GM seeks to outdo Toyota with Chevy Volt hybrid

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AFP - Troubled US auto giant General Motors sought to trump Toyota by announcing that its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid will save four times more fuel than the Japanese carmaker's Prius.




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NEW YORK (AFP) - Troubled US auto giant General Motors sought to trump Toyota by announcing that its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid will save four times more fuel than the Japanese carmaker's Prius.

The former world leader in auto manufacturing, now 60 percent owned by the US government, said Tuesday that it would begin production in late 2010 on its new electric sedan, which will be marketed in 2011.

The Chevrolet Volt will be the "first mass-produced vehicle to claim more than 100 miles per gallon (42.51 kilometers per liter) composite fuel economy," GM boasted.

It said the Volt, whose prototype was first unveiled in early 2007, was expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon (100 kilometers per 1.02 liters), based on development testing using government fuel economy methodology for labeling for plug-in electric vehicles.

Toyota's Prius, which was first introduced in the United States in 1997 and whose fourth generation vehicle was presented this year, gets 50 miles per gallon (21.26 kilometers per liter).

The Japanese model was praised by analysts, while GM, like the two other Detroit giants Ford and Chrysler, were left biting the dust of eco-friendly Asian cars in the past several years.

Technically, the Chevy Volt is more of an electric car than a hybrid.

The car will have a dual engine, but "the gas engine does not propel the car, it will generate the energy to charge the battery," explained Michelle Krebs, an analyst with the research firm Edmunds.com.

The Volt "will bring much more through the technology that it uses," said auto industry analyst Bertrand Rakoto of R.L. Polk & Co., pointing to the lithium batteries at the heart of its power system.

"From the data we've seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas," said GM chief executive Fritz Henderson.

The model is expected to travel up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) on electricity from a single battery charge, according to GM. Nearly eight of 10 Americans commute less than that distance, according to US Department of Transportation data.

GM said the Volt may be able to extend its overall range to more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) with its flex fuel-powered engine-generator.

"So, a vehicle like the Volt that achieves a composite triple-digit fuel economy is a game-changer," Henderson said.

The company declined to provide a sales price for the Chevy Volt, but analysts estimate it will cost 40,000 dollars -- halfway between the low-cost hybrids, which sell for about 20,000 dollars, and more high-end models.

That's still more than the sales price of an average sized sedan -- the most popular type of car on the US market -- which sells for around 25,000 dollars.

Even if hybrids barely make a dent in the US auto market at a mere three percent, "it's a key segment for any automaker wanting to show the range of its products," Rakoto said.

It's a "green" image GM is now more than ever keen to demonstrate, after spending a month in bankruptcy restructuring and having shed most of its dozen of brands except for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.

Diane Swonk, an analyst with Mesirow Financial, is among the skeptics of GM's aspiration to rival Toyota in technological advances.

"I would be very surprised if Toyota hadn't developed this technology. This technology has been there for a while," she said.

"It's one thing to have the technology; it's another one to bring it to the mass market."

Krebs had doubts about the fuel economy figures cited by GM, noting that "we're learning from various experts, like battery makers, that the figures are not realistic."

http://green.yahoo.com/news/afp/2009...tgmtoyota.html

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Talking With General Motors executive Britta Gross: Full speed ahead on Chevrolet Volt

Britta K. Gross is a General Motors manager responsible for development of hydrogen and electrical technologies, including the Chevrolet Volt. (GENERAL MOTORS, WIECK / February 3, 2009)



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Vehicles Steven Cole Smith

Sentinel Automotive Editor

August 31, 2009
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Britta K. Gross is a General Motors manager responsible for development of hydrogen and electrical technologies, including the upcoming, groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt. Gross lives in southwest Orange County but commutes often to Detroit. She spoke recently with the Sentinel's Steven Cole Smith.

CFB: Having been based in Detroit, I know that living there can skew your day-to-day opinion of the auto industry. Does living in Florida help you maintain a more mainstream perspective?

Being in Florida gives me a much more normal perspective, and a surprisingly positive perspective, as opposed to Detroit, where it does feel a little insular.

I bring a lot of the input I get from talking to people in Florida into my work when I explain things to people in the company as to why we are where we are, and how people are looking differently at our very aggressive line of new vehicles. I think it has helped shape me, and shape the kinds of things I talk about at work.

CFB: You work on a variety of programs, but by far your most anticipated product is the Chevrolet Volt, due next year. How does it differ from hybrids on the market now, such as the Toyota Prius?

The Chevy Volt is a plug-in, extended-range electric vehicle. That makes it different right away from a hybrid that blends a mechanical system with an electrical system. The Volt drives entirely under electrical power.

First, you deplete the battery — it can travel up to 40 miles on the battery alone — before any gasoline is used. And at the point where the battery is depleted, the small gasoline engine kicks in and produces more electricity.

So it's very much an electric vehicle, as opposed to a hybrid of two different systems.

CFB: How important is the Volt to GM?

Extremely important. No

program alone can change a company, but what it does is draw your eyes to a company that is really, really working hard to capture leadership again. It will make people take a fresh look at General Motors and make them realize that this is a great car company, that can do an awful lot of great things.

That kind of symbol, representing a major change in a company, is a really big deal.

CFB: Has the timetable for the Volt changed?

No. We're still on track for a November 2010 launch.

CFB: As disruptive as the GM bankruptcy was to many divisions, from the outside, it appeared to have little effect on the Volt program. Was it indeed that way on the inside?

There were no disruptions. There were no e-mails sent out that said, "answer this" or "explain this" or "defend this" or "do that" — we just kept going.

CFB: Five years ago, we were hearing a great deal about hydrogen fuel cell technology, but it seems to have fallen off the radar. Does GM still have a strong commitment to fuel cell technology?

It's hard to keep multiple technologies in the [news] media at the same time. We have a very aggressive development program for the fuel cell. Nothing has changed about our commitment.

We are very focused on where the country needs to be in 2030, 2050; we are looking way down the road. The only way we can reach a lot of the targets we have set as a society — for, as an example, greenhouse gas emissions — is to have a very broad approach to bringing in alternative fuel programs.

And hydrogen gets you certain performance benefits that you don't get from other alternative fuels. The advantages are too big to discard. We can't just assume batteries are going to solve all our problems.

GM executive: Full speed ahead on Chevrolet Volt -- OrlandoSentinel.com