GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

We recently learned GM will be moving its 2-mode plug-in hybrid drivetrain into a yet-unseen, yet-unnamed Buick compact crossover.

It has been noted that though the standard version of this car will come with a DI 4 cylinder engine capable of more than 30 MPG highway, the plugin version will not.

It will have a direct injection 3.5 L, 6 cylinder engine.

This is the same as the non-plugin 2-mode VUE was to have, though the car was never released. It was engineered for performance, doing 0 to 60 in 7 seconds, developing 270 HP and capable of towing 3500 pounds. The configuration would have achieved about 28 MPG city| 31 MPG highway.

With the addition of the 8 kwh rechargeable lithium-ion pack, GM claims the plugin vehicle can travel up to 10 miles pure EV at “low speeds”, and will deliver double the average fuel economy on the standard EPA cycles. This could amount to about 60 MPG.

Of course, it is logical to think if GM used a more efficient 4 cylinder gas engine and lowered the performance specs, even greater fuel efficiency could be achieved. I asked GM spokesperson Brian Corbett why this was not considered.

Here is his response:

Our hybrid strategy has been pretty consistent over the last few years.

Our GM Hybrid system — the mild hybrid, belt-alternator starter technology — is our affordable hybrid technology paired with smaller displacement engines. Our 2-mode hybrid system is our more capable, premium hybrid technology. It’s goal is to provide significantly higher fuel economy while maintaining the capability of the non-hybrid vehicle’s cargo carrying, towing, etc.

That strategy applies to the plug-in as well; maintaining the capability of a 5-passenger crossover while providing significant improvements in fuel economy. It provides E85 capability, which means it likely will be the first flex-fuel hybrid.

I responded to Brian that I thought anyone looking for plug-in would be looking for fuel economy, that they would like the crossover style but wouldn’t care as much about a powerful motor. I suspected that those individuals would rather get 20% more fuel efficiency in exchange for 20% less acceleration and power.

He replied:

That is probably true for plug-in “enthusiasts” or “early adopters.” But I think the feeling is we’ve got try and get the mainstream public interested in plug-in technology in order to make a meaningful different when it comes to reducing emissions and diversifying from petroleum.

So it seems whether or not most people interested in significantly improving their fuel economy are willing downsize to a 4-cylinder is debatable, especially when it comes to though who desire a crossover.

What do you think?

A mysterious viral advertising campaign has surfaced on television and the Internet this week, which has been further amplified over the blogosphere.  In fact, flickr, facebook , YouTube, and blog sites have surface around it.

A simple green background shows the number 230, with a winking electric outlet instead of the zero. Below is the date 8-11.

AdAge determined that the source of the campaign is none other than GM, but the automaker and its ad agencies won’t say what it means.

Speculation has varied on its meaning from the MPG of the Buick plug-in to the MPG of the Volt or even something to do with charging at 220V.

GM is holding a press conference in Detroit on August 11th, and yes I will be there.

Reports quote sources as saying the number will be the Volt’s official MPG rating, but how they came to it remains a mystery; highway, city, average, none of the above?  And if so how was it calculated?  The EPA city cycle is 11.04 miles, the highway cycle is 10.26 miles.  The car goes 40 mile without any gas, and 78% of drivers drive less than 40 miles per day (utility factor).  Do your own math.

Here’s my guess:

I heard of a method to determine the MPG of an EREV; first the car is driven from a full battery until it reaches charge-sustaining mode, then one more cycle is driven. If we use the highway schedule, the first 40 miles are electric.  One more cycle is 11 more miles. If the Volt gets 50 MPG in charge sustaining mode, it will use .22 gallons of gas for that 11 miles.  Thus 51 miles/.22 gallons = 231.8 MPG.

We can have fun guessing for now, but be sure to logon to GM-Volt.com on Tuesday morning and we will have the answer as soon as it hits.

Plus, if you have any questions you want me to ask the Volt team and execs while I am there, leave them in the comments.

Source (AdAge)

[UPDATE:  The method referred to to measure the efficiency of an EREV is far more complex and still under development.  Though my calculation came out similar the methodology GM actually used to determine the MPG was different.  See this post.]

As soon as the Nissan LEAF electric car unveiling hit the wire, comparisons with the Volt began. It will be of interest to see what we here at GM-Volt.com think. Here’s a run down, with a poll at the end.

