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Articles from GM-Volt: Chevy Volt Concept Site

Is GM planning an E-Flex Cadillac? 2007-10-09 10:46:18 There have been some recent reports citing sources inside GM who propose that GM is planning to produce an E-Flex Cadillac: Autoweek Jalopnik It should really not be a surprise that GM hopes to put the E-Flex drivetrain into many future vehicles. By necessity this would include Cadillacs. I could not confirm an immediate plan with GM officials. Here is the official GM statement from spokesman Rob Peterson on the matter: “The beauty of the E-Flex system is that it is flexible enough to incorporate different powertrain propulsion systems, design styles and if necessary brand characteristics. That said, the development team is currently focused on the development of the E-Flex System - fuel cell and range-extended variants - and the Chevrolet Volt only. Discussion about vehicles built on the E-Flex System for other brands is purely speculative.” ...

GM-Volt EXCLUSIVE!: Brand New Interview with Bob Boniface, GM Director of Volt Design on the Production Model Volt 2007-10-08 05:56:57 Bob Boniface and his creation I just had the opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the design of the production Chevrolet Volt with Mr. Boniface. He was formerly director of advanced design but in April/May of this year, as part of the Volt momentum, his title has been changed to GM director of E-Flex/Volt Studio. We had a 30 minute discussion which can be heard in its entirety following the post either in the player here or you can download it. Mr. Boniface is responsible for the overall design of the Volt including both it’s interior and exterior. We spoke about the origin of the Volt concept coming directly from Bob Lutz in February 06, his idea being to do a car that re-established GM as the technological leader, to skip the hybrid model (too easy) and go directly to electric drive, and make it sell. Mr. Boniface had just completed the Camaro’s design when he started on the Volt. He says the design goal was to make the car something people wanted to own ... Design

V2Green: A Start-up Company Making Electric Car and Grid Software 2007-10-06 00:00:12 A Seattle startup called V2Green has been recently profiled. The company is headed by David Kaplan who wrote SQL for Microsoft. The product they are developing is a software system which will allow electric cars (when they arrive) and the utility companies to communicate with one another through the power grid. The system will have to reside both in the vehicles and at the utility companies. We have previously discussed the idea of vehicle to grid (V2G) as a way for electric cars to act as power reservoirs contributing as well as taking from the grid depending on each others needs (see previous post). This relationship is clearly a complex one, becoming especially so as the number of electric cars becomes large (60,000 Volts first year, right!). Kaplan estimates up to 1.5 million of plug-ins by 2015. V2Green aims to tame this complex relationship by allowing two-way feedback between the cars and the grid. He describes a scenario where a car is plugged in overnight, say for 14 hours ...

The Volt Will be a Chevrolet 2007-10-05 09:24:30 There were some recent commentaries speculating that the Volt could come out under another brand. This was started by Todd Lasso of MotorTrend who noticed that it was describe as “Global Delta Volt” on the UAW comittment statement. Well, we have heard back officially from GM on this issue: “The Volt will be a Chevrolet. However, the E-Flex System could be the underpinnings to several vehicles from other brands (the Opel Flextreme is one such example).” ‘Nuff said. ...

What’s All this Tom Friedman, Automakers, and CAFE Fuss? 2007-10-04 15:25:19 Anyone who reads auto blogs and newspapers by now has heard a lot about Tom Friedmans Op-ed in the New York Times yesterday. In it he bashed Toyota for joining with the Big 3 automakers in encouraging the defeat of a Senate bill to move CAFE gas mileage standards to a corporate average of 35 mpg by 2020. He suggests Toyota is deceitful, for on one hand it pushes itself as environmentally-minded, but on the other, it’s just as interested in making dough from gas-guzzling pick-up trucks. Increasing mpgs will make it harder to build and sell trucks. (NY TIMES Article) Next, Irv Miller, VP from Toyota replied. He fired back from the Toyota corporate blog, using a track and field metaphor, that Toyota is the leader in fuel efficiency but doesn’t want the bar raised too high, so that no one could win the competition. He noted that Americans want their trucks and Toyota needs to make them to compete. (Toyota Blog) After that, we heard from GM on their corporate blog. Their ...

