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The following is a list of features or options we would like to
see changed or added to the EV1, based on over 7000 miles of
driving and 6 months experience. Please note that this is OUR
list. Other EV1 drivers would probably at least disagree on our
prioritization of the list (There is a composite list maintained
on the EV1 club's web site). Items we consider important or
highly desirable are marked in
red.
State of charge and range
- MORE RANGE!!!
-
Digital readouts of battery charge (%)
,
both for the pack and for the individual modules-
Currently this information is available only for the
entire pack and is only available from the 220V wall
charger.
- Digital readout for the auxiliary battery state.
- Digital readouts of power use
(e.g. amps) vs.
11-bar nonlinear display. This would help our
awareness of power use by the different car systems and
allow us to train ourselves in optimal driving techniques.
-
An explanation of how the state of charge is
calculated
- In addition, perhaps a "min" and "max" range
envelope display would allow us to get a better
estimate of how much further we could go based on our
knowledge of what is ahead (e.g. freeway vs. surface
streets).
- Cruise control modification to allow the EV1 to
automatically maintain constant power instead of speed (to
be used in very light traffic on freeways).
Braking
- An indicator showing when
regenerative and friction braking is being used
- This would allow us to
train ourselves to brake efficiently as well as make it
unnecessary to use the coast-down feature when it would be
safer to indicate to drivers behind the car that the car
is slowing down.
Controls and switches
- Move some of the controls on the central console elsewhere
to make it unnecessary to look down at the console when
selecting a control. For example, the window controls
could be put in the more traditional place (on the
respective doors).
- Replace the shift lever with a button select to improve
the driver's access to the controls currently blocked by
the shift lever. Note: I was told that the shift lever
was actually ADDED based on feedback during the GM Preview
program, but apparently this is NOT correct. The shift
lever actually engages a pawl which locks the front axle
when in "Park" so it may not be so easy to implement
this suggestion.
Charger
-
Convenience charger redesign
- Move this into the car under the hood so that
charging from 110V just requires plugging an extension
cord into the car. A male 3-prong outlet could be built
into the car to allow a standard power extension cord to
be used as is done for electrical tools such as hedge
trimmers. This would eliminate the following problems:
- Charger power cord is too short for most situations.
- The charger needs an extra cable lock because it can
be easily unplugged and stolen.
- Extra work is required to remove and stow the
charger.
- The charger takes up extra room in the trunk.
- The fan noise of the charger would probably be
less obvious if it were buried under the hood.
HVAC
-
"Precondition now" feature
to allow manual turn-on of the
preconditioning cycle regardless of state of charge and
the time of day previously set for preconditioning (for
those of us with irregular schedules).
- Related to the above point, a suggestion from a couple
of EV1 club members- remote control to turn on
preconditioning from inside your office or home!
- Better internal (ventilation) air flow.
- As noted earlier, we would like some indication of how
much power is being used by these systems.
Displays, Indicators & Warnings
- Momentary override for warning tones
, e.g. door ajar (but also
for reversing). Also, the door ajar warning need not be
constantly sounding if the car is not in motion or is in
the "park" setting.
- Alphanumeric display- Ideally a generic CRT-type (or LCD)
display could present more information to the driver and
lend itself to incorporating electronic maps for the
future.
- Security code- Provision should be made for optionally
accepting a longer code. Placing the security keypad in
a less visible location is also very desirable for
more privacy while keying in the access code.
Windshield Wipers
- The windshield fluid spray pattern needs to be improved.
The lower part of the windshield does not get cleaned,
especially when the car is in motion and the airflow is
carrying the spray to the top of the winshield.
- The way the windshield wipers tuck away under the lip of
the hood makes it difficult to wash the exterior windshield.
A "cleaning" wiper switch position which moves the wiper
arms out fully would be handy.
Miscellaneous
- Internal storage- a glove box or shallow lockable storage
hatches where the shelf behind the seats is currently located
(look at the Honda Del Sol for an example).
- Creep feature- replace or augment this with a mode which
holds the car motionless no matter what kind of slope the
car is stopped on (e.g. uphill or downhill traffic
lights).
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