Bob Lutz blogs about first drive in Volt mule
Bob Lutz has gotten behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt mule, and he seems rather impressed -- both by the performance of its electric drivetrain's instant torque capabilities and the far-reaching impact that the electric vehicle could have on the marketplace. Of course, we are all familiar by now with the wallet-killing gas prices that are commonplace at our nation's stations, and Lutz was struck with just how important the Volt project truly is as he drove around and saw gas hovering around (and over) $4 bucks a gallon.
Although the vehicle that Lutz drove is still very much an engineering mule, the battery pack installed in the electric car was a lithium ion unit which has already been tested in the lab. Apparently, this first test-pack was delivered back in April, which marks a bit of a watershed moment in the development of the Volt. It's way too early in the development of the E-Flex platform to get your checkbooks out, as Lutz clearly states, but actual moving prototypes powered by lithium ion batteries is an important milestone. Read the official blog posting by the man himself here.
[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
zamafir 5:40PM (6/05/2008)
Nice, good thing tesla's shown us that batteries tested tried and true link to no other complications.... esp with bigger companies like GM... did GM get that hand out it was begging for for this vapor ware yet?
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matt 7:53PM (6/05/2008)
Ha Ha, good one Zamfir.
Ford, Toyota, Honda, and probably every other major manufacturer are playing with lithium ion battery packs.
Until I see an actual production Volt, or any other vehicle with a Li-ion battery pack. Its still just hype.
GM has done a great job hyping the Volt. So much so that most people are mistaking it for an electric car rather than an advanced hybrid. I hope it all works out fairly soon, as I think its a pretty cool concept. Though, if this turns out to be an empty promise. It will be one flop that may do some serious damage to GM's image and credibility.
DesiAuto 5:44PM (6/05/2008)
Next time I want to hear about volt is when it is actually at the dealers for people to buy, untill than it is all useless talk.
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zamafir 5:48PM (6/05/2008)
Diid the edsel make it to show rooms? It'll be nice to have another Euphemism to toss around
Derek 6:53PM (6/05/2008)
So, why did you click on this article and then take the time to post?
brian 5:57PM (6/05/2008)
ok, so the volt is powered by electricity, not oil. GREAT! except the electricity is generated by powerstations that use....yup, oil. Until we move away from an oil based energy infrastructure, all we are doing is shuffling the use of oil(or other fossil fuels) from cars to power plants. Not the big revolution people seem to think/hope it is/will be.
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jv2k 6:08PM (6/05/2008)
There is currently no feasible way to create a long range electric vehicle. If they actually made a car that didn't run on gas you'd be stuck unable to drive a certain distance from home without having to worry about parking your car and plugging it in for a few hours. A hybrid allows for you to drive even after the car has surpassed its battery range.
But on to your point, the Volt should be able to drive a good 40 miles without having to even turn on the engine. So if you don't have to drive too far and have places to plug in you could in theory not even use the gas engine at all.
brian 6:33PM (6/05/2008)
apparently you completely missed my point, considering the volt will not even have a gas motor...
ThriftyTechie 6:35PM (6/05/2008)
In response to:
"electricity is generated by powerstations that use....yup, oil. Until we move away from an oil based energy infrastructure, all we are doing is shuffling the use of oil(or other fossil fuels) from cars to power plants. Not the big revolution people seem to think/hope it is/will be."
a) your assertion that electricity generation is based on powerstations that burn oil is mostly false. Most U.S. electricity is generated from coal (50%), natural gas (20%) and nuclear (19%). Additionally, >5% of electricity is sourced from renewables. Therefore, even if an electric car is no more mechanically and chemically efficient than a conventional car, shifting to electric would worthwhile from an environmental and national security standpoint because less petroleum is needed and the greenhouse gas emissions from an electric car would be ~30% less than from a conventional car.
b) electric cars are probably more efficient than conventional cars (i.e., more of the consumed energy is put to work moving the car, and i.e., for each mile driven, less energy is consumed).
Electric motors are grossly more efficient than internal combustion engines (much less energy wasted in friction, noise and heat). Of course, some of inefficiencies counter the efficiencies (inefficiencies in burning fuel to genenerate electricity, loss of energy in transmission to homes, loss of energy in recharging/discharging of batteries), but I'm pretty certain that those inefficiencies are offset by the net efficiency of the electric motor compared to the internal combustion engine.
