GM E-Flex muscle for Oz
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Coming here: GM's Chevrolet Volt.
Australia looks set to plug in to the Chevrolet Volt hybrid program
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS
30 January 2008
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GENERAL Motors has reaffirmed that its E-Flex environmental vehicle is on track to make it to market by the end of this decade, and has indicated that Australia will be included in the global campaign.
Speaking to Australian media in Detroit earlier this month, GM’s vice-president for research and development and strategic planning Larry Burns said that a five-seater small car the size of the current Holden Astra should be launched in the United States by about the last quarter of 2010.
And, being badged a Chevrolet, it will be as affordable as any current Chevy small car.
Tantalisingly, the senior GM engineer also hinted that other GM brands such as Holden, Saab and Opel would use the Volt brand as part of their E-Flex environmental vehicle initiatives.
E-Flex is part of GM’s strategy to displace petrol through energy diversity that also includes conventional combustion engines with hybrid drivetrains, plug-in hybrids, and battery electric fuel cell vehicles.
The E-Flex vehicle was first shown at last year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit as the Chevrolet Volt. It was perhaps the best-received vehicle at the event.
The battery-powered four-seater Volt calls on a petrol engine only after the electric motor runs down – which is the opposite to the Prius. It requires six hours of (US 110 volt) mains plugging per day for the as-yet-to-be-produced (hence the Volt’s release delay) lithium-ion battery pack to fully recharge, for 60km of ‘city’ driving.
GM’s own research of 621 cases in the Los Angeles area has shown that around 80 per cent of the sample would never even see the internal combustion engine fire up during a normal day’s commute.
“This data gave GM confidence,” said GM’s global vehicle line executive and chief engineer for E-Flex Systems Frank Weber.
 The 1.0-litre turbo-charged three-cylinder ‘petrol’ engine (up to E85 ethanol fuel can also be used) spins at a constant speed so no conventional gearbox is present. Basically, its job is to simply charge the battery pack. With the petrol engine running, fuel consumption is rated at 4.7L/100km, for a 1030km range.
GM claims that commuters travelling less than 100km per day can expect to use 1.6L/100km, and that driving one-third that distance daily potentially means eliminating fuel use altogether.
Bio-diesel or E100 pure ethanol fuel is also a possibility in lieu of the petrol/E85 engine.
GM also displayed a hydrogen fuel cell Volt in Detroit to showcase its packaging versatility, since such a vehicle does away with the hybrid system altogether.
The Volt’s second-generation drivetrain will be utilised in the next-generation (2009) Astra small car architecture – a global platform that will be produced at a rate of around two million units annually.
In fact, the styling for the 2011 Volt will be frozen in the next few weeks, while its overall packaging will also be set in stone soon after.
Do not, however, look to the 2007 Volt Concept as a hint of what the production vehicle will look like: GM has since discovered some serious aerodynamics-related shortcomings that have led to a new stylistic direction.
“An aerodynamic shape helps with regenerative purposes,” Mr Weber said.
GM believes that the combined 16kWh lithium ion battery and electric motor will produce around 120kW of power. Its aim is to provide no constraints to driving ability or pleasure.
The 60km daily range was chosen as the “sweet spot” for the vast majority of urban global commuting needs. GM claims that going to 120km would require an unacceptable increase in the battery’s weight and size, coupled with a decrease in efficiency and range.
Since the Volt Concept’s 2007 debut, GM has been striving to improve the range and energy storage capabilities of the Volt through development of the lithium ion battery with suppliers such as LG Chemicals and Continental.
According to GM’s director of hybrid energy storage systems Denise Gray, a 10-year battery life is the goal.
“We need to learn more from lithium ion,” Ms Gray said, adding that prototype testing was well underway and that progress was “pretty good so far”.
Mr Weber said that this was the highest priority within GM, and that the company was working to an aggressive timeline.
More than 500 people are working full-time on the project, which was ramped up considerably following the positive reaction at the 2007 NAIAS. The number of dedicated engineers totals in excess of 200, with 25 staff assigned to interior and exterior design.
“It is not just a science program,” he said. “The more GM learns, the more GM learns of the potential for this to change the car.
“It is the only near-term technology that can fully change things.”
Read more:
Out of the Volt
First look: Opel Flextreme breaks new ground
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