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Ask GM's Exec. Chief Engineer For Electric Vehicles Pam Fletcher a Question
Pam Fletcher was propulsion system chief engineer on the first Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and is now executive chief engineer for electrified vehicles at GM. A racing enthusiast, Pam developed racing engines for GM , McLaren, and NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Sr.. Her current role has her running a multi-national department overseeing electrified vehicles company-wide. Fletcher has agreed to take a moment out of her busy day to answer any questions you might have. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one per post.
Are we doomed to use Ni-Cd batteries forever? Are there any interesting developments in rechargable batteries that you're excited about?
Have the automotive industry and electrical/mechanical engineering disciplines seen the same sort of problems around gender and racial inequality that the software industry is currently experiencing? What advice would you give to someone entering the electrical engineering discipline?
In your opinion are electric cars "good enough" for the majority of everyday uses and governments should be encouraging their purchase with either subsidies or tax breaks or is the technology still too young and any premature touting of it will end in its demise?
Marketing Literature - Top Gear writeup
Asking because it seems they've used electric motors in a more direct capacity to allow them to ditch a traditional gearbox altogether, and since electric vehicles and supercars are both points of experience for you, you're in a unique position to share insight on where this kind of technology might end up.
Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
Right now, based on current technology, American companies are developing battery-powered electric cars, while Japanese are introducing those based on fuel cells. Over the long range, say in ten or twenty years, do you see one technology overtaking the other?
Has GM looked into developing a partnership with any of the major gas station chains (Exxon/Mobil/BP) to provide recharging services?
If a quick charger was as ubiquitous as a gas pump I think it would go along way to defeating range anxiety when traveling long distances.
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.
the GM "skateboard" platform design was the most innovative system I have ever seen from GM, why are we not seeing the engineering that was put into that used for new car designs?
I understand the siren song of just putting electrics in a standard ICE car, but all the advances from the Skateboard would put GM ahead of Tesla if they were put into use.
Why has GM ignored the platform they spent so much money researching?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Hello Ms. Fletcher,
Aside from battery technologies, what other tech to you see evolving as a result of the push for Electric Vehicles?
Bringing back the Oldsmobile name?
Make a 442, where the 442 means 442 HP, and make it electric, then give it an updated version of the Aurora cockpit layout, with a bigger nav/entertainment screen, and of course, an updated Cutlass exterior styling. It would give Tesla a run for it's money!
Dodge seems to be doing pretty well bringing back the Challengers and Darts, and I don't see why that wouldn't work for the 442, other than the Olds division no longer existing.
Is GM more focused on increased utility (higher range, performance, etc.) or on reducing electrified vehicle costs to bring electrified vehicles more mass-market? Do you see any particular emerging technologies as key to solving either of these problems in the next 3-5 years?
The original Chevy Volt used a planetary gear to allow the motor to directly drive the drive train. Why was this necessary? Will it be part of future design of the Volt and the ELR?
The documentary file Who Killed the Electric Car? explores the creation, limited commercialization, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid-1990s.
What really happened? Why was GM so clairvoyant and yet so myopic? Sure, maybe there was money from Big Oil to sway the executives' choices, but just think of how much money GM could have generated from pursuing what will clearly be a major part of the future of the automotive industries.
Why?
Has America given up on hydrogen fuel cells?
Do direct methanol fuel cells offer any competitive advantage
If DMFCs offer enough benefit, when would we expect to see them on a commercially available vehicle?
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Many times we have been told that developments in motor racing eventually trickle down to consumer products. So my question is where is the electric racing happening, and are improvements being made in this manner? In asking this I'd like to point out the Formula 1 teams that are now using super caps as a part of that series foray into hybrid technologies - which is a technology that could easily be applied to consumer hybrids right now.
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Elon Musk sounded less than impressed by the electric cars from other companies like Toyota, Mercedes and GM.
What do you think of the Tesla as a competitor? Do you feel like you are playing catch-up? What things can GM bring to the table that Tesla cannot?
What about batteries? Have you considered that you may end up needing to source batteries from Tesla themselves in the future? Are there plans for gaining access to suppliers in this field as there will likely be a persistent shortage of good batteries for cars in the future?