These two factors combined would make a sizeable impact on the environment and national security if electric cars were to become widely used.
Revolution, no. But impressive evolution, yes.
jake 7:03PM (6/05/2008)
Sigh, if only I had a nickel for every time I heard that one. The US has only around 2% of it's electricity from oil. You can argue natural gas has connections to oil, but natural gas is still only 20%.
Here's the link to the latest issue of the Electricity Info Card from the DOE:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/electricityinfocard/elecinfocard2006/elecinfocard.html
The move from car to powerplant is a big change. Why? Because it means that the energy production and pollution source can finally be centralized. So unlike now where we have to make people change their cars to benefit from new energy sources or to control their emissions, we can have centralized control. People are well aware of where the electricity comes from, since they almost always at least bring up coal when talking about electrically driven cars. EV/PHEV advocates aren't supporting these cars under the illusion that they are really "zero emissions" (though with renewables, they can get very close to that, an ability that gasoline cars can never achieve).
@jv2k
Unless you drive cross country everyday, the typical 100 mile limit of BEVs (the Tesla Roadster is 220 miles but that isn't "typical") isn't going to be that much of a problem, esp with rapid charging, which can recharge the car in 10 minutes (see hawaii's rapid charging stations). With a PHEV like the Volt, range is absolutely not a problem and you still get all the benefits of an EV for the first 40 miles.
jake 7:10PM (6/05/2008)
I see... you are under the impress the Volt doesn't have a gasoline engine. I think you might want to read up on the Volt again. GM may have fooled you with their marketing that this is an electric car (E-REV or extended-range electric vehicle as they call it). This is why I oppose them calling this an E-REV, makes it sound too much like it's a electric car when in fact it's a plug-in hybrid.
If this was a normal electric car then the Volt would have been a HUGE step backwards for GM (though some people still consider a step backwards regardless) because the EV1 from 10 years ago could travel 75-150 miles on less advanced Nimh batteries.
Jared 11:25PM (6/05/2008)
Brian:
You are fricking clueless. Only 2% of the nations electricity comes from oil. Which you would have realized if you had done EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF RESEARCH on this topic.
Brian 3:16AM (6/06/2008)
apparently i was misled by the GM marketing machine. If this is indeed just a GM version of a prius with a plug and li-ion batteries...whats the big deal? Toyota will likely beat them to the punch with the next-gen prius anyway. Par for the GM course it seems, though I wish GM the best of luck as i'd love to see a US based company take over a market.
Regarding power sources, saying oil is misleading, but we do largely rely on non-renewable resources.
brent 7:52AM (6/06/2008)
Brian: What evidence do you have the Toyota will beat GM Pto the punch by offering a plug-in version of the Prius for the next gen? In so many words, you decry what you call spin, marketing and vaporware from GM regarding the Volt, and yet, on faith -- with very little evidence in the form of reality or even vaporware hype, you declare that Toyota has something better just waiting, in the wings. Dude...you need to calm down and stop hating. Don't forget that GM created the EV-1 back in the late '90s. Yeah, yeah, yeah...you watched that "Who Killed the Electric Vehicle" movie, and now you hate GM. That still doesn't change the FACT that GM has lots and lots of legacy electric vehicle know-how.
brent 7:56AM (6/06/2008)
Please excuse the typos and incorrect punctuation in my last post. I wish I knew how to edit them before they go live.
Mazdamia 5:55PM (6/05/2008)
"We made it and it's the best thing since sliced bread!"
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Michael 5:57PM (6/05/2008)
"Of course, we are all familiar by now with the wallet-killing gas prices that are commonplace at our nation's stations, and Lutz was struck with just how important the Volt project truly is as he drove around and saw gas hovering around (and over) $4 bucks a gallon."
What, he didn't know already?
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Derek 6:53PM (6/05/2008)
The rest of the world is laughing at us whining abut gas prices anyways. They've been paying this for some time now. $4/gal really isn't bad.
iOrange 9:20PM (6/05/2008)
@ Derek
$4 a gallon is bad when you have to commute the way we do; without public transportation.. I wish I could hop on a train or bus or walk/bike to work, but it is just not possible in the majority of the country. I have a 25 mile drive each way every day, and while my focus is averaging 29 mpg (svt 5-door) it still hurts.
jv2k 10:17PM (6/05/2008)
@Brian