Cheers! Now everyone knows the name - GM's plug in hybrid concept is the Chevy Volt
It's no secret there are secrets in the automotive industry. Those of us who write about cars and deal with automakers are sometimes given embargoes - we get the information about a product or a new car, but we're not allowed to divulge that information until a certain time in the future. This sort of stuff happens all the time with new car models and the time before large car shows are especially embargo-heavy.
So, we're sitting on a few posts that we can't show you just yet (soon, soon), but I can tell you this: GM's new plug-in hybrid is called the Chevrolet Volt. Why can I say this already? Because the New York Times spilled the beans. They're keeping most of the information under wraps - as requested by GM - but the name is loose. The automakers realize that once one news source breaks the embargo, then others cannot be punished for following suit - this is an industry where getting the information out quickly is important after all - so we're in the clear for discussing the Chevy Volt now.
Here's what the Times says (the article is dated tomorrow, so "today" means Sunday):
Today, more than a century later, General Motors will unveil an electric concept car, the Chevrolet Volt, which has created the most buzz in advance of the show. G.M. says the Volt, a plug-in hybrid, could deliver the equivalent of 150 miles a gallon. The Volt thus promises - at least in theory, given that it could not be produced without a leap in battery technology - three times the mileage of a Toyota Prius."
Check back later tonight as all the embargoes lift and we can freely post about the Chevy Volt and other new models. Exciting times, no?
[Source: New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jill 8:23AM (1/08/2007)
I was so excited to see the new Chevy Volt..finally an eletric car that doesnt look line one!!!!
GO GM!!!!!
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DeLorean_4 6:12PM (1/07/2007)
Quote:
"Today, more than a century later, General Motors will unveil an electric concept car,"
That's strange considering GM unveiled the all-electric GM Impact in 1990 and this is a plug-in hybrid, not an electric car. Hmmm....
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R.M. 11:54AM (1/09/2007)
I want an electric car!
Electric cars should have batteries that can be taken out with some ease either by hand or hoist. All gas stations will become electric stations whereby the car owner pops in and out electric batteries just like exchanging a liquid tank of gasoline, we now exchange batteries. The "gas station" attendant will now charge up the "commodity battery" and charge a fee for that and putting in a recharged battery into the next car. Electric cars can be plugged in charged or battery exchanged. It is that simple. Why give Arab oil one more penny? Why breathe one more molecule of polluted air caused from combustion engines? Why pay for one more greasy tune up?
If GM and Ford want to be good corporate citizens, then make the world a better place and profit from that.
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Clay 3:31PM (1/11/2007)
This is strange.
How can they say that they need a "leap in battery technology" when the tesla roadster, although small, can get 250 miles to the charge! this thing is supposed to get only 50 mi. before turning on the generator. :/
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kent beuchert 1:39AM (1/08/2007)
"How can they say that they need a "leap in battery technology" when the tesla roadster, although small, can get 250 miles to the charge!"
You can always tell who knows something about marketing cars and who doesn't, just by their
remarks. Let's see, could it possibly be the fact that the Tesla has batteries that don't last beyond 5 years
and cost between $20,000 and $30,000? Gee, that's a toughie.
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kent beuchert 8:22AM (1/08/2007)
Most of the details are distorted by the media or
they are confusing this car with the Saturn Vue plug-in due next year.
They show a labelled drawing of the E flex (VOLT)
and it denotes a 16 kWhr battery pack. Now, eveyone familiar with electric cars knows that 16 kilowatt hours will move a car the size of the VOLT about 70 miles down the road. But media articles keep saying "40 mile range" or sometimes "30 mile range."
The GM guy was talking about battery requirements and mentioned recharge times, but I don't know why, since recharge speed isn't particularly important
for a plug-in.
If GM can get a 70 mile electric range in that car, it has the looks and guts to sell very well.
Plug-ins like this are very nearly as effective as
all-electrics in their ability to destroy the gasoline market.
will
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Kevin H 3:58PM (1/08/2007)
Jill and others, be warned that this isn't going to be a fully electric car. It will still burn gas (or E85 I've read) after 40-50 miles. So you might have to use that darn carbon on longer trips.
Clay. The extra size (and therefore weight) and the space needed to include the small gas engine and tank account for the shorter range than the tesla.
Maybe we can fianly answer the question of 'who killed the electric car'. the answer is 'reality'. This is a great sign of a step forward in automotive tech and prooves that GM isn't an evil company doing the oil company's bidding.
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Bob 8:46PM (1/08/2007)
Keep in mind that energy has to be generated somewhere. in the US, that's either coal or nukes. 50% of that energy is lost in distribution.
Stop thinking electric cars are a panacea.
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CM 4:23AM (1/09/2007)
Sorry Bob, but you are wrong. If the electric grid "lost 50% of that energy" then electric rates would have to be much higher.
Efficiency of the electrical distribution grid, including transmission and transformer losses, is over 90% Perhaps you are confusing it with the thermal efficiency of older fossil fuel power plants, at 40% to 50% (still much higher than the efficiency of IC auto engines).
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