One thing that helped cars as we know them take off was racing. It refined the technology and got people excited about cars.
The same can happen for electric cars. There are races out there, but they need boosting and advertising by major players so people will get involved.
Yes, I know, not a question. Sorry.
I own a Nissan Leaf and my parents are about to buy a Chevy Volt (big EV family).
Most concern about EV is related with charging time and most car won't charge at "very high" rate (~3 to 6 kw/h). Why not provide new model with bigger and beefier inverter to cut down charging time ? I see a lot of focus on the battery size and range but in the end if a larger 48 kwh provide the magic 300 miles range still charge at 3.3 kwh rate most people will still be disappointed about this. Range anxiety is something but charging boredom is another big issue and I am curious to see how you envision this issue to be fixed ?
I understand that CCS and Chademo are available commercially and my experience with my Leaf is that most of the charging occurs at home on a 240V system (not 400V like the bigger system).
Do you think hydrocarbon or alcohol fuel-cells would be a viable technology for vehicles in the near future? High energy density fuel in a convenient liquid form.
Or do you think hydrogen fuel-cells or batteries will be the way?
Current hydrocarbon fuel cells are too big and heavy to fit in a car.
It seems like most pure EV's from the major manufacturers are so called 'compliance cars' built to meet (largely nonsensical) regulatory requirements. They are not widely advertised and no one buys them because they are so expensive compared to their IC counterparts and have significantly less range. The Tesla model S, an EV designed for its own sake, is a wonderful exception, but the price point puts it out of range for 95% of consumers.
Given the slow incremental improvement in battery technology, do you envision a cost effective, honestly mass market-palletable EV being possible in the next 10 years? Is GM working towards that goal?
Does anything of the GM EV1 survive in the Volt? Will GM put the Volt through the same trash-compactor when they get bored with it?
Under Tony P, the Voltec powertrain had been anticipated to be used in many more models, however 5 years along it has only been used in the Volt and the ELR. Does GM see the 2nd generation Voltec as suitable for use in an array of vehicles?
Whatever happened to that rockin' skateboard concept which had a swappable body. The Volt has been a bit of a disappointment in terms of design aesthetics and forward thinking, compared to GM's early electric/hydrogen concept. Do you think the skateboard idea will ever see the light of day, perhaps as a Ni-Cd battery car?
It would be possible to fully charge a Volt in a couple of minutes. BMW i3 has the option. Why is there no such option for the Volt?
Do you feel that EVs at GM have to make design compromises because GM primary builds cars with gasoline/diesel engines? Are there design tradeoffs due to tooling, processes, production flow, etc. that GM is making that it wouldn't have to if it only built EVs?
What is your analysis on the current state of graphene batteries as a possible next step in EV design, particularly in regards to the production methods you've studied versus their resistance to the shock of driving on the road?
Hi Pam,
Rather than focusing on recharge times - has the idea of swapping the battery at a gas/charge station been investigated?
As is done with LPG gas canisters.
Pardon the Seinfeld title... The Spark seems like a good candidate for an electric car. Small, lightweight, city car. Indeed there is an electric version! But only for sale in CA and OR... What's up with that? I am in the market for a tiny city car and I am already considering a Spark. I would totally get the EV version if it was for sale in GA. There are electric cars coming out the wazoo in the area I am in, but no Spark EV for me? Seems like a missed opportunity especially considering the marketing potential of the Sparky Spark.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
Tesla SuperCharger network is a killer feature for the electric car. BMW and WV announced a plan with ChargePoint to extend fast charging network. What GM intends to do to improve the DC fast charging network?
what is GM's "next step" to improve EV torque?
The Volt was originally advertised as a pure sequential hybrid but somewhere along the line it morphed into a more "standard" parallel hybrid. The argument, if I remember it correctly, was that the electric motor was simply not powerful enough to maintain high-end freeway speeds, so the gasoline motor was used to augment it.
Except Teslas don't seem to have a problem maintaining highways speeds, so what happened there?
Why is the Volt so lackluster in comparison?
