GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

The United Auto Workers Union announced Wednesday that its workers ratified its negotiated labor contract with General Motors by a 2-to-1 margin, making it the first of Detroit’s three automakers to settle in ongoing talks.

The union said 65 percent of production workers were in favor, and 63 percent of its skilled workers who voted approved the new deal, which went into immediate effect.

“The UAW and GM entered into this set of bargaining as America struggles with record levels of unemployment and an economy that shows little sign of improvement,” said UAW President Bob King. “Because of President Obama’s and the American taxpayers’ backing of our jobs and our companies, we were determined to work together with GM management to grow jobs in the U.S. and to get more Americans back to work and we are doing just that.

“With the continued support and solidarity of our members at GM, we stood strong and not only stopped these proposed givebacks, but we made important gains for our members in this contract,” King added.

GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson (left) shakes hands with UAW President Bob King, marking the ceremonial start of labor negotiations between GM and the UAW Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

The new contract essentially trades the promise of generous pay and benefits for GM’s 48,000 hourly workers in exchange for job security and pay gains tied more closely to GM’s financial health, profits and advances in quality.

In a statement, the UAW said the contract will create 6,400 new jobs in the U.S, bring laid-off workers back, and bring back some GM jobs to the U.S. which had been sent to Mexico as well as other parts of the world.

The UAW evidently sees its value to the U.S. economy at a factor of 9-to-1, as that is the ratio of new jobs for each job it says it has fostered (6,400 X 9 = 57,600).

“The 6,400 GM jobs mean another 57,600 jobs will be created in suppliers and other businesses related to the auto industry, since auto manufacturing jobs create and support so many other jobs,” the UAW said.

Under the new deal, entry-level workers will receive “significant gains” in pay, with wages coming to $19.28 per hour over the term of the agreement.

All GM/UAW employees will also get a $5,000 signing bonus, up to $4,000 in “Inflation Protection,” and lump sum payments for “Quality” over the term of the agreement.

The UAW said profit sharing is now improved as well, as the new plan is simpler and more “transparent,” while promising higher payouts.

GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said on a conference call to media and analysts yesterday that he viewed the UAW/GM deal as “win-win.”

The new contract does not significantly increase fixed labor costs, and will help GM “maintain the fortress balance sheet we’ve been working on for the past two years,” Akerson said.

Akerson concurred with the UAW that the new “more transparent” profit-sharing plan will be lucrative for workers, more equitable, and he noted that hourly workers now enjoy a similar deal salaried workers receive.

“When the company does well, the employees ought to share in the success,” Akerson said.

In digging deeper into the contract’s provisions, Edmunds noted the elimination of the “Job Bank” that guaranteed nearly full pay to laid-off workers, as well as an incentive program encouraging some of the 10,000 GM skilled trades workers who are now under-utilized to retire.

Starting wages for new hires increases about $3 per hour from approximately $14 previously. No cost-of-living adjustments are provided for during the contract’s term, and experienced workers get no base wage increases.

As for profit sharing, Edmunds found that if this year GM earns the $4.7 billion it did in 2010, each worker will receive a check for around $4,000.

GM’s overall increase in labor costs under the new terms is about 1 percent. The company said this will enable it to keep it’s breakeven point at an annual U.S. Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of sales of about 10.5 million units.

General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant employee Elizabeth Adams on the line, working on a Volt.

Edmunds however noted its 2011 SAAR forecast for GM is about 12.6 million units.

Attrition by older employees, high wage earners, and skilled trades workers will help offset the bump in payouts, Edmunds reported, and some of these could receive retirement packages of as much as $75,000.

As for some of those 6,400 new jobs, a large number of them will come from GM’s commitment to reopen a shuttered assembly plant in Spring Hill, TN. New workers will also be added by an extra shift in Wentzville, MO for assembly of a new midsized pickup, and by adding workers at two more Michigan powertrain assembly plants.

Ford and Chrysler

The GM contract was originally hoped by the UAW to be a template for the other two Detroit automakers, which as of yet have not reached agreement, but it has not turned out that way.

