GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

The Chevy Volt’s 1.4 L 4 cylinder flex fuel generator garners a lot of attention and discussion online.

It is this range-extender that make the car so unique. Although the Volt always operates as an EV, once the battery’s state of charge reaches roughly 30% this generator powers on, providing electricity to the motor. Energy is also obtained from regeneration and the battery buffer when power demands are high.

GM has yet to publicly demonstrate the car operating in this charge-sustaining mode, but most accounts indicate it is unnoticeable.

In spite of many months of rampant speculation here, GM’s lead Volt engineer Andrew Farah has finally disclosed some details about the engine’s operation. He said the generator would “operate from 1200 to 4000 RPMs and from a 30% to 100% load.”

Further explanation comes from Volt Powertrain Engineer Alex Cattelan:

“We don’t keep it at a fixed RPM, we have a window of operation that is optimized. We have been able to optimize the engine for a window of efficiency but it is still best to change your power and torque levels within that window as the customer torque request varies.”

“We don’t want to always be operating at one state because really you may be putting too much energy into the battery or drawing too much energy out of the battery. It is still good to vary that engine power and torque. Not to follow exactly what the accelerator pedal does, but to optimize efficiency.”

Finally Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz explains it this way:

“In charge sustaining or range extender mode, the Volt will not follow the throttle position. The challenge is to select the right operating points (RPMs) that are 1.) efficient, 2.) pleasing to the driver, and 3.) meet regulatory requirements.”

And he teases us, “we are about ready to expose people to this experience.”

A question that remains unanswered by GM is what the Volt’s MPG will be in charge sustaining mode or while the generator is running.

When the Volt concept was first unveiled math models put it at 50 MPG, however since development began in earnest GM has kept silent about what it is actually turning out to be.  The only thing everyone has heard by now is that city drivers could expect an average of 230 miles driven for every gallon of gas used over time, assuming a daily full charge.

However, when going on road trips for distances significantly greater than 40 miles it is still important to know how much gas the Volt will use in that setting.

The last time I asked Volt engineer Andrew Farah this question he said the MPG will “not significantly” differ from 50 MPG.

When we ran a poll on the topic here in August, 58% of 1549 voters predicted it would be less than 50 MPG, with the majority choosing 40 to 50 MPG range.

The question was recently asked of Tony Posawatz, Volt vehicle line director, by a Fox news reporter who actually had a good understanding of the car’s engineering.  The video of this interview at the bottom of the post is well worth viewing.

When asked what the Volt’s MPG will be in charge sustaining mode Posawatz responded:

“We’re still testing that in all honesty, but we can make the following statement. It will be better than any conventional car in the class and we’re trying to figure out how close or if it will be actually better than other hybrids.”

According to fueleconomy.gov, the car with the best fuel economy in the small car class is the Toyota Yaris which gets 29 MPG city and 36 MPG highway for a combined fuel economy of 32 MPG.

Though Fox as a result of the interview reports“Chevy Volt to Get 32 MPG?” Posawatz seems to clearly state it will be more than that.

Around a year ago, Chrysler announced three models that made up its ENVI lineup, specifically the Dodge Circuit EV (a 2 seat, BEV sports car), a 40 mile extended range Jeep Patriot and a 40 mile extended range Town & Country van. Two others, a Jeep Wrangler and a concept sedan would follow in the next few months.

Chrysler had promised to bring at least one of these models to market in 2010, and three more models before the end of 2012. However by May of this year, the Pentastar found itself in bankruptcy protection, and control was shifted away from the existing Chrysler executive to Italian automobile maker Fiat.

Since then it is fair to say that information and updates have been very un-GM like from Chrysler, as in, non-existent. Checking out Chrysler’s ENVI blog (at time of press), you will find the last entry dated May 7th, 2009, around the same time it when into Chapter 11.

This seemingly ‘all-stop’ directive did not hinder Chrysler from still going forward with applying to the Department of Energy for a $448 million dollar grant.