Ms. Fletcher, I was ready to walk to my local dealer and fork over a sizable amount of cash to pre-order a Chevrolet Volt when it was revealed that it would be all-electric propulsion without any mechanical linkage to the wheels from the ICE. Then, GM changed their strategy and released what is basically a nicely appointed vehicle which is GM's take on the Prius. My question is, does GM plan to go back to that strategy and sell an electric car where any ICE is used exclusively for powering a generator?
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GM has tried a decent hybrid system on their 1500 Silverados.
Where a hybrid system would be very usable, would be on the heavier duty pickups like the 3/4 and one ton models:
First, electric motors provide their best torque at near 0 RPM, which is quite useful.
Second, on a rural jobsite, if a PSW inverter is available, this would allow the truck to completely replace a generator in the field. Just plug the welder, saw, or other tools into that and use the onboard battery for that, perhaps running the IC engine to keep everything topped off.
Third, for farms, it might be economical to have the trucks charge and run on batteries, as it saves on fuel.
My question: Would we see this technology being used on the heavier duty series of pickups?
The Chevy Volt alleviates range anxiety by including a traditional gasoline drivetrain on an EV. The new BMW i3 REx alleviates range anxiety by putting a gasoline-powered generator on an EV. What are the pros and cons of these two approaches? Do you see one of these technologies winning out over the other?
Everybody started out producing electric cars that look like they were designed by a 1960's team predicting the future (except for Tesla). My question was going to be if GM is going to produce a fun, sporty car that happens to be an electric. And then I remembered - you're GM, you don't currently produce any fun, sporty cars. The closest you come is the redneck cruiser, the Camero, and the septuagenarian crowd pleaser, the Corvette.
Can GM produce a really enticing body, and will you put an electric drivetrain into it?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
From an engineering standpoint, if you could change one fundamental aspect about electric vehicles, customer preferences be damned, what would improve electric vehicles the most in your opinion? What I mean is, are there technical compromises in current electric vehicles which are only implemented to satisfy a strong but (in the context of electric vehicles) irrational requirement?
Has Tesla's decision to open its patents had any impact on your work?
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I like the way the volt fixes range anxiety by allowing serial hybrid/generation. That makes it the only electric vehicle for sale that can easily be taken on long travel. I wonder if some people don't get into one because the electric only range is a bit longer than their commute. So the question is: Could GM have an option for the volt to add battery storage in the trunk to boost electric range? Then the owner could remove it for long trips but it would boost the range for normal commute and driving. You could possibly get the same range as a Tesla like this, but the advantage is that when traveling you could remove it and use the trunk space for suitcases and rely on the gas engine for the travel, whereas the Tesla would have to add a motor and generator to get similar travel performance, and that would limit its space/weight.
seems to me focusing on range is solving the wrong problem. nobody worries about the range, either maximum of net current, of their ic vehicle not b/c it's so much greater than anywhere they're likely to go but b/c it can be restored from zero (empty or n>0 diesel) to maximum it mid single-digit minutes. in practical terms a 50 mile trip in a fully charged leaf is going to cause orders of magnitude more anxiety than starting a 500+ mile beach trip w/the gas pump light lit in a minivan...
how big an uptake problem is this perceived in the industry, what's the 3-5 yr outlook and/or to what extent can this be mitigated w/user training/habit changing?
I'm an extremely happy Volt owner! It is by far the best car I've ever owned.
Question #1. What is Chevy's plans to extend the Voltec system into other models such as the Trax and/or the Equinox? I ask because my wife's current vehicle is an AWD SUV and I'd like to replace it with a like vehicle that's a EREV but is still AWD and has cargo room. I know the 2016 Volt has a square battery pack and thus a 5th seat, I can only assume that's to make it fit better in other chassis?
Question #2. Why does Chevy not promote the Volt?!? You never see a Chevy commercial that has the Volt in it. They had the "low battery" commercial a couple of years ago and then nothing. When I go places I have people constantly coming up and asking "A volt? What kind of car is this? Chevy? Wow, this thing's awesome! I had no idea..." My wife's joked I should become some sort of Chevy Volt Ambassador!
Thanks!
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
I've been intrigued by the Spark EV since it hit Car and Drivers list of best cars under $30k, but It seems only available in very select markets. How can I get one in the southeast US?
Howdy!
