ELECTRIC CAR: The Chevy Volt runs entirely on electricity. A rechargeable battery powers it for the first 40 miles; an internal combustion engine generates electricity for longer trips.
Image: Courtesy of GM
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A single component will make or break Chevrolet's new Volt "extended-range electric vehicle"—and with it, potentially, the fate of America's largest carmaker, General Motors: its battery. It's no wonder then that some GM executives call the Volt's battery "our diva." After all, the new lithium-based pack provides the essential spark that makes the new design go in more ways than one—from its green performance and driving range, right down to its wind-cheating looks.
"Not only is the battery all-important to running the car, it is supremely sensitive to its environment and to how it is operated…almost to the point that we think of it as a living thing," says Frank Weber, Chevy Volt vehicle line executive. "Our goal is a 10-year lifetime or 150,000 miles (241,400 kilometers) from a vehicle that satisfies all the customer's expectations without sacrifices and compromises." Making that happen with technology that emerged from the lab only a few years ago is the "true challenge," he adds.
Slide Show: View Inside The Volt's Battery Technology
The Chevrolet Volt, which GM plans to introduce in two years (reportedly at a mid-$30,000 base price), is a new breed of gasoline-electric hybrid, cars powered by a battery-powered electric motor that can be recharged on the road with an internal combustion engine.
The Toyota Prius and other hybrids now on the road are propelled primarily by their electric motors; the gasoline engines cut in only at higher speeds. As a result, these conventional hybrids achieve higher fuel economy than cars that run solely on gasoline.
The Volt hybrid is different. It uses both power sources, but it is an electric car that uses its gasoline engine only to generate power and so extend its driving range beyond what the battery could provide on a single charge alone. GM anticipates Volt buyers will plug their cars into home electric sockets each evening and then drive more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) a day on the overnight charge. And because around 80 percent of U.S. motorists travel less than 40 miles on an average day, many should "never have to start up their gas engines," Weber says. The Volt would thus reduce our nation's petroleum consumption and, presumably, its production of greenhouse gas emissions.
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22 Comments
Add CommentThey damn well better bring that thing to market, if we're all paying for it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHas anyone seen Motor Trends latest article which mentions the Volt at the end? It specifically talks about a new type of multi-phase AC induction motor that should solve several of the electric motor problems encountered in hybrids. The article is at http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/112_0901_flying_hybrids_technologue/index.html
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisand what happened to the PV unit they were going to put as the sunroof. When closed it would charge a car sitting in a parking lot. Good for people driving to work, let it charge, then drive it home.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe this isn't standard and is an option, but when GM announced this car, they talked a lot about the PV array on the roof
From my understanding, the small engine (gas, diesel, etc.) does not actually recharge the batteries after draining. It is used to power the electric drive motors after the batteries are drained. That way, the batteries can be recharged via a plug, which is more efficient than using an engine to do the same thing. The batteries are suppose to retain a small charge to power some electrical components that are needed for safety or when the car is not on (remote entry detectors for example).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI hope for GM's sake it is not only ready on time, but ahead of schedule. based on what I have read at http://www.chevy-volt.net the platform GM is building the Volt on is highly scalable and has the capacity to be leveraged across different GM lines (Saab, Saturn, etc). If this is indded the case, they might ahve a true success story to tell a few years from now.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn regards to the PV array, I have my doubts that any roof mounted array could generate enough energy in 8 hours to propel a 3 ton auto. Plus, for the majority of the country, 1/2 the year is cloudy or hazy so I am not sure how beneficial this would have been.
The green in our personal philosophies will always take a back seat to the green in our wallets.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhich is more likely to be your next car: a $40,000.00 hybrid, or a $16,000.00 E85?
(So much for the hybrids ~ I see Ethanol in your future).
Or what about a $27k Toyota plug-in Prius? You can buy a new or barely used Prius for around $17k, then buy and have installed the $10k plug-in kit that already exists for the Prius after-market.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf GM is serious they better find a way to drop the price tag. I hope they do.
Chevy Volt. Nice Idea. But...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-At what point will our power grid be unable to handle the increased demand?
-About 20% of U.S. electricity is generated by nuclear power, about 80%, fossil fuels. To drive your plug-in electric vehicle using electricity from a coal-fired powerplant you will be burning a pound of coal for every 3.4 miles (44 miles on a cube of coal 6 inches on a side). We need more nuclear powerplants immediately.
