Charging up GM?
At L.A. auto show, company exec says plug-in Chevrolet Volt may be on
road by 2010 - but battery challenges still remain
By Mark Glover

Published 12:00 am PST Monday, November 26, 2007
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D2

The Chevrolet Volt concept car can theoretically handle a daily 40-
mile commute without using a drop of gasoline, and theory is getting
ever closer to becoming a full-production reality.

Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors Corp., Chevy's parent, even
went so far as to speculate at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show that
the Volt could be road-ready by late 2010.

While Lutz's prediction made some of Volt's engineers wince, they
insisted that the electric vehicle is headed for U.S. roadways in the
near future.

"This is not a science fair project. This is a real car," said GM
executive Tony Posawatz, repeating an oft-used company line at the
auto show, which ended its 10-day public run Sunday.

Posawatz is responsible for developing and engineering the systems for
the Volt, a four-door, four-passenger concept with a sporty front-end
design that looks similar to the Chevrolet Camaro that GM will
reintroduce for 2009.

Most of the progress yet to be made in the development process lies in
the all-important lithium-ion battery pack - a key component in the
Volt powertrain system.

Denise Gray, director of energy storage systems at GM, said that an
initial experimental battery pack has just been delivered to GM for
testing.

"We're very excited about the upcoming tests," Gray said. "We want to
make sure that we have a safe, durable (battery), and we're confident
that we will achieve that."

The long-term reliability of lithium-ion batteries has been a focal
point of much debate in the auto industry, although GM and its battery
development partners say they are closing in on mastering the science.
The batteries not only must be durable, but engineers must guard
against overly high temperatures in and around packs.

Initial specifications released on the Volt include a 120-kilowatt
electric-drive motor (about 165 horsepower) linked with a 53-kilowatt
generator. With that, GM said, the Volt is capable of hitting 124
miles an hour and would have more than adequate power for climbing
steep hills.

The car's lithium-ion battery pack would be recharged by plugging a
power cord into a standard 110-volt outlet. Additional electricity
would be generated on the fly via a low-emission, 1-liter, three-
cylinder, turbocharged engine fueled by regular gasoline.

The gas-fueled engine plays no role in driving the Volt's wheels. With
its lithium-ion battery pack fully charged - taking about six hours -
GM engineers said the Volt could be propelled 40 miles in typical city
driving solely with the electric motor.

The car company said its research indicates that the Volt could nearly
eliminate trips to the gas station for the estimated 78 percent of
commuters who drive round trips of 40 miles or less each day.

Even without a fully charged battery, GM engineers said the Volt's
onboard engine - fueled by a 12-gallon gas tank - would deliver 50
miles a gallon. Using alternative-fuel technologies, even higher
mileage ratings are possible, according to GM.

GM is calling this new generation of electric-propulsion technology
the "E-Flex System," with the Volt being first to be so equipped.

Volt engineers pointed out that the on-board, 1-liter engine could be
fueled by other energy sources, including diesel, ethanol-gasoline
blends and hydrogen.

The possible use of hydrogen fuel has been a focal point in California
- where increasing numbers of hydrogen fueling stations have been
built over the past three years - primarily because tailpipe emissions
are water vapor. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a proponent of
hydrogen-fueled cars.

Yet even with the Volt's green qualities, it has drawn criticism.

At the Los Angeles show, protesters outside the city's convention
center said they were concerned about carbon pollution in the
electricity-generating process.

However, Bill Magavern, a Sierra Club California lobbyist, noted that
this kind of carbon pollution is more of a problem in Midwest and
Eastern states, where coal is used to produce electric power.

"We do need to account for all emissions and where the electric power
comes from, but in California we use a lot less coal," he said. "...
In California, shifting from a gasoline-powered vehicle to an electric
vehicle is going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

GM believes the Volt and cars with similar technology ultimately will
change the automotive world.

"Electric vehicles like the Volt represent nothing less than a
transformation that affects both General Motors and the entire
automotive industry," Lutz said in Los Angeles. "Fuel cell and battery
electric technologies will radically alter the landscape for personal
transportation for decades to come.

"It's as big as the shift from horse-and-carriage to horseless
carriage that happened a century ago."

The Volt is designed to overcome the shortcomings of GM's EV1,
introduced with great fanfare in 1996 but abandoned six years later
after never advancing beyond the lease market. Despite protests from
environmental groups that the automaker abandoned a promising program,
GM cited the EV1's limited range and cramped interior space.

Ironically, some of the same engineers who worked on the EV1 are now
working on the Volt project.

Because of the heat GM absorbed for ending production of the EV1, Volt
engineers are sensitive about critics' claims that the Volt is merely
a feel-good publicity gimmick.

"That's just not the case," Posawatz said.

Len Brewster, a Detroit-based auto industry analyst, said GM will
likely continue to be criticized until Volts are rolling off the
assembly line in big numbers.

"Right now, GM is stuck in an in-between world," Brewster said.
"They're spending millions to develop the Volt, but until the Volt is
deemed safe and ready to go, all of GM's critics will be skeptical
about it.

"GM's best answer to that will be manufacturing (the Volt) and making
it a reliable car."

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