Results tagged “Chevy Volt” from Electric Vehicle Authority
Tony Passowats is the line director for the Chevy Volt and E-Flex systems. He lead the development of the Volt concept car, and is leading the development of the 2011 Volt. Tony has been a line director for 11 years and he has received many awards in that time. He was recently invited to join the board of directors of the Electric Drive Transportation Association and is presenting here today (November 2008).
Presentation: Electrifying the Nation - this title takes into consideration the importance of the model (of electric cars) but engages everyone because it's much more than the car, ultimately electrifying the nations providing thought leadership and expertise. Tony recently spoke with Rick (from GM) where they looked at the challenges of creating cars, going beyond just working on the car and considering geopolitical forces. This business is akin to a startup in a space that is much more crowded and complicated.
"The unveiling of the Chevy Volt is a sign that General Motors is committed to responding to tomorrow's energy and environmental challenges today." - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. 100 years ago today Taft was elected president and he plugged his car in. Electrifying the nation is about relevant plug-in vehicles, Advanced Batteries and Technology Partners, Intelligent Energy management services, and Electric Utilities involving community, policy and customers. It's not just one company or product.
GridPoint is a company that GM is working with to explore software control in batteries, load control, etc. Carl Lewis will discuss one of these initiatives later today. GM's on-star platform and how it could aid the EV. It's more than pushing a button to unlock a door or get a reservation - it could be maintenance related, issue anticipation or green routing (reminds us of traffic mapping on Google maps). The Volt is being worked on with great energy, people ask if the Volt program is in jeopardy - Tony says no "more GM resources are being allocated towards electric drive".
Lets talk about education - Primary vs. secondary fuel, extended range EV vs. PHEV. Plugin hybrid lineage comes from gasoline, supplemented with gasoline. The volt is an electric driven vehicle, can use secondary fuel as a backup. One is primary gasoline the other is primary electric. Internal combustion to hybrid to plugin hybrid vs. EV to EREV to FCEV. If you took away the gasoline drive component from a traditional hybrid the car wouldn't run, but if you took it out of the Volt it would run.
Muel cars (concept Volt's) are based on the Chevy cruise architecture, leveraging existing models. Currently GM has about a dozen prototype Chevy Volts on the road. PHEV and Extended range vehicles are leveraging shared technology at Chevrolet. The battery enterprise still needs much development, Tony's team is amassing the equivalent of 10 years worth of battery testing.
GM works closely with utility companies to accelerate the use of electricity to replace gas, creating affordable desirable vehicles that take advantage of the grid and realize the environmental benefits of plugins. One key element we all need to work on is making charging work, off peak charging, installation services and cost of ownership advantage, billing, energy storage etc. Smart charging for grid load management. GM is looking hard at domestic manufacturing policy.
Community can play a role here, whenever a plugin is launched it may be focused on a specific area then expanded, different areas of the country (and world) have different transportation needs. GM is searching for the right community to begin and has selected some communities in California for testing. HOV Lanes, parking, charging all play a role, is the community receptive? GM has 12 vehicles representing electric drive including second generation technology for many of the cars. Gas friendly to gas free messaging, it's the fuel. Energy diversity creates innovation and competition. We all want to have the choice to decide what the right systems are, it creates security and energy independence. The auto business is a growth business and they want everyone to participate.
This past year (2007) GM sold 9.4M cars globally employed about 265K (many less now). GM sells 61% of their cars outside of the US and motor vehicles are the single largest us export. In closing, the Volt is an important initiative for GM and they look to the help of the industry and other innovators to make it a success.
Presentation: Electrifying the Nation - this title takes into consideration the importance of the model (of electric cars) but engages everyone because it's much more than the car, ultimately electrifying the nations providing thought leadership and expertise. Tony recently spoke with Rick (from GM) where they looked at the challenges of creating cars, going beyond just working on the car and considering geopolitical forces. This business is akin to a startup in a space that is much more crowded and complicated.