Ford reportedly has higher labor costs, and its workers – not forbidden to strike as are the New GM’s workers – are seeking a better profit sharing package, and higher signing bonuses. It is believed Ford may add from 7,000 up to 10,000 new UAW jobs in whatever contract it settles on, which will run through 2015.

Chrysler’s ongoing talks have been tainted by a somewhat contentious air, as its CEO Sergio Marchionne said Chrysler cannot afford to be as generous in making concessions as GM was. Marchionne also publicly censured UAW president Bob King in an open letter not long ago for failing to show up to a meeting. The extended deadline now for Chrysler to come to an agreement with the UAW is Oct. 19.

Win-win

As for GM’s contract, it was not without detractors, but the heads of both GM and UAW are putting on smiles, and saying all is well.

We’ll close with the closing comments King offered in the UAW’s statement:

“Two years ago, GM and Chrysler were hanging by a thread when President Obama stepped in and invested federal funds to help turn the companies and the U.S. auto industry around, protecting the auto supplier base and keeping good-paying jobs in America,” King said. “When GM was struggling, UAW members shared deeply in the sacrifice. The UAW has shown that we are totally committed to helping the U.S. auto companies succeed. GM is prosperous today because of its workers. It’s the workers and the quality of the work they do, along with the sacrifices they made, that have helped returned this company to profitability. Now that GM is posting profits again, our members are sharing in the success, while ensuring GM’s continued profitability.”

UAW, AutoObserver, Automotive News.

On Tuesday GM’s CEO Dan Akerson explained why the company could very well build the Volt in China, as it is the hot new frontier in which GM is already well positioned to reap a harvest.

For now, GM will ship the Volt in from the U.S., Akerson told the press at a Bloomberg News forum, but it could be a costly experiment as the Volt is ineligible for over $19,000 in government incentives as GM tests the Chinese waters.

“We’re going to export into China for probably a year or two and see if it gets a take … if customers set the right usage patterns,” Akerson said. “If it does, we may manufacture it there.”

A Volt on the road to Shanghai.

Akerson denied allegations that China has pressured GM to fork over intellectual property and said it is making these decisions all by itself.

The new automotive market paradigm GM envisions is a more collaborative one, as evidenced by GM’s recent big plans to build EVs in China with joint venture partner SAIC, and its formation of its venture capital firm last year charged with finding new opportunities and given $100 million in seed money to do it.

“We don’t invent everything ourselves,” Akerson said, explaining GM’s new perspective. “We either build, buy or we partner.”

And to be sure, this partnering phenomenon has quickly become the new pattern for several major and minor industry participants, with more collaborations expected.

China is Hot, America is not

In the next decade, Akerson said, the Chinese auto market growth could equal the total sales in the U.S. market. That is, auto sales in China could increase by 13 million vehicles, he said, which is on par with the present U.S. total.

“This is where you want to be strong,” Akerson said.

And really, GM has been playing this strategy already. Last year its China sales were up 30 percent. This year, according to the Detroit News, they are only up by 5.4 percent through August, comprised of 1.6 million vehicles sold.

To get things back toward 2010 growth levels and beyond, GM intends to invest between $5 and $7 billion over the next five years in China as it introduces 60 new or significantly refreshed models, the Detroit News reports.

The goal of GM’s five-year plan in China is to bump total annual sales there to 5 million vehicles.

While a five-year plan sounds like something the Communists would come up with, make no mistake, this is fully in line with ideals born in The Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave.

In thinking as it is, GM is also being true to its shareholders, many of which saw GM’s strong Chinese market position as a reason after its bankruptcy to add their dollars toward the New GM’s record-breaking $23 billion initial public offering.

What’s more, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice Chairman James “Jimmy” Lee – who helped GM launch its IPO – told the Detroit News that GM’s strength in China was a key factor in drawing not just U.S., but international investor interest.

“When we sat down with investors worldwide, they were really excited with respect to China” and GM’s strengths, Lee said.

Inherent in GM’s decision making process is a lack of faith in the American economy to be anywhere near as promising as China’s.

In contrast to a Chinese auto market that is booming, Akerson said he believed the U.S. market will be “flat” next year, although GM’s September sales – expected to be announced Monday – were still “not that bad.”