Design
Sure the Volt isn’t what its concept was but its no slouch either. Its a taught upright rakish car with a broad aggressive grille and stout sharp looks, though some people consider it plain-looking. The LEAF looks like the Versa cousin on which its nearly based, though its has a bit of a frilly swirl to it and a narrow nose straddled by two bulging bubble-like head lamps and an “oddly concave back end” as one writer put it. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so decide for yourself.

Interior
Both cars showcase their technology in the dash. Both have dual LCD screens and a unique shifter. LEAF went with a mouseball type, where as the Volt has a pull down lever. LEAF has a bright, white, airy appearance whereas the Volt has a sporty interior. LEAF gets a 3rd passenger in the back row, Volt cannot. Both have sizable hatchbacks for storage.

Performance
LEAF has top speed of 87 MPH and unknown 0 to 60 though one reporter guesses “high sevens”. Torque is 280 Nm. Volt does 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, has a torque of 370 Nm, a top speed of 100 MPH and can squwak the wheels. Volt likely weighs more and both will have a low center of gravity. Ride and handling in either car is unknown.

Connectivity
The Volt is connected to a central monitoring station in Detroit via GM’s tried and true satellite-based OnStar. LEAF is connected to a global monitoring center through an unknown connection system.

Range
This is where the cars differ drastically. The Volt will travel 40 miles on electricity. That will be on both highway and city driving at a moderate temperature. Expect AC and heat to cut into this somewhat, but certainly with careful driving, people are likely to be able to get more EV range. LEAF is said to get 100 miles of range but most experts think this is an exaggeration and will be significantly reduced by HVAC and aggressive driving. I can say that is likely based on my personal experience having logged more than 2000 miles personally in a MINI E, and getting closer to 70 miles of range with a 35 kwh pack.

The key advantage to the Volt is it can continue to be driven without limit beyond 40 miles due to its gas range extender and the fact that there are gas stations everywhere. LEAF dies at 100 miles. To recharge it you’ll have to wait 16 hours if you are away from home. There are no $45,000 high voltage public fast chargers now, but Nissan has teamed with a company called eTec to get 250 installed in 5 major US regions.

With LEAF long road trips are not possible.

Batteries/Warranty
Both cars are using lithium-ion manganese batteries. Nissan’s formulation are very large laminate cells of which the car contains 88 total making up the 24 kwh pack. The pack will discharge much more deeply than the Volt and not have the same thermal management protection, especially in cold weather where operation is particularly abusive to the cells. Volt can turn on the ICE if its too cold to warm the pack first. Volt will also offer 10 year 150,000 mile warranty and Nissan has not said what it would offer, though Mark Perry director of product planning at Nissan told me “We’re going to do a very competitive warranty and we haven’t announced it yet.”

“Think about if form a consumer standpoint,” he says. “How long to people keep cars?, who keeps a car 10 years or 150,000 miles? Our aim is mass acceptance then, whatever than number happens to be.”

Environment/Efficiency
The LEAf as a pure electric car will never use any gasoline, which is what Nissan is heavily promoting calling it a pure zero-emissions vehicle. This attribute is also the car’s limitation. Volt can use gas or E85 if necessary, but for 78% of the population’s daily drives it will use no gas at all.

Price
It seems clear the Volt will retail around $40,000 including the batteries which are not likely to be leased. The LEAF will likely retail around $30,000 plus a separate battery lease. Since the battery costs at least $10,000, monthly cost of ownership should be similar.

Rollout
Nissan has announced it will roll out 5000 LEAFs in 5 geographic regions beginning at the end of 2010. Those cars will be sold to consumers through selected dealerships. Buyers will have to qualify and will be required to provide feedback for a study. Volt rollout plans have still not been announced though sources tell me they too will initially be in a limited geographic distribution. GM has all but stated 10,000 cars will be built in the first year of production.

So which do you prefer and why? – Here are the poll results collected over a 24 hour period:

Today things just got more interesting.

Besides the Chevy Volt, GM has been developing a 2-mode plug-in hybrid vehicle program since 2006. Originally set to debut in 2010 as a Saturn VUE, that particular vehicle was dropped along with the sale of the Saturn brand.

That didn’t stop the development though. A few weeks ago GM-Volt.com learned the new host vehicle would be an as yet unseen new compact Buick crossover.

Today GM has confirmed this and released a teaser image of the upcoming vehicle.

