GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

The recent report that GM has cancelled the Cadillac Converj program, has led to some speculation that GM has revised its thinking of the value of the extended range electric or Voltec propulsion system. The report stated that GM could not find a value proposition in putting Voltec propulsion into a Cadillac.

As a Cadillac the car would have to be smoother, faster, and heavier than the Volt. This would necessitate more battery and cost, and thus GM has opted to use the 2-mode plugin parallel drivetrain for the brand. That system uses less battery, has less electric range, and uses the combustion engine whenever power demands are high.

Though this makes sense for the Cadillac brand, GM spokesperson Brain Corbett denies GM is moving away from Voltec.

“First of all we never announced the Converj was a production program ” he said.

“We’ve consistently said we’re going to increase our offering of electrified vehicles,” said Corbett. “We continue to develop the technology…Voltec is an active program.”

“There will be future plugin applications though we haven’t identified the vehicles or brands yet,” he added. “You’ll see multiple hybrids, plugin hybrids, and EREVs.”

He admitted that, “plugins are a little cheaper and the vehicles can be more capable,” than for Voltec.

But confirmed, “we’re not pulling back on Voltec.”

“We see both lineages evolving in parallel,” he added.

The Cadillac Converj was a stunning extended range concept car GM first unveiled an the January 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The luxurious stylish vehicle was to utilize the same Voltec propulsion system as the Volt though specifically tuned for increased performance and luxury.

GM vice chairman Bob Lutz has long been a proponent for the car whose pricetag and market segment was purported to be better able to absorb the added cost of the electrified drivetrain.

Bloomberg reported that the program has been cancelled specifcally so the company can focus on bringing out lower cost plugin parallel hybrids for the Cadillac brand.

Apparently GM’s internal research concluded that GM could not produce the Converj with sufficient features and performance to be compelling enough to buyers at the same time producing a profit.  This information was obtained from two GM executives who asked not to be identified.

To have made the Converj perform as intended, faster and smoother with heavier seats and larger wheels, its range would have been halved to 20 miles, while at the same time increasing its price by $30,000.

The decision to kill the Converj was made at a late January meeting even though earlier in that month Lutz had said the car was cleared for production.

“As we took a look at our available capital and engineering resources, we decided that there were things that were more urgent than doing a Cadillac version of the Voltec architecture,” Bob Lutz told Reuters. “We had originally had a time slot for the Converj and that has been put on hold.”

GM still plans to electrify Cadillacs, only relying on lower electric range plugin parallel hybrid technology, like the plugin 2-mode drivetrain recently previewed in the XTS concept.

According to analyst Eric Noble, president of CarLab, an automotive consultant, GM’s decision to kill the Converj is “a tacit admission from GM that they over-batteried the Volt.”

“The future lies in plug-in hybrids with smaller electric range,” he said.

Voltec/EREV now seems dead to the Cadillac brand, at least using today’s lithium ion batteries.  Does it also speak to the Volt possibly becoming a one-off model?

Source (Bloomberg) and (Reuters)

GM has released the details and images of its upcoming new Voltec concept car which will be premiered at the Geneva Auto Show in March.

The vehicle is called the Opel Flextreme GT/E.  Readers may remember the initial Opel Flextreme small crossover concept from 2007.  The new vehicle is a large sleek muscular sedan that has a 0.22 coefficient of drag.  Clearly GM learned its lessons on revealing electric show cars with very high drag coefficients (wink).

Like the Volt, it is a 4 seater.

“The Flextreme GT/E concept shows the shape of things to come from Opel,” says Frank Weber, Vice President, Corporate and Product Planning. “Bold, expressive and highly efficient, it represents the product strategy we will apply to all our future vehicles, large and small, across all market segments.”

Yes thats the same Frank Weber who led the Volt’s development before being promoted to VP of Opel.

The Flextreme’s grille is sleek and trapezoidal, and although allowing some air flow, it is partially covered with a translucent divider. The Opel emblem extends doubling as the car’s charging port.

The rear doors are hinged, and there is a glass roof that automatically darkens in sunlight to keep the cabin cool.

At high speed, a retractable rear wheel wind spoiler extends to improve aerodynamics pushing air to the rear of the car.

The Flextreme’s Voltec propulsion system is the same as in the Volt/Ampera aside from a slightly more powerful electric motor.

It uses the same T-shaped rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and 1.4 L gas engine/generator. It delivers 37 miles of EV range and a total range of 300 miles. It has a top speed of 125 MPH and will do 0 to 60 in under 9 seconds.

Average fuel economy is reported as 1.6 L/100 km (147 mpg US), with CO2 emissions of less than 40 g/km.

The vehicle is not being considered as a fanciful concept, but rather expected to become a flagship vehicle for Opel, whose future in Frank Weber’s hands is decidedly electric.