The Volt's unique powertrain seems to offer a myriad of advantages, battery for daily around town driving, no range anxiety like pure electrics, and finally since it is used only as a generator the gas engine runs at its most energy efficient rpm range resulting in high MPG. However, the actual Volt feels like a tiny "economy" car, cramped interior, not much storage space, etc. I would love to see this drivetrain as an option in other GM vehicles. A larger sedan maybe, or even a performance car like the Camaro.
Are there any plans to use this drivetrain in other vehicles, or is the additional cost too prohibitive?
Ms. Fletcher, While this isn't an EE question, so to speak, being in the know, you may be able to answer this. Does GM have any plans to offer small diesel engines as a more efficient alternative to the current gasoline ICE in the Chevrolet Volt? I ask because my employer provides access to all the free diesel fuel I can handle, but does not subsidize gasoline or ethanol. Also, the energy density of a given cc of diesel is greater than gasoline (and certainly ethanol) and at least allows that it could be more efficient.
I realize that most people might assume that what I'm suggesting would be something akin to Top Gear's Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust, but I know that it wouldn't be such. VW, VM Motori, Lombardini, Perkins, Deutz and others already make small diesels that would likely fit the given dimensions.
Thank you!
Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!
In the early '90s GM produced high-performance versions of the GMC Sonoma and Jimmy called the Scyclone and Typhoon. Could we hope for similar, limited-production variants of EVs (of whatever body style)?
Ms. Fletcher,
Does GM have any plans to leverage ultracapacitors for primary energy storage in place of batteries?
Thank you!
Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!
What are your views on the federal tax credit for EVs? Some think it should be increased to 10k$, and be a rebate instead of a tax credit. Or should we use this money to build public fast charging infrastructure?http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/03/16/1512248/ask-gms-exec-chief-engineer-for-electric-vehicles-pam-fletcher-a-question#
Why hasn't GM taken the idea of the Chevy Volt and applied it to the very popular small-SUV segment? I would think a range-extended SUV perhaps a little smaller than the Equinox would be very popular.
I own a Spark, and have never gotten DC fast charging to work. Are there multiple standards for the new DC fast charging?
Seriously, a line of test vehicles that every test driver loved and wanted to buy- likely the best test run of a vehicle model ever. All gathered up and destroyed, including millions in litigation to force the lease owners to abandon their purchase option.
Such actions reek of covering something up. So, statute of limitations is over. Spill the beans. Why?
GM has been in-sourcing the production of many of the key components of their electric vehicles in recent years. What have the benefits and successes been of using that approach?
To date, all GM Electric cars have only supported 3.3kW Level 2 charging. Do you think 3.3kW charging plus CCS quick charging is sufficient for longer-range vehicles that might be used for road trips, like the forthcoming Bolt?
It seems like in the next few years a few car companies, GM, Tesla, Nissan, maybe Ford, are planning to release EV models with ~200 mile range at around the $30K price point, after rebates.
Given that range and price are 2 of the key metrics when most (?sweeping generalisation?) potential EV buyers evaluate an electric car do you think that having a number of models available to buyers with similarly high range and low price points will trigger a big uptick in the number of electric cars on the road?
This. I own a Volt and an Equinox. I'd be at the dealer at the first possible moment that I could order a Voltec powered Equinox.
I've been seeing more glimpses of upcoming Volt marketing. I'm hoping the marketing team will push it exclusively as the Gen 2 release gets closer.
If I were GM's CEO, I'd make Voltec standard for all of their vehicles, cutting the pure ICE garbage right out of the market. Electric only as an option for every vehicle. The marketing team would have to do their jobs to pull it off, but when the people learn they can get near-Vette performance out of a Sonic...
"Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
I've been reading some articles about electricity "demand destruction" from customers deploying rooftop solar, adopting energy efficient lighting and other energy saving systems in the near term and potentially seeing increasing use of home energy storage in the next few years..
Have power companies been working with GM to find ways to accelerate the adoption of electric cars as this might be an area where these companies could spur demand for electricity?
I always wondered why the volt was not diesel-electric, like a submarine.
Is meeting the EPA NOx to cost prohibitive?
I would think that the engine would have less load variance than a conventional car.
