AND 
Volt Questions Answered!
Nick Zielinski, Chief Vehicle Engineer of the Volt reads common enthusiasts questions and responds to them in a video statement. He specifically addresses the following questions with the following answers:
1) When the vehicle will be released – he wont say
2) How much it will cost – he wont say except “competitively-priced”
3) Where it will be built – he wont say
4) If one can sign up to buy or test drive it – says they’re not at that stage yet
5) Whether a solar panel on the roof matters – only will produce 75W, vehicle needs 15KW at peak speeds
6) Why they wont make it with NiMh batteries – not enough power density, and Li-ion will drop in price over time
7) How it differs from the EV1 – on-board ICE
See video below. Ask Mr. Zielinski your questions here.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNbNwst3_C4]
30 Responses to “Volt Questions Answered!”
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June 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 am
It\\\’s o.k. GM, if you don\\\’t want to sell us a solar array for the Volt, I\\\’m sure the guys who are making the one for the Prius will be happy to step up. There\\\’s puts out 215 watts and is enough for 20 miles/day of solar driving. I\\\’m sure if you redesigned the Volt\\\’s layout (short nose, long tail or roof) you could get enough cells on there for 30-40 miles/day. And put the oil companies out of business (but maybe you did think of this?).
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June 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 am
In fairness, Jack, solar on a vehicle is actually not a significant source of power. Check Tesla engineers (all-electric sportscar coming this summer) engineers at their blog http://www.tesla.com
. They are not married to The Oiligarchy, you will get staraight answers from them, and even the chapter head of Plug-In America told me that a solar roof on your garage is a much more practical source of clean energy, than a little car roof.
But the idea is if every downtown parking building had a solar roof for chrging plug in hybrids and Evs. The Democrats are figuring out a way to encourage businesses to put in a solar power station on the roof.
Then you’d just go to work and plug in for 8 hours of clean energy.
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June 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Glad to hear that GM is offering some different models incorporating the Volt’s breakthrough technology!
That makes sense! We Tree-huggers will be your biggest market if you style one thats not so agressive looking. We don’t pick cars styled to look mean and narrow-minded like the Volt.
Bigger windows, spacious interior, simple exterior design, think IKEA, think Lotus, lose the uneccessary detail like the grill for instance – do you really need that on an EV?
You may not have heard from us as we normally don’t frequent autoshows full of gasguzzlers, but we have money and influence, so don’t discount our taste. We will be the customer if you are first off the assembly line.
Theres some great EVs racing down the assembly line, so the first company to deliver will be the car company of the future.
Heres all your EV competition by 2009 – so go fast and be first!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/23/212018/267
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June 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 am
I think the idea of the Volt is great. Making it so that it can be ooptioned to provide increased performance, longer EV only range, and 4 wheel drive would allow the vehicle to (I believe) greatly increase its ability to penetrate the market.
Those that are not tree-huggers could be tempted if you can show that the vehicle is not just a compromise for what people really want.
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June 2nd, 2007 at 11:35 am
I am excited about this car, and hope that when the time comes, there will be an opportunity for people to sign up for testing. I live in Upstate New York, and would be happy to test the vehicle in harsh winter months! No problem. It would certainly be a trial for the heater, handling in snow, etc.
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June 2nd, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I love the styling of the car and hope the production car looks close to the show car. I don’t understand why a car has to look like crap to be green. Just because Susan wants a box on wheels doesn’t mean the rest of us wouldn’t mind a little American mussel in the design.
If you want an apologetic green car buy a prius. If you want something that looks like it will kick your ass then buy Chevy! Unnecessary design and cool is American this is an American car company. The reason the Volt has the fan fair it does is because of how it looks not just because of how many batteries are in it.
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June 2nd, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Another ‘box on wheels’ I like is the the design of the Chevy Silverado white truck 1990-ish models: clean classic no fuss design, that would be one model to show as one option, I’d think
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June 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 am
Susan –
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/05/31/putting-a-solar-roof-on-your-prius-go-20-miles-on-battery-powe/
Here’s a Prius that goes 20 miles on a day’s charge. That’s a useable amount, especially for me. I work from home and don’t need to go out every day. I could let it charge for days and go a hundred miles. BUT, in the case of the Prius, the car has to carry a supplemental battery pack which probably doesn’t take that much charge. Why? I don’t know, but if GM would build the Volt so the main battery can be recharged from solar, then GM has an advantage.
