LOS ANGELES--General Motors Co. will roll out the Chevrolet Volt slowly, starting in California, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said here.
GM will provide 100 Volts to California utility companies in early 2011, Lutz said last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Production will reach 8,000 to 10,000 in the first full year, ultimately ramping up to 50,000 to 60,000 annually. The Volt, a plug-in hybrid, can travel 40 miles on its battery before a gasoline engine provides electricity.
Last week, Chevrolet chief Brent Dewar said GM would roll out the Volt in selected U.S. markets before launching it nationwide, choosing the markets by their infrastructure for recharging batteries and tax credit offerings.
GM designed the Volt to comply with regulations for all overseas markets, Lutz said. He expects GM ultimately to sell 100,000 to 150,000 a year.
Lutz said he drove a prototype Volt on public roads over the Thanksgiving weekend. GM, he said, is designing the battery to have a 10-year or 100,000-mile life. If the battery fails after that, the owner would need to have a dealer replace it. The cost should be no more than an engine overhaul on a traditional vehicle, Lutz said.
He said he is confident that "there will be a secondary-use market for spent battery packs" that still store energy. For instance, hospitals and homes may use the batteries for emergencies.
(Source: Automotive News)
TOKYO--Sanyo Electric Co., already one of the world's largest makers of batteries for hybrid vehicles, sees rapid expansion next year after a $1 billion investment in green technology. It may start assembling battery systems in North America, Europe, and China as early as 2012.
The Japanese company brings its first lithium ion battery plant online in western Japan later this month to supply 15,000 to 25,000 Audi hybrid vehicles a year. It will add another lithium ion plant by the end of next year to manufacture more powerful batteries for plug-in hybrids.
At least two carmakers have lined up for the plug-in batteries. Spokesman Hiroyuki Okamoto declined to name them. "We are now in the final negotiations," Okamoto told Automotive News.
News reports in Japan indicate that one is Toyota Motor Corp., which will use the power packs in its plug-in Prius hybrid.
Sanyo can expect a lift from its impending acquisition by former rival Panasonic Corp. Panasonic's public offer to buy Sanyo shares closes Dec. 9. If the sale goes through, Sanyo will become a subsidiary of Panasonic in January, Okamoto said.
... Read moreLOS ANGELES--Lexus' LF-Ch hybrid concept should be turned into a production vehicle and sold in the United States, said division General Manager Mark Templin.
The compact five-door hatchback debuted at the Frankfurt auto show in September and was shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week. If approved for production, the LF-Ch would compete with such models as the BMW 1 series and Audi A3. Lexus said the concept is a response to the growing demand, especially from young urbanites, for smaller and more fuel-efficient cars.
"We're showing it in North America to see if it can compete," Templin said. "We'll survey people to see how they feel about it. I would love to see this car in the U.S." Templin did not say when a decision would be made.
(Source: Automotive News)
There are a lot of ways to put together a top 10 list, but for this one, we looked at what you want. Digging through our server logs, we found the Car Tech pages you viewed the most over the past year. Most of these products are cars, but there is a surprise on the list. And while hybrids prominently got a lot of attention, you are also interested in high performance. Of course, products we've reviewed recently aren't as likely to be on the list, as they haven't had time to gather clicks, but we aren't terribly surprised by the results, either.
BorgWarner will supply turbochargers for the Opel 1.6-liter compressed natural gas (CNG) engine and the VW 1.4-liter TSI EcoFuel engine.
CNG engines produce about 70 percent less nitrous oxide than diesel engines and about 25 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, but are slower to accelerate than the fossil fuel counterparts.
To lower weight and guarantee a fast response on the Opel Zafira ecoFlex Turbo, BorgWarner worked with Opel to optimize the water-cooled turbocharger. The engine delivers powerful performance, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/hr) in 11.5 seconds.
BorgWarner also worked with Volkswagen on the VW Passat TSI EcoFuel to optimize air delivery and boost pressure for a CNG engine. The turbocharger enables the CNG engine to develop and maintain a torque of 220 Nm, up to an engine speed of 4,800rpm. The turbocharger enables the CNG engine to develop and maintain a torque of 220 Nm, up to an engine speed of 4,800rpm.
