GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

We are well aware GM is developing and launching the Chevy Volt.

They also possess  non-plugin hybrid technology.  The mild hybrid version of the Malibu didn’t fare too well as it added little fuel efficiency, and was discontinued.  A next -generation version of this technology using lithium-ion batteries is set to appear next year likely in the new Buick Regal.

The automaker also has 2-mode hybrid technology which is used in the large trucks such as the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade.  These are selling at low volume.

Back in July, I had asked then Chevrolet Chief Ed Peper if GM was also developing its own non-plugin strong hybrid sedan, and he confirmed it.

“What we are trying to work towards is ‘Yes,’ we will have other hybrid vehicles (besides the Volt) but we are trying to work towards a dedicated hybrid,” said Peper at the time. “We think that’s probably a better way for us to go longer term.”

According to a new report in Business week, GM has just shut down this program:

General Motors, for one, is reviewing its entire hybrid strategy. In late November, GM shelved plans for a 53-mpg Prius fighter for its bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand. GM product planners are starting to think they would be better off focusing on next-generation plug-in hybrids and electric cars such as the Chevrolet Volt, which is due next year. Even if those vehicles can’t beat Toyota’s Prius in the short term, they earn GM green-tech bragging rights. Given Honda’s experience, GM may have the right idea.

This article’s emphasis was on Honda’s trouble with its 41 MPG Insight launched to fight the Prius, but which has wound up being outsold by the Toyota 6 to 1.

Honda tried to price the Insight below the 50 MPG Prius as a value proposition, calling it “the hybrid for everyone,” but US sales in 2009 have only been about 20,000, far less than the 100,000 units initially projected. Honda has found out that hybrid buyers are actually more affluent and are looking for a roomier, sportier, comfortable and more powerful car, which the Prius is, and at a base price that is a mere $700 more than a fully loaded Insight.

Maybe as Businessweek notes “Given Honda’s experience, GM may have the right idea.”

Do you agree?

Source (Business Week)

GM is set to launch a brand new version of its classic Buick Regal sedan.

Discontinued in 2004, the new Regal is a rebadged and slightly redesigned version of the Opel Insignia which is already popular in Europe.  The new Regal which will begin selling next year in the US as a 2011 model will initially be built in Germany for its first 12 to 15 months of production.  It will begin production in North America in 2011.

According to a report in Wards’ Auto, GM will begin production of a mild-hybrid version of the Regal later that year.  This would then be the first vehicle GM makes using its second-generation belt/alternator/starter or BAS+ hybrid system.  The system is reported to achieve 20% increase in fuel economy over standard gas versions of the vehicle.

The new BAS+ system has a 120 V lithium ion pack made by Hitachi and, takes up 24% less space, has 40% less mass, and has 33% more power than the current system, such as the one found in the Malibu Hybrid. That car was discontinued due to weak demand. The new system has slow speed EV only operation, electric assist during acceleration and engine off at stops.

The Regal will launch initially with a 2.4 L 4-cylinder direct injection engine. A 2.0 L turbo model, expected achieve 30 mpg on the highway will follow next year.

Jim Frederico, the Regal’s vehicle line director told Ward’s that the car has the appropriate dimensions to house not only the BAS+ system but also the upcoming 2-mode plugin drivetrain as well.

That drivetrain was initially intended for the Saturn VUE. After Saturn was terminated, GM next said it would appear in a similar-sized small Buick SUV. After those plans were also scrapped from negative public feedback GM hasn’t announced where the drivetrain would debut.

Placing it in this mid-sized sedan may be just the right solution.  What do you think?

Source (Wards Auto, subscription required)

When the Chevy Volt concept was first unveiled it sometimes referred to as an electric Camaro referring to its very sporty design. In the move to production, that sportiness was scaled back somewhat in favor of more widespread appeal.

The Chevrolet Corvette, however, remains GM’s iconic lynchpin sports car. It is powered by a very highly spirited line of V8 gas engines, though new CAFE rules regulating a fleet average of 35.5 MPG by 2016 have some pundits wondering if the powerhouse’s days could be numbered.

