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GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:11:00 +0000

Click above for a high res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt After reading through the recent study from Carnegie Mellon University that suggested the best compromise between price, performance and environmental benefit would put a 3kWh battery in plug-in hybrids – enough for about 7 miles of electric-only travel – Jon Lauckner, GM’s Vice President Global Program Management, decided that he should weigh in with his own analysis of the situation. The big problems that GM has with CMU’s study are its suppositions on the cost of large-scale battery packs and the omission of the federal tax credits that plug-in hybrids like the Volt will be eligible for. A vehicle that only allows for a 7-mile EV range would not qualify for any credits while the Volt would earn the full $7,500 allotment due to the capacity of its lithium ion battery. What’s more, GM says that CMU is overestimating the cost of the pack that GM will be using for its Voltec powertrain. The Chevy Volt’s 16 kWh of capacity should provide an electric range of about 40 miles, which GM believes will be sufficient for nearly 80 percent of the population to get to work and back on an average day. If the Volt were primarily driven under this 40-mile limit, GM says drivers could recharge the car at night when electricity is cheap and plentiful. After already holding back on hybrid technology once due to cost considerations, GM’s not about to make that mistake again. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: GM Fastlane ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Chevrolet , GM , Green Daily GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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GM responds to Carnegie Mellon study

Opel releases official photo of new Ampera ER-EV

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Click to enlarge Last week, Opel staffers foolishly left the new Ampera parked outside its Russelsheim, Germany headquarters in plain view of a photographer. There were of course no real surprises in the resulting shots, sincee the Ampera is essentially a Chevy Volt with new front and rear fascias. Opel has now released the first official image of the Ampera ahead of its reveal at the Geneva Motor Show this week. It’s clearly visible that the Ampera gets a face inspired by the GTC concept of a couple years back along with a different wheel design from its American sibling. GM sources tell us that the Ampera will have a somewhat more upscale interior as well. Under the skin, though, the hardware remains the same with a 40-mile plug-in range, 300-mile total range and a 1.4L range extender. Gallery: Opel Ampera [Source: Opel] Continue reading Opel releases official photo of new Ampera ER-EV Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Geneva Motor Show Opel releases official photo of new Ampera ER-EV originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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New Flint plant cancelled, Volt/Cruze engines to be built at existing location

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:54:00 +0000

2011 Chevy Cruze and its new 1.4L Turbo engine After canceling the construction contracts for a new Flint, MI engine plant a month ago, General Motors has now officially canceled the whole plant. The plant was due to build new 1.4L four cylinder engines for the Chevy Cruze and Volt starting in 2010. Based on current and expected future production volumes, the company decided it had enough space in an existing plant adjacent to where the new one was to be built. This spring, GM will begin preparation of the Flint South engine plant to accommodate tooling for the new engine line. Production of the new engines is scheduled to start in December 2010. When Cruze production begins next spring, the initial supplies of engines will come from a plant in Aspern, Austria until the domestic production is ready. Related : Tech analysis of GM’s new 1.4L four cylinder engine GM officially announces Flint MI production for Volt/Cruze engines Gallery: GM Flint Powertrain 1.4L engine [Source: General Motors ] Continue reading New Flint plant cancelled, Volt/Cruze engines to be built at existing location Auto Blog: Chevrolet , GM New Flint plant cancelled, Volt/Cruze engines to be built at existing location originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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New Flint plant cancelled, Volt/Cruze engines to be built at existing location

Chevy Volt wins environmental prize at Festival Automobile International

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:01:00 +0000

A jury at the Festival International Automobile has selected the Chevrolet Volt for the 2009 Environmental Grand Prize. The jury at the French festival is comprised of artists, media and auto industry representatives and selected winners in multiple categories including the new Alfa Romeo MiTo mini car which chosen as the most beautiful car of 2008. The festival this year looked at the car in light of the current economic environment and festival president Remi Depoix said “Designers, engineers and marketing people in the automotive business will have to come up with new valid responses to this new paradox: to conceive an automobile answering new expectations and new requirements without compromising on charm.” Whether or not the Volt meets that no-compromises charm target is still debatable, but it certainly has the potential to break new ground in the technical department. The real question will be whether it can succeed on a commercial level whether the economy turns around or not. Only time will tell the answer to that question. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: General Motors ] Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , GM Chevy Volt wins environmental prize at Festival Automobile International originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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Chevy Volt wins environmental prize at Festival Automobile International

GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Click above for a high res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt Shortly after Chrysler submitted its updated restructuring plan to Congress, General Motors followed suit with its own document that is supposed to detail a return to sustainable profitability within the next 24 months. As you’d expect, fuel efficiency plays a major part of GM’s future goals, with the automaker saying that “All major introductions in 2009-2014 are high-mileage cars and crossovers.” Moving forward, GM will focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, with Pontiac serving as a “niche product” and Saab and HUMMER leaving the fold entirely. As far as future product is concerned, the Chevy Volt figures prominently in GM’s plans and is slated for a 2010 release. By 2014, GM says its cars will average 38.6 miles per gallon and its trucks will average 27.6 mpg, improvements of 7.6 and 3.6 mpg respectively. Like Chrysler, GM promises to comply with federal fuel economy mandates but makes no mention of California’s request for its own emissions standards. None of this matters at all if GM isn’t able to keep its factories humming, and GM says that an additional $16.6 billion in loans will be necessary to ensure survival, bringing the total amount of requested as a revolving line of credit to $30 billion. We’ve pasted the full press release after the break, but there’s plenty more in the official and highly detailed 117-page document, which can be downloaded in its entirety as a PDF file here . Click here for Autoblog’s coverage. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: GM] Continue reading GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money Auto Blog: GM , Legislation and Policy , USA GM files restructuring plan, includes eco-friendly cars, asks for up to $16.6 billion more money originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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GM will update the Chevy Volt throughout its life cycle

