GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

On this holiday season of a very dramatic year, I would like to wish everyone and their friends and families peace, joy, and happiness, everywhere in the world.

It is hard to believe its been nearly two years since I started this blog, and better yet less than two years until the Chevy Volt reaches production.

As you might have noticed I am an optimist, and remain optimistic the Volt will be our first big step in getting this country and the world off of oil.

I am looking forward to heading out to Detroit for the press days of the Auto Show (NAIAS), and I will be there on January 11th. I’m hoping there might be a few surprises from GM, and you know I will be asking many questions of the Volt executives.

I greatly appreciate all the visitors that have come and continue to come to this site, and my deepest gratitude to all of the over 9,000 wonderful commentators who keep the posts lively and teach me so much. Thank you. In 2008 we had 1,266,923 unique visitors paying  2,525,834 visits to this site reading a total of 7,392,755 pages.

You can count on this site being here right up to the day the Volt launches and beyond. Do your best to spread the word. Lets reach a few more million in 2009.

And if you’re particularly adventuresome you might want to check out our new sister site, AllCarsElectric.com

All the best
Lyle

GM is confident about being correct in choosing the 40 mile electric-driving range the Volt offers.

They decided upon this range based on a Federal study showing that 78% of US drivers drive less than 40 miles per day.

Since the concept’s announcement in January 2007 we’ve had countless spirited debates about that range. To this day one of the most common criticisms from those new to the concept is that the range too short. The typical comment goes like this “if Tesla can make a car that goes over 200 miles why does the Volt only go 40?” Of course the car can go infinitely further than a 40 mile drive using the gas powered range extender, but that will only take place in less than 20% of all of the US populations’ driving. Furthermore, clearly the goal is to keep cost to a minimum, not quite so with the 100K Tesla.

So one question worth asking is what will the range of future Volt versions be?

The answer per GM’s Volt vehicle line executive Frank Weber is “Forty.”

Weber explains it as follows:

“I don’t want to go higher than 40. Everything I do is to go down with cost, cost, cost. All battery improvements will go into cost reductions for the batteries. Next generation battery will be half the size, and half the cost.”

He also indicates how other components of the Volt will improve, stating “next generation power electronics will be half the size and half the cost. Next generation electric drive unit will be actually not half the size and cost, but you will see improvements in the electric drivetrain.”

He also notes that battery modularization will likely occur in the future, just as you might have V6 and V8 engines now, future E-Flex vehicles may have optional electric ranges for those at the extremes of the daily driving curve. Weber says “when you look at the core of the (E-Flex) program, once you can shrink the battery and make the cost of the battery more reasonable, the next generation will allow you to modularize the battery capacity. Because there are people who who might need 20 miles or 80 miles. Very different people have very different demands and so the next stage is to get different levels of batteries.”

Of course mission one is to just get the car out there as Weber says “at this point this is new technology and I am happy if we get one solution that really works.”

If the Volt and E-Flex vehicles eventually become widespread and popular, it is imaginable that GM could consider pursuing its own internal manufacturing of advanced batteries. This could conceivably be another source of revenue, significant as well since E-Flex vehicles figure so importantly into GMs future plans. Indeed it is well-known that other car companies such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Honda have partnership stakes in battery producing companies.

Despite these seeming advantages, it turns out GM doesn’t plan to get into the battery business. Frank Weber who is GM’s E-Flex vehicle line executive answered my question as follows:

Is GM working on their own internally produced batteries/cell lines?
We have said that we will always buy the cells. We want to deeply understand the cells and cell chemistry, but there is no interest on our side to get into cell production. (To do so) is strategically a mistake, because who knows what will turn out to be the most promising battery chemistry. In the end what you want is a certain flexibility to your choice, because whoever has the most promising chemistry is the one who I will partner with. This is the market. Batteries are real the killer application. If someone has the ultimate formula on how to bring down cost and size and still have the 16 kwh, this individual company can change the market overnight.

GM just released pictures, video, and specifications on its newly designed 2010 Chevy Equinox.  They plan to exhibit the car at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The car is a compact crossover expected to go on sale in mod 2009 and comes with two powertrain options.