Not so says Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman in charge of product development. In fact, Stephens doesn’t even think the V-8 has to go.

“I don’t believe that we need to do a six-cylinder engine in a Corvette at this time,” he said.

Down the road, he plans to keep the car alive no matter what it takes even if that means hybridization.

“We will only do a hybrid if that is what is required to maintain the vehicle,” says Stephens.

GM has plans to keep the car viable for the near future without resorting to hybridization.  “I think we have a pretty good plan right now that probably will not require a hybrid in the near term,” he says.  These efforts will include reducing the car’s weight, using direction injection, cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing and low rolling resistance tires.

The base 2010 Corvette uses a 430-hp, 6.2-liter V-8 that gets 16 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.

Looking at the layout of the Fisker Karma, for example, with its 400 horses and sub-6 second 0 to 60, creating a plugin Corvette could certainly be a possibility.  Even so, GM denies it even has such a project on the drawing board.

We have “no plans for a hybrid Corvette at this time,” says GM spokesperson Rob Peterson.

Source (Automotive News, sub required)

The electric car universe has expanded dramatically an in some unexpected ways since the Chevy Volt concept was first unveiled in January 07.

This year’s Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany has brought with it several new electric car concepts that demonstrate the range of expression cars that do not run on gas can display.

Audi

At one end of the extreme we have the Audi e-tron.  This is a 2-seat performance car based on the current gas-powered R8.  It uses 4 electric motors, one at each wheel which together develop 313 horsepower and a fearsome 3319 foot-pounds of torque ( compare that to the Volt’s 295 ft-lb).  This configuration allows the car to go from 0 to 60 in 4.8 seconds but also from 37 to 75 mph in 4.1 seconds.

The car has a 52 kwh lithium-ion battery pack of which 42.4 kwh is useable, that will deliver 154 miles of range.  At 230 V, charge time is from 6 to 8 hours.

Audi noted the value of the supercar’s mind boggling torque:

The e-tron is able to freely distribute the powerful torque of its four electric motors to the wheels as required. This so-called torque vectoring allows for dazzling dynamics and an undreamed-of level of agility and precision when cornering.

Audi also makes it clear they do not believe electric cars are ready for prime-time. announcing “there is still a lot of work to do before electric cars are ready for volume production.”

Though the Volt debuted as a show car concept shell without inner workings, apparently this car is the real deal.  According to Audi President Johan de Nysschen, “the show car itself is a running prototype.”

How would you like to test drive that?

At the other end we have two odd little birds that are paired with more mainstream big brothers.

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen L1, as its name implies, is a one-liter hybrid car that uses a 0.8 L 2 cylinder diesel engine mated to a 10 kw electric motor and a lithium ion battery that is not grid-chargeable. It delivers 40 hp and 0 to 60 time is 14.3 seconds.  Torque here is 100 nm.

Of course this concept isn’t new, VW’s first iteration was shown in 2002.  The main goal of the car is extreme fuel economy, and according to Volkswagen, that will be 170 MPG.

Volkswagen also displayed its mainstream upcoming BEV called the E-Up!, that they are calling “the Beetle of the 21st Century”

The E-Up! will not arrive into production until 2013 and then is only intended for use in city environments. Volkswagen thinks vehicular electrification wont fully take hold until 2020.

The car has 3+1 seating and is powered by a 60 kw motor that propels it from 0 to 60 in 11.3 seconds.  The 18 kwh total lithium-ion battery will allow 100 miles of range fully charged, with charging taking up to 5 hours on 230V.

The car also gets a 1.4 square meter solar panel on the roof that will supply electricity to the drivetrain while in operation or turn a cooling fan when parked in the sunlight.

Renault

Finally Renault introduced four new electric car concepts.

One of them is the rather bizarre Twizy ZE which is similar to an enclosed motorcycle with four oddly-shaped wheels that appear square.  It has a 15 kw motor with a top speed of 47 mph and the two occupants sit in tandem. It is said to have the performance characteristics of a 125cc motorbike.

