GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

We knew it was only a matter of time.

After sweeping 3 smaller awards including Motor Trend car of the year, the little car that could has taken the grand prize of them all.

Today at the Detroit Auto Show, the 2011 Chevrolet volt was named 2011 North American Car of the Year.

The two other finalists were the Hyundai Sonata and the Nissan LEAF. Voted on by a feild of 49 automotive journalists, the Volt gathered the most votes and took the top prize.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized as the North American Car of the Year,” said GM CEO Dan Akerson. “Since development began, we believed the Volt had the potential to transform the automotive industry. Today, the Volt is the first electric vehicle to win the prestigious North American Car of the Year award, and the first vehicle ever to receive the industry’s highest automotive, technology, and environmental recognitions.”

Here are the other prizes the Volt has taken home:

• Motor Trend 2011 Car of the Year
• Green Car Journal 2011 Green Car of the Year
• Car and Driver 10Best for 2011
• Ward’s AutoWorld 10 Best Engines for 2011
• AUTOMOBILE Magazine 2011 Automobile of the Year
• 2010 Breakthrough Technology, by Popular Mechanic

“Such recognition provides customers with credible, expert endorsement of new models,” said Akerson. “This is particularly important for vehicles like the Volt that feature significant new technologies. Being named the North American Car of the Year will help convince customers that the Volt is truly a breakthrough vehicle, delivering the benefits of electric driving without the range anxiety associated with pure electric vehicles.”


My sincerest congratulations to the entire GM Volt team who took a concept that inspired a nation from simple sketches to a masterpiece vehicle now sitting in the driveways of over 300 people in America, with many tens, if not hundreds of thousands more to come.


Source (GM)

Ford is making good on its promise to offer a suite of electrified vehicle solutions.

Just last week they unveiled a 100-mile range pure EV Ford Focus Electric.

Now, at the Detroit Auto Show, the company has taken it one step further and has announced the planned production of a vehicle many among us have been wishing for a long time.

The C-MAX Energi is a small sleek minivan built on Ford’s global C-car platform. The upcoming gas-powered C-MAX is a bit longer and can seat 7 whereas the Energi can only seat five. Those issues aside, what is under the hood is pure magic.

The C-MAX Energi is a plug-in hybrid vehicle designed to front-load pure electric driving up to highway speeds. In this way it is like the Volt. In its first phase of driving operation it acts to deplete the battery. Different that the Volt, Ford engineers have decided to allow the gas engine to contribute minimally in this phase when “certain conditions are met.”

Once the battery has been depleted the engine will work in concert with the electric motors.

Ford will be implementing its upcoming third generation power split hybrid system in this vehicle. It uses an Atkinson cycle gas engine along with electric motors to achieve high fuel economy. Considering the size of this vehicle Ford claims through this system the C MAX Energi will delivers “better charge-sustaining fuel economy than Chevrolet Volt.”

Ford also claims the car will have a more than 500 mile driving range, once again besting the Volt.

Ford has not said how large the lithium-ion battery pack is or how long the charge-depleting range is. They did say the car could be fully recharged at 120-v “overnight” indicating the pack is likely close to the same 16 kwh the Volt has.

In addition to this vehicle, Ford will over a non plugin hybrid variant called the C-MAX Hybrid.

The C-MAX Hybrid will also utilize the third generation powersplit hybrid architecture allowing it to achieve more than 41 MPG, which is found in the current second generation hybrid Fusion. The electric motor will be abele to propel the car over 47 mph as well.

The C-MAX energy will provide drivers with a suite of on-board and off-board information to mange charging, and to monitor energy use and efficiency while driving. MyFord Moblie smartphone apps will also be provided.

These vehicles will begin production in 2012 at Ford’s Wayne Michigan Assembly plant, where the Ford Focus Electric will also be built starting at the end of this year.

“C-MAX Energi and C-MAX Hybrid will be perfect for families looking to maximize their hybrid car experience,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford director of Global Electrification. “Thanks to the versatile interior, these cars are going to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers who need room to grow.”

This car is similar in function to GM’s 2-mode plugin hybrid drivetrain, which the company is widely expected to announce production of at some point in the future.

Pricing of the C-MAX Energi has not been announced.


Source (Ford)

It’s a new year again, and just like car models are redesigned for each year, so too has it become an annual tradition to redesign GM-Volt.com.

This redesign, however, is by far the most radical and transformational of any before it.

