Flex
brothers: Chevy Volt and Cadillac Provoq
Monday, January 7, 2008
E
Flex is about more than the Volt
The Chevy
Volt is over-rated. Why? Because the car, rather than
the technology, is always the focus. For example, while
the Toyota
Prius is a great car, it's the Hybrid Synergy Drive
that matters most, and the same can be said of the E Flex
Drive.
Most important, the E Flex drive is not limited to the
Volt. Already, GM has showed off the Opel
Flextreme which is also an E Flex vehicle. And GM is
now ready to show off another E Flex vehicle at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tomorrow.
The Cadillac Provoq is also to be built on the E Flex
drive, but it might not be a plug-in hybrid, like the
Volt. Instead, the Provoq, according to some unconfirmed
rumors, will be a fuel cell vehicle.
While GM's current fuel cell program, such as the Chevy
Equinox fuel cell vehicle, has been a unique program,
the next generation of GM's fuel cell vehicles will
utilize the E Flex drive. E Flex has the potential to
produce non plug-in hybrids, plug-in hybrids, full
electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.
In China, GM has already showcased the Volt as a fuel cell
vehicle, rather than a plug-in hybrid vehicle, and that's
the beauty of E Flex, adaptability. Tomorrow, we'll know
more about how the Provoq fits into the E Flex platform.
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