Presently the U.S. Treasury Department holds a 26.5 percent share in GM. Akerson praised the Treasury for staying hands off, and not sending a representative to sit in on board meetings – including the most recent one held in China.

But whether or not the government sits in on meetings, it and the taxpayers it represents are still along for the ride. At GM’s current stock price, if the Treasury sold its stake now, it would mean a loss of about $16 billion out of its $49.5 billion committed for the bailout.

In front of a sundial in Shanghai.

The government has expressed interest in shedding its GM holding, but not at such a loss.

Unknown is whether its leaving GM free of interference represents tacit approval of GM’s policy.

As it is, Akerson outlined plans for investing in China for the company that is yet one-quarter owned by U.S. taxpayers, and defended the U.S. Treasury Department loans as not merely saving a company, but rescuing an industry.

Speaking of which, in the heyday of that industry in the early 50s, it was said that “what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa,” and perhaps GM would still contend that what it is doing is for the greater good.

Today there are fewer people inclined to see the clarity of such assertions as billions in technology, manufacturing know-how and jobs are going offshore at a time when the U.S. needs all the help it can get.

To be sure, GM is also making efforts to invest in U.S. manufacturing, but this could arguably be called enlightened self interest too, as sourcing and producing close to the point of consumption can be good for business.

The Volt in China

For now, the Volt will not be produced close to its point of Chinese consumption, thus its value proposition will be reduced without subsidies available for domestically produced EVs.

Certainly there are those in China with the disposable income to pay up for one of the world’s most advanced automobiles, but selling it in larger numbers will require some adjustments to put the Volt in a more attractive position.

Aaron Bragman, an IHS Automotive analyst told the Detroit News building the Volt in China could “make sense.” Assuming subsidies, GM could make significant money with the Volt in a burgeoning Chinese market heavily favoring electrified vehicles.

GM could conceivably also export Chinese made Volts to other markets.

Since setting up shop in China a decade ago, GM has kept (at least some) of its intellectual property safe, and actual risks to the Volt are open to speculation – although with the prospect of building the Volt there already on the table, GM is apparently not too worried about it.

Even more clear at this point, however, is the siren song of a bright and promising new market being sung by China. It is one that GM finds irresistible and undoubtedly it will do what it takes to succeed there, as Bragman also observed.

“If you want to participate in the Chinese market, you have to play by their rules,” Bragman said.

Detroit News

Yesterday the U.S. Energy Department released its first-ever “Quadrennial Technology Review,” saying it wants to increase research funding for electrified vehicles and supporting infrastructure.

Its total 2011 budget was $3 billion, and the thinking by the government is it needs a faster return on its investment, so diverting a higher percentage toward electrification could engender more near-term solutions for America’s pressing energy and environmental needs.

“Today, our nation is at a cross road. While we have the world’s greatest innovation machine, countries around the world are moving aggressively to lead in the clean energy economy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel-winning physicist in an introduction to the 168-page review. “We can either lead in the development of the clean energy economy or we can stand back and wait for others to move forward a sustainable energy future. For the sake of our economic prosperity and our national security, we must lead.”

This year the Energy Department again co-sponsored the EcoCar Challenge exploring ways to improve efficiency with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and fuel cell technologies. Shown are the 2011 first place winners.

The Energy Department says it ought not to get too far ahead of the private sector in its research spending, and for its proposed 2013 budget looks at what it can invest in that will be feasible in the next 10 years.

“Currently DOE focuses too much effort on researching technologies that are multiple generations away from practical use,” said the review, which surveyed more than 600 stakeholders in industry, academia and government.

At present, the Energy Department said it is “underinvested” with only 26 percent of its budget devoted to transportation research.

Electric vehicle research received only 9 percent, and 4 percent went toward making vehicles more efficient. The lion’s share went to advanced fuels, but the Energy Department intends to shift the balance.

For heavy-duty road trucks, the Energy Department will also focus on advanced biofuels instead of “mature” ethanol and fuels that require new fuel station infrastructure.

This year’s spending allocated 51 percent for clean electricity, and here too spending will be shifted toward projects to help upgrade the aging power grid, and make buildings more energy efficient.

Carbon capture and storage research will also continue receiving funding as this fits with existing power infrastructure. The Energy Department will also focus on engineering support for licensing a new type of nuclear reactor known as the small modular reactor.