Even more, the Volt could be designed to maximize the area that can be used for solar cells. That long hood would be nice, but I’m assuming there would be too much glare. So why not design the car to have a nose the size of a Smart ForTwo, and a long flowing tail? Proportions more like a Murcielago or Magnum. If you can get twice as many solar cells on, that’s 40 miles/day with no plugging in or other hassle.
Then there’s the new solar cells being developed at Massey University, which can be put in window tint –
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070405171830.htm
If GM is willing to design for Li-ion cells that aren’t ready yet, why not plan ahead for solar too? Get the solar out there for the early adopters and learn how to integrate it in advance instead of trying to play catch-up to Toyota after they’ve done it.
Styling – I like the mini-Camaro styling (except that the long hood is no good for solar). I think they should leave it as-is or make it look more like the Camaro. It wouldn’t bother me if it were a perfect green clone of the Camaro. If the Volt succeeds I’m sure GM will build Saturn and Pontiac versions. Maybe you will like one of them better.
Michael – I agree, why not a Volt SS? AltairNano’s exclusive agreement with Phoenix should be up by then. That should take care of the battery problems. Put a pair of PML Flightlink’s wheel motors in back and – it might stomp the Camaro. Until it runs out of power. So how hard would it be to swap the turbo-4 from the Solstice GXP in, and how much electricity can it supply? That’s what I want to know
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June 3rd, 2007 at 7:56 am
I too like the looks of the Volt…but GM really needs to work on the rear…if they want to pull ahead of the competition, they should really give them something to look at.
Whatever, I really like the looks of the Volt, but GM’s car designers tend to run out of “gas at the ass.” They make great looking front ends, and then just lose it on the rear ends…just look at the ‘Vet, what a waste of design elements; beautiful lines in the front, and smooshed flat in the rear.
The Camaro is their best all out design in years, if they offered E-Flex in this design to chew up/compete w/ the Tesla (new grudge match ) I believe I would consider the Camaro again.
I to would put in to beta test the Volt here in the Humid Southland regions of Alabama…but like the EV1’s, I would think that California would end up with an electric again, long before this “redneck” would get one.
I’m not a tree hugger, I’m just tired of financing the turmOIL, and fattening the pockets of the Hugo Chaves’s in the world…it is time we become an efficient nation, and if the Volt is sold in Alabama, I will be on top of the list to purchase one.
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June 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
To Jack:
“I like the mini-Camaro styling (except that the long hood is no good for solar)”
…could solar film be incorporated on the hood rather than the roof if the hood is bigger?
like this Francais voiture electrique from Venturi
third picture down…
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/2/14273/83427
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June 3rd, 2007 at 11:02 am
“a little American mussel in the design.
If you want an apologetic green car buy a prius. If you want something that looks like it will kick your ass then buy..”
Blacksheep is the customer you usually hear from, he probably enjoys autoshows.
The psychological difference between us tree-huggers and you “asskickers” is we see different problems being solved by the EV.
Asskickers think its only a “foreign oil” problem, that sending some hero, like Bruce Willis out to “kick ass” will solve. So it helps you feel better to get in the kick ass mobile.
We treehuggers see a more existential problem, the end of the human species (along with about 50% of the others, ) on this planet, due to radical climate change, IF we don’t reduce the 20 tons of carbon every American puts out per year. As we see it, no amount of asskicking will solve that.
So thats why I think we treehugers are more drawn to soothing shapes like ovals like the Prius and the Smart, while your regular customers like way this Volt is already.
Thats why I am glad you are going to offer several designs on this technology, and hope you will realise that we treehuggers will be a huge new market for you, if you design another nodel for our needs.
By the way, this treehugger had your Silerado truck for my business all through the 90’s. Great truck. No-fuss design too.
But milage: not good. Please also offer a truck body to compete with the Phoenix EV.
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June 3rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
To Susan:
Way to stereo type someone you hardly know. I seriously doubt that every tree hugger you meet wants a car that looks like and egg.