"The unveiling of the Chevy Volt is a sign that General Motors is committed to responding to tomorrow's energy and environmental challenges today." - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. 100 years ago today Taft was elected president and he plugged his car in. Electrifying the nation is about relevant plug-in vehicles, Advanced Batteries and Technology Partners, Intelligent Energy management services, and Electric Utilities involving community, policy and customers. It's not just one company or product.
GridPoint is a company that GM is working with to explore software control in batteries, load control, etc. Carl Lewis will discuss one of these initiatives later today. GM's on-star platform and how it could aid the EV. It's more than pushing a button to unlock a door or get a reservation - it could be maintenance related, issue anticipation or green routing (reminds us of traffic mapping on Google maps). The Volt is being worked on with great energy, people ask if the Volt program is in jeopardy - Tony says no "more GM resources are being allocated towards electric drive".
Lets talk about education - Primary vs. secondary fuel, extended range EV vs. PHEV. Plugin hybrid lineage comes from gasoline, supplemented with gasoline. The volt is an electric driven vehicle, can use secondary fuel as a backup. One is primary gasoline the other is primary electric. Internal combustion to hybrid to plugin hybrid vs. EV to EREV to FCEV. If you took away the gasoline drive component from a traditional hybrid the car wouldn't run, but if you took it out of the Volt it would run.
Muel cars (concept Volt's) are based on the Chevy cruise architecture, leveraging existing models. Currently GM has about a dozen prototype Chevy Volts on the road. PHEV and Extended range vehicles are leveraging shared technology at Chevrolet. The battery enterprise still needs much development, Tony's team is amassing the equivalent of 10 years worth of battery testing.
GM works closely with utility companies to accelerate the use of electricity to replace gas, creating affordable desirable vehicles that take advantage of the grid and realize the environmental benefits of plugins. One key element we all need to work on is making charging work, off peak charging, installation services and cost of ownership advantage, billing, energy storage etc. Smart charging for grid load management. GM is looking hard at domestic manufacturing policy.
Community can play a role here, whenever a plugin is launched it may be focused on a specific area then expanded, different areas of the country (and world) have different transportation needs. GM is searching for the right community to begin and has selected some communities in California for testing. HOV Lanes, parking, charging all play a role, is the community receptive? GM has 12 vehicles representing electric drive including second generation technology for many of the cars. Gas friendly to gas free messaging, it's the fuel. Energy diversity creates innovation and competition. We all want to have the choice to decide what the right systems are, it creates security and energy independence. The auto business is a growth business and they want everyone to participate.
This past year (2007) GM sold 9.4M cars globally employed about 265K (many less now). GM sells 61% of their cars outside of the US and motor vehicles are the single largest us export. In closing, the Volt is an important initiative for GM and they look to the help of the industry and other innovators to make it a success.
The plugin hybrid Fisker Karma is turning heads worldwide with it's Q-drive technology, basically a small gas engine that turns a generator which charges Lithium Ion batteries (like those in the Tesla and other high end EV sports cars). The car is due out in 2009 but has sold out and is now taking reserve orders for 2010 models. In many ways this car resembles the Chevy Volt (also due out around 2010) having a driving range emission free for up to 50 miles before the generator kicks in. Chrysler has announced a minivan and Jeep that follow suit with the series hybrid technology designed to extend driving range with a gas motor while relying primarily on batteries short range.