“Buick has always been at the forefront of new technology, so it is only fitting that the brand should debut our new plug-in hybrid technology in a beautiful new crossover,” said GM vice chairman Tom Stephens. “This will firmly put Buick, and GM, front and center in the advanced technology game.”

The unnamed car will be launched in 2010 with a Ecotec 2.4L direct-injected four-cylinder engine or an optional 3.0L direct-injected V-6 engine, and expectations of more than 30 MPG on highway driving.

The plug-in hybrid version will follow in 2011 and is expected to be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid SUV produced by a major automaker.

The hybrid will have an 8 kwh lithium-ion battery pack, using the same lithium manganese spinel cells as the Volt, supplied by LG Chem, who will be building a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan set to open in 2012.

“LG Chem – the supplier of our battery cells for the Volt – has also been selected to supply the lithium-ion cells for the new Buick plug-in hybrid, and its Troy, Mich.-based subsidiary Compact Power will supply the pack,” said Stephens.

The plugin hybrid can operate on either gas, electricity or both depending on the driving conditions. It differs from the Volt in that the gas engine can be in operation at any time, not just after 40 miles. Using this technology the vehicle is expected to achieve at least double the efficiency of a gas version of that car. This could amount to more than 70 MPG.

The engine for the plug hybrid will be a 3.6L V-6 flex-fuel, and the car will also contain two powerful electric motors and sophisticated electronic controls.

The car can be recharged in 4 to 5 hours at 110V, and tests show it is capable of up to 10 miles of pure electric driving at low speeds.

Press Release below:
New Buick Crossover Will Feature Plug-In Hybrid System

* Five-passenger crossover arrives in 2010 with family of fuel-efficient direct-injected gas engines
* Plug-in hybrid model debuts in 2011
* Expected to be first commercially available plug-in hybrid SUV produced by a major automaker

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – General Motors’ plug-in hybrid technology will be introduced in a new Buick crossover vehicle in 2011, Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman of product development, announced here today during the Management Briefing Seminars.

The yet-to-be-named Buick crossover will launch in late 2010 offering a family of fuel-efficient direct-injected gasoline engines, followed in 2011 by the plug-in hybrid model.

“Buick has always been at the forefront of new technology, so it is only fitting that the brand should debut our new plug-in hybrid technology in a beautiful new crossover,” said Stephens. “This will firmly put Buick, and GM, front and center in the advanced technology game.”

A new Buick for a new customer

The new five-passenger crossover will build on the success of the Buick Enclave, offering the brand’s finely crafted execution and premium driving experience in a fuel-efficient package.

“Some customers who have been drawn to the Enclave were looking for something a little smaller, but they didn’t want to give up craftsmanship or a quiet ride to get there,” said Susan Docherty, general manager of Buick-Pontiac-GMC. “We believe this new Buick will excite those customers, and will continue to broaden the appeal of the brand.”

The Buick crossover will be powered by an Ecotec 2.4L direct-injected four-cylinder engine with an optional 3.0L direct-injected V-6, and is expected to deliver 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway. Final fuel economy estimates, as well as additional vehicle details such as name and pricing, will be announced later.

Plug-in hybrid model

The Buick plug-in hybrid is expected to be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid SUV produced by a major automaker.

The Buick plug-in hybrid has the potential to achieve double the fuel economy of comparably-sized SUVs on short trips. This significant boost is achieved by combining a modified version of GM’s proven 2-Mode Hybrid system with advanced lithium-ion battery cells and charging technology developed for GM’s Voltec system, which will debut in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle in late 2010.

“LG Chem – the supplier of our battery cells for the Volt – has also been selected to supply the lithium-ion cells for the new Buick plug-in hybrid, and its Troy, Mich.-based subsidiary Compact Power will supply the pack,” Stephens said.

The Buick plug-in hybrid will use the same manganese-spinel based chemistry and polymer battery cells as the Volt. The 8 kwh battery – containing half the energy of the Volt battery pack – will be packaged in a rectangular-shaped box under the cargo floor.

The lithium-ion battery can be fully recharged in four to five hours by simply connecting the vehicle to any standard 110V household electrical outlet. By recharging rather than refueling, the Buick plug-in hybrid significantly improves fuel economy and reduces petroleum use. In early testing, the plug-in hybrid is capable of electric-only propulsion for more than 10 miles at low speeds.

