Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Dodge, Lotus, LA Auto Show
Lotus Engineering director talks about Dodge EV
click the Dodge EV for a high-res gallery from the show
While strolling around one of the smaller exhibit halls at the Los Angeles Auto Show I ran into an old acquaintance I hadn't seen in about 15 years. I met Roger Becker early in my engineering career when I was working on the ABS system for the ill-fated Lotus Elan. Roger is the director of vehicle enigneering at Lotus and over his 42-year career he has had a hand in developing far more cars from different manufacturers than we will likely ever know about. While Lotus was here to give the US its first look at the new Evora sports car, they have had a hand in a variety of much greener projects in recent years, including the Tesla Roadster and, more recently, the Dodge EV. You may recall that the Dodge was announced a couple of months ago along with ER-EV versions of the Town and Country van and Jeep Wrangler. Since Chrysler had only a bare-bones presence here at LA, I asked Roger to answer a few questions about the Dodge; read all about it after the jump.
Gallery: LA 2008: Dodge EV
[Source: Lotus]Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
In spite of the badges the electric Dodge is easily recognizable to Lotus fans as the Europa coupe. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Chrysler actually contracted with Lotus to assemble the car for them in England. The battery pack uses lithium polymer cells rather than the liquid electrolyte lithium ion cells used by most companies. Becker indicated that if the Dodge were to be produced, it may use a different type of cell, although he declined to be specific. The motor is supplied by UQM an American company known as the original supplier for Phoenix Motor Cars.
The real key to making all of these bits work together is the electronics and software and this is the heart of Lotus' involvement in the project. Roger explained that Lotus engineers have been working for over ten years on a control strategies for electric drive vehicles. The control software is by far the most important part of the system and is critical to optimizing the efficiency and performance. The control system has to be aware of environmental conditions, battery condition and the drivers performance demands and then has to provide the best balance of those to maximize the range.
As Becker explained anyone can put the mechanical bits together but it won't necessarily make for a satisfying driving or ownership experience unless it's well managed. This control system is what Lotus would really like to sell to other manufacturers including Chrysler. Lotus and Chrysler are discussing a deal to build the Dodge EV which Chrysler executives have said they would like to have on the road within two years.
Whether such a deal ever comes to fruition may be largely dependent on what happens in the next few weeks in Congress and whether Chrysler even continues to be a going concern. If anyone can make such a project happen in that time frame it is Lotus since the Europa is already in production and the company has been working on the propulsion system for some time.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Woodenbee 9:31AM (11/21/2008)
it's so irritating how slow and conservative and safe the big three are, only now after being bought and sold and faced with world economic crisis does chrysler go Gee maybe we should diversify a bit, what do you say boys? lets have a real car company (lotus) do all the work for us and then slap our badge on it, what a bunch of small minded little twerps! I would love to see them fold so people with balls and vision can takeover,
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PeterG 9:47AM (11/21/2008)
This is nothing more than an attempt to get some undeserved Bailout money. Cerberus bought Chrysler on a Gamble they deserve to lose. They should be financed by the taxpayers. They are done. They don't design cars anymore, they are just a holding company looking for taxpayer financing.
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PeterG 9:53AM (11/21/2008)
Damn Typo: should NOT be financed by tax payers.
Attempt 8 to post on craptastic blog comment system.
Each and every time. It says you did it, an email has been sent, but of course never arrives.
Is your web programming done by actual monkeys?
freshforged 11:40AM (11/21/2008)
Gee, project much?
I notice you fail to mention all the changes Chrysler has made to improve reliability since Cerberus took over (warranty claims down nearly 50% in the last year). Neither did you mention the 2nd year complete interior overhaul of Jeeps Patriot and Compass--almost unheard of in the industry and greatly improving comfort and reducing NVH.
How about all the work done in ENVI on hybrid vehicles?
The willingness of the CEO to take just a $1 salary?
Phoenix engine?
Lifetime drive-train warranty?
Investing in future platforms while eliminating overlap?
Flexible manufacturing plants the envy of the industry?
Not to mention the fact that Chrysler has asked for a loan (not free money like the banking industry got) but an honest to god loan that will be paid back in full.
Now tell me again how Cerberus is just looking for a bail-out?
Snowdog 6:03PM (11/21/2008)
If you sell 50% less cars you get 50% less warranty claims.
Lifetime warranties are certainly nice for the original owner but is clearly a desperation move to try to sell cars almost no one wants.
It is only a loan if you have a viable business model and will be around to pay it back.
freshforged 6:07PM (11/22/2008)
pure sophistry
The 50% figure is prorated based on overall number of units moved. It has nothing to do with the drop in sales.
