an electric motor where the gasser should be, a diesel heater and a 2,500lbs bank of 12v batteries hanging under it. Its curb weight was 7,500lbs.

Every weekend the wife & I were tasked with seeing how far we could get with it. We were to try different ways of getting as many miles on a charge as possible. Max we ever hit was 70 miles. The professor thought that’s was tremendous. The wife was offered a position with Ford’s EV division in 1993. It was a GMC van but Ford was involved with the program. And, yes they had an EV division in 93, it just wasn’t well known. She didn’t want to move to Detroit so she passed on the offer. She took a job at a different university and they currently have a Porsche EV conversion. It’s a bit more fun to drive. And if you’re wondering, I followed my wife’s career. I was just a truck driver. I could get work anywhere.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Umm yes, no, maybe. Conditions were certainly not reality but it doesn’t mean they didn’t learn something from the experiment.

As the Mythbusters said, the difference between science and screwing around is writing it down. Engineers setting a world record is going to likely fall on both sides of the line.

 

[Burla]

It will be the future at some point, congrats for GM and all EV companies that make gains. Why wouldnt someone want one if all of "our" concerns are fixed overtime? Price which usually come down overtime new tech and no over the air waves updates ever needed would be a big one for me, plus charging issues, performance in cold, etc. The issue I have with all manu's is they act like they rule over us, just a dumb way to earn trust in a free country.

Look how they build gas and diesels these days, it all is junk at this point. At sometime something is going to have to stand out as the best tech.

 

[crash68]

Climate control was turned off for the duration of the test.

Somehow I don't see this happening during the summer in Arizona or Alaska in the winter.

 

[Mojo88]

Umm yes, no, maybe. Conditions were certainly not reality but it doesn’t mean they didn’t learn something from the experiment.....

Well, of course you can learn something from the experiment. Heck, they could use a chassis dyno and learn plenty.

But this was billed as a new EV "World Record", and that part is total BS.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Well, of course you can learn something from the experiment. Heck, they could use a chassis dyno and learn plenty.

But this was billed as a new EV "World Record", and that part is total BS.

What production vehicle has gone further?

 

[Mojo88]

What production vehicle has gone further?

Under all those special conditions?? Who the heck cares??? It's total fantasy-land testing.

It's a work truck, so give out 10 or 20 to contractors to use as daily drivers for a few months, and then compare real world results

 

[shmedley]

Well, of course you can learn something from the experiment. Heck, they could use a chassis dyno and learn plenty.

But this was billed as a new EV "World Record", and that part is total BS.

It's the GM-LS record mentality. Fastest 5.2 automatic, orange, sunroof, stock exhaust with tips, gray cloth, manual everything, made on a Tuesday owned by a guy named John regular cab short bed Silverado in the world type stuff

 

[crash68]

It's a work truck, so give out 10 or 20 to contractors to use as daily drivers for a few months, and then compare real world results

I'm gonna say the truck will fail miserably within a week or two unless it's someone like a field supervisor driving it or it's just on the job site and it has it's own recharging station at the job trailer.
Until they can get the energy storage capacity doubled from where they're at now and cut the charging time in half or to a quarter the BEV will be a limited use vehicle for work. The other option is to build in a generator that can charge the truck ..oh yeah Ram has that coming out in the Ramcharger.

 

[mikeru]

The other option is to build in a generator that can charge the truck ..oh yeah Ram has that coming out in the Ramcharger.

Are you sure about that?

I've given up waiting for the Ramcharger. I was all in on buying one but have gone a different direction for our commuter vehicle. Maybe in a few years when we're in the market again.

 

[crash68]

Are you sure about that?

I haven't heard of them cancelling it yet and heard of rumblings of the information for the public have still been in the works but then again auto companies have dropped vehicles practically once they ready to be produced.
The Ramcharger and it's BEV counterpart success hangs heavily on a fairly trouble free launch of the vehicle. There's no more BEV hype to keep consumers interested like the Lightning and Hummer EVs had.
I'm guessing part of the hold up circles around the problems the STLA platform with the gassers are having.

 

[mikeru]

I haven't heard of them cancelling it yet and heard of rumblings of the information for the public have still been in the works but then again auto companies have dropped vehicles practically once they ready to be produced.
The Ramcharger and it's BEV counterpart success hangs heavily on a fairly trouble free launch of the vehicle. There's no more BEV hype to keep consumers interested like the Lightning and Hummer EVs had.
I'm guessing part of the hold up circles around the problems the STLA platform with the gassers are having.

I was mostly making a joke...mostly. I'm still holding out hope that they will build it. It seems like the perfect vehicle for my family's use case.

 

[turkeybird56]

Somehow I don't see this happening during the summer in Arizona or Alaska in the winter.

It’s 100F outside right now. Not many places u gonna drive at 25 mph in the heat, no AC, in TX? Heck 85 mph not fast enuf on interstate.

Good for them ref their test but send it to Disneyland, not real world reality.

Where U gonna run 25 mph constant in a parking lot? Lmao.

 

[tones2SS]

EV?!?!!?
Yeah,....not for me!!!

 

[huntergreen]

EV?!?!!?
Yeah,....not for me!!!

Ditto !

 

[turkeybird56]

Ditto !

EV This!!!! Roflmao.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Under all those special conditions?? Who the heck cares??? It's total fantasy-land testing.

It's a work truck, so give out 10 or 20 to contractors to use as daily drivers for a few months, and then compare real world results

Ok. You said the world record part was BS, so is it BS or not? What production EV has gone further?

Obviously it's not realistic driving conditions, literally nobody is saying it is.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Are you sure about that?

I've given up waiting for the Ramcharger. I was all in on buying one but have gone a different direction for our commuter vehicle. Maybe in a few years when we're in the market again.

After seeing the electrical issues with a mundane ICE truck they managed to introduce in the '25s? The insane rate of electrical gremlins in the Charger/Challenger replacement? They can't even get the trunk and doors to open correctly without error messages popping up...

Looks interesting on paper, but who trusts them to deliver now? Anyone who buys the first few years of the Ramcharger, if it ever exists, is either very brave or very foolish or both.