“The Department will give priority to research on technologies that can be operated economically with low water consumption, including solar photovoltaic and wind,” the review said.

At least the plan is for all of these proposed priority shifts.

Chu and other DOE officials led the review, and used its results to guide planning for a budget proposal for fiscal 2013 that will be released early in 2012.

The review is modeled on similar efforts by the Defense Department, and the proposal must go through annual negotiations between the executive branch and Congress.

On its Web site, it said the DOE-QTR was written with the purpose to “address our nation’s challenges, energy security and U.S. competitiveness.”

The review, which you can download here, defines six key strategies: increase vehicle efficiency; electrification of the light duty fleet; deploy alternative fuels; increase building and industrial efficiency; modernize the electrical grid; and deploy clean electricity.

Findings of the DOE-QTR include:

• DOE should give greater emphasis to the transport sector relative to the stationary sector.
• Among the transport strategies, DOE will devote its greatest effort to electrification of the vehicle fleet, a sweet spot for pre-competitive DOE R&D.
• Within the stationary heat and power sector, the DOE-QTR finds that the Department should increase emphasis on efficiency and understanding the grid. It states that the Department’s role as a source of information and as a convener of interested parties, two functions that are often underestimated, are unique and indispensable in advancing energy technologies.
• Finally, the DOE-QTR highlights the need for the Department to develop stronger, more integrated policy, economics, and technical analyses of its research and development activities.

“With nearly 90 percent of the energy system owned and operated by the private sector, the DOE-QTR recognizes that the Department is not the sole agent in transforming the system,” said DOE Under Secretary Steven Koonin. “Through discussions with hundreds of energy stakeholders, we have learned that, beyond our technology development activities, the Department’s unique role as a convener and source of accurate techno-economic information is a great public benefit.”

Overall, the Energy Department led by Chu has maintained an optimistic tone.

“The stakes are high for our country, and I am optimistic that we can still lead the world in technological innovation,” he said.

U.S. Energy Department, Automotive News.

Yesterday, Bob Lutz, the “father of the Chevrolet Volt,” announced he will be consulting with VIA Motors as it seeks to build extended-range electric trucks, vans and SUVs.

The new role for the “car guy” with a heart for electrification should be right up his alley, and Lutz enthusiastically praised the 4WD-capable vehicles VIA has been developing.

Bob Lutz

“In my long career working with GM, Ford, Chrysler and BMW, I considered the Chevy Volt the most important car we had yet made,” Lutz said. “I am now pleased to join VIA Motors to expand the vision of extended range electric vehicles and help build the next generation of electrified trucks, vans and SUVs. I believe VIA’s extended range electric trucks will be a game changer, and drive the standard for clean, high performance, utility vehicles around the world.”

According to David West, VIA’s chief marketing officer, Lutz, 79, will help the Orem, Utah company get its foot in the door with automotive partnerships and fundraising.

West told Automotive News there will be no conflict for Lutz who is also contracted as an adviser with GM. Earlier this month, GM hired Lutz on a part-time basis to assist with product development, marketing and communications.

GM agreed that Lutz’s newest gig with VIA will not affect their relationship, although Lutz is otherwise limited in which companies he can consult with.

With the exception of Lotus, for which he has been a part-time adviser, Lutz said earlier this month that his contract precluded him from consulting with most automakers.

Not VIA’s first former GM hire

Lutz has been privy to a wealth of knowledge about GM’s extended-range vehicle program, and indeed he was signed up in no small part because of his GM ties.

Among former GM employees, his hiring now puts him in the company of VIA’s COO Alan Perriton, who ran GM Korea and is credited with creating the supply chain for the now-shuttered Saturn brand. Further, a lead engineer from the Volt development team, Nick Zielinski, is VIA’s chief engineer.

“His main role will be to help move this along, particularly with GM, but also with other OEMs,” West said of Lutz. “This kind of thing needs a lot of high-level buy-in.”

A Volt-like GM E-REV truck

VIA’s plug-in electric powertrains are fitted to Chevrolet Silverados purchased from GM.

Its E-REV pickup travels a Volt-like 40 miles on a charge before the small gasoline genset kicks on.

