Recent Comments:
SAE Congress '08: Riding in MTU's Challenge X hybrid Equinox (video) {Autoblog Green}
Apr 16th 2008 12:43AM 30% improvement is ~32/24 highway/city. Or about the same as a Vue hybrid, which is also based on the Theta platform. I fail to see, as mike suggests, how GM has been outperformed.
Also, I surmise that 250k also includes labor, trial, and error costs.
Toyota: Plug-in hybrids can't halve CO2 {Autoblog Green}
Apr 9th 2008 11:24PM A recent study on the projected effects of PHEVs directly contradicts what Toy is saying:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/04/study-meaningfu.html
Note that the graph indicates that both HEVs and PHEVs almost halve the lifetime emissions of a conventional vehicle, and that with low carbon electricity, PHEV's can halve that of an HEV (depending on all electric range). Provided that the PHEV spends the vast majority of its operation in all-electric mode (as serial PHEVs/E_REVs are capable of doing, unlike Toy's ≤60mph plug-ins), and uses solar power, emissions could be practically eliminated. Minus of course manufacturing emissions, maintenance emissions, occasional extended range operation.
A big thing to consider with this little "factoid" is that Toy is protecting its investment into HEVs and the reputation surrounding them. It could also be trying to throw cold water on other companies' progress with PHEVs relative to its own.
Or it could just be an example of a hydrogen zealot defending what they see as the fuel of the future.
Sales of GM hybrids almost non-existent in first quarter {Autoblog Green}
Apr 8th 2008 9:28AM How many hybrids has GM actually manufactured? I mean how many have rolled off the assembly line. It's one thing to have made them and no one buys them, it's another to have made very few and sold all of them.
Hybrid Technologies readies new li-ion batteries with "superlattice structures" {Autoblog Green}
Feb 26th 2008 2:53PM Sebastian-
HT made a major goof with one of their tables, specifically the one that lists Wh/kg energy densities of various li-ion batteries ranging from 480-936 Wh/kg(!). Those values are obviously bogus. I think they simply flipped the Ah/kg and Wh/kg columns, which would put their technology's capacity at a much more believable (though still impressive) 240 Wh/kg.
Thumbs up or down? Toyota wants to know what you think about the A-BAT {Autoblog Green}
Feb 25th 2008 2:12PM Toyota-
1) Stylistically, it's a copy of the Ridgeline
2) The GMC Denali concept looks a lot better and has more visionary technology in it.
3) Stick to what you're good at - midsize cars.
Bob Lutz explains exactly why Volt delayed: batteries late, engineers want perfect software {Autoblog Green}
Jan 18th 2008 6:33PM Pete - two mode is a parallel hybrid architecture. The Volt is built from the ground up as a series hybrid.
Most electromagnetic drivetrains get away with just putting in a manual transmission, and permanently bolting it into 2nd gear. Then again those gear sizes are compromises anyway, so GM must want to size them perfectly.
Detroit 2008: Bill Ford talks about hybrids, EcoBoost and sustainability {Autoblog Green}
Jan 17th 2008 7:01PM GM has some EcoBoost-like technology going on with the LNF engine developed for the Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky RedLine (the 2.0-liter turbo GDI engine).
Pity they don't seem to want to apply it across the vehicle spectrum, especially since the low-end torque would good even for SUVs, and provide opportunities for engine downsizing in smaller vehicles like the Cobalt.
VIDEO: Sneak peek at production Chevy Volt {Autoblog}
Jan 9th 2008 6:35PM First off, this news is weeks old - the sister site Autobloggreen had it some time ago. I think Sam A was actually there for the media event.
Secondly, there's the usual "cellphone batteries stink" comments. Provided you have modicum of understanding of the great variety of lithium ion chemistries, those comments can be safely ignored as being scientifically ignorant.
Thirdly, there's the backlash from "who killed the electric car" brainwashing everyone to ignore the fact that the EV1 was basically a super-expensive battery pack on wheels, and that it brutally deep-charged those batteries to get the range that it got. Similar deep-charging would probably get the Volt 80+ miles, but at the expense of longevity.
Just my $0.02
Says Rick Wagoner: Volt might come in 2010... or it might not {Autoblog}
Jan 3rd 2008 10:44PM To further respond to ignoramuses like Tim who actually believe that battery heat is a problem - there are studies carried out on the CPI cells by the US Govt' National Renewable Energy Lab in 2003 that showed dramatic improvements over less advanced manganese spinel-based cells, and even those produce FAR less heat than the firecracker laptop cells which got sensationalized for shock value.
NREL link:
http://205.168.79.26/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/pdfs/aabc_poster.pdf
Secondly, as someone who uses the A123/Continental-type batteries (the other volt contract) in hobby use, I can assure you from first hand experience that the heat the charging electronics produce even while quick-charging is nothing a basic heat sink couldn't handle. Heavy sustained discharging produces basically no heat from the cells.
The thermal management goals that GM refers to are for extending lifespan into the several decades range, NOT for preventing explosions or other such nonsense. GM is overengineering this above all the other lithium packs out there for the sake of rugged durability and reliability. Most other large packs out there are air-cooled, and even those perform just fine.
Says Rick Wagoner: Volt might come in 2010... or it might not {Autoblog}
Jan 3rd 2008 8:53PM Tim -
One troll quoting another troll who's already been discredited isn't really doing much to advance the discussion.