That grant was to produce 365 test fleet vehicles, and would provide seed money to establish a new technology and manufacturing center in Michigan, which would amongst other things develop, test and manufacture EV components and serve as a base for final assembly of ENVI products. It was said at the time, that the facility would produce 20,000 vehicles a year and would be operating in 2010.

Similar to GM’s also still outstanding applications to the DoE, the Chrysler’s application has not yet been approved.

GM-Volt got in contact with Chrysler spokesperson (and Technology PR guy) Nick Cappa about the DoE loan proposal and status, and he offer the following, “We continue to work closely with the DOE on the review process for our loan proposal. We are making progress.” Not a terribly informative update to be sure…but on the bright side, the inquiry did not incur any long distance telephones charges to GM-Volt.com.

Unlike GM’s well documented, and ever accelerating ramp to production with the Volt, it appears that Chrysler’s progress had been tied directly to achieving government support.

So, has ENVI been scrapped, or put on long-term hiatus? Certainly no one at Chrysler is talking. However, after a half a year of darkness, the tumbleweeds will likely be cleared away and that question answered on November 4th. That is when Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne introduces the world to the Chrysler Group’s new “5 year plan” at a epically long SIX HOUR media fiesta. (Hopefully they provide dinner on that flight)

It is a good bet to assume that the ‘new’ to US, 2011 Fiat 500 mini-car, which is to be built at a Chrysler plant in Mexico will also underpin a re-engineered/re-badged electric offering for Chrysler. But what of the ENVI program? With Chrysler under new management, we may find that only survivor from the ‘old’ Chrysler EV program will be the Dodge Circuit, as it is much further down the developmental road than its peers.

When asked if there had been any new developments and/or why there had not been any news of late, Mr. Kappa alluded to forthcoming news, “Nothing about our EV programs to announce today, but stay tuned. Lots of activity here.”

/and so we wait

Besides the MRSP two other things about the Volt people are very interested in is whether they might be available prior to November 2010, and whether GM will in some way use, honor or work with our GM-Volt want list.

Though this list was never intended as a true pre-order list it has served as a long-standing symbolic beacon to GM illustrating the significant demand that exists for this type of vehicle.

As launch day draws nearer, GM has begun to publicly acknowledge these issues, albeit slightly.

Brent Dewar is the new head of Chevrolet, replacing Ed Peper.

In a recent webchat, Dewar was asked if there was a Volt waiting list.

Dewar replied:

We have not started a waiting list, because we don’t want anyone waiting at this time. Once we get closer to production, roll out across the States and regions, we will start taking a list. We do not have our roll out plans decided yet. More to come. In the meantime, stay connected with me.

CEO Fritz Henderson took a similar question in his web chat.

“Will there be an official wait list established for the Volt next year?” asked a participant named Aldo.  ” Will you work with the unofficial list at GM-Volt.com?”

“Work underway today to develop initial start up allocation plans,” replied Henderson.  “While we really appreciate the strong initial interest, we do not expect to work from the unofficial waiting list.”

Not looking to good straight from the top.

What about the chance of an earlier-than-expected Volt launch?  I asked Mr. Henderson that one myself.

What volume of Chevy Volts do you expect to build in year one, and is it possible the release could come sooner than November 2010?

Fritz Henderson: lyle- good to hear from you. we do expect a very controlled acceleration of volt start up beginning late next year. we are constantly evaluating and tweaking our plans, but do not look for a wholesale pull ahead.

This statement could be interpreted in different ways.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

We do know GM will only be building around 2500 Volts in calendar year 2010 and at least 10,000 in 2011.  I have recently discovered roll-out plans apparently have been determined though not yet made public.

“We won’t do a rollout in a way we typically do with a vehicle everybody understands,” GM VP Jon Lauckner told Wards Auto. “We’ll probably pick pockets to begin with, like the West and East Coast.

In the passing of another milestone, GM has finally announced the paint colors the Chevy Volt will be available in at the start of production: Black, Silver Ice Metallic, Cyber Gray Metallic, Crystal Red Metallic, a premium White Diamond Tri-Coat, and an unnamed Silver Emerald.