Congressional Hearing on Lithium-Ion Battery: GMs Denise Gray, and Johnsons Mary Ann Wright Testify 2007-10-04 00:00:05 Yesterday we discussed that Japan was funding lithium-ion research 10-fold more than what the U.S. government was. Our reader NeutronFlux promptly pointed out that at that very moment, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment was holding a hearing about Energy Storage Technology, including vehicular applications. Unfortunately, folks, we cannot separate a full understanding of Chevy Volt development from the legislative process. Witnesses giving testimony for this issue included GMs battery czar Denise Gray, as well as Lynda Zeigler of s. California Edison, and Mary Ann Wright of Johnson Controls. Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) stated: “Energy storage is also critical for the next generation of vehicles, which will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower greenhouse gas emissions,” and “I also think public-private partnerships can improve the production process for advanced vehicle components so that the U.S. be ...

Japanese Government Pledges $215 Million USD to Develop Lithium-ion Batteries for PHEVs 2007-10-03 10:52:25 We recently discussed that the U.S. govenment through the DOE has awarded nearly 20 million in grants to U.S. battery makers to help them develop lithium-ion technology for plug-in electric cars over the next 3 years (see prior post). Some of you described this paltry sum, divided by 5 companies as a “pittance”. Well, now the Japanese goverment has pledged 25 billion yen (215 million US Dollars) over the next 5 years to help its companies develop these next-generation batteries. Considering Toyotas current hybrid advantage and the fact that the lions share of cobalt-oxide (laptop-type) lithium-ion batteries are currently produced in Japan, this factor of 10 greater amount of goverment dollars seems quite likely to keep Japan ahead of the U.S. in the future plug-in market. What’s going on? Not to get too political here, but the U.S. goverement has expressed interest in energy independence from oil-producing nations, which it is recognized, PHEVs can afford us. If we c ...

Does the Volt Have Another Competitor? Enter Aptera. 2007-10-03 09:26:50 You may have heard about a new plug-in electric vehicle called the Aptera. The company has begun taking orders for a $500 deposit on its website (Aptera.com). The vehicle is a 3-wheeler that seats 2 in front and 1 in back. It is capable of highway speeds and can do 0 to 60 in 10 seconds. There are two varieties, an all-electric with a 120 mile range and a series hybrid (the only other than the Volt) using a diesel range extender than can get 300 mpg. Apparently the vehicle will be using lithium-ion batteries and the company has a working prototype. To my eye, this is a similar proposition to the Tesla roadster in that it will be a low-production number vehicle, with 500 planned for the first year. Different than the Tesla Roadster will be its price, less than $30,000. Most differently than the Tesla, will clearly be its styling. If you can accept the appearance, and it can pass crash testing, then this could be your first plug-in car.  The company plans to deliver them in 12 mo ...

Will GM Name it the Volt But Change the Brand? 2007-10-02 12:59:24 We have previously discussed the importance of naming this car the Volt (see previous post), and even got GM to make some comments about it. We took an informal poll and found an overwhelming majority of visitors here wanted the production car to keep the Volt name (see post). As we also reported, the UAW contract reveals definite plans to produce the Volt in Detroit in 2010. An interesting observation though was made by MotorTrend blogger Todd Lassa. He analyzed the contract and noted most of GMs commitments were referred to under brand and name, such as writing that the Buick Lucerne, for example, would also be built at Hamtramck until 2010, or that the Chevrolet Malibu would be built in Fairfax, KS until 2010. BUT, as he points out the Volt is being called, differently, the Global Delta Volt (referring to its platform) and not the Chevrolet Volt. He thinks this means GM might want to put the Volt out under another brand. Sam at Autobloggreen doesn’t think that’s the ...

EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Charles Gassenheimer, Vice-Chair of Ener1, EnerDel Lithium-Ion Battery Parent Company 2007-10-01 17:14:30 As we have previously discussed, the U.S. government awarded research grants to 5 U.S. top lithium-ion battery producers for developing plug-in electric car battery packs. We have had previous discussions with executives from A123 as well as Compact Power Inc., the two companies with Chevy Volt contracts. Now, I had the chance to chat with Mr. Charles Gassenheimer. He is the Vice-Chairman of Ener1, which is the parent company of EnderDel, one of the remaining three companies who are getting government grants. They have been in the news lately with their claim to the $1500 battery pack (more on that later). Some funding for the research is also coming directly from GM through the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC). At the end of this post you can hear the entire audio of our discussion. Mr. Gassenheimer tells us that Ener1 owns 80.5% of EnerDel, which is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and has 42 employees. He clarifies that the government announcement is actually a Phase 2 pu ...

