GM Electrifies with Its New Volt Concept

A new plug-in electric concept vehicle unveiled at the Detroit auto show would offer minimal to no fuel use for most commuters by 2012. If the plug-in, electric-powered Chevrolet Volt works as promised, people who drive less than 40 miles per day will never have to fill up and those who drive more than that will average 150 mpg. General Motors officials said that the average motorist would save nearly $1,000 in fuel driving a vehicle like the Volt, which the company hopes to start selling by 2012.

“A reputation for being a technology laggard is not good to sell advanced automobiles,” said GM product vice president Bob Lutz at a preview of the Chevrolet Volt in GM’s advanced engineering center in Detroit a few weeks before its public unveiling this week at the Detroit show. “Our goal again is to become among the technology leaders, if not the technology leader, in the industry.”

Thus the plug-in Chevrolet Volt builds upon GM’s experience with the EV1 electric car (leased in small numbers to select West Coasters several years ago), pairs it with the gasoline/electric hybrid engineering gained from producing various hybrid models, then pushes further into the future by seeking to develop fuel cell technology and new lithium ion batteries that can be recharged by plugging in to an external power source.

Related Story: Bob Lutz Charges Up on the Volt Electric Car

GM says the Volt could mean zero gasoline use for commuters who travel less than 40 miles per day, which its internal studies suggest is more than half of all Americans. A Volt owner that drives less than 40 miles per day, or 15,000 miles per year, could conceivably not visit a gas station for the life of the car —  if the numbers GM is predicting hold up in real-world use.

This electric-only range is about half that of the EV1, but the EV1 needed a special electrical adapter kit to recharge, whereas the Volt could be recharged at any regular 110V outlet, or adapted for any local electrical current.

But realistically, there are going to be times when every driver will need more range and that’s where the the Volt’s bi-mode drivetrain comes into play. The Volt is propelled solely by electrical power at the wheels, so when the electricity from the batteries is spent, the car can generate new electricity onboard using any number of power sources, including a hydrogen fuel cell or an internal combustion engine that runs on diesel, gasoline or E85 ethanol. The odd bit is that the fossil fuel — or hydrogen, in the case of the fuel cell — wouldn’t actually drive the wheels like it does in today’s cars, but rather serve as fuel for what amounts to an onboard generator that produces electricity.

“For most drivers, the Volt will use little or no gasoline,” said Tony Posawatz, the Chevrolet Volt’s vehicle line director. He estimated that drivers with daily commutes of 60 miles or longer would average 150 mpg. Compare that to a Toyota Prius, whose overly optimistic EPA estimated fuel economy is 71 mpg city/67 highway. The Volt would also offer a total range of 640 miles, about double the range of current small cars. Completely drained batteries would take about six hours to charge back up.

Posawatz estimates that at today’s costs, the Volt driver would spend $1,200 less in fuel per year than a typical compact car, and would save about $900 in total after the extra electricity costs are factored in. The Chevrolet Volt concept shown in Detroit is equipped with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged internal combustion engine. This makes the it a new type of electric vehicle, which scientists call an “EV range-extender,” not a gas/electric hybrid, because the Volt is always electrically driven, not mechanically driven.

This engine offers the compact-size hatchback approximately 160 hp and 236 pound-feet of torque, or about the power of a large four-cylinder engine or small V6, with an estimated zero-to-60 mph time of about 8.5 seconds, which is a respectable number for a car engineered primarily around fuel efficiency. Other potential propulsion systems will be shown at other auto shows, GM says, as this is only the first iteration of what it calls the E-Flex family. The company plans to market these vehicles around the world, with each iteration tailored to the power source most readily available in that particular country or region.

One issue to bear in mind is that even though the onboard fossil fuels would be reduced to a minimum with a vehicle like the Chevrolet Volt, it still takes coal, natural gas or nuclear power to produce electricity. And if millions of plug-in electric vehicles rush to market, the consumption of these non-renewable resources will skyrocket.

GM has confirmed that it is racing the Chevrolet Volt to market as quickly as possible, but the main question still is, “When will it go on sale.” The big hold-up, said Jon Lauckner, GM VP of global programs, are the large lithium ion batteries it requires. These are the same type of batteries used in cell phones and laptops, but on a grander scale that’s never been done before. These batteries are key to the success of vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt — and the Tesla Roadster, an electric-only sports car — because they provide exponentially longer life than existing technology, such as NiMH batteries.

Lauckner said when the lithium ion batteries are ready, so will be the Chevrolet Volt . GM’s official stance on the subject is that these batteries are expected to be production-ready by 2010 to 2012. “We’ve committed to doing this fast, because once others see this, they’ll start working on it,” Lauckner said.

If the Volt is released by 2012 with anywhere near these capabilities, it will certainly be a revolutionary new era for the automobile. Environmentally, economically and in energy security, the Volt just may be the next leap into a friendlier automotive future.