Articles from GM-Volt: Chevy Volt Concept Site

NEW FACT: Chevy Volt Generator Starts When Battery Power Hits 50%, Stops Again at 80%
2007-08-24 07:21:47
After a lengthy and healthy discussion about costs of driving the Volt we needed to know at what battery state of charge (SOC) the onboard generator would kick in. GM was kind enough to let us know that was intended to be 50%. The next question to arise was that once the generator started at what SOC would it stop again as the car continued to drive. Once again GM has been very helpful and informative and tells us the answer is 80%. So what do these numbers mean? Mainly it tells us they wish to be very conservative with the batteries. Although A123 Li-ion cells are very robust and can handle repetitive deep discharges to below 20% and up to 100% again, up to 7000 times, GM clearly doesn’t want to take any chances with this very expensive (and possibly leased hardware). By keeping it in this limited range, the hope will be increased reliability and longevity I would have to assume. Lets see what happens when one drives the Volt. For the first 40 miles, as we’ve discussed ...

FIRST LOOK: GM Opel E-Flex Concept Car
2007-08-23 08:21:47
At the Frankfurt Auto Show on Septebmer 10th, GM is expect to announce the sister car to the Chevy Volt. As you know, Opel is GM’s main European car company, and sells vehicles all across the continent. Well whats good for the U.S. is good for the world. We will see the Chevy Volt here in the U.S., and Europe will get the same technology in a car under the Opel name. I can say for sure, after speaking to GM spokesman Rob Peterson directly, E85 capability will indeed remain in the Volt. Here in the U.S., diesel capability is not expected. However, the Opel E-Flex car is expected to use a diesel on-board generator. That will complete the quartad of flex fuel options: gas, ethanol, hydrogen, and diesel. There are no complete pictures, or public name for the new Opel, but we will have them here as soon as they are made public. Above is the first public photo of the car GM has released. ...

60,000 Chevy Volts to be Built for 2010 Model Year
2007-08-22 09:50:29
How’s that for ambitious plans? I’m sure there will be enough buyers. Today Bloomberg published a report again citing those infernal anonymous sources (hope they’re better than mine!), who indicate that GM is planning to produce 60,000 Chevy Volts for it’s inaugural year (2010). This is four times the number of Priuses that came out it’s first year. The sources note that this level of production would be required to keep the car below it’s $30,000 price point. I guess they know how much the battery will cost by now. Of course, the article inserted it’s obligatory critic, Menahem Anderman, president of Advanced Automotive Batteries, who feels that producing the car at all within 3 years may be impossible, and that this 60,000 unit number is “ridiculous”. He thinks GM should be taking orders now. The Prius first year (2000) they sold 5,562 units, but lets face it, that was a different day and age. And this is a very different c ...

New Chevy Volt Video
2007-08-22 08:26:02
A new video clip has appeared dated 08/18/2007, produced by instantriverside.com. In it, the car is shown and discussed, and contains new brief interviews with Denise Gray, Bart Riley, and Rick Wagoner. Check it out: (Either JavaScript is not active or you are using an old version of Adobe Flash Player. Please install the newest Flash Player.) ...

Chevy Volt Skeptics Continue to Breathe Their Last Gasps
2007-08-21 13:33:50
A recent syndicated article is entitled: “Critics skeptical of Buzz over GM’s latest electric car”. Ever since the Volt concept was first announced in January we’ve been inundated by these pessimistic commentaries which do little more themselves than to feed off the negative hype left behind from the EV1 era. This latest piece starts off well and talks about many positives of the car and mentions many facts which support the idea that GM is serious about it. The first critic is named as David Friedman,”research director for the clean-vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists” who’s main point was that GM is good at producing hype, and has failed to follow through before. Critic number two is Thad Malesh, principal of Automotive Technology Research Group. He is described as being enthusiastic about the car, but thinks having a ready battery pack by 2010 is unlikely. He is quoted to say “My guess is that GM is going t ...

It May Not be the Last Call for Alcohol After All…
2007-08-21 07:52:51
Yesterday I wrote a post indicating that GM planned to remove E85 capability from the Volt’s onboard generator. Those of you that were sad, put your tissues away, those who were happy put away your party hats. GM spokesman Rob Peterson has said that GM has not changed to the production plan to have E85 capability in the car. What was unique about our post is that in this rare instance we used an anonymous inside source for information. Rob Peterson is GM’s official spokesman on E-Flex systems. I have no documentation proving my source’s statement, and possibly it isn’t true. Perhaps it is a mistake to quote these anonymous sources, after all my objective is to provide you with the clear and transparent truth about this car to the absolute extent possible, and to avoid any rumors or misstatements. Usually I go out of my way to get the official statements direct from GM. When I confronted him with GM’s response, my source indicated for sure that the ...

GM May Pull the Plug on E85 Capability for the Chevy Volt
2007-08-20 07:24:44
We have some new and unsubstantiated information from anonymous sources that GM has decided to remove E85 capability from the Chevy Volt’s on-board internal combustion engine/generator. One of the promotional points of this concept vehicle when it was first announced was the E-Flex system. The “E” stands for electricity, we understand the concept of the electric motor running on powerful batteries. The “Flex” stands for the fact that the energy both batteries and motor are supplied with could come from various or “flexible” sources. Of course, the engine could run on regular gasoline. However, the Shanghai Volt concept showed us that the car could run on a hydrogen fuel cell. Other possibilities for the combustion engine included diesel, biodiesel, or 85% ethanol (E85). We have already heard from Bob Lutz, due to restrictive standards in the U.S., GM would probably not bother putting diesel capacity into the Volt’s engine, after all, ...