Renault also unveiled the Fluence sedan which will be the electric car that will be used in Israel for Better Place battery swapping.  It is a stylish and reasonable sedan that has a 95 hp (70 kw) motor and a 99 mile range.  Though it can be charged in 5 hours at 230 V, it has the option of a 3-minute “Quickdrop” at a Better Place station.

No matter what your preference, it is clear that electricity is taking the automotive market by storm.  Concepts are taking very wide artistic liberties now as a automakers explore the boundaries of pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

There is no stopping it now, gasoline is dying a slow death.

I consider myself a fan of fuel efficient vehicles.  At this point the Volt seems the best thing coming, although within the next couple of years there will clearly be a plethora of options to choose from.  This will include pure EVs, EREVs like the Volt, plugin hybrids, and standard hybrids both mild and strong.

Right now it isn’t really possible to walk into your local dealership and pick up an electric car, although you can get your hands on one with a lot of effort and money.

What we do have at our widespread disposal are state-of-the-art hybrids.  Though GM for example has applied hybrid technologies to its large trucks like the Chevy Tahoe, and that serves its purpose, I feel focusing on the small light sedan and optimizing it for efficiency make the most sense to me.

From my work here on GM-Volt.com not only have I been given and continue to get unrestricted access to GM executives and engineers, but I enjoy access to executives and vehicles from all the automakers.  A particularly fun perk is getting one-week test drives in some of the latest cars.  I took this opportunity to test drive two of the latest mainstream hybrids, the 2010 Prius and the 2010 Insight.  I will have the 2010 Fusion hybrid next week.

I compared the Insight and Prius side by side on several parameters, and offer a video of my impression at the end of the post.

I found the Prius to outperform the Insight in all areas but price.  It is faster, more powerful, more solid and better handling.  It has better interior space and technological nuances.  Mostly importantly it got tremendous fuel economy.  On a 6.5 mile course I was able to achieve 92.5 MPG in the Prius, with reasonable driving style and moving safely with the flow of the traffic.  On another 12 mile course I obtained 81 MPG.  The Insight could only achieve 62.5 MPG on that same course.

The Prius beings at $22,000 and the Insight at $19,800, making price the only parameter the Insight did better.  Recent reports indicate Honda is scrambling to put out a mid-cycle engineering upgrade to the new Insight to address its shortcomings.

At the end of the day however, neither of these cars can be compared to the Volt.  Though I have yet to drive the production model it will clearly be faster, more powerful, quieter, cooler and more high tech.  Most importantly it will drive 40 miles without the use of any gas at all.  Yes it will at first be more expensive, yet after rebates at $32,500 a Volt is only slightly more than a fully loaded Prius which is $31,770.

I interviewed GM vice chairman Bob Lutz at the Detroit Auto Show in January of this year.  It was at that event that the Voltec-powered Cadillac Converj was first unveiled and was the same time GM was first surviving on government bailout money.

When I asked Mr. Lutz at the time whether GM would build the Converj, he replied if it were up to him they would, but due to GM’s “extreme financial stringency” at the time, they “would have to ask the federal government if the car would qualify for loan for extremely energy efficient new vehicle programs.”  Yes, I detected a bit of despondency in his tone.  By the end of that month he announced his retirement.

Now of course with the newborn GM, Maximum Bob is re-energized and staying to take over product development, marketing, and communications.

In a new interview with USA Today Lutz admitted his prior despair and the reason for his change of heart.

“When I made the decision to retire, I thought we’d be in bankruptcy for a long time. I thought we’d lose our freedom to design and build the products the public wants as opposed to the products the government wants to see on the road,” said the 77 year old Lutz. “I thought all of the fun is gone from the business. … But lo, and behold, the government task force were not a bunch of ogres. They were extremely helpful, and their only agenda was to make GM the best company it could be.”

Yet despite his fathering of the Volt and the clear path GM is taking to greener cars, including a new dedicated hybrid, Lutz still appears skeptical about how successful such vehicles can be.

“Other than in the media, there is not a groundswell toward green vehicles in the United States,” said Lutz. “In fact, they’re a very hard sell.”

(USA Today)