VIA E-REV platform.

Yesterday Lutz emailed Automotive News, saying the extended-range concept “makes even more sense, economically, in large vehicles” than in smaller cars like the Volt. The goal, he said, is to “duplicate the Volt proposition for pick-ups and large SUVs. This will get these popular vehicles into the 100-mpg range.”

It would appear as ALTe is doing for Ford-based trucks, VIA is doing for GM-based trucks.

Similarly, VIA will be testing about 35 of its plug-in vehicles with fleet customers – most being utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric.

VIA’s Web site says it will begin fleet sales this year, with retail sales planned for 2013.

“Trucks have been notorious for poor fuel economy in the past,” said VIA COO, Perriton, “but when electrified, they can have a much greater impact on reducing oil consumption and emissions than smaller vehicles, while offering a much faster payback.”

Automotive News (Subscription Req’d)

Editor’s note: The owner of Autospotters, a Texas-based Web site, offered to let us run his review of a 2011 Volt (essentially same as 2012). It includes a spur-of-the-moment road trip to get a burger hundreds of miles away – all in the interest of road testing, of course – and therefore pretty unique as Volt reviews go. The “inefficient” use of time using the world’s most efficient vehicle for this errand explains the title, in case anyone is wondering.

By Autospotters.com

Five hundred and twenty miles, eight hours of driving, one hour and twenty minutes in line at a drive through, all for a three dollar cheeseburger and we only used fifteen gallons of gasoline.

In our week with the Chevrolet Volt, we discovered that most people do not know how the Volt operates. About half thought it was an all electric car and the other half thought it was a traditional hybrid that splits operations between a gas engine and an electric motor.

The Volt does have a gas engine and an electric motor; however the gas engine is only a generator and does not directly power the car’s drive wheels or electronics. The electricity produced by the gas engine does several things, such as power the car’s electronics and power the electric motors that turn the wheels. At times, such as braking or going downhill, when 100 percent of the electricity is not needed to drive the car, the remaining electricity is used to charge a lithium-ion battery pack. Once the battery pack has reached a certain charge, the gas generator shuts off, to preserve fuel, and the car operates completely on stored electricity.

The gas/electric Volt is revolutionary in the automotive world, but not revolutionary as far as transportation goes. Most modern trains and ships operate the same way, except rather than using a gas engine, they use a diesel engine. A gas/electric configuration uses less fuel based on the idea that an engine running at a constant speed, to produce a steady amount of electricity requires less fuel than an engine constantly under the load of moving a heavy vehicle.

In addition to the generator providing charge to the battery pack, the battery pack can be recharged by plugging the Volt into a 110 or 220 volt power outlet. Chevrolet claims a full battery charge takes eight hours using a standard 110 volt outlet and only four hours when using a 220 volt outlet. It took our test vehicle nearly eleven hours to fully charge its completely drained battery using a 110 volt outlet. Once fully charged, the Volt can operate without using a single gallon of gasoline, for about 36 miles, and of course the actual number of miles that can be driven on a full charge varies, depending on your driving style.

Road Trip

To properly review a car like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, I knew we needed to drive it a lot. I also knew it would be difficult to find someone willing to take a last minute road trip in a Volt, but I had a plan. A friend of mine is a self-proclaimed In-N-Out Burger fanatic and just two days earlier an In-N-Out had opened in Dallas. I knew it had been at least a year since my friend last had an artery clogging burger from his favorite burger place, because up until two days earlier the closest one was over a thousand miles away. All it took was a quick phone call and I had someone willing to take a last minute road trip starting from our HQ in Houston and offering to buy the burgers when we got to Dallas.

Before we set off on our extremely inefficient use of time in one of the world’s most fuel efficient vehicles, we knew this trip would be long and we assumed it would feel even longer considering we were taking a vehicle designed for fuel economy. We thought consideration for comfort and speed were several of the things not built into the Volt – boy were we wrong. For comfort, our test Volt was equipped with navigation, back up camera, heated leather seats and all the audio features you can think of including USB connectivity for iPods or smart phones. For speed, the Volt is electronically limited to 101 mph and gets there pretty quick thanks to 149 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, which meant we were not holding up traffic. For comparison, the Toyota Prius has 134 horsepower, 153 pound-feet of torque and is almost always holding up traffic.