On the road, GM’s 2-Mode plug-in hybrid system can use any combination of electric or gasoline engine power to move the vehicle, depending on the driving conditions. This differs from GM’s Voltec technology, which provides the Volt with up to 40 miles of emissions- and petroleum-free electric-only propulsion, and an overall range of more than 300 miles with its flex-fuel engine-generator.

In addition to the lithium-ion battery pack, the Buick plug-in hybrid’s powertrain features two powerful electric motors, sophisticated electronic controls and battery management systems and an efficient direct-injected 3.6L V-6 flex-fuel engine.

About General Motors: General Motors Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors Company can be found at www.gm.com.

# # #

On Wednesday President Obama announced $2.4 billion in Recovery Act funding was being awarded for an electric drive vehicle battery and component manufacturing initiative.

“For too long, we’ve failed to invest in this kind of innovative work, even as countries like China and Japan were racing ahead,” he said. “With these investments, we’re planting the seeds of progress for our country and good-paying, private-sector jobs for the American people.”

“If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future,” said President Obama.

The money is distributed as follows:

* $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity;
* $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce electric drive components for vehicles, including electric motors, power electronics, and other drive train components; and
* $400 million in grants to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations in several dozen locations; to deploy them and evaluate their performance; to install electric charging infrastructure; and to provide education and workforce training to support the transition to advanced electric transportation systems.

As noted, the bulk of the funds went to battery makers for use in creating battery manufacturing facilities. Johnson Controls was awards $299 million, A123 got $249 million, and EnerDel got $119 million among others.

Included in this category as well was General Motors and Compact Power Inc. GM received $105 million for the production of their Brownstone MI Chevy Volt battery pack assembly plant. Compact Power, subsidiary of LG Chem, was awarded $151 million to produce its lithium ion manganese cells that will be used in the Volt program.  LG Chem will be using these funds to build a US plant.

GM also received an additional $105 Million to be used for “construction of U.S. manufacturing capabilities to produce the second-generation GM global rear-wheel electric drive system.”

Since the Volt is a front wheel electric drive system, this suggests GM has something new in store for us with the second generation Voltec vehicles.

Finally, and most interesting, GM also received $30 million in another category. This money is to be used to “develop, analyze, and demonstrate hundreds of Chevrolet Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) –125 Volt PHEVs for electric utilities and 500 Volt PHEVs to consumers.”

This certainly looks like GM plans on getting 500 Chevy Volts into the hands of US consumers for fleet testing sooner than the November 2010 launch date, with some sources saying perhaps as early as the summer of 2010.

I officially asked GM spokesperson Kerry Christopher about this.

“We’re excited about working on this project but not in a position to release specific details at this time,” said Christopher. “We just found out this morning that we would be receiving the grants. When we have information ready to share, you’ll be one of the first to know.”

Source (DOE )

Lets face it, new technology first generation automotive lithium-ion batteries are very expensive. It is this cost that will make the initial adoption of electric cars slower and less widespread than we would like. GM has positioned the Volt to have the least batteries, and thus the least expense possible, yet will still tip the scale at around $40,000.

Nissan which has unveiled its LEAF EV appears to be leaning towards leasing the battery separately from the car. They recognize this could reduce monthly cost of operation, and safeguard the company from its batteries which are unlikely to last 10 years/150,000 miles.

“We haven’t decided yet,” says Mark Perry Nissan’s director of product planning. “From a leasing standpoint the pros are a lot.”

The Volt, however, is designed to pamper the batteries very carefully and will be guaranteed for 10 years/150,000 miles. Over months of speculation the idea of leasing the batteries has occurred to GM too.

I recently had the chance to speak to Ed Peper, before he became former manager of Chevrolet, who explained that the company appears to be moving away from separately leasing the battery from the car.

“All the research that we’ve done says at this point consumers don’t want to separate the two,” he said. “This idea or notion of financing the battery separately from the vehicle, that’s not how people buy things and they don’t really want to do that.”

“No, they want to buy the vehicle,” he said.

There is also the issue of whether consumers could qualify for the $7500 tax credit if the battery isn’t purchased.

Consumers “want a commitment,” said Peper. “They want to buy the Volt and then have the ability to get the $7500 tax credit.”

Finally, asked if GM is leaning away from the separate battery lease idea Peper confirmed “that’s where were leaning towards,” though still cautions “we have not come to that final conclusion yet.”

And yes that’s a close-up photo I shot of the business end of a real Volt pack.