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Concept Electric Cars
Chevrolet Volt -- GM's Electric Concept Car Becomes A Reality With The 2010 Chevy Volt
How about going 40 miles without using a drop of gas? About 75% of most Americans fall within that commuting limit.
On March 2, 2009, the Geneva Auto Show was all a-buzz with the introduction of numerous electric cars. GM was there to introduce the European sister version of the Chevrolet Volt. The Chevrolet Volt was but a dream when it appeared at auto shows back in 2007, but now GM has scheduled its production delivery to August 2010. GM has dedicated significant resources to the Chevrolet Volt project, and at this writing they had over 200 engineers and 50 designers working on the Chevy Volt alone. Add to that mix another 400 people who are busy developing related subsystems and/or electrical components. "That's how important we think this is, and that's how much stock we place in the future of extended-range electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt" stated Tony Posawatz, (no pun intended for this electric car) Vehicle Line Director for General Motors Corp.
Chevrolet's Volt Concept Electric Car
Scheduled for August 2010 Release
General Motors is pushing hard to have the electric car out by mid 2010 as opposed to later in the year. Their other goal: to have the new Chevrolet Volt electric car come in at less than $30,000. The issue that hits them square in the face is the cost of the high-tech batteries. However, the automaker is determined to rebound from this horrible economy, and GM plans to introduce 4 electric car models worldwide. They started that by introducing the Chevrolet Volt's sister car at the Geneva Auto Show just last week -- the Opel Ampera was introduced for delivery to Continental Europe, which will be a left-handed model due out in late 2011.
The Chevrolet Volt is considered a plug-in series hybrid vehicle. What makes this GM hybrid vehicle unique is the Chevrolet Volt's propulsion system, which will be based on GM's new E-Flex platform. What this means is that the Chevy Volt's gas engine does not help push the car -- the usual combustion engine is not even mechanically connected to the wheels. Instead, the electric motor provides all the propulsion. With a full charge, the lithum ion batteries for up to 40 miles (or 64 kilometers) without using a drop of gasoline. This distance is within the commuting distance of 75% of the American driving public. After the first 40 miles.
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(Side view below)
the range of the Volt gets extended by a smaller, 4-cylinder combustion engine. Instead of this gas engine driving the propulsion system, it is used to power the onboard generator. The electrical power from the generator is delivered to the electric motor or the batteries, depending on the amount of the current charge (state of the charge) of the battery pack and the power required at the wheels. With a newly designed electronic control unit, the electric car's range is potentially extended up to as much as 640 miles or 1030 kilometers on a single tank of gasoline. Of course this could go a lot farther with traditional fill ups.
GM Needs This Electric Car To Succeed!
As General Motors Corp. reached its 100th birthday this year, it finds itself in a struggle for its very survival. It needs this vehicle and all its progeny to help it dig its way out of a hole that sees the company facing possible bankruptcy at the bottom. One quote from the New York times staated: "If the Volt succeeds, it could put the troubled company on a whole new path after 10 decades tethered to the internal-combustion engine. If it fails, it could drag G.M., and perhaps the entire struggling American auto industry, even further behind Asian competitors." (See New York times article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/automobiles/
14AUTO.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin) Motor Trend magazine said that the Volt could
be a real "game changer". This truly marks a major shift in the automobile industry as the Chevrolet Volt electric car will be the first of a major automaker that is not designed around the traditional gasoline combustion engine.
So How Many Miles To the Gallon?
Because of the strict testing rules of the E.P.A., GM's engineers estimate that by following the E.P.A. guidelines the Chevrolet Volt will easily rate at around 48 miles per gallon. However, the E.P.A. requires testing through various cycles, such as city driving, highway driving, etc. It is very possible that consumers' actual MPG is much higher, even in the 100s of miles per gallon. General Motors is involved in discussion with the E.P.A. to see if the testing rules can be modernized to take into account a vehicle that has an electric motor as its primary propulsion system rather than a traditional internal combustion engine. I for one feel they have a good arguement there becauase it's hard to compare apples to organes. The Chevrolet Volt is not a gasoline engine car with an electric motor assist. It's jusst the opposite: it's an electric motor vehicl with a small gas engine to drive the online power generator. That's a big difference. Regardless, a person still has to consider whether the cost involved in a
purchase of an electric car such as the Chevrolet Volt will actually make sense. In otherwords, will the savings in gas actually pay for the extra cost of purchasing the higher-priced electirc vehicle.
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Charge It Anywhere
The Chevrolet Volt will be able to plug into any household 120 volt oulet and get a full charge in about 8 hours. If you have a 240 volt outlet that is required by some larger appliances, the Volt will charge in just under 3 hours, according to GM press releases. GM also claims it will cost you less than a cup of your favorite coffee to charge your new Chevrolet Volt. They estimate about 80 cents, which is about 10 cents for each kilowat hour. Of course most people are expected to charge the electric vehicle overnight when the cost of electricy drops drmatically.
With a gas tank that only holds 6 gallons and the ability to get the first 40 miles without using a drop of gas, I will definately be looking at the Chevrolet Volt as one of the possible vehicles to replace one of our aging family gas guzzlers. As a GM family, we look forward to the arrival of the Volt, and we hope its success will be a turnaround point for this legendary automaker -- one of the largest in the world just a few short years ago. For General Motor's sake, I hope the future truly is electrifying.
For more information you can read about GM's concept electric car - the 2010 Chevrolet Volt at:
http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/