We’ll learn more when the car is revealed at the Geneva Auto Show on March 4th.

Source (Opel)

We have known for a long time that the Chevrolet Volt is only the first car of a lineage of future vehicles that will be sold not only in North America but globally.

In 2007 GM revealed an Opel Flextreme small SUV concept, and in 2008 they revealed the Cadillac Converj concept.

These cars like the Volt depend on the Voltec propulsion system, which is a primary electric drive with a combustion engine generator to extend driving range.

GM has also shown two concept cars in which a hydrogen fuel cell was used as a range extender. This included an early Volt variant, an later the Cadillac Provoq concept.

There is evidence GM is about to lift the curtain on a new as-yet-unseen Voltec vehicle.

It will be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show on March 3rd.  A teaser image has been released and appears above. Notice the slick “Voltec” logo on its very unusual grille.

GM/Opel aren’t revealing many significant details about the car yet, or whether it will be production intent.  This is all GM will say publicly at this point:

Concept car gives clues to Opel’s future environmental direction

Opel will premiere a concept car that embodies much of the company’s future thinking in terms of design and engineering.

Using green innovation and alternative propulsion, the concept is proof that size and comfort do not need to be sacrificed for a vehicle to be environmentally efficient.

More details on the concept car will be revealed in due course.

According to GM spokesperson Rob Peterson “the Opel is simply a concept that showcases the potential of the Voltec system.”

Can’t wait to see.

General Motors is putting its best foot forward with the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car.

From their experience with the EV-1, the company has decided a 40 mile pure EV range with a gas range extender is the best solution for mass adoption, allowing the most gas-free driving while at the same time eliminating range anxiety and the need for charging infrastructure.

However, many car companies are choosing to produce pure EVs. Which approach will gain greater public appeal is unknown at this early stage, though the next few years should clarify things.

Thus GM isn’t resting on its heels but is continuing to study a pure EV launch in the US.  They have already joint ventured with Indian electric car maker REVA to produce a pure electric Spark for the Indian market this year.

Vice chairman Bob Lutz was reported as saying an electric Volt would be easy to build.  “Once you’ve done the Volt, pure electric is trivial,” he said. “You just leave some parts out.”

Pete Savagian, GM’s director of hybrid and EV engineering recently admitted that GM has “been studying (the BEV) internally really intensely.”

“Since we see electrification as the long term evolution of the auto, and there is so much going on in the industry,” he told GM-Volt.com. “We study various electrified vehicle options on an ongoing basis to evaluate the merits of how such a vehicle might perform in a particular market and segment.”

When asked specifically about a US pure EV Chevrolet Marketing director Jim Campbell said “thats not something I have a lot of comment on.”

“Its possible but we haven’t made a commitment on it one way or another,” he said.  “Were looking at a whole range of possibilities and that could be a possibility in the future.”

Though vague about the US market, GM’s electric plans for Europe are now more concrete.

In a recent statement on their five-year plan, Opel anounced it would be spending €11 billion to develop advanced technology vehicles.  Included would be the launch of  ”an extended-range electric vehicle in addition to the Ampera,” and “pure battery-electric vehicles in smaller-size segments.”

Opel President Nick Reilly indicated GM will be unveiling a new green car concept at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

“Using green innovation and alternative propulsion,” Opel told Auto Car the concept “is proof that size and comfort do not need to be sacrificed for a vehicle to be environmentally efficient”.

It may surprise you that considering how important the Volt is to General Motors, the company does not build its electric motor.

Clearly GM played a major role in designing and engineering that motor as it appears to be unique in the industry. It is actually composed of two motors.  The more powerful one acts as the primary driver traction motor, and the other acts as a generator to retrieve kinetic energy during braking and coasting. At times, if needed, both motors can act in parallel, and the system has an electronically limited 111 kw maximum output (150 hp).

The company supplying the Volt motor to GM is unknown. “We haven’t announced that yet,” states Volt spokesperson Rob Peterson.

GM is very serious about the future of electric cars, and doesn’t plan to source its motors indefinitely.

According to a report in USA today, later this month GM will be announcing plans to build or operate its own plant to build motors for electric cars. This announcement will possibly take place at the Washington DC Auto Show which opens on January 27th. Likely the DC initial market announcement will be made then as well.

GM already has opened its own battery assembly plant. Electric motors, according to GM vice chairman Tom Stephens is the “second leg of the stool” for electric cars.

The third leg is the power electronics that control the manner in which the battery and the motor interact.

Stephens didn’t specifically say if GM plans to build those in house as well, but presumably they will.

“Electric motors, batteries, power-control electronics — you need core expertise in those,” he told USA Today.

Source (USA Today)