The most most intriguing powertrain option is a “new 2.4L Ecotec direct injected I-4 engine estimated at 182 horsepower (135 kW), which delivers an estimated 30 mpg highway, 21 mpg city (EPA certification pending)”

The vehicle is re-designed to include the new signature double front grille and per Chevrolet manager Ed Peper, “At a time when customers are so concerned about the fuel efficiency of their vehicle, the Equinox delivers. It offers the roominess and capability of a crossover with great fuel economy. Equinox will provide customers a vehicle filled with refinement, comfort and great value.”

GM has not announced a hybrid version of this vehicle yet but considering its efficiency it would seem to be an ideal choice. The 2-mode Saturn VUE is similar in size and will get 55% improvement in fuel efficiency over its non-hybrid version. Also considering that Saturn could potentially be phased out per the new viability plan, this car could be next in line for that powertrain. The same might be true for a plugin version down the road, as a plugin Saturn VUE is far along in development and expected to go on sale in 2010.

Source (GM)

Cedar Park Texas-based EEStor Inc. is an intriguing though secretive company to those who follow the development of electric cars. Although no known prototypes exist, they claim the ability to make extremely lightweight highly energy dense electric storage units (EESUs) that could revolutionize energy storage in electric vehicles. Indeed they have an exclusivity agreement to build EESU-powered ZENNergy drive electric vehicles with the Canadian company Zenn. Earlier this year it was reported that Zenn would receive production grade prototypes by the end of 2008. I asked Zenn CEO Ian Clifford whether that deadline would be met.

He said “the timeline for the delivery of an EESU is entirely within the purview of EEStor and as such I cannot comment on delivery timelines. I will restate that ZENN remain confident in the launch of an EEStor EESU (electrical energy storage unit) powered cityZENN by the last quarter of 2009.”

In any event,on December 16th EEStor was granted a US patent for their EESU. The patent is a highly information-rich document that give a remarkable insight into these potential devices. EEStor notes “the present invention provides a unique lightweight electric-energy storage unit that has the capability to store ultrahigh amounts of energy”.

The core ingredient is an aluminum-oxide(alumina)-coated barium titanate powder immersed in a polyethylene terephthalate plastic matrix. The EESU is composed of 31,353 of these components arranged in parallel. It is said to have a total capacitance of 30.693 F and can hold 52.220 kWh of energy. The device is said to have a weight of 281.56 pound including the box and all hardware. Unlike lithium-ion cells, the technology is said not to degrade with cycling and thus has a functionally unlimited lifetime.

It is mentioned the device cannot explode when being charge or impacted and is thus safe for vehicles.

The patent describes in explicit and complex detail how these basic ingredients are prepared and combined to create the EESU using screen-printing and layering techniques.

Read Full Patent HERE.

It seems to me this patent is rather elaborate for anything disingenuous, and perhaps they’ve really got a genuine breakthrough after all. Hopefully, we shall soon see. Clifford once told GM-Volt.com he’s met with GM and said “a Volt with a ZENNergy drive is a kind of a sexy product. You never know. It would certainly be something we’d love to explore.”

A very common mantra heard around these parts is “Lets Get the Volt Wheels on the Road” originally coined by GM-Volt.com member Larry G (Tagamet).

Well apparently GM has moved one step closer to that symbolic goal, they’ve actually sourced the wheels.

Well known and world leading aluminum supplier Alcao has been officially chosen by GM to produce the specialized wheels for the Chevy Volt.

As per Mike Parnell, Alcoa’s VP and Manager of Auto Wheels, “Alcoa is pleased to supply forged aluminum wheels for the Volt. Working closely with the GM team resulted in a wheel designed, engineered and manufactured for light weight performance that will further extend the range of this alternative propulsion vehicle.”

Parnell goes on to say “Alcoa provides the benefits of lightweight forged aluminum wheel programs for many global manufacturers and is honored to be working closely with GM on the Volt. Optimizing wheel weight enhances vehicle performance increasing driving range and economy while lowering emissions.”

It is also known that the Volt will have specialized low resistance tires that also contribute to maximizing all electric range (AER).

Source (Alcoa)