GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Wall Street Journal author Joe White had the opportunity to test-drive a plugin-in modified conversion Prius, with Li-ion batteries made by A123 systems.  He describes the effortless joy of driving such a car, and the fact it can go gas-free up to 40 miles with a 160-pound battery pack that costs $10,000.

He goes on in the article to mention the Volt and discussions he’s had with Tony Pozawatz, GM’s Volt vehicle line director.

Mr. Pozawatz does not say the Volt will definitely arrive, but certainly makes allusions close to that end.  He is also quoted as saying that GM will have prototype battery packs in hand from the two suppliers by the end of this year.

You can feel the momentum building!

Remember Johnson-Saft Controls. They were the partnership who were to be one of the potential suppliers of the Volt’s battery pack, named at the time GM announced the Volt concept. In the end, they did not get one of the contracts, going instead to A123/Continental and CPI/LG. However, the partnership was given a contract to build the battery pack for the VUE plugin, hopefully due out in 2009.

Well, now Johnson Controls has announced it’s intention to jump into the plug-in car venue all by itself. At the same time they will be presenting their “new corporate identity” at the International Motor Show in Germany, they also plan to present a Li-ion battery powered plug-in hybrid concpet vehicle. Details are sketchy at this point, but the vehicle will emphasize a new way of using space, new types of electronic interfaces, and new surfaces, and well as a plug-in battery pack in the trunk.

You can read their announcement here.

Competition is the engine of innovation, so welcome aboard.

Now that the news is out on the Toyota plugin there has been a flurry of interest. Of course, we realize than an 8 mile range NiMh car is only a starter, its the Li-ion battery that makes it a killer-app. Toyota has announced they are not ready for Li-ion yet. Let’s hope GM gets there first!

Here are some more detailed specs on the Toyota (from greencarcongress.com):

Toyota also mentioned that U.S. testing will take place at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine,with each campus getting one car.

Today Toyota Motor Corp. announced that they have developed a plug-in hybrid car based on the Prius. The car is called the Toyota Plug-in HV (name definitely not as cool as “the Volt”) and is slated for testing in the U.S. and Europe. The vehicle does not use lithium-ion batteries but rather relies on lower energy density Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries. Due to this limitation, the car can only go 8 miles on a full charge, despite a “trunk-full” of batteries.

Also, unlike the current Prius, the test car can drive electric-only at all speeds, and not just low velocities.

This news attests to the importance of the plug-in paradigm, the not-yet-ready nature of lithium-ion battery packs, and the staunch competition that GM and it’s Volt will face.

Source: Reuters

Today President Bush was given a view of plugin vehicles on the White House lawn. He spoke to Dave Vieau, CEO of A123 Systems and saw two vehicles. One was a plugin Prius outfitted with A123 systems’ conversion kit (that Toyota doesn’t support) and the other a new plugin truck made by Phoenix Motorcars. He also had a meeting with 10 scientific leaders in the field of alternative fuels, and expressed confidence that his plan to cut fuel consumption by 20% over the next decade is possible.

Unfortunately, the Volt didn’t make it to the White House today, maybe Bush would have sat in that one (he didn’t sit in the other 2 )

See a good article here.

Tom Hanks was the first person to buy a fully electric Scion, taking delivery on 2/15. This vehicle is very interesting. It is a modified vehicle with the mod coming from a company called AC propulsions.

They’ve actually made a Volt-like vehicle. It has a pure 160 HP (same as Volt) electric engine that powers the fromt wheels. Also like the Volt it has a 650 lb Li-ion battery bank to power the engine. Not like the Volt it has a range of 120-150 miles!!! And also not like the Volt and maybe why the range is so long it has regenerative braking.

Lastly , most not like the Volt, there is No Combustion Engine; its all plug-in.

GM should take note of this car – I’d say adding regenerative braking is a very good idea.