GM Announces Plans For Whole New Family Of Electric Cars - Starting In 2010, That Is - LA Times

[hatrack]

I guess we'll see, now won't we?

The electric car, derided as impractical by automakers since General Motors Corp. pulled the plug on its revolutionary EV1, is staging a comeback amid lofty fuel prices and persistent worries about the nation's dependence on imported oil.

GM, the chief villain in the recent documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" intends to announce plans for a new family of electric vehicles as the annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit begins a four-day media preview today. In addition, Ford Motor Co. will unveil a hydrogen-powered electric car concept of its own and Toyota Motor Corp. is ready to announce major improvements in the batteries used in its popular Prius gasoline-electric hybrid. The enhancements could extend the five-seat sedan's all-electric range and boost overall fuel economy to as much as 90 miles per gallon.

EDIT

Production of the cars for the retail market depends on advances in battery technology to increase the amount of energy they can store. And, in Ford's case, further work in fuel cells as well as the development of a nationwide hydrogen fuel distribution system would be needed. A Ford insider said its fuel cell could be replaced with a gasoline or diesel generator to get to market earlier.

On Thursday GM announced a battery development deal with Johnson Controls Inc. and Chevron Corp. The companies hope to produce advanced batteries capable of storing enough energy to allow a gasoline-electric hybrid to be recharged from a residential power outlet and run at highway speeds in all-electric mode for 30 miles or more. Rick Wagoner, GM's chief executive, said in late November that the automaker was committed to producing a so-called plug-in hybrid version of its Saturn Vue sport utility vehicle when battery technology permitted.

EDIT

ED - Emphasis added.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-electric7jan07,0,2190358.story

[FogerRox]

1. AS a side bar

For several months now rumors have been rampant about an electric vehicle that General Motors would unveil at the Detroit Auto Show. That vehicle is now real, in the form of the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is the first vehicle application of the GM's new E-Flex platform. Volt is a C-Class sized four door sedan roughly the size of a Cobalt.

In spite of the presence of an internal combustion engine, GM does not call this vehicle a hybrid. In fact, they consider it an EV with range extending capability. The engine is a turbocharged, 1.0L three cylinder engine with 71 hp that has no mechanical connection to the wheels. The ICE runs at about 1800 rpm and drives a 53 kW generator that charges the lithium ion battery pack. The engine starts and stops automatically as needed to charge the battery.


http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/07/detroit-auto-show-its-here-gms-plug-in-hybrid-is-the-chevy-v/

[Hekate]

2. I feel so sorry for the autoworkers; bad management is not their fault

A long time ago our auto industry made the corporate decision to (a) ride the oil river as far as it would go, and (b) to sacrifice long-term planning for short-term profits. In every possible way they have demonstrated that they will only do what they are forced to do by law when it comes to safety and the environment.

I have no pity for the crocodile tears of the CEOs: tough s**t for their declining profits, they brought it on themselves. But the workers in the Rust Belt? They've been used and betrayed.

Hekate

[madokie]

3. This is good news.

a plug in hybrid with a 30 mile electric range is exactly what my wife and I need it would take care of most of our driving on electric alone. My neighbor/friend has a geo he converted to EV a couple years ago and he can go around 40 miles on about a buck of electric. He used to have a wind generator up and running but it over the years proved to be not worth the hassle so the last time it went down, gearbox problem he just brought it down and has no plans of putting it back up. Anyways thats not what I want to say. when he put the wind generator up back in the Carter days here in oklahoma they wouldn't allow you to hook them up where it would spin the meter backwards so as to take numbers off your meter they made him install another meter just for the wind generator output. they paid him 2 cents a kw whereas they charge him 7 cents or so for what he uses. Anyways how he can know exactly how much it cost him to drive his EV is because now he has his charger running through the meter so as to keep track of just the EV's use. hope all that made sense.