While it's easy to geek out on the technical specs of these cars, the Fisker Carma is turning heads for other reasons as well. Those of us who enjoy anime may experience a dose of dejavu when they see the Fiskar sports car for the first time. That's because it's grille closely resembles Totoro, the animated character from Hayao Miyazaki's classic movie My Neighbor Totoro. See for yourself, we've spliced a few images together below to get the point across... If you've never seen a Miyazaki film get out there and rent or buy one now! Fun for all ages ;)
While it's easy to geek out on the technical specs of these cars, the Fisker Carma is turning heads for other reasons as well. Those of us who enjoy anime may experience a dose of dejavu when they see the Fiskar sports car for the first time. That's because it's grille closely resembles Totoro, the animated character from Hayao Miyazaki's classic movie My Neighbor Totoro. See for yourself, we've spliced a few images together below to get the point across... If you've never seen a Miyazaki film get out there and rent or buy one now! Fun for all ages ;)
After announcing the bad news first, a $400 million loss for the year so far, Chrysler followed up with some very surprising good news: three new electric vehicles. And unlike GM, whose Chevy Volt is an uninspiring sedan that appears to have been traced from a silhouette of the Toyota Prius (despite the very exciting concept version the General teased us with), Chrysler has released the iconic Jeep Wrangler and the immensely popular Chrysler Town & Country minivan as range-extended electric vehicles. On top of that, they also released a pure electric convertible built on the Lotus Europa platform that will compete directly with the Tesla Roadster.
It turns out Chrysler has been sandbagging us all along, and has been working on electric vehicles since January 2007. They even went so far as to bring three electric vehicle mockups to the Detroit auto show in January "to show what electric vehicles could look like" and also to appear way behind GM in the electric vehicle race. Leading up to announcements from GM and Chrysler Tesla and Phoenix have dominated the consumer EV arena while hobbyists have continued converting existing cars with aftermarket EV components.
It turns out Chrysler has been sandbagging us all along, and has been working on electric vehicles since January 2007. They even went so far as to bring three electric vehicle mockups to the Detroit auto show in January "to show what electric vehicles could look like" and also to appear way behind GM in the electric vehicle race. Leading up to announcements from GM and Chrysler Tesla and Phoenix have dominated the consumer EV arena while hobbyists have continued converting existing cars with aftermarket EV components.You must download Flash to watch this video.
Chrysler ENVI Electric Cars Video
GM has finally released photos of the long-awaited Chevy Volt series hybrid electric vehicle to mixed reviews. The production version of the Volt has a much less dramatic form than the concept car, and reminds viewers much more of the Toyota Prius parallel hybrid than the high-end sports car that it was originally intended to be, as suggested by the sleek profile of the concept and a price tag north of $40,000 before tax incentives.
Designers had little choice in the matter of looks, however, with the smoothed lines and abrupt rear end necessary to reduce drag and wring as much range as possible out of the lithium-ion battery pack powering the car. GM has announced that the T-shaped battery pack has met their 40 mile range requirement, though the company is still deciding between Continental and CPI as suppliers of the batteries.
The Chevy Volt operates very differently than the Toyota Prius. The Volt is a series hybrid, meaning that its gasoline engine is used only to charge the battery pack, and is not connected to the drivetrain mechanically. The battery pack can provide 40 miles of driving as a pure electric vehicle, and for longer trips the gas engine kicks in to charge the battery pack and provide range extending capabilities of 400 miles or more.
The Prius, on the other hand, is a parallel hybrid, meaning that both the gasoline engine and the electric motor work in parallel to drive the wheels. Another difference is that the Volt is a plug-in hybrid, meaning that the driver can plug in the car once they return home at night. If their daily commute is less than 40 miles round trip, it is possible that the Volt can be driven entirely on electricity from the grid, without ever needing to refill the tank.
Both Honda and Toyota are working on plug-in hybrids of their own, and there are systems available to convert a Toyota Prius into a 100-mpg plug-in hybrid. However, because the hybrids from Honda and Toyota are all parallel hybrids, relying on the gas engine for a significant amount of power when accelerating, they are much less effective as plug-in hybrids than a series hybrid such as the Volt. While it is disappointing that GM had to make such drastic changes to the styling of the Volt, it is still exciting to have the world's largest automaker back on track supporting alternative transportation technologies. Electric Vehicle Authority looks forward to providing our readers with continuing coverage as we learn more about the new Chevy Volt plug-in series hybrid slated to begin production in 2010 for the 2011 model year.
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