Now that the Volt has actually become a purchasable item and the first consumers have already begun taking them home, it is very important to shift the voice from mine alone, as an ambassador of sorts, to yours – Volt owners, those considering owning the Volt, and everyone else.

The long-lived blog itself is taking a step back from the limelight. At the top of the main page you will find a slider with the latest five posts. You may no longer necessarily find a new one there on a daily basis anymore, but more intermittently.

What you will find all across the entire front page are the latest new threads started by our forum members in real-time, constantly with new news. Each new thread will appear as a mainpage article now, and if any topic or news story is of interest to you, simply create the thread in the forum and it will appear at the top of the front page immediately.

Over time some of these posts will become popular both in terms of pageviews and number of comments, and soon we will have display listing those the front page as well.

The blog will still operate as your are used to and you may certainly continue to comment on the posts. However it would be best if you haven’t already done so to register a forum account so you can both comment and discuss the user generated threads, as well as to publish your own. The forum is also filled with features such as personal messaging, a homepage, custom avatars, and individual photo albums. You can even choose to ignore someone if you so desire.

I too may often publish new stories using the forum as well.

This new version of GM-Volt.com marks the beginning of its fourth year of operation and has required a long period of planning on my part and implementation on the part of our GM-Volt.com programmer.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the new format as it is now more a place to hear the voice of many than simply my own. Plus if you want to get a brand new story out on the front page immediately, now you can do so.

I know change isn’t easy and the new design could upset some who are used to calling this place home, but hopefully you will see it is for the better.

Guideline to starting your own stories are to try to choose an appropriate short descriptive title, and include your own writing outlining your own perspective on and interest in the story you are posting. Spam won’t be tolerated.

If there are any comments concerns or bugs feel free to email me: chevyvolt@gmail.com

Enjoy!

The Wall Street Journal recently published an in-depth profile of GM’s CEO Dan Akerson.

The story begins with the reporter going for a ride with Mr. Akerson in his Chevy Volt. He was delighted at showing off that he had driven 461 miles in the car only having used 1.2 gallons of gas.

It is repeatedly noted that Akerson is ”not a car guy” just like the CEO before him, Ed Whitacre, who stepped down instead of making a log-term commitment to the company.

Akerson used to be the CEO of Nextel where he pushed the envelope engaging in all out marketing to propel new products, like he did with the push-to-talk feature popular at the time.

He sees GM in need of changing its product development stance. “See this can?” he said to the reporter, raising a Diet Coke. “It’s a consumer product. GM has to start acting like a consumer-driven, not engineering-driven, company. We sell a consumer product—our can just costs $30,000.”

A former Naval officer, Akerson took the job at GM  as a “service for my country.”  In fact, he forfeited  $100 million in future pay at his position in the Carlysle group to do so.

Akerons is interested not only in a heavy marketing approach, but a strong global perspective.   Illustrating this, he was recently shown GM’s upcoming portfolio and was concerned it was too focused on North America. “One of three people on this planet lives in China or India—we need cars for them,” he said.   He then ordered up a new inexpensive car model for rural China.

Akerson has pushed for simplification of GM’s existing engine profile. He was concerned about why GM has so many different engines. “Why do we have 18 types of engines? We have only four brands,” he said. After at first trying to explain to him why, soon thereafter VP Tom Stephens relented and now GM will only offer 12 engines by next year.

Akerson is big on electrification, and is already actively studying methods for the company to expand Volt production volumes. He wants “more, faster” with respect to the Volt because “it’s a place where Dan believes we have a lead,” said GM vice-chairman Stephen Girsky.

Finally the story nonchalantly confirmed GM has a Cadillac plugin hybrid under production. Apparently Akerson was for some reason considering canceling the program when company insiders pushed for him to see the car which was then under development in the design studio. After that “he later agreed to continue production,” writes the Journal.

When the Detroit Auto Show opens its doors to reporters tomorrow, Akerson will take the spotlight as a non-car guy at the wheel. We shall see what interesting news develops.

Source (Wall Street Journal)

The third mainstream electric car being developed for the US market, and the second made by a US company has now been revealed.

Three years in the making, Ford CEO Alan Mullaly unveiled the Ford Focus Electric car on Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The vehicle is a sleek good-looking aerodynamically tweaked Ford Focus hatchback that powered by an all electric drivetrain, and will go on sale in selected US markets by the end of this year.  Ford reports the car will have a better miles-per-gallon equivalent efficiency that the Chevy Volt. Charging is expected to take between 3 and 4 hours at 240-V, half the time the Nissan LEAF takes to recharge.

