GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

In the New York Times today, Mary Chapman published a piece discussing the unusual fact that the Volt is being advertised years before it exists as an actual car (LINK). We have discussed this before (LINK).

Ms. Chapman actually interviewed me for an opinion for this story. I was very bullish and optimistic, but as you can see, I didn’t get mentioned in the final story.

Anyway, she did mention a semi-pessimistic professor of automotive economics named Walter S. McManus who said he is convinced GM needs to build the car.

He goes on to say, though, “the battery technology is still not ready. I would say, when they break ground on a plant to make batteries, two years later the Volt will come out.”

And, (for the car to be built starting in 2010), “a factory has to be built soon, and it doesn’t look like the batteries are that near production.”

She also quoted Bob Lutz as saying “I would be surprised, shocked and dismayed if we decide not to do it” .

Are these cracks in the armor, or bats in the attic? You decide.

Our efforts have been recognized. Today the New York Times has published an entire section (H) (LINK) devoted to the green car revolution. Amongst the articles is a piece by Ray Wert, senior editor of the quintessential car blog Jalopnik.com. The segment (on page 18) lists the top 10 green car websites notable for avoiding the hybrid hype and keeping the facts straight.

GM-Volt.com is listed 6th from the top.

A special thanks to Ray, our readers, and hats off to all the others on the list.

There are also several other interesting pieces in this section, so go out and get a copy.And to any new visitors arriving here after reading the Times today, a heartfelt warm welcome! Jump in and ride with us through the transportation revolution, and help make sure the Volt gets on the road.

Hot on the heels of Toyota’s negative comments about the Volt which we reported in our last post, Honda has taken it one step further, and right from the top.

Honda’s CEO Takeo Fukui told the Wall Street Journal that when lithium-ion batteries become available for them, a pure electric car would be the way to go.  He feels a gasoline range extending engine, like the one planned for the Chevy Volt, was an unecessary addition.

He also said Honda could easily make a plug-in hybrid within 2 years, but wouldn’t do so because  “I don’t think that would contribute to the global environment, to reduce [global warming gas] emissions” .

These are very big automotive companies going headlong into maligning the Volt.  Either they know something GM doesn’t, or they are jealous ( I favor the latter).  We shall soon see.

Source (WSJ)

Toyota continues to expose its weaknesses whenever their hybrid program is compared to GM’s E-Flex effort.

In today’s report by Joe White in the Wall Street Journal, Toyota was portrayed as taking a more “cautious” approach into hybrid development than GM. They continue to describe lithium-ion batteries as still not being ready for them.

Toyota hybrid project manager Yoshitaka Asakura went so far as to say that consumers might not be ready to accept plugging in their cars, and even admitted his own wife wouldn’t do so.

He also expressed skepticism that the Volt could drive electric only for 40 miles noting that the batteries would have to “fill up the trunk” to do so. (true, if they were NiMh).
This guy may not be a top Toyota exec, but he sure can put his foot in his mouth with the best of them. His wife might not be ready to plug-in, but are you?

Source (WSJ)

We have had substantial discussions about how the Volt’s 40 mile electric range is calculated. Since the car only exists in models, the 40 mile range isn’t real road conditions, but was arrived at using computer models.

People often question whether that 40 miles will be “downhill with a tailwind” and no AC or headlights, or whether it will be true in real-world driving situations.

As this number is very significant from a marketing and PR standpoint, I would think GM is likely being pretty conservative in this estimate, although some commenters suspect they might be putting their best foot forward.

I decided to ask those people at GM who are integral to the E-Flex program and here is their response:

GM-Volt: Is the 40 mile all-electric range a MAXIMUM, or is it based on one of the EPA driving profiles?

GM: The 40 mile range is modelled on the EPA city cycle (federal test procedure) – and the 40 miles is our target for battery END OF LIFE. The EPA city cycle includes a range of starts, stops and accelerations.

So it looks like they mean we should get 40 miles electric in real-world city drives folks, although from my prior GM discussions, they do mean with the A/C off.

A video sequence in two parts from Autoline Detroit surfaced on YouTube. It was recorded at the time of the Traverse City, MI CAR meeting when GM annouced the A123 contract. Lutz discusses the Chevy Volt, and among other things makes it clear he does not see the car as a plug-in hybrid, but as a range-extended electric vehicle. He indicates that a hybrid is by it’s nature parallel in design. Each segment is about 5 minutes and not-so-great in quality.

Part I:

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5F895jFHSg]
Part II:
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW23T7_fmew]

Thanks to Rashid for the tip.