(The power plant could be run in some optimized range for charging the battery and fro hi-speed use)
Tesla has invested a lot of capital in building a comprehensive network with banks of superchargers capable of providing 135kW to make long distance EV travel possible. Lacking such a network other manufacturers are currently limited to producing limited range city EVs and plug-in hybrids.
Most Chademo and sae+combo chargers max out at 50kW and offer power for just 1-2 vehicles at charging locations are poorly located for interstate travel.
How will GM work to enable long distance EV travel with their vehicles?
ps: I live in Wisconsin where Tesla will soon have 9 supercharging stations, I take delivery of my Model S 85D in two weeks.
We have the best government that money can buy.
Around the SF Bay Area it feels like the biggest contribution to range anxiety isn't the range, but the delta between claimed range and real range. Lots of folks here have driven (or own themselves) the Leaf or the 500e. The most common expression of dissatisfaction is that there's a large delta between claimed and realized range. This problem seems to have been largely solved on the petrol side of the house (EPA ratings of MPG have gotten a lot more accurate recently).
It seems like there needs to be a realignment between marketers, regulators, and engineers to get these numbers right. What's being done to make that happen? I think that trusting the range numbers would go a very long way to making people more comfortable with electric vehicles.
Full disclosure: I've worked in the EV world for almost ten years, and I'm not impartial.
Will future Volts have a larger capacity battery (and possibly a smaller ICE)?
Will GM ever bypass dealers and update vehicle software via OnStar?
Pam Fletcher, as an automotive enthusiast (who is looking forward to our future of electric cars) in order to keep my brain from filling up completely, I don't keep track of all of the intricate differences between hybrid cars.
After learning the intricacies of each system, I tend to lump them into three categories for my convenience (plug-in capability being a sub-category itself).
Weak parallel hybrids; those with very minimal battery storage and no all-electric mode like the 1st gen Ford Escape.
Strong parallel hybrids; those with large battery capacity, all-electric mode, but the internal combustion engine still drives the wheels often like the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, etc.
Series hybrids; AC Propulsion T-Zero with trailer generator (or any all-electric with a generator on a trailer for that matter), Chevy Volt, etc.
So I've lumped the Chevy Volt in the series hybrid group, although technically it can provide some power to the wheels mechanically via the internal combustion engine. With the Volt being so close to a pure series hybrid, I'd like to know why the leap to a pure series hybrid wasn't made completely? There must be one or a few solid reasons. Was it a serendipitous capability due to the packaging? What is necessary to satisfy focus group complaints? Was it to ensure a completely dead battery or charging system wouldn't side-line the vehicle? What was the thinking there?
Cheers!
Why do all cars now have a proprietary tablet in the dash?
These tablets are so integrated that they cost the car manufacturer big $ and the customer even more.
Why not use a stock android or iPad tablet and create a custom app to talk wirelessly to the car?
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Will GM produce another vehicle using the basic Volt mechanicals but with better styling? I'd love to see the HHR resurrected as a plug-in hybrid with a electric drive powered by a large battery with a small ICE range extender.
Will there be a standard receptacle for EVs to plug in to? Or will each manufacturer have his own "refueling" stops?
Will there be an e-Corvette, or perhaps a hybrid, or will some new electric performance vehicle be added to the lineup?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Alas, the only car that comes close to fitting my requirements (cargo space, chargeable + hybrid tech) is the Audi A3 e-tron, which isn't available in the States yet (and it's really only a hatchback). The only other (distant) contender IMO is the Lexus RX450h, which, while roomy enough, isn't chargeable, gets not-too-stellar mileage, and is priced absurdly.
Those of us who need a commuter car with extra space that has the option (not the requirement, the option) of running on battery power for a decent stretch have been left behind. The Volt's technology would be awesome in a small SUV form factor.
Why hasn't anyone bothered to look into this?
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What are the engineering limitations as to why electric vehicles do not have the ability to add a trailer which has a gas powered generator to extend the range? If a generator trailer were available for long drives(which pretty much all extended range use cases fall into), then wouldn't this take the "range anxiety" issue out of the picture?
GM has tried a decent hybrid system on their 1500 Silverados.