However your right I do engjoy Auto Shows and I make it a point to go to the DC Auto Show every year but this is last time you are correct. I don’t believe that any hero type can fix anything that by kicking ass Christ what planet are you on.
The problem with tree huggers is you believe everything that happens on the planet is something that man actually did. Now this does not mean that we can’t mess up air quality or our rivers and streams. This also does not mean that I don’t think that companies and our governments shouldn’t be doing more to clean up our act. However to say that the 20 tons of carbon that we humans release every year is the cause of global warming then you need to wake up and do some reading that is not sponsored by Al Gore. Keep in mind that 20 tons of carbon released by humans is only 1.x percent of what the planet releases every naturally and what may actually surprise you is that the world’s Oceans release the most Carbon by far. So saying anything else is just trying to incite fear, the planet changes its temps all the time and it has nothing to do with humans. If you go back to the 70’s you will see that everyone thought that an ice age was going to happen.
The reason people like me want cars that look good is because we still believe that driving should be fun and that we shouldn’t have to apologize for using your car. Besides if you want to get gas guzzling Americans go buy a Volt then making it look good is a must. Just give GM time and they will make a Geo like version so you can have a clear conscience about driving.
When it comes to the Silverado I am glad that you have the sense to use a truck to make your business work. I hope that GM will make a version of all there big trucks that include an e-flex fuel system.
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June 3rd, 2007 at 5:24 pm
We treehugger types are more concerned about global warming precisely BECAUSE we have lifetimes of doing “more reading than that sponsored by Al Gore” or any other one person.
We subscribe to National Geographic, have been reading the scientific journals like Nature and Science magazines, which is where thousands of scientists have been publishing the findings that have lead us to the conclusion that we are indeed changing the planet and may not survive if we can’t change. So it was no surprise to us when Al Gore publicised it. We knew about it already.
But its great that you want to buy the Volt even for your other reasons, because bottomline you ARE helping our grandchildren survive.
What difficult weather they will endure depends on where you live:
NASA says we will have 10 degree rise in temperatures in some parts of the US. If you wonder what that might mean here look to Australia, because they are going through that now.
We may have to close towns, stop growing food and stop making electricity.
In Weather News From The Future: Town Evacuations
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/1/03336/67504
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June 3rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
And as for my personal 20 tons of carbon, I can’t wait to lose 10 of them with my first EV!
Now just need my solar roof and I’m one nice zero footprint grandma…
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June 3rd, 2007 at 5:44 pm
“The reason people like me want cars that look good is because we still believe that driving should be fun and that we shouldn’t have to apologize for using your car. Besides if you want to get gas guzzling Americans go buy a Volt then making it look good is a must”
We have fun driving Priuses! My point is that what looks good to treehuggers is different.
It is a whole different psychology, based on our not wanting to harm the environment.
So I am glad that GM is going to offer different models, as this makes sense to offer differnet styles of such an incredible breakthrough technology that will lets face it save the earth.
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June 3rd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Johnnie – I’ve got to agree with you on GM’s rears. Did you see the Chinese Riviera concept? They messed the rear up something awful. There was a guy who redid it with the 70’s boat tail styling and it was 100 times better. For looks it was in Aston Martin territory. But GM won’t build it like that.
Susan K – Are you dotcommodity on DailyKos? If so then we have already met over there.
I assumed there would be a glare issue with hood-mounted solar cells, but maybe I’m wrong. That IMO makes the case for a solar Volt option much more compelling. Assuming the Volt and Prius are the same weight and drag, and you can get twice the # of cells on a Volt (looks like more would fit), then that’s a 40 mile/day range right there. 40 miles of electricity that aren’t being generated in a coal/oil/nuclear plant (how does your carbon offset like that?). And again, you don’t have to remember to plug in your car every night.
Granted, at this point it’s $4000-8000 extra but the cost of solar is coming down and nowhere does it say GM can not push for government subsidies like the Japanese manufacturers get.
Make it an option. Work with aftermarket suppliers if necessary to keep the development costs down. But GET THERE FIRST and don’t wait until the Japanese have stolen the glory again.
Styling again – I’d happily hug a tree, but I also like aggressively styled vehicles.