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:51:00 +0000

General Motors has said that it will continually update the software that runs its upcoming Chevy Volt . Unlike more traditional powertrains that center around an internal combustion engine, major parameters that govern how the Volt functions can and will be modified as real-world conditions require, and this process will not be dependent on new versions of the vehicle entering production. This is a big change from what we’re used to today. It might take a few years to introduce an update in engine tuning with a conventional vehicle. With the Voltec powertrain that General Motors is planning to launch with the Chevy Volt, computer software will determine things like when the engine will kick on to recharge the batteries or how much regenerative braking the car uses under various circumstances. When a second-generation of the Volt is finally offered, don’t expect GM to focus on extending its electric-only range. Instead, GM hopes to drastically reduce the size and cost of its battery pack, which should have the extremely desirable effect of allowing the vehicle to be profitable. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt [Source: Reuters ] Auto Blog: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Chevrolet , GM GM will update the Chevy Volt throughout its life cycle originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

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GM will update the Chevy Volt throughout its life cycle

DC Auto Show: GM announces plan for Volt introduction, San Francisco, D.C. early adopter cities

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Chevrolet , GM , Green Daily , Washington DC Auto Show GM’s Ed Peper At the Washington Auto Show this morning, GM outlined its plan for getting America ready for the Chevy Volt. GM has been looking at which cities are the most prepared for and has people who are the most interested in a plug-in vehicle, and singled out San Francisco and Washington, D.C. as two locations where the General is focusing its roll-out efforts. Working with local governments, electric utilities, regulators and other players, GM is setting the stage with a holistic approach: finding ways to provide incentives to purchase the Volt, creating workplace charging infrastructure, HOV-lane access possibility, potentially changing building codes to allow vehicle charging stations to be built, and more. GM will replicate these efforts in other parts of the country. As all this is happening on the outside, GM North America president Ed Peper said that Volt development is continuing uninterrupted and GM is still on track to introduce the car late next year. More details after the jump. Ron Cogan, editor of the Green Car Journal, also announced that The Volt won the Green Car Journal’s Green Car Vision Award. Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt Continue reading DC Auto Show: GM announces plan for Volt introduction, San Francisco, D.C. early adopter cities DC Auto Show: GM announces plan for Volt introduction, San Francisco, D.C. early adopter cities originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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DC Auto Show: GM announces plan for Volt introduction, San Francisco, D.C. early adopter cities

Ford picks Johnson Controls Saft for PHEV batteries, adds 7 utility partners to test program

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Ford Click the plug-in hybrid Escape for a high res gallery Ford has announced that when it starts building its first series production plug-in hybrid in 2012, the lithium ion battery packs will be supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft. JCS has already been supplying the prototype packs for current test fleet of PHEV Ford Escapes as well as packs for some of Ford’s experimental vehicles such as the HySeries drive Ford Edge. Johnson Controls-Saft is also one of the two development battery suppliers for GM’s Saturn Vue PHEV program which has been delayed to 2011. JCS will supply complete battery systems including the cooling and management electronics. Ford has committed to building a minimum of 5,000 plug-in hybrids annually for five years starting in 2012. Until production launches, Ford will continue its field test program that started last year with EPRI and Southern California Edison. As Nancy Gioia told us last November at the LA Auto Show , eight additional utility and government partners are joining the test program. The broadened testing will allow Ford and its partners to further evaluate smart charging and vehicle to infrastructure communications. Related: ABG First Impression: Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid w/Video AutoblogGreen Drives the HySeries Ford Edge and fuel cell Explorer Ford’s Nancy Gioia discusses hybrids and plug-ins Gallery: ABG First Drive: Ford Escape PHEV [Source: Ford] Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc. Continue reading Ford picks Johnson Controls Saft for PHEV batteries, adds 7 utility partners to test program Ford picks Johnson Controls Saft for PHEV batteries, adds 7 utility partners to test program originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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BREAKING: GM reportedly cancels construction contracts on Flint engine plant

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:46:00 +0000

Auto Blog: Manufacturing/Plants , Chevrolet , GM 2011 Chevy Cruze and its new 1.4L Turbo engine In yet another blow to both General Motors and the hard-hit city of Flint MI, it appears that the automaker has canceled construction contracts on its new Flint MI engine plant. Local TV station WJRT-12 reported the news late last night and we’re still waiting on a comment from GM. The plant was scheduled to produce a new 1.4L four cylinder engine to be used in the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt beginning int 2010. Work on the factory had already been suspended in mid-December in an effort to cut spending. The plant was announced last September just before the financial crisis hit in full force and even sales of small cars collapsed. GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel told the TV station that other facilities are being considered for production of the engines. An existing version of the 1.4L “Family 0″ engine is already being produced overseas and if world-wide auto sales continue to lag over the next 18-24 months, those factories would likely have sufficient capacity to supply engines for both the Cruze and Volt in 2010. We’ll update this story as we learn more. Thanks to Donny for the tip! Related: Tech analysis of GM’s new 1.4L four cylinder engine GM officially announces Flint MI production for Volt/Cruze engines Gallery: GM Flint Powertrain 1.4L engine [Source: WJRT-TV 12 ] BREAKING: GM reportedly cancels construction contracts on Flint engine plant originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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BREAKING: GM reportedly cancels construction contracts on Flint engine plant