GM
shocks NAIAS
Sunday,
January 7, 2007
Can
the Chevy Volt electrify America?
When GM
offered to pay my ticket to the Detroit Auto Show, I was
excited. Sure, I was interested in GM's electric concept
vehicle, the Chevy Volt, but I was really interested to
see the FT-HS. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see
the FT-HS
hybrid until tomorrow, but I don't even really care
right now.
Nonetheless, the Chevy
Volt electric completely blew me away, and I MEAN
completely.
This beautifully designed, super aerodynamic
electric-gasoline hybrid vehicle, rather than
gasoline-electric hybrid, is simply astounding to behold,
and GM car tsar, Bob Lutz, adamantly stated that GM is
absolutely serious about producing this vehicle. In fact,
Lutz called the Volt the most exciting project he's ever
been involved with in his 40 plus years in the auto
industry.
While this vehicle is a concept vehicle, there is a
visible path to this electric auto's reality. It starts
with the dual-mode hybrid powertrain, then a plug-in dual
mode hybrid, then the Volt. GM is already working towards
the plug-in hybrid and the technology behind plug-in
hybrids will help power the advancements needed in
lithium battery technology - a key to Volt success.
It's going to be a few years before this concept has any
chance of hitting the real streets of America, but the
Volt electric demonstrates that GM is heading in the right
direction. Hopefully, they won't become too distracted
along the way.
posted
by Dahcredyns at
|
It's great to see a major automaker finally moving forward on what small companies have been proving possible for several years (see Energy CS, CalCars and HyMotion). But while the announcement is exciting, GM still isn't giving any solid timeline on WHEN we can see these cars on the road or HOW MANY cars are actually going to be produced - at best they say 3-4 years if the battery technology is available. There is a demand for plug-in hybrids NOW - there are hundreds of cities, counties, utility districts and fleets already placing "soft orders" for such vehicles. Such early-adopters of these vehicles would provide test markets for GM to refine the technology and build public confidence and interest in these cars.
I have to admit I'm a little concerned that they will use the announcement of these concept cars more to clean up their image than clean up their product line. There is a lot GM can do between now and when we may see these concept vehicles actually on the road.
We all know increasing fuel efficiency is the direction automakers need to head – so let’s get past the hype of a handful of concept vehicles and look at what they are doing with the rest of their fleet. Overall average fuel economy from the Big 6 is worse today that it was 10 years ago and GM is still heavily dependent on its gas guzzling truck lines. In addition to that they are still fighting tooth-and-nail against increasing fuel economy regulations, suing states that try to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and in December argued before the Supreme Court that carbon from tailpipe emissions was not even a pollutant. GM is still planning to expand their Hummer line to become 25% of their overall sales. Consumers still have limited options to find fuel-efficient cars that are affordable, well-built, and fun to drive. There are plenty of things automakers can do today to increase fuel economy – and I'm tired of being shown distracting concept cars that we won't see for 3-4 years if ever.
I've been working with the Freedom From Oil Campaign to make automakers honestly prioritize fuel economy and move beyond oil – check out what we do at http://www.FreedomFromOil.org