GM Moving Ahead With Volt Design, Battery Testing
GM has settled on a final design for the production version of its Volt concept vehicle. According to Larry Burns, VP of Research and Development at GM, the production version of the Volt will be a four-seater with a sloping roofline. The change in the body design and interior space was made to accommodate the Volt’s mid-vehicle 375-lb battery packs, and to reduce drag on the production version of the car. According to Burns, the drag on the production design is 30 percent lower than that of the original concept.
GM has indicated that final Volt development is the company’s first priority. To speed battery testing, GM engineers have developed a new testing algorithm that better simulates a 150,000-mile vehicle life cycle. The new testing regimen drains and charges the battery prototypes based on the vehicle’s 40-mile electric-only drive capabilities. The goal of the testing is to predict accurately the life expectancy of the battery pack. GM will also use Malibus modified to accept the Volt’s battery pack for actual road testing.
The automaker says the vehicle is still on track for a November 2010 debut in showrooms in the US, although GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has recently indicated that the price of the Volt will not be competitive with entry-level vehicles. Instead, Lutz says the current production costs of the Volt will necessitate a sticker price of somewhere around $40,000 or perhaps more.
Lutz says that despite the company’s inability to bring the Volt to production as an entry-level vehicle, GM is still committed to putting the Volt into production. He says that GM does not want to repeat the mistake it made when Toyota was bringing the Prius to market. While GM had the technology to bring a hybrid gas-electric vehicle into production, the company opted not to ask the company’s board to approve a vehicle program that would lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Ultimately, Lutz says the decision to hold back on hybrid vehicles cost the company its reputation for technology leadership and innovation. Lutz vows not to repeat that mistake with electric vehicles.
Photo Credit: General Motors
April 9, 2008 - by Hybrid Car Chat · Filed Under Hybrid Cars |