Hmm. Sales were good when the warranty was first put in place and sales were steady before the credit crunch. Perhaps you have a different definition of "almost no one" or a very short memory. They could be selling out of Patriots and Calibers if buyers could get loans.
Even if Chrysler ends up liquidated it would cover the 7 billion investment by the government. I imagine it is the same with the other manufactures.
leathal 9:13PM (12/08/2008)
Cerebus more or less bought the financial arm of Chrysler, they said the auto company was a bonus.
Dave 10:30AM (11/21/2008)
I have to say I LOVE the lotus europa concept EV even if it does say Dodge. This is a challenger to the Roadster, and has a shot at being affordable to the rest of us (maybe).
Why the hell do you people WANT Chrysler to fail? I know they are a little short-sighted, but cheer on this car if at all possible... It is really pretty cool...is it not?
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PeterG 11:26AM (11/21/2008)
This won't be affordable. It is essentially the same basic design as a Tesla, except all done by Lotus. Minimum will be $80K. Not affordable in my book.
I don't want Chrysler to fail. It has failed. I don't want tax dollars pumped into keeping it dragging on.
emdee 11:25AM (11/21/2008)
There's something fishy about this. Why would a major car company contract out to Lotus for something as mundane as an aluminum chassis?
This thing stinks unfortunately. Maybe it's just bailout bait?
I have no doubt Chrysler could come up with a much nicer looking, better purposely engineered electric sports car than this.
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DasBoese 1:11PM (11/21/2008)
Easy. If you don't have the know-how, you hire someone that has it. Engineers working for the big automakers usually have experience in designing mass-prodcution cars of traditional construction.
Many, many car companies have contracted Lotus over the years for a wide variety of engineering tasks such as including weight optimisation, chassis construction or suspension tuning.
Sam Abuelsamid 4:20PM (11/21/2008)
emdee
You might be shocked to learn just how much of the engineering in many of the cars on the road today has been done by Lotus. There are very few carmakers that have not gone to Lotus at one time or another for help include several very large Japanese companies.
Leif 12:03PM (11/21/2008)
Love this car, but I'd rather just have a Lotus EV instead of a Lotus with Dodge badges.
GM should do a version of the Corvette like this, now that would be interesting.
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Doug 12:40PM (11/21/2008)
"It should come as no surprise to anyone that Chrysler actually contracted with Lotus to assemble the car for them in England."
No to surprise to anyone here, but certainly news to the general public. Chrysler PR has spun this car as a product of the hard work of Chrysler engineers as part of their ENVI project, which has been my complaint from the beginning. It's plainly dishonest, and most likely a ploy for a bailout.
So what about the Jeep and the minivan? Which shop did they pay those conversions for them?
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bang 2:41PM (11/22/2008)
How about you loan me $5B and I buy a jet to fly to Hethel England.
Then I pay Lotus to build an electric car with my name on the hood.
After deducting a small fee of say $10M for myself I will donate the balance to charity (UAW).
And you say I don't care about the enviornment?
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leathal 9:34PM (12/08/2008)
Numbers show Chrysler can stand alone as an automaker
December 7th, 2008 by Bill Cawthon
Bob Corker, a Republican Senator from Tennessee which is home to a growing number of automotive facilities, echoed a statement made by a number of pundits and analysts about Chrysler. In hearings on Capitol Hill, Senator Corker said: “There’s no future for the company as a stand-alone.”
Perhaps Senator Corker and the talking heads haven’t looked at the numbers that Chrysler has racked up in spite of one of the worst sales years in recent memory.
As of November 30, 2008, Chrysler LLC has sold more vehicles in the United States than any automaker except General Motors, Toyota and Ford. As of the end of November, Chrysler’s three brands had sold 1,363,309 passenger cars and light trucks. This is especially impressive considering that from May through August, Honda outsold Chrysler. In September, October and November, Chrysler came back to pass Honda; not just in monthly sales, but in sales for the first eleven months of 2008.
With 736,844 cars and trucks sold through the end of November, Dodge is the sixth-most-popular brand of light vehicle, behind Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda and Nissan. Dodge outsells Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Hummer, Lincoln, Mercury, Pontiac and Saturn and all other import brands.
Chrysler LLC outsells all the European brands combined. Dodge, by itself, outsells Hyundai and Kia combined.
Chrysler LLC sells more minivans in North America than any other manufacturer. General Motors and Ford both dropped out of the minivan market after years of trying to compete with Chrysler.
Chrysler LLC sells more SUVs and light trucks than any import manufacturer, including Toyota.
The Jeep Wrangler outsells all conventional sport-utility vehicles except the Chevrolet Tahoe.
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