GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Greg Ceisel is the Chevy Volt Program manager and has integral knowledge about the car’s engineering.

He recently shed some light on how the battery pack detects and reacts if there are any problems.

“The reliability of the Chevy Volt and its battery are essential to the success of this technology,” he said. “Our battery design includes multiple computers that run hundreds of tests to monitor the cells and the overall battery to confirm everything is working correctly.”

He explains that all of this testing is continuous and automatic and that the system is designed to respond in case of trouble.

“If any of these tests identify an issue a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) is set to identify the specific issue and an indicator light on the instrument panel will light informing the driver that service is needed,” said Ceisel.

Ceisel also notes GM’s satellite system OnStar can help out both the driver and the mechanic in this situation.

“If the driver wants immediate feedback, OnStar can access these codes to provide more information,” he said. “These codes will also provide the dealer technician with specific information on the repair required.”

He explains how the battery cells are configured both in parallel and series and how the failure of some cells wont take down the car. If need be, the generator can also be used to help out.

“If a diagnostic issue is detected the control system will adapt to use available battery power and, if needed, the gas engine/generator to maintain propulsion until the vehicle can be serviced,” he said.

Source (GM)

Nissan has made it clear they intend to enter the electric car market aggressively.  They have been working on lithium ion batteries for years since first showing the Altra concept 17 yeas ago, and have developed a unique large format laminate battery in a partnership with NEC.

For over a year the Japanese automaker has given journalists drives in their electric mule which has a production intent powertrain but borrows the sheetmetal of the second generation Cube.

Nissan has reported its plans to unveil an all new global pure electric car based on this platform in Japan on August 2nd.  The car will get 100 miles of range and the company expects to produce 50,000 units globally in the first year.  It will be available for sale in certain US markets by the end of 2010 for reportedly a lower monthly cost of ownership than a comparable gas car.  Nissan has also been awarded $1.6 billion in loans to build-out a plant for this car in Smyrna Tennessee.

The car will be a compact or C-class hatchback sedan with a distinct electric appearance.  It will use a 24 kwh battery pack mated to an 80 kw front mounted motor, and have a top speed of about 90 MPH.

Nissan has not officially announced the name of the car but a report in the Guardian calls it the “Nissan ZEV” for zero emissions vehilce.  That report also suggest the car will have a more traditional look than jellybean EVs like the i-MiEV.  Another claim being made about the car is that it will be capable of wireless charging.

Nissan has reportedly developed a wireless charging system that uses technology similar to that found in electric toothbrushes, called inductive charging.  Current flows at a distance from a magnetic field generator, allowing the car to be charged wirelessly in a compatible parking bay.  The company even has hopes of embedding these devices in roadways one day so the cars could charge on the fly as they drive by.

Nissan has also developed a battery swapping partnership with Better Place for use in Israel, but has no contracts or expectations do so so in the US market.

The latest report out of Japanese magazine claims Nissan will actually unveil a trio of new EVs on August 2nd.  Besides the aforementioned sedan, one of the other vehicles will reportedly be an SUV.

It would be a compact SUV a bit smaller than the current Nissan Rogue.  The vehicle would be 164 inches in length and capable of traveling more than 100 miles on a charge.

Between these three cars Nissan expects to put 5 million EVs on the worlds roads by 2012.

Big plans indeed.

Source (Best Car Magazine Japan) via (Left Lane News) and (PCW)

Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time. There’s no getting around this fact. GM is going out of its way to pamper the Volt’s pack so as to guarantee up to 40 miles of pure electric range even at 10 years or 150,000 miles of driving. But what happens beyond that?

Most experts believe the Volt’s battery will have anywhere from 50% to 75% of its original capacity after 10 years. Since 8kwh of energy are required to deliver 40 miles of driving, when the battery drops below 8 kwh of storage potential, the range should reduce.

GM’s Director of Hybrids and EVs, Bob Kruse, predicts the Volt will continue to function successfully even after 10 years. “People will continue to use them well after that period of time,” he says. “That’s the beauty of the Voltec system. As the battery begins to age it will eventually have less capacity but it still will provide some capacity and some amount of electric range.”

Asked if the software and controls could dysfunction if there is less than 8kwh of energy left Kruse promises, “the software and the control system will be there to allow the customer to utilize what battery capacity if left.”

I asked him about is whether the system will continue to operate within a 50% band of the now smaller total capacity.

“I’m not going to talk about that because it is highly prized intellectual property,” said Kruse. “That whole notion of how you make this successful, how you use the battery, how you treat the battery, how you charge and discharge it is all central to our promise and how we do that and what we are going to do, as open as we are, I’m not interested in telling my competitors things that I don’t want them to know at this point in time.”

I don’t blame him.

In our last post we had a live chat with Jon Lauckner GM’s VP of global program management, who along with Bob Lutz is co-creator of the Chevy Volt.

He took some significant questions from readers here and some other sites. Key information is as follows:

Price
GM has never officially told us what the Volt will cost, although about $40,000 is most frequently cited in the press. Lauckner once before indicated we would get an official price about 6 months prior to launch, or May 2010. In this most recent discussion he now refined that to “3 to 6 months prior to start of production.”