In addition to the basic comforts expected in cars today, the Volt is also equipped with a lot of electronic features that will go unused or under-appreciated unless you read the comprehensive owner’s manual. The dashboard features two very high quality LCD screens – one directly in front of the driver which displays basic information found on a normal car’s instrument cluster plus information pertaining to battery charge and miles left on the current charge before the generator is needed to supply electricity. The second screen is mounted in the center of the dash and displays everything from audio, navigation and pages of diagnostic information relating to the car’s electricity usage.

When you drive the Volt there are certain things you will have to get used to. First, the terms: you turn the Volt ‘on’ – you do not start it, you press the ‘accelerator’ – you do not press the gas. Second, the silence: accelerating from a stop light or passing on the freeway – all silent. Third, people not looking where they are walking. In one short outing, we had three people walk directly in front of the moving Volt and one person walked directly into the side of the car, all because they could not hear it.

When the Volt was dropped off at Autospotters HQ, we were initially skeptical of a gas/electric car, but by the time our week with the Volt was over, we were believers. The Volt is a game changer. For anyone in the market for a new car with about $45,000 to spend, the Volt should be strongly considered.

Autospotters

The 2012 Volt is shipping with a new fuel economy label showing a slight increase in mileage, while helping prospective buyers better understand how the car can save them money and reduce pollution in the long run.

This info was published yesterday on Chevrolet’s VoltAge Web site, which gave a bullet list highlighting the new sticker.

2012 model year Volt window sticker (click on to enlarge).

Highlights

• While running on its battery, the Volt’s electric Miles Per Gallon Equivalent, or MPGe has been increased to 94 for combined city/highway.
• The EPA estimates you will save $7,600 in fuel costs over 5 years compared to the average new vehicle sold today. (Note that the average vehicle today gets 22 MPG.)
• How much do you currently spend each month to fuel your vehicle? It will cost you, on average, about $1,000 per year to fuel the Volt. That’s about $600 in gasoline and $400 in electric costs, or less than $85 each month.
• That equation assumes you drive 15,000 miles per year and translates to more than $125 a month in fuel savings. As gas prices increase, the savings Volt represents also will increase.
• The Volt achieves the best rating (10) in both fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the compact segment.

Value proposition

However you slice it, the Volt’s cost-benefit analysis is a story Volt Line Director Tony Posawatz and others have said needs to be driven home.

Note the fourth bullet point where it says as fuel prices increase – as they are expected to – the Volt becomes a better and better cost saver. This is tantamount to saying cost of Volt ownership is inflation resistant.

Nonetheless, the Volt has been shown to offer value that has not penetrated the consciousness of some consumers and critics.

The Volt is becoming a part of everyday life. I snapped this photo in Center City Philadelphia the other week when I had another Volt on loan from GM. And here I was thinking the Volt I had was was so rare …

While it takes more calculating, the Volt’s long-haul value was pretty well proven by Kiplinger, which showed how over five years a Volt could close a $19,000 initial sales price gap between it and a Chevy Cruze to a cost of ownership difference of under $1,600.

So not only is the Volt essentially inflation resistant, it also starts paying back in a way that practically allows a buyer to get a $41,000 car for the overall ownership cost of a $22,000 car.

The Volt also spews the least greenhouse gases among all available compact cars.

Advanced automotove batteries will be the main topic of today’s Web chat.

In light of its increased availability to all 50 states by year’s end, GM is in process of clarifying the Volt’s value proposition so that those interested may learn if the car makes sense for them.

This was the reason behind a Web chat last week with the Kiplinger writer, and today at 2:30 Eastern time, (11:30 Pacific), GM will be holding another Web chat.

Today’s chat will feature Popular Science writer Seth Fletcher and GM’s director of Global Battery Systems, Bill Wallace.

Web chat at 2:30 Eastern time (11:30 Pacific, 12:30 Mountain, 1:30 Central).

The focus will be on battery technology, as Fletcher is the author of Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars and the new Lithium Economy.

Feel free to sign up to discuss battery technology and get some of your other Volt-related questions answered as well.

VoltAge