They have also announced a contest to name this signature exclusive Volt paint color which is the familiar silver with emerald hue shown in the photo above.

To enter the contest you create a unique name for the color and submit it at the link below. The contest starts today at 8:00 AM EDT and will run until November 4th at 8:00 AM .

From all of the submissions they receive, GM will choose three finalists “based equally on originality, creativity, and the ability to capture the innovation and spirit of the Volt.”  Then, a public consumer vote will take place and from the three finalists a winner will be chosen.  That vote will take place from November 16th at 8 AM to December 1 at 8AM also on this site.

The three finalists and their guests will get free all-expense-paid trips to the LA Auto Show on December 2nd. The paint color winner will be announced on December 1st and be given the exclusive opportunity to test drive a pre-production Chevy Volt.

Though not confirmed, it is possible that charge-sustaining (generator) mode will be included in the test drive.

“We want to invite consumers into the development process of the Chevy Volt and give people an opportunity to be part of our program,” said Maria Rohrer, director, global Volt and global marketing operations at Chevrolet. “We’re looking for a color name that captures the innovation and spirit of the Volt.”

As the Internet’s oldest and leading independent Chevy Volt fan site, right here on GM-Volt.com you have the opportunity to enter your name and the name you choose for the color by clicking the link that says ‘Submit Your Name Here‘ at the end of this post.

For what it’s worth, I have chosen Freedom Earth Silver, signifying freedom from oil.

OnStar is General Motors’ cellular and GPS-based system for monitoring vehicles.

It currently provides real time assistance, directions, theft prevention and other features to 5.6 million drivers who pay from $199 to $299 per year for the service.

Its no secret that GM believes the Chevy Volt could gain significant value-added utility from having access to OnStar. In fact, Volt executive Tony Posawatz says the possibilities for this relationship are “mind-boggling.”

GM has yet to confirm or finalize all the OnStar-mediated features the Volt will offer, but have just shown off their new testing facility called the OnStar EV Lab.

Currently the lab is using OnStar to monitor 19 of the Chevy Volt integration prototypes.

Engineers are collecting all sorts of data from these cars each of which have 20 different independent modules that are capable of transmitting back status updates to the system.

The data includes performance and diagnostic information and relays such things as battery state of charge, temperatures, and thermal management operation.  Though the primary focus for now is real-time observation of battery health and function, GM is using the lab to develop the final features for the car once it reaches production.

Posawatz notes that OnStar could be used to communicate with the utility companies. Using this method, the cars could actually charge slowly or not at all when rates or demand is high, and then more rapidly when rates are lower, reducing the drivers expense.

A more simplified approach would be to simply let the driver manually program in those parameters in the same way one programs an automated household thermostat.

“The car will have to talk to the grid and be able to pull very sensitive (utility) data,” Posawatz told CNET. “Electric vehicle customers want to manage their energy–they’re very into data. OnStar is an enabling tool for us.”  GM is currently working with EPRI to collect some of this data nationwide.

Posawatz also cautions that the ability of the car to communicate with local utilities will limit the pace of the car’s rollout.

“It certainly won’t be a nation-wide roll-out (at first),” he said.  The whole nation might not see these cars until sometime in 2011.

Another potential use for OnStar will be in the other direction allowing for example firmware upgrades to the car.

And for those who might ask, Tony Posawatz has confirmed to GM-Volt.com, “OnStar will be standard with VOLT.”

Back in late 2008 we heard then GM executive Bob Kruse say that “OnStar gives us the opportunity to know more about the environment the driver is driving in,” implying that terrain could be taken into account to show the driver the most energy-efficient route home.

If it was clear that a driver was returning home, OnStar could also shut off the ICE to let the driver arrive “as close to zero as practical or possible,” minimizing the use of petroleum.

In response to that post, readers generated 180 responses, some of which I’ve been told by reliable sources were actually integrated into the car by the Volt team.

Any more ideas?

Source (CNET) and (Autoblog)