"Decent"? It was the biggest afterthought you can imagine. It only improved the fuel efficiency by a few MPG, had a negligible effect on power and was basically a battery box retrofitted under the rear seat. Oh and it added about $7-10K to the cost (I forget the exact number but it was a lot). My current gas only pickup cost almost $15,000 less and has similar features. I looked at the hybrid silverado semi-seriously but decided it was economically insane.
What happened to the EV1 and with the push for new hybrid's and all electric vechiles, why haven't we seen the EV1 re-emerge yet?
How is the upcoming Chevy Bolt going to get 200 miles per charge with a base price of $30,000? I ask because one of the biggest costs of the car is the batteries and not even Tesla will be able to reach that price point until they have their GigaPlant up and running?
The trend with electric and hydrid-electric vehicles has been to build them with higher trim level features as base, or even offering them as premium models (ie Tesla). Do you have any intention of stopping this practice and offering less "well equipped" or "well optioned" vehicles at more reasonable prices?
Wasn't the Chevrolet Volt developed by Opel in Rüsselsheim?
There are numerous examples throughout automotive history of convenient, lightweight, and relatively compact vehicles designed for efficiency and range, among them the 'bubble cars' of the early postwar era as well as the timeless (but sadly defunct) GM Ultralite. Given the advancements in engineering and materials that have been made in recent decades, building light is cheaper and safer than ever before, and electric vehicles benefit more than any other category of consumer automobile from reductions in weight.
Having said that, do you see a future in small electric vehicles (particularly for commuters) in the near future - one that might signal a return of streamliners and microcars in the American or world markets?
I'm a big fan on my Spark EV, but I wish there were updates for the firmware. For example, it would be nice to have the ability to change traction control settings to optimize acceleration times for different road conditions. Software wise, the infotainment system is great, but an update to expand the number of smartphone apps the car can interface with would be ideal. Is there any plans for GM to follow the Tesla model and improve vehicle performance with over the air updates?
Is the promised CarPlay support for older Volt models coming any time or has this been completely dropped and will only be supported on the upcoming Gen 2 Volt?
When will I be able to purchase an electric, or gas/electric performance boosted Corvette?
In order to be IoT ready will each cell within a battery get an ipv6 address or just each battery?
Well no shit, Sherlock. They have hybrid compatible gear boxes. These gear boxes still have gears whether they are planetary systems or even a CVT. A CVT is technically a gear- it just has no teeth. The difference with this vehicle is that is actually has no gears. There are hydraulic clutches that directly couple its shafts for a 1:1 ratio. That is why it is driving electric until 30mph. Most vehicles can lug along in 4th gear at 30 so he's just getting the engine revs up high enough to shift right into 4th, which is the traditional 1:1 ratio gear set. The meat and potatoes of your argument seem to boil down to: "It's too expensive therefore I hate it."
I was wondering if GM had plans to create a sporty vehicle that's either an EV or hybrid?
It seems like the Volt is a nice car, but very family oriented. A camero body with an electric would be awesome!
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The range and the length of time that it takes to charge a battery is the big Achilles heel to the adoption of the electric car.
Every RC car enthusiast solved that problem a few decades ago by using standardized modular battery packs.
Why can't the car industry "invent" batteries that are of a modular form factor and easily swappable at a charging station? (perhaps using multiples of a standard size which can be configured in different locations and numbers to fit a vehicle's needs.)
Yes, Tesla has done the basics of this in a non modular/standardized way which has much improved potential but misses on the ubiquitousness of an "automotive D cell".
Why did the electronics in my charge cable fail 6 months after the two year warranty ran out, costing me more than 600$ (the bill says EUR 578.99) for a replacement ?
$600 is more than a year worth of electricity driving my otherwise awesome Better-Looking-Volt-Than-A-Volt (Opel Ampera).
Electronics not subject to end-user abuse should be designed to last the lifetime of the car. If they don't, they should be replaced under warranty.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
I note that the Porsche 918 uses two electric motors, one for each axle.
Putting an electric motor at each wheel would eliminate the transmission, allow the use of smaller motors, and allow for active torque control at all four wheels (instead of just being able to break you could accelerate each wheel too).