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June 4th, 2007 at 12:06 am
It would make no sense to put solar cells on a car like this. A much more sensible approah is to put solar cells on a building. Here are my reasons:
1. A lot of people park in garages. No sun there.
2. Solar cells are very expensive. Think of the added cost to the car when you buy it, AND the extreme cost of repair after a collision.
3. The power a car soaked up while parked would not be enough to charge thebattery more than just a little bit, unless you have the exact perfect conditions and you park for a long time.
4. Solar cells can be damaged easily, and I think would be easier to protect if on a building.
5. They add extra weight to the car, decreasing fuel economy.
They just don’t make sense on a car. Some of you treehuggers need to think with your heads instead of your hearts sometimes. (I am one too, but I am also a practical person). I want the Volt to succeed, and I don’t think solar cells will help it succeed at this time.
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June 4th, 2007 at 1:57 am
1. Option packages. Choosing solar should be no different than choosing a diesel over gas.
I’d also guess the ratio of people who park in garages to those who don’t is at least 70/30.
2. Complete non-issue. Witness the aftermarket solar kit for the Prius.
3. Same as above.
4. Same as above, and no way can you pull your garage into a garage when hail is predicted.
5. See 2. Also, if the Volt were designed from the beginning so the main battery pack could be recharged by solar, it would not need the weight of the supplemental pack the Prius must carry. Therefore the weight penalty of solar on a properly designed Volt would be less than the weight penalty on the modded Prius. Better and better!
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June 4th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Let’s see performance numbers on a NiMH battery e-flex Volt. Don,t skimp on available room to say it cannot be done. I’ll buy it. The technology is here, Toyota has publicly announced no Li-ion…too many heat issues to manage. NiMH can be done now. So I won’t go 40 miles w/o the ICE coming to play, I’ll go 10 or 20 or 30….fact is it’ll still give me exceptional overall mileage and its here today.
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June 4th, 2007 at 8:25 am
OK Folks, reality check time…
First NiMH in the Volt has been beaten to death – it is a non starter, never going to happen. Period.
Second, PV on both the roof and hood of the Volt might get you 400 watts or 2.4kWh on a sunny day in 8 hours. The Volt’s battery pack will require 15-20kW to recharge. This will require ten 200 watt panels on your house/garage roof dedicated to recharging the Volt’s battery pack and on a sunny day will take 8 hours.
We are currently at peak silicon costs and PV panels are at an all time high of $5/watt so that recharge system would cost $20k installed. Thin film technology for PV (’paint’ on Volt’s roof and hood) is only one third to one half as efficient as traditional multi or poly crystalline panels so would require two to three times more to do the same job.
Perhaps in 10 years there will be a game changing breakthrough in solar film technology to produce a killowatt of power from a square meter of space, but until that happens, a very expensive solar panel array on the house roof dedicated to recharging the Volt during a full sunny day will be required.
However, feel free to speculate and dream all you want – that’s part of the fun of sharing ideas on these blogs.
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June 4th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
re sly king:
“We are currently at peak silicon costs and PV panels are at an all time high”
great news on treehugger.com this morning:
PV costs are just about to drop 40%
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/solar_photovolt_2.php
and the efficiency rate is really
skyrocketing up also per autoblog green.com, used to be very low, now Boeing has 40.7% efficient cells. Also, someone I know who works at nanosolar says solar prices are going to really drop in like 2 3 years.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/06/04/new-solar-cells-achieve-40-conversion-efficiency/
Maybe someone should sell canvas foldup “garage-tents” you’d store in your vehicle that are solar-cell printed? Best of both worlds: spacious garage roof and its portable to where ever you park all day daytimes.
Like see http://www.Konarka.com – look at their military camophlage solarcell-printed tent
Jack:
yes, I’m that dEVoted kossack at dailykos, following my own advice that we assist GM with their design and oilophile issues to get the greenest driving option off the ground to save the world!
dotcommodity
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June 4th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
“Founded by Greg Johanson, with over 20 years of experience in the solar electric vehicle industry, SEV is the sister company to the oldest and largest systems integrator of solar power systems in Southern California, Solar Electrical Systems.”
