What is this belt contraption attached to thw rear wheel of a Chevy Volt?

[TroutMan]

@yabob

Yeah, I peered pretty closely at it and reached the same conclusion, although it’s a reasonable thing to consider. Also, towing something with a Bolt seems like a bad idea, just on the general grounds that you don’t want to tow stuff with a dinky little car. Note that electric has a certain advantage for towing junk, though, simply because of the low end torque an electric motor has. This is why locomotives are diesel-electric - trying to drive the locomotive directly from a diesel engine would require a gearbox to start the train. But the electric motors powered by the diesel driven generator can manage without a gearbox.

I suspect you’re right, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the hatch opens to expose some jury-rigged tow contraption. The towed equipment doesn’t have to be some big boat or trailer; maybe it’s just a battery-powered stereo for his outdoor dance parties.

[jjakucyk]

Still, the hose is an intriguing addition to the question. Whether it’s electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic, it’s pretty heavy duty with the metal filler/connector cap on the end and a pretty thick tube, pipe clamps, etc.

[Pork_Rind]

@Chronos

I’m still betting on “owner is ignorant of physics, and thinks this contraption is going to give him more useful energy than it’s costing”.

This setup is much discussed on FB in the Bolt group there too. I come to the same conclusion regardless of all the theories: crackpot owner.

[txjim]

@zoid

He’s got a 50 gallon fish tank in the back that he’s been tending for years and he needed a way to drive it across country while keeping all the pumps and filters, etc. working.

So, that would be an albacore drive?

(heading for the door now)

[Rocketeer]

@Chronos

Oh, and if we’re going to be entertaining the “it’s art” explanation, let’s not also forget the “object of possibly religious significance”.

That’s what I learned from watching “Time Team”: That if you don’t know what an object is for, you just say it has ritual significance.

[Chronos]

Or if you know exactly what it’s for, but are embarrassed to say so.

[Ignotus]

@Chronos

Or if you know exactly what it’s for, but are embarrassed to say so.

Hey, maybe it powers a vibrator of some sort?

[Fridgemagnet]

I’ve worked out what it does: it’s a cunning device to save fuel by reducing the mass of the car. The driven device (alternator/dynamo or whatever) will add a little drag to the right-hand rear wheel, which will make the car want to turn to the right a little, so in order for the car to be able to travel in a straight line the driver will have to turn to the left just a tad to compensate. This means that the front tyres will be scrubbing slightly nearly all of the time, shedding rubber as they go and thus helpfully reducing mass. I’ll admit that it is possible that the extra drag from the lash-up alternator and tyre scrubbing uses more energy than is gained from having a lighter car, and also alternators and lead-acid batteries are kinda heavy, but there’s no place for negativity with ideas of genius such as this.