-When you are driving your Volt you will be dragging around 400 pounds of batteries all the time which costs energy -- in a gasoline vehicle an average of perhaps 80 pounds of fuel. Regenerative braking might make up the difference in efficiency for short trips but not on long hauls.
-We need standardized removable battery packs throughout the whole industry. Drive up to a fuel station and get your battery pack replaced in 10 minutes by a robotic machine. You would get credit for the charge left in your pack and be billed for the difference between that and the charge in your replacement pack. Fill up your gas tank while you are at it.
- Nice start, but it's going to be a long, hard and interesting road.
even though you burn a pound of a coal for every 3.4 miles for the electric car, isn't it better than using 100% gasoline?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you only drive a few miles alone in your car, why not car-share with others, or buy an electric byke?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthey should be less dumb with there own money before they get any of mine.maybe they can use some six or maybe seven stigma on stupid car designs? HHR anybody?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo understand GM better, the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car," must be seen: ( http://www.clipmarks.com/clipmark/AD0CDDA3-AFD6-4FA5-9219-464B71A1CC5B/ ) There is much to be learned by examining a company's history, especially that of its management. When taking this documentary together with the behavior of the CEO in the recent Congressional Hearings, the word "hubris," comes quickly to mind. Would you lend money to these people? Apparently your representatives will do it for you soon, whether you want them to or not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe following is why GM is in the fix they are in:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this( some history first. EV1 over 10 years ago could go 80+ miles per charge at 65-70 mph with older battery technology)
- Volt's battery will go 40 miles per charge with latest technology and they are having a difficult time getting to that goal
- Volt can go 600 mile range on generator when battery is "drained". That's 50 mpg x 12 gallon tank.
So while they have been basically tweaking body styles and not much else, all these years we could have been driving cars that are electric with smaller "buffer" batteries and small gas generators getting 50+ mpg!
The following is why GM is in the fix they are in:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this( some history first. EV1 over 10 years ago could go 80+ miles per charge at 65-70 mph with older battery technology)
- Volt's battery will go 40 miles per charge with latest technology and they are having a difficult time getting to that goal
- Volt can go 600 mile range on generator when battery is "drained". That's 50 mpg x 12 gallon tank.
So while they have been basically tweaking body styles and not much else, all these years we could have been driving cars that are electric with smaller "buffer"
if you look at the picture at the beginning of this article, and then look at the concept car that they showed at the auto shows, you will notice that they managed to turn a pretty cool car into a great big turd. The last thing that GM needs is another expensive, ugly car that no one wants to buy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you look at the picture at the beginning of this article and compare it to what they showed at the auto shows, you will see that they managed to turn a pretty cool looking car in to a big turd. The last thing GM needs is another ugly car they can't sell.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat do the heating and cooling needs do to the the range? Most of us have to run a lot of lighting loads especialy in the Winter months when it's dark on the way to and from work.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA hot steaming car in the Summer is no dream either and air conditioning eats energy. Just turning on my air drops my power maybe 15 HP and a mile or two per gal.
Just some thoughts. These cars won't be running in a dream world.
Electric cars have less dispersed pollution than gasoline. The batteries can go to a rebuild or recycle center. The electricity comes from a power plant where burnoff can be scrubbed. By constast petro cars spread their pollution all over the place.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe one thing that I really liked about the Volt is that the car had enough room for four people. The acceleration was more than enough. The biggest surprise to us was Volts’ handling. It after all is rather heavy car, because it carries all its pieces and bits of both a gasoline-powered vehicle and an electric.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.chevyreview.net/chevrolet-volt-expensive-but-practical.html
Way before it enters the market; GM’s plug-in hybrid the Chevrolet Volt, having a backup gasoline engine already has taken a lot of beating from media. We’ve driven the pre-production Chevrolet Volt, and although our experience wasn’t sufficient for a full-size road test, the Chevrolet Volt came out as a much better vehicle than what we were expecting, and an irrefutable engineering coup for GM.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.greenautozone.net/2011-chevrolet-volt.html
The real news is that beyond this "engineering controversy" the Volt delivers on the premise; during the first 40 miles between charges, the Volt runs on 100% electric power. If one drives beyond 40 miles in a day, the gasoline engine delivers 33 MPG. For most drivers, they would be able to cut their gasoline use by 80-90%. The Volt also costs too much for the fuel savings to payback the high up front investment.<a href=http://www.carsfind.net>Used Cars</a>
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this<a href=http://www.carsfind.net>Used Cars</a>
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