“With the SEV solar system, the Toyota Prius can operate up to 20 miles per day in electric mode thus improving fuel economy by up to 29% (depending on driving habits and conditions).”
http://www.solarelectricalvehicles.com/
“SEV says their system qualifies for up to $2,000 worth of Federal renewable energy tax credits which will then make the whole system pay for itself in two or three years. A solar roof for your Prius will cost between $2,000 and $4,000.”
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/05/31/putting-a-solar-roof-on-your-prius-go-20-miles-on-battery-powe/
I’ve emailed SEV to confirm whether the Prius also needs the garage mounted cells pictured on their site to achieve the 20 mile/day range. They claim the Prius doesn’t need to be plugged in, so unless they have a wireless power transmission system, that would imply it doesn’t need the garage cells.
I’ve also asked about the supplemental battery pack. The SEV site says that their system does recharge the main battery. I think I made a mistake in assuming the supplemental pack was there because the SEV system couldn’t recharge the main battery. Maybe it is there because the Prius’s main battery isn’t enough for 20 miles?
If that’s the case then the only issue with the Volt is whether GM will pocket the profit from installing solar or if an aftermarket company like SEV will.
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June 4th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Susan K – If you read the comments for the Autobloggreen story about Boeing’s solar cells, it’s a “concentrator system” that wouldn’t be suitable for automotive use. But there are many advances being made in the solar field. Right now it’s a good solution for those who don’t need to drive more than 20-30 miles/day and that number will get better as time goes by.
I got a reply to my email to Solar Electric Vehicles. The 20 mile figure does indeed appear to be for the roof mounted cells alone.
Susan, you should email them too and put them in one of your Daily Kos diaries. This idea could use more exposure.
Speaking of Dkos, I did do a restyle of the Myers NmG, but you didn’t come back by my diary to see it
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June 4th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I admire the conviction you all have about solar cells. But the reality is that MOST people don’t want the extra cost/hassle/etc. of solar cells on a car.
It’s true that there are people like you that would be on the forefront and eager to supplement grid power with solar. But GM can’t spend that kind of money developing it when only maybe 1%-5% of buyers will opt for it. For the first few years at least it would have to be an aftermarket add-on. Maybe eventually the technology will be cheap enough for GM to pursue it. Personally I still think it makes more sense to feed renewable energy straight to the grid.
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June 5th, 2007 at 12:54 am
“Speaking of Dkos, I did do a restyle of the Myers NmG, but you didn’t come back by my diary to see it”
I’d love to see it! Where is it? Thats great! Who are you there? No one took me up on that, and now the original designers – Corbin has come out with an even weirder one than the Sparrow!
As far as the 40% more efficient solar story, to me I really don’t care its not for on the car.
Solar power can power an EV whether it comes from the desert or on roofs at work or at home too. More likely though at 40% off!
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June 5th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Brian – Car manufacturers work with aftermarket companies all the time to get special vehicles into the showroom. If it really costs that much GM can work with SEV to get it made. But I truly, truly doubt it cost s much to develop a solar roof. SEV seems to be a very small business. They make the solar roof in pre-ordered batches of 30. Sounds almost Mom and Pop sized. If they can develop a solar roof, I’m sure GM can.
Most people still think of solar vehicles as science fair projects made out of bicycle parts. They’ll love a real car that doesn’t have to be fueled up or plugged in.
I don’t know that it makes sense to have a grid at all if you can make all the power you need on site.
Susan K – I’ll have to look for my car design. It’s been a couple weeks.
I guess there is no PM feature here or on Dkos . . .
Now that I am registered here, you can probably figure out who I am on Dkos.
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June 5th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Susan K – Here’s my Sparrow –
http://rivperformance.editboard.com/Discussion-c4/Concept-Discussion-f11/-p10364.htm#10364
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June 6th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Like the way you make their single back wheel a feature, not a bug…
Myersmotors.com is looking at doing a redesign now, so send it to them!
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June 7th, 2007 at 3:02 am
Design sent. We’ll see what comes of it.
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June 20th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
According to my calculations you will only be able to get about 3 miles a day max from a single solar cell on a car. They just don’t provide enough power for the amount of available space.
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