New PHEV Consortium Bashes the Chevy Volt 2007-09-30 00:00:47 The Rocky Mountain Institute has formed a plug-in electric vehicle (PHEV) consortium who will work with a group of companies, Google among them, to design what is in their opinion an ideal PHEV for the U.S. This team is actually headed by John Waters who had once helped to design the EV-1 battery pack and has once worked with lithium-ion battery company EnerDel. Mr. Waters has publicly declared that the Volts’ design and engineering are flawed and doomed to failure: “[The Volt] is a 4,000-pound vehicle. The drag coefficient is around .30. They [GM] forgot everything they learned on the EV1 so for me, it is a very discouraging concept, the fact that it is inefficient. Therefore if it is inefficient, it takes more batteries on board…and batteries cost money, and you’re not going to pay for them. So this is a concept that is not going to work. So until they start hearing the RMI message, really, of lighten your vehicle, make it more efficient, and that the energy y ...

GM-Volt EXCLUSIVE Interview: Tom Schneider, Chair IEEE-USA Plug-in Vehicle Task Force 2007-09-29 08:33:48 The IEEE-USA is the predominant U.S. organizing body of practicing electrical engineers. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Their membership includes over 50% of all practicing electrical engineers in the U.S., which amounts to 215,000 individuals. They are responsible for publishing ~25% of the nations technical literature, and focus on members career development. As one of many areas of practical interest that the group fosters is the development of plug-in electric vehicles. Dr. Thomas Schneider, himself involved in electric car engineering since the 70s serves as Chairman of the IEEE-USA plug-in vehicle task force. IEEE hosted a one-day symposium on PHEVs on September 19, 2007. The event included Keith Cole, engineer from GM, and many other members. I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Schneider after the conference, and a full audio of the interview follows this post. I have noticed the IEEE comes up a lot when plug-in cars are discussed so I ...

GM Commits to Volt Production in Detroit-Hamtramck, Michigan 2010 2007-09-28 18:01:12 New documents provided to UAW provides terms details of GMs plans for future production. The document indicates that the Global Delta Volt production is set to begin there in 2010. Full Document Here (ITS ON PAGE 11): (LINK) Now we’re gettin’ somewhere, baby Volt has a birthplace, and its right in the heart of Detroit. Are there still any skeptics out there? Thanks to MB for the tip. Here’s a snippet from the doc: ...

New Harris Poll: More Than 25% of Car Owners Plan PHEV as Next Car 2007-09-28 10:29:06 In the AutoTECHCASTSM study, 27% of U.S. vehicle owners said they were likely (13%), very likely (8%) or extremely likely (6%) to make a PHEV their next vehicle. When told there would be a $3,200 price premium, the consideration rate dropped to a total of 16%. Males and females were equally likely to include the technology in their next vehicle, while entry SUV owners (45%) showed the most interest in plug-in hybrid technology compared to other vehicle type owners. The data was collected via the Internet from June 28 to July 18, 2007 and included nearly 10,000 U.S. vehicle owners. On the flip side of this study, it was demonstrated that a full 47% of respondents were not at all familiar with the PHEV technology, this was true for 40% of males and 56% of females. For those who were at least likely to purchase a plug-in, 84% said they would prefer plugging in the car in overnight, whereas only 7% said they would prefer a once-a-week gas fill-up. You can review the details of of the stud ...

More Fighting Words From Bob Lutz 2007-09-27 14:52:47 The strike is over, and GM has an improved position against competitors with the health care nugget off the books. Now its time to get back to hybrid technology revolution-making. Next month we will see the release to dealers of the first-ever two-mode hybrids in form of Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon (read my test drive). We also now know the official mpgs of these big vehicles..21/22 city/hwy up from the base of 14/20. It’s time for GM to wage war, and Bob Lutz has fired off some fighting words. With respect to the fact that Toyota has run into lithium-ion battery troubles, and the fact that they have publicly commented that Volt technology is “unsafe”, Mr Lutz had this to say: “There’s so much negativism, especially from one competitor,” GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said. “The sooner we can disprove that, the sooner they’ve got some more egg on their face,” OK Mr. Lutz, you said sooner, we’re waiting. Source (Detroit Free Press) ...