Archive for May, 2008
Honda Still Hasn’t Plugged in Yet
In the past Honda president Takeo Fukui has said lithium-ion batteries weren’t ready for cars yet, and that an E-REV like the Volt didn’t make sense (see post). His company also despite beating Toyota to the starting gate with its now defunct Insight, has been markedly losing the race to the Prius.
Amidst all [...]
Popularity: 7%
Jay Leno Believes Chevy Volt Sales Will Take Off
Most people know Jay Leno as the host of the Tonight Show. He is also a huge car fanatic and very enthusiastic about electric cars.
He wrote an opinion piece for Conde’ Naste Portfolio in which he expresses reasons why he believes U.S, automakers have lost ground to the Japanese over the years due to [...]
Popularity: 6%
The Chevy Volt Mule Schedule: Final Integration Vehicles to Appear in 2009
I just had the opportunity to interview Micky Bly who is GM’s director of hybrid vehicle integration. He runs the team that will integrate all the subsystems in the Volt to make it a pleasantly drivable and cohesive machine.
I asked him about the Volt development vehicle schedule.
He explained to me the the Volt will [...]
Popularity: 7%
Nissan and NEC to Begin Mass Production of Automotive Lithium-ion Batteries in 2009
As the race to mass produce electric cars heat up, GM competitor Nissan has teamed up with NEC to form a lithium-ion battery company called Automotive Energy Supply Corp.
The company is producing lithium-ion batteries for automotive use which rely on Manganese-spinel for the cathode, the same chemistry that LG Chem is using.
The company announced today [...]
Popularity: 6%
Production Chevy Volt to be Revealed in Less Than 5 Months
GM has made significant aerodynamic changes to the original Volt concept they showed in early 2007, but I expect it to be very similar and very cool. The Volt team has already finalized the redesign. We’ve been shown partial teasers (above) and a camouflage 1/3 scale model, but haven’t yet seen the whole [...]
Popularity: 6%
The Volt Program May be Life or Death for GM
I recently wrote a post entitled “Could Recession Crash the Volt“. Now another sobering article was published by Businessweek.
The Chevy Volt program along with the entire portfolio of hybrids that GM is building and planning to build is described as a do or die situation for GM. The title, ‘GM: Live Green or Die’ [...]
Popularity: 5%
GM’s Next Generation Chevy Volts May Use Supercapacitors
The first generation Chevy Volt, known as an E-REV (extended range electric vehicle), is still two and a half year away, but GM continues very active R&D looking into the next generation.
We have at times discussed the ideas of supercapitors. These are like batteries in that they store energy, only they are generally [...]
Popularity: 5%
Micky Bly, GM Director of Hybrid Integration on the Running Chevy Volt Prototype
After Bob Lutz’ big announcement yesterday about the Chevy Volt prototype running on the track, I had the chance to talk to GMs director of hybrid vehicle integration, Mickey Bly, a little more about it. We covered a range of topics and I will have much more of our conversation soon. Micky [...]
Popularity: 5%
BIG NEWS from Bob Lutz: First Chevy Volt Prototype Hits the Road and Gets 40 Miles Electric!
In the biggest news since the initial concept announcement, GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz confirmed that in fact the first Chevy Volt prototype, with the full lithium-ion battery pack has hit the test track.
He said “It is reliably meeting its objectives. Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, etc. etc., [...]
Popularity: 10%
Could Recession Crash the Volt?
We wait patiently as GM puts the Volt through the most rapid development cycle any of its vehicles has ever had. Meanwhile, since the original concept was introduced in Jan 2007, the economy has been in trouble. The burdens of the credit crisis and the rapidly rising oil prices have significantly affected the [...]
Popularity: 5%
Renault-Nissan To Spend $1 Billion Building Electric Cars, and Already Shows One Off
Making the news again lately are the efforts of Project Better Place, a company moving to implement electric cars and an electric car charging infrastructure in Israel and Denmark, and hoping to spread from there.
The automaker charged with building the cars is Renault in partnership with Nissan. Coming out of this is the admission that [...]
Popularity: 5%
The EV-1 Wasn’t Killed, it Was Dead on Arrival
MotorTrend’s Angus MacKenzie has published a provocative and thoughtful piece on the inadequacies of the EV-1. Many new visitors to GM-Volt.com seem to get here after seeing Who Killed the Electric Car, something I ascertain through many of the emails I get.
In the Motortrend piece it was explained that the EV-1 evolved from an earlier [...]
Popularity: 5%
Recent Posts
- Volt Battery Supplier Chosen and GM Comments on Production Photo Leaks (POLL)
- BREAKING: Production VOLT Spied!! The REAL DEAL!!
- Chevy Volt Interior Picture Leak
- Bob Lutz Responds to Toyota’s Announcement: Large Volt Test Fleet in 2009
- Volt Competition: Mazda’s Secret E-REV Program, Toyota Forwards Plug-in Fleet to 2009
- Bob Lutz on Chevy Volt Battery Tests, Cold Starts, and Use of OnStar
- The Chevy Volt Generator Will Run at One of Several Fixed RPMs
- E-Flex Cadillac Next?
- How the Chevy Volt Operates Past the Customer Depletion Point
- The Chevy Volt Will Have iPod Connectivity (Plus More Design Issues)