The vehicle comes equipped with special MyFordTouch connected dashboard technology, Ford MySync connected feature and can be interacted with via the MyFord Mobile app.

The car will be built in the USA at Ford’s Wayne Michigan assembly plant.

The all electric powertrain is designed for reliability and smooth instant responsiveness.  Top speed is electronically limited to 84 PMPH.  It will have “agile and sporty” acceleration and ride and handling with a more silent though very similar performance to its gas powered Focus sister.

“More than any other electric vehicle on the market, Focus Electric loses none of the dynamics and quality of driving a traditional car,” said Sherif Marakby, director of Ford’s electrification programs and engineering. “It shares many of the same premium components and features as its gasoline-powered counterpart, while delivering distinct efficiencies and a uniquely exciting driving experience.”

Obligatory eco-friendly materials include biofoam seat cushions and recycled fabric for the upholstery.

The battery, like the Volt, is supplied by LG Chem and the pack, unlike the LEAF, will be thermally managed with a liquid cooling/heating system. It holds 23 kwh of energy.

The dashboard is packed with technology and connected features to educate drivers on the available range and the impact of driving style on it.  It includes the MyFord Touch display which illustrates battery state of charge, remaining range and distance to the nearest charing station.   “Until there are more recharging stations in public places, trip planning will be an important part of operating an electric vehicle,” syas Ford in a press release.

The dash displays are customizable from basic to information rich.  The information is intended to allow drivers to carefully budget their energy for the trip they need to take.

Ford is expected to build up to 10,000 Focus Electrics in 2012, and the car will be one of five electrified vehicles the company produces, another of which will be a plugin hybrid.

Pricing hasn’t been announced and real-world range will be 70 miles.

Source (Ford)

General Motors reached a worldwide licensing agreement with Argonne National Labs to use their advanced patented cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.

The new cathode material has been demonstrated to increase energy storage capacity, lifetime, and safety of lithium cells. It is composed of a mixture of lithium-rich, and manganese and cobalt-rich oxide materials.

What particularly makes this cathode material unique is that cells using it can be charged at higher voltages allowing them to have a higher specific energy and thus lower cost per unit weight.

The Argonne-developed technology offers the longest-lasting energy available in the smallest, lightest package: a 50–100 percent increase in energy storage capacity over conventional cathode material. Further, its unique lithium- and manganese-rich mixed-metal oxide combination extends the operating time between charges, increases the calendar life and improves the inherent safety of lithium-ion cells.
-Argonne National Labs

The licensing agreement is extended not only to GM but to battery  partner LG Chem as well for use in the next generation Chevrolet Volt.  This cathode can then be combined with LG Chem’s anode materials and electrolyte to produce a better cell.

Use of  these cells will allow the next generation Volt to be less expensive, require less battery management, and to potentially achieve greater range.

“The agreement with Argonne builds on GM’s commitment to lead the development of vehicle electrification technologies designed to meet the diverse needs of customers around the world,” said Micky Bly, GM executive director – Electric Systems, Hybrids, Electric Vehicles and Batteries. “Engineers and researchers at General Motors are working on next-generation battery systems that will reduce cost while providing improved performance, expanding the practicality and affordability of electric vehicles in the future.”

This patented material is part of a larger suite of materials developed at the Argonne National Lab, and this agreement demonstrates an important success for the DOE in fundgin US-based battery research in the lab.

“The creation of this battery technology represents an important return on the American investment in innovative vehicle and battery research,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This agreement gives General Motors the ability to use cutting-edge battery technology throughout its supply chain. The licensing of this technology will also spur the renewal of the American battery industry, creating hundreds of new jobs where they are needed most.”

The Argonne license will allow GM to continue to work on next-generation battery systems to reduce cost and improve performance. We still have work to do, and development and validation that remains to be done.

The roadmap to more capable batteries requires improvements in [cathodes, anodes and electrolytes]. We need developments in all three. This is the most capable cathode that we have seen out there from a lot of different corners. That is why we think it is critical that we get working with it now to get it on the road. It will take us some years. We want to get it on the road for the next generation of battery packs.

—Jon Lauckner, President, GM Ventures

Source (GM) and (GreenCarCongress)