I suspect that to minimize unsprung weight you'd want to have a small driveshaft at each wheel.
Put simply, electric vehicles don't meet my mission requirements: a midsize SUV or station wagon (think Chevrolet Equinox, Lexus RX, Subaru Outback) enclosed carrying capacity for stuff and/or people, able to travel 300+ miles at 70+ MPH away from the Interstate Highway System, and able to do it again in 15 minutes, indefinitely.
How far away from being able to do that are we?
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What are the future plans for people who live in an apartment/condo/mobile home/rental homes for charging? I couldn't put a charger in my old condo the electrical wiring wasn't set up for chargers, and there doesn't seem to be an reason for rentals landlords to put one in. Any solutions?
If you tow anything, you need more power all the time. So the electric motors run hotter, and overheat and break. This is obviously fixable by more cooling - something the electric car makers haven't bothered with. More cooling weighs a bit more, and more weight reduce range. wich is already short for anything that isn't a Tesla.
Electric propulsion capable of moving heavy stuff is well established - look at electric trains for example.
I would love to see fast, affordable public transportation that goes exactly where you want to go. I think driverless electric cars have the potential to be an amazing solution, if we're willing to change one thing: Split the car in half! Portable docking stations could be installed in your garage, your parking place at work, and long term destinations like hotels.
The powertrain of your car then becomes a commodity, that can be used by anyone via a micro-payments system when you're not using it. (It would advertise itself locally when appropriate, such as while you're at work, or at home. Of course this is OPTIONAL.)
Your passenger compartment is truly yours and stays with you when you're at work, at home, or any long term destination. This part is lower cost, but includes smaller batteries for the entertainment and passenger comfort systems.
Passenger compartments would be affordable so people of all incomes could buy them, and be empowered to move freely about their community once wide adoption occurred.
Combine this system with something like Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept for the long distance travel, and now you're only using your electric cars for the short hops where they really excel. Reserve a power-train with your cel-phone when you arrive at your destination city, and your taken straight away to your hotel.
Does this idea have any merit that you or your company may consider in the future?
I assume GM has done studies on how much electric vehicles save on carbon emissions. How does GM defend itself against claims that electric vehicles are no better, or worse, for the environment than diesel or gasoline engined vehicles? In the USA a large portion of utility electricity comes from coal and natural gas. In some places electricity comes from burning fuel oil, a very dirty source of electricity.
Can GM defend an electric vehicle as being "green" when the potential buyer lives in a place where the electricity comes from coal or fuel oil?
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Most people think of the battery pack as the only reason why electric cars tend to be expensive, but I remember in the Volt's early days when Lutz admitted that the main reason for the price rise from the projections was that the powertrain turned out to be so expensive. To people with experience with EV hardware, the cost of powertrain components was no such surprise. In true mass production they should be cheap due to their simplicity, but in low volumes they're often anything but.
How much progress has GM been making with getting the powertrain costs down?
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
By and large, GM's electric offerings certainly haven't been slow, but they haven't been exceptional performing, like one might see with a Roadster or Model S. Why is this? Of course there are costs to increasing performance, but it's not as extreme of a curve as getting more power out of an internal combustion vehicle. Little tiny motors can put out the power output of whole large ICE engines. Why not make a higher power output more standard or at least give more performance options?
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
While using multiple motors is of course more expensive than a single larger motor, how much does it increase the overall cost, after considering how it lets you simplify elsewhere? For example, one engine front and one rear can give you 4WD / AWD without a driveshaft and a differential or transfer case. An engine on each pair of driven wheels (not talking in-wheel) lets you omit an axle and differentials (two of each in the case of 4WD / AWD). Given the advantages of individually-driven wheels, how much more expensive is it actually?
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
I have trouble getting excited about any of GM's electric offerings. I'm the sort of person who thinks Aptera's airplane-like streamlining was beautiful: long, moderate cross section, gradual taper, nearly no low pressure wake. And of course there's the weight reduction / safety aspects of working with foam or honeycomb-core composites. Plus we're now seeing prototype tires which can change their pressure to vary their rolling drag / grip based on road conditions. In short, there's no shortage of things that can be done to radically reduce energy consumption - and thus radically increase range and range-per-minute charge rates. Does GM have any plans to do anything significantly revolutionary with energy consumption, or are we going to just be looking at more of the same?