Battery Thermal Management
Lauckner confirms the lithium-ion battery will be kept at “20 to 25 degrees C.” In the cold, grid power will be used to warm the battery when the car is plugged in. If that’s not the case the ICE would go on at start to generate heat.

Future Generators
For now the Volt will use a gasoline/E85 engine as a generator, though Lauckner confirmed for the future GM is considering HCCI engines which they have been developing. These are ultra-efficient combustion engines that use extreme pressure rather than spark to completely combust gasoline within the chamber. Other types of generators are not being pursued currently, and he says he “doesn’t see” using a compressed natural gas generator at least in the US.

Acceleration
He confirmed the Volt will do 0 to 60 in 8.5 to 9 seconds depending in the weight of the payload, and that it is even “capable of squawking the tires.” He reiterates is will feel like a 250 HP V6. This exceeds the 0 to 60 time of the Prius (10.5 seconds) or Insight (11.5 seconds), and the 0 to 30 time difference will be far more dramatic.

All Wheel Drive Volt
Lauckner says while developing this variant would be possible, it is “no planned at this time”

Pure EV
Lauckner denies GM has a plan for a pure electric city car.

Charging
He says in order to utilize 220V charging, user will have to have “hard wired 220 connection from a works box to the wall unit,” that will be avaiable at launch.

Battery Warranty
Lauckner confirmed it is GM’s intention to fully warranty the battery pack for 10 years/150,000 miles.

Launch
Lauckner says Volts will not be sold prior to November 2010, though GM employees and “maybe a few others” will be driving pre-production Volts by next summer. Wonder who those few others might be?

ICE Behavior
Several negative speculations were refuted. He says GM plans to make the car seem as familiar and as much like a normal car as possible. He notes when in generator mode, “most customers will be surprised at the refinement of the ICE.” He notes the car will operate at one of several RPM points, and that none of them are “roaring”. He confirmed Volt will get “much more than 30 MPG” in generator mode.

Electrification of the Automobile
“Electrification of the automobile is here and the trend grows stronger every day,” he said. “We remain extremely committed to the Volt and vehicle electrification.”

“We’re the leaders in it today and we expect to be the leaders in the future,” he added.

Tom Stephens is GM’s new VP of product development. He told the Associated Press that the type of cars people will choose to buy is based primarily on the price of gas, and that GM has not only to plan for high future gas prices but low ones too.

He also states that not only does GM have to hit the moving target of gas prices but that everything else about its upcoming cars have to be just right too.

“We cannot afford to have anything but a hit,” said Stephens. “Every launch of every nameplate has to be a home run.”

Stephens notes that each new GM car has to be increasingly efficient to meet upcoming federal standards. More importantly, he truly believes in an electric future. He is described as seeing a time when most cars and light duty trucks will run on electricity, though his specific timeframe for that isn’t given.

Stephens took over Bob Lutz’ former position and admits “Bob has brought the passion back into cars and trucks and he has brought around the right-brain emotion to them.”

“From a design perspective all of the great things that Bob has put into place will continue,” he assures.

Stephens says GM should eventually be able to make money on the Chevy Volt but not in the first generation. He says it will take three generations or several years for the company to profit on the Volt.

“Certainly we know that our costs and the price will come down over time,” he said.

Source (AP)

Also another member of the “gang of six” GM VPs besides Stephens is Jon Lauckner. He is vice president of global program management, and was the executive Bob Lutz went to in 2006 when he first conceived of a new GM electric car.

As the story goes, Lauckner known inside GM as “the Wizard” listened to Lutz’ “iCar” (as the Volt was then known) plan and after furiously scribbling some calculations declared that a gas range extender should be added to a car with a smaller electric rage. And hence the Volt was born.

Today at 2PM EDT you can have the opportunity right here to ask Jon your questions in the chat box below:

GM recently announced it was forming a new partnership experiment with eBay Motors in California. The experiment is designed to see if this method of online buying can help GM be more successful in a state where sales have been traditionally slow, and if it works across the nation.

It seemed an obvious question to ask Chevrolet Brand Manager Ed Peper if GM might try using this technique to sell the first Chevy Volts. After all since those cars are being sold at a loss and demand will likely far outstrip supply, conceivably it could be a method for GM to actually make profit on those sales

Peper said of the eBay partnership, “in the interest of moving fast, and Fritz is really mandating we move as fast as we can on everything we’re doing, that’s something we’re looking at as a test here coming up.”

“It will be hopefully in the August – September timeframe and its again a test that we’re going to try in California using eBay,” he said. “We’ve got more details to work out on that and we’ll let those go at an appropriate time.”

When asked if the experiment works out whether could GM use the technique as a way of selling the first Volts at a profit Peper said “Exactly right.”

“We actually have been thinking about that same application to be able to do that, It something that’s definitely crossed our mind,” he said. “You could even have an auction on the vehicles. We use this already with certified used vehicles and its actually worked out very well. Dealers use it a lot.”

He also added “If it works in California its going to work just about anywhere.”