Chevy Volt At Woodward Dreams Cruise
2007-08-18 15:22:24
The Chevy Volt appeared today at the Chevy exhibit at the Woodward Dreams Cruise, right next to the convertible Camaro. Reports are that the Camaro got more attention?! The little gallery is thanks to one of GM-Volt regulars who attended the event. Click to view. ...

FACT: Chevy Volt’s Generator to Start When Battery Power Drops to 50%
2007-08-17 17:49:40
We have been discussing the cost of operating the Volt. In particular I have focused on what the electric cost will be to drive the first 40 miles without gas (or E85). We knew the battery holds 16 KWH of energy, but it hasn’t been clear how much of the battery would be discharged by the end of the first 40 miles of driving. We didn’t know at what battery power level the on-board combustion generator would kick in. Commenter’s here and myself have given our best guesses… Well it’s official folks, I have heard back directly from GM sources, and the answer is 50%! This is big financial news and very cool. It means that the Volt will only requre 8 KWH of power to drive the first 40 miles. This translates to a cost then of 8 X 10.65 cents (U.S. avg) or $0.85 to drive those 40 miles! It also means, if you wanted to, you would only have to generate 8 KWH of solar power to charge the car. That’s five 200 W panels getting 8 hours of sun. GM spokespers ...

Cost of Driving The Volt
2007-08-16 20:50:30
Thanks to all participants in our informal survey and discussion about how much it will cost to drive the Volt. I hope we all had a chance to learn something from it. I have summarized the findings along with some U.S. National data on the following page: http://www.gm-volt.com/chevy-volt-reasons-for-use-and-cost-of-operation/ It turns out that the most important determinant for cost is where one lives. Cheap in Idaho, more expensive in NY and HI. Of course there are other important issues besides cost too, that are discussed on the linked page. ...

Chevy Volt To Appear at Woodward Dreams Cruise..Back Again in 2040
2007-08-16 14:37:42
For those who don’t know, the Woodward Dreams Cruise is the world’s largest one-day car event. Car enthusiasts come from all over to show off their collector cars; muscle cars, hot-rods, classic cars, etc. In fact, over 40,000 vehicles descend upon downtown Detroit where the drive begins, and then travel along a 16 mile route through 9 cities ending in Pontiac Michigan. Woodward Ave is the first portion of the route. The event has several sponsors and GM is the biggest, they show off their cars and concepts. The event is set to occur this Saturday the 18th. Someone spotted this giant plug and outlet hanging off building 555 near the Birmingham Triangle (see above) the GM display site. Guess which car will be on display over there? Source [Jalopnik] ...

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Smashes Land Speed Record
2007-08-16 11:07:55
The second variant of the Chevy Volt is designed to use a hydrogen fuel cell to keep the battery charged. This means no gas is needed at all. Of course, a hydrogen infrastructure to deliver the hydrogen is required (no small task). Furthermore, issues of energy expenditure both to create the hydrogen and to compress it into the car’s tank have to be worked out. Nonetheless, today’ announcement that a Ford Fusion 999 hydrogen fuel cell car hit a record 207.297 mph is no small matter. This beast has a 574 KW (770 hp) electric motor (the Volts’ goes to about 140 kw peak power). This event is similar to what happened with the initial combustion engine cars in the early 20th century as they too passed land speed records. ...

GM Pushes To Control Electric Utility Rates
2007-08-15 20:43:46
Here we’ve just finished posting about how much it will cost to drive the Volt. Some interesting comments have come back. I’m working on getting some more battery specifics and will report back to you very soon. In the meantime, GM is part of a large coalition of heavy electric users in the state of Ohio. The group includes Honda, Ford, Whirlpool, and G.E. They have formed this alliance to prevent the state from deregulating it’s electric rates. They fear deregulation to an open market system could cause rates to escalate. Of course, the motivation here is for GM to keep it’s costs down. But when you begin looking at an electric car revolution in the form of the Volt, electric utility rates become a big deal indeed for affecting sales and widespread adoption. Maybe GM should start flexing their muscle on a more national level? Source [MSN] ...

Gun Owners Also Want Their Volt
2007-08-15 10:39:46
Yesterday Autoblog rehashed a story originally posted on Autoobserver on August 13,which illustrates the wide scope of appeal the Volt has. Author Michele Krebs found a thread on the gun enthusiasts site AR15.com (they had linked back to her post). You can see the original thread here. The Autoblog story has been Dugg to the front page. The original AR15.com poster writes “I’m not a tree-huggin stump-humping global warming alarmist… but I like the prospect of charging a car overnight and getting all the range I practically need out of it without burning any gas, but having the ability to drive as far as I want to as long as I can put gas in it for the generator. Who wouldn’t? “ The thread goes on to seem pretty positive although the Volt does get called “fugly”. The point of this is that this car makes sense for this country to have, and whether you’re a tree-hugger or a deer-bagger it might just be right for you. ...

What Will it Cost To Drive a Chevy Volt?
2007-08-14 19:53:55
Clearly, there are several reason why people want a Chevy Volt. Aside from environmental concerns which are quite important, other leading motivators are to avoid oil and gas consumption. This to assuage security and cost factors. A lot of GM-Volt.com visitors also seem to be unhappy about giving money to the Middle East. People are also troubled by the high and rising cost of oil and gas, and the coming (or already here) Peak Oil Crisis.We have been led to believe that the plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV) will go a long way to protect us from this financial burden. GM and others have been quoted as saying it will cost the equivalent of 60 cents/gallon to power the Volt from your home electricity, in particular if that electricity is delivered in the off-peak hours. A recent study from Berkeley suggests using a PHEV might actually increase usage costs. Aside from the potential upfront cost increase of buying a high-tech car with an expensive lithium-ion battery, I wondered how drivi ...

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