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
Three years ago, it was reported that the total government subsidies that had benefited the Volt, divided by the 6,000 Chevy Volts that had been sold, amounted to $250,000 in subsidies per vehicle sold.
Can you give us an update on total Volt sales, so we can recalculate that subsidies-per-vehicle figure?
That that is is that that that that is not is not.
One of the promising features of electric vehicles is the reduction of carbon emissions. Most of the comments here are focused on personal cars but the reality is that a substantial amount of the carbon emissions come from commercial vehicles; the trucks that deliver products to warehouses and stores. While long haul deliveries is out of the question just due to the range and recharge issues, shorter haul such as drayage distances aren't limited to that. So what's the likelihood of developing electrical vehicles capable of hauling say a 20' container froma port to a warehouse or railyard staging ground? When csn we anticipate adoption of commercial, cargo vehicles usong electric systems
I've resisted purchasing an EV or hybrid because of life-cycle inefficiencies and the immense carbon footprint of EV/hybrid manufacturing.
Similarly, I've resisted home solar because, typically, only about 1/3 of the gathered energy is used in the home, primarily because of a lack of local energy storage capability.
The real payoff comes from joining the two: Storing locally-captured solar energy in additional EV battery packs while the EV is away during the day, using one pack for nighttime home power, and swapping another pack into the EV before leaving the next morning. (Or using another home electrical storage system that can also charge the EV battery overnight.)
The limiting factor is roof size. When push comes to shove, get a hybrid with a small IC engine and/or plan to use some grid power to make up any shortfall. I'd still go for that deal. Just so I can store and use every watt collected by the solar system.
In other words, EV + Home Solar + Home Storage (e.g., additional EV battery packs) = Home Electrical Utility.
What do you think of the EV as the "missing link" in a home grid? What major pieces are missing? Are you pursuing them? If so, how?
Will you be the first to offer an integrated Solar/Storage/EV solution?
Why do all electric cars look ridiculous (except Tesla)? Seriously it's like they give the design job to some goofball from the 70's who is imaging what a car will look like in the space-age 90's. Why can't we get an Electric car that just looks like a normal car?
Why the f00k does GM think we want an ugly fu%king electric sh!tbox?
Hint: WE DON'T.
We DO NOT WANT shameful boxes that happen to have tires and happen to move after you plug them into the wall for a few hours. We want to love the car, and looking like a Spark or a Volt is NOT how you do that. You could buy a Tesla, put the Volt body on it, and not sell a tenth of them. Figure this sh!t out, for fucks sake. STOP BUILDING UGLY SH!T !!!
GM has a cold-weather test facility at Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada http://www.wheels.ca/news/nort... Ordinary batteries tend to lose power when cold. Cold weather doesn't just happen in Canada, but also in a lot of the US "Northern Tier" states. E.g. Minnesota, Wisconsin, the North+South Dakota, etc. And let's not forget Alaska. Is there noticable power/range loss in cold weather with GM's electric cars?
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
Hello. A vehicle in motion could produce its own electricity, with wind turbines designed into the body, or a drag wheel turning a generator. Why not?
I recently bought an i3 and have been really frustrated by the competing fast charger standards. How will GM help customers handle the three fast-charger standards (Combo/SAE, Chademo, Tesla)?
One of the reasons I did not seriously consider the Volt was that it didn't have fast-charge capability. Do you see fast charging as a core part of future GM electric vehicles, or do you think backup gas engines are a long-term solution?
I have read that the stock reply is that half the owners only use L1 charging; 120v. What about providing the option to the others who would prefer faster charging? Most pay chargers charge by time used which really makes the cost to charge a Volt not a good deal
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I've seen these /. question stories before, but rarely have I found the answers. Can anyone tell me when and where they will be posted?
Do you expect the largest market share by type to be battery-only electric, or will some sort of series hybrid (electric with onboard generator, whatever you wish to call it) become the most popular?
How do you expect to provide extended range (for long trips, for battery-only electric cars)? Very quick recharge? Battery swap? Something else?