Mercedes-Benz new fuel cell research vehicle is built on its B-class platform.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)Instead of big, new vehicle launches at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz focused heavily on technology. The company brought out its next generation fuel cell vehicle, a car that lets passenger and driver view different content on the same screen, and an iPhone app that works with the company's new telematics service, Mbrace.
The 2011 Mercedes-Benz F-Cell is a fuel cell research vehicle, continuing the company's look into using hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity to drive a car. The new model is based on the Mercedes-Benz B-class, a small vehicle with practical interior space. The fuel cells, lithium ion battery, and hydrogen tanks sit below the floorboards.
Mercedes-Benz owners can use this iPhone app to unlock their doors.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)The hydrogen tanks store 3.7 kilograms of hydrogen compressed at 10,000 psi, while the lithium ion battery produces 35 kilowatts. This vehicle's range is 248 miles, getting the equivalent of 86.6 mpg. The electric motor drives the wheels with 136 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, getting the F-Cell to 60 mph in 11.3 seconds.
For its production cars, Mercedes-Benz introduced its new Mbrace service, powered by Hughes Telematics. Similar to competing services such as Onstar, Mbrace provides crash notification to the nearest authorities, concierge services for navigation, and emergency roadside assistance. Mbrace also offers traffic and weather features, but most of these are concierge-based, so you will have to talk to a real operator.
Mbrace includes a smart phone app, current available for the Blackberry and iPhone, that lets you lock and unlock your car from almost anywhere in the world. The app uses a graphic of a Mercedes-Benz key, with button areas matching the lock and unlock functions of the physical key. The app also has a car location feature, which can guide you to your car if you forgot where you parked it.
And finally, Mercedes-Benz will offer an optional split-view technology for the LCDs in its S- and CL-class cars. This technology lets the passenger watch a movie, while the driver uses the car's navigation. Check out Brian Cooley's video, in which he shows how it works.
Utility company NRG wants to sell charging plans for the Nissan Leaf.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)The CEO of one of America's biggest electric utility companies is putting his shoulder behind Nissan North America Inc.'s campaign to sell electric vehicles.
Among his ideas: sending marketing materials for the upcoming electric Nissan Leaf with customers' monthly electric bills.
"I think we can play a role in what Nissan is doing," said David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy Inc. of Princeton, N.J., which provides electricity in cities around the country.
"We send monthly statements out to 1.5 million customers in the Houston area," he told Automotive News. "That's a lot of marketing potential."
Houston is one of Nissan's biggest markets. NRG owns the Houston power company, Reliant Energy.
This month Reliant signed on to join a growing list of third-party partners helping Nissan launch Leaf sales in selected markets late next year. Nissan has been recruiting utilities, state governments, municipalities and others to help install highway recharging stations and address residential zoning rules to make home recharging easier.
Crane envisions doing more than that. He proposes that Reliant act as a Nissan retail service supplier in Houston. When customers buy an electric vehicle, they could buy a Reliant charger installation package from the Nissan dealer. The package, financed along with the car, would deploy Reliant staffers to do the necessary work on the customer's home.
Crane also wants to market recharging plans through Nissan dealerships, similar to cell phone plans. "We could have different plans available, depending on the customer's needs," he said. "It might guarantee you so many recharges a month at public stations or give you so many charges a month on a rapid-charge system."
Electric-vehicle chargers come primarily as a traditional 220-volt plug-in that takes up to six hours to recharge a vehicle's battery completely. A more expensive high-voltage charging system that takes less than an hour also will be installed around cities.
(Source: Automotive News)
Audi/VW's TDI technology grabs a Green Car of the Year twofer.
(Credit: CNET)For the second year in a row, the Green Car of the Year award has been handed to a clean diesel vehicle. This time around, it's the 2010 Audi A3 TDI and its 2.0-liter direct-injected turbo-diesel engine that's beaten its way to the top of a field populated mostly with gas-electric hybrids from Toyota, Mercury, and Honda.
Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, which sponsors the award, cites the A3's EPA-estimated 42 highway mpg, five-seater hatchback functionality, and fun driving experience seasoned with healthy portions of low-end torque as the reasons for its success.
The Green Car of the Year is awarded annually at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Previous winners of the award include the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
LOS ANGELES -- The launch advertising declared the Honda Insight "the hybrid for everyone."
"We don't want a car for a sliver of the market," Steve Center, Honda vice president of advertising and public relations, said at the launch in March.
And in a transparent dig at the Toyota Prius, he added, "This is going to be a populist's car, not an elitist's car."
But so far, the Insight's sales look like a sliver.
Honda's initial 90,000-unit U.S. sales goal was revised to 60,000 because of the weak economy. But sales of the Insight since its March launch total just 17,530, for an annual sales rate of about 25,000, according to the Automotive News Data Center.
The conclusion after eight months: The Insight badly trails the segment-leading Prius, although the Insight is selling better than other rival hybrids.
... Read more
Half of a TDI engine plus an electric motor equals twice the fuel economy. That's our kind of math.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)Volkswagen unveiled one of the few new concepts at the 2009 LA auto show, a tiny hybrid concept called the Up Lite concept (or Up! Lite, if you have a penchant for gratuitous punctuation). This small turbo-diesel hybrid possesses a small physical footprint--being much smaller than the VW Golf--and a super small carbon footprint, reaching an astronomical 70 US mpg fuel economy on the EU testing cycle.
To create the power train for the Up Lite, VW took its 1.6-liter TDI engine, chopped it in half, and slapped an electric engine on the back. Of course, we're sure there's more that went into the development than that, but what you end up with is a two-cylinder 0.8-liter TDI engine mated to a 10kW electric motor that spins its flywheel to the tune of a maximum of 64 horsepower. However to attain the Up's insane 70 US mpg, the drive train must be placed in ECO mode, which limits output to 34 horsepower. Putting that power to the front tires is a seven-speed DSG gearbox.
The electric motor is a multitasker, performing as a motor, a regenerative brake, and as a starter for the diesel engine. Able to be operated in an all-electric mode, the Up Lite is a full-fledged hybrid. When in EV mode--for coasting, at low speeds, and when stopped--the small grill opening at the base of the front air dam slides shut to reduce aerodynamic drag. Like any good full hybrid, the electric motor can also work in tandem with the TDI engine when maximum acceleration is necessary.
The Up Lite is thrifty, but obviously not very powerful. However, thanks to the torquey nature of electric and diesel powerplants, the up is still able to hustle to 60 mph in just over 12 seconds before reaching a top speed of 100 mph.
While the Up Lite's hybrid power train is mostly responsible for the lofty fuel economy and low emissions, it does get a little help in the form of weight saving and aerodynamic measures. Besides just being physically small, the Up Lite keeps its mass down through extensive usage of aluminum. With the exception of its carbon fiber roof and plastic bumpers, all of the Up Lite's body panels are made of aluminum, as are parts of its underlying unibody.
To cut down on aerodynamic drag, the Up Lite utilizes a narrow and long body and the aforementioned opening and closing grill. In place of turbulence creating side mirrors, the Up Lite has a pair of cameras that work in tandem with the rearview camera to offer a blind-spot-free panoramic view of the road behind you. Expect practical mirrors to be back in placer before this puppy reaches production.
In addition to loads of green tech, the Up Lite concept features a good array of good ol' fashioned cabin tech.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)In addition to green technologies, the Up Lite will be equipped with a full array of safety features (airbags, stability control, etc.) and a cabin tech package that includes MP3 playback, hands-free calling, video playback, and a trick navigation system that utilizes traffic, time, and terrain data to find the most fuel efficient path from point A to B.
The Up Lite concept is the harbinger of Volkswagen's new small car platform that should bear fruit in the form of a production Up Lite as early as the second half of 2011.
