At the big unveiling of the Chevy Volt, GM said the vehicle would be able to hold 12 gallons of liquid fuel and be able to go 640 miles on that energy and what was stored in the batteries. Well, that announcement was 18 months ago and things have changed since then. The latest that we've heard about is that the liquid fuel tank will be something smaller than the original estimate.

Kicking Tires quotes "a source" that says that the exact size of the smaller tank is not yet set but that, "We're working on that." The new goal is to give the Volt a range of 360 miles without any help from the initial charge, so that would imply a tank of maybe eight or so gallons - still plenty for most drivers most days in a PHEV like this. While the aerodynamics of the Volt have proven to be much more important than weight when it comes to increasing the miles per gallon number, every bit counts. We're waiting on a reply from GM to see if the smaller fuel tank move is official.

UPDATE: GM's response was that they will share "the detailed technical information on the production vehicle at the appropriate time."

[Source: Kicking Tires]

U.S. Presidential hopeful John McCain says he opposes the notion that individual states should be able to set their own carbon dioxide emissions regulations. Still, it sounds as if automakers could be in for a shocker if the Republican were to be elected, as he says, "My goal would be to see a federal standard that every state could embrace. I think we can achieve a status where that would go away." So, it sounds as if the target for CO₂ emissions could be set even lower than currently planned. McCain likely mimics the thoughts of the Detroit 3 as he says, "It's going to be hard, it's going to be long and it's going to be tough."

McCain appears to see the future of the American auto market as one made up of small, fuel efficient cars. His latest stop was at GM's Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant where the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 are built, a plant McCain sees as key to GM's successes. Still, the major players in the industry will be on their own, as McCain has no intention to offer any sort of bailout to any of the Detroit 3.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Sebastian is joined by Jeremy for AutoblogGreen Podcast #23, since Sam was hanging out with Bob Lutz and his Vectrix scooter when we recorded. Jeremy recounts his experience with Piaggio MP3 scooters on a ride from New York to Connecticut, and we move on to talk about the limited Prius supply as of late. We also touch on some developments at GM: the impending doom that may befall Hummer, and the coming of the Volt, which GM wants to build in Detroit. We go on for a while about hybrids and EVs for a while before wrapping up. Thanks for listening, we'll see you soon!

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While the issue of the nine-thousand recalled batteries from Cobasys remains a bit murky, General Motors may be inclined to just purchase the troubled battery-maker altogether. While we're not entirely sure that another money-losing operation is exactly what GM needs right about now, we can be sure that GM needs those nickel metal hydride batteries for its current range of mild hybrids. Right now, Cobasys is co-owned by Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices, though the two companies have been bickering a bit as of late regarding their joint-ownership responsibilities. It was revealed in court that some sort of offer to purchase Cobasys was being considered, which put an early end to those proceedings.

It's difficult to say what impact the purchase of Cobasys could have on future hybrid offerings from General Motors. We're certain, though, that fuel efficiency is on the minds of consumers these days, so we'd be surprised if GM didn't have big plans for the fuel-saving technology in the near future.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

General Motor's Project Driveway campaign began late last year and is expected to continue on for a total of three years. A few of the participants have spoken about their experiences with the hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles, and now one of them will be blogging on Popular Mechanics regarding his ongoing experience. Fortunately for Daniel Krach, he lives close enough to a hydrogen fueling station that the hydrogen-powered vehicle's 160 mile range should not pose a problem. He says that he was selected after a rigorous few months of questioning due to his penchant for being an early-adopter when it comes to new technology. Indeed, his family considers him a nerd. We can truly feel his pain. Considering that it has gotten him the keys to a brand new high-tech vehicle, which he didn't even need to pay for, we'd imagine that nobody's laughing at him now.

So far, his journey is just beginning, and of course, we wish Daniel the best with his new ride and we look forward to reading more about the experiences he gains as he drives the new-fangled vehicle all around.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

It's no secret that the pickup truck market is shrinking, with high gas prices as one obvious culprit. In fact, Toyota's ridiculously popular Camry midsize sedan is nipping at the heels of full-size truck stalwarts such as the Chevy Silverado and Ford F-Series. So far this year, General Motors has seen an 18.5 percent decrease in full-size truck sales and a huge 31.5 percent decrease in full-size SUV sales compared to last year. These sobering statistics are forcing GM to reconsider their future product plans. Already testing the waters with its upcoming Pontiac car-based truck and concepts such as the Denali XT, General Motors needs to know just how large of a market will be left and what external forces will continue to impact that dwindling market share.

Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global market and industry analysis for GM, is leading a research team deep within GM which is "keeping a close eye on full-sized trucks and asking ourselves how much more aggressively we want to enter the crossover space, given where the world is going." So far, his team has figured that the market for big trucks, though shrinking, will still be sizable, though he adds that "all bets are off if oil skyrockets." Hmm, isn't that exactly what oil's been doing lately?

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Like Indiana Jones and some sort of Ark or Tomb or Crystal Skull, today's automotive engineers are always looking for better ways to capture, store and release electrical energy for future hybrids and EVs. Green Car Congress says that GM is "actively exploring" at combining supercapacitors with li-ion batteries for the next generation of E-Flex vehicles (read: don't expect in the 2010 Volt). Speaking at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) this week in Tampa, Forida, GM's Mark Verbrugge - the materials and processes lab director - said that a supercap/li-ion combo might help not only with capturing excess power but also with the trouble li-ion batteries have in cold weather. What the battery gives up in power density might be made up for in a lower operating temperature. GCC quotes Verbrugge saying:

We're running the Volt power versus time profile through this combination with and without the supercaps. We wanted to show it [the early work], perhaps it will be compelling to those who want to provide ESS [energy storage system] to the automotive industry.

Compelling? Yes.

[Source: Green Car Congress, h/t to Paul]

click above image to view more shots of the hybrid Buick Riviera Concept

Here in the United States, hybrids are usually marketed under one of two schemes: green or sporty. Most vehicles, including the flag-bearing Prius, fall under the green banner, with fuel efficiency being the top marketing point. A smaller number of vehicles, mostly all from Lexus, use their hybrid drivetrain as a performance enhancer, and they are often marketed as sporty vehicles. It seems that in China, vehicle marketing from GM will soon hit a mark close to that of Lexus' with their hybrids, as the company will market its Chinese hybrids and fuel efficient models as prestigious vehicles. To go along with the fuel savings of the (sometimes hybrid) vehicle, image in China is extremely important, according to Joseph Liu, General Motors China Group's executive director of vehicle sales, service and merchandising. Therefore, three points will be highlighted from GM in China, the use of water-based paints, the fact that their entire line meets Euro-IV emissions standards and that two of their drivetrains are rated as the most fuel efficient in their class.

[Source: Just-Auto]

You probably remember that back in January of this year, General Motors announced that it was partnering up with Coskata to make cheap cellulosic ethanol using a process developed by Coskata which includes the use of microorganisms developed by Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma University. Coskata has apparently broken ground on a new plant that is being built in Pennsylvania. While Coskata appears to be moving along at a fine pace, Auto Observer is reporting that Coskata is not the only cellulosic ethanol provider that the General is interested in being attached to. GM said back in January that Coskata would not be the company's only biofuel partner. So far, everything sounds very "hush-hush" about this new partnership, but GM president Fritz Henderson is expected to make an announcement tomorrow in Washington D.C. We don't have any information on who America's largest automakers is partnering with, but we know that there are plenty of other companies currently working on cheap cellulosic ethanol. You'll know more when we do, so stay tuned.

[Source: Auto Observer]

We just spoke to GM's Greg Martin, Director, Policy and Washington Communications, about the fuel economy regulations that are being proposed by NHTSA today. Martin reiterated that although the new CAFE rules are tough, it is the company's position that they will meet them just as they said they would back in December when the Energy bill was passed by Congress. At an Earth Day event today in Washington, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will announce the actual regulations that carmakers will have to meet in response to the mandate from Congress. The Energy bill called for an overall fleet average of 35mpg by 2020. The NHTSA rules will require a fleet average of 35.7mpg for cars and 26.7mpg for trucks, both by 2015.

If this pace continues through 2020, it would exceed the effective 42mpg that would be required by the proposed California CO₂ limits. Since the federal rules would exceed California's requirement, that raises the obvious question of whether that means the automakers would stop fighting the California rules. According to Martin, the issue with the state rules is not so much the mileage requirement. The real problem is the "17 or 18 distinct compliance plans that an automaker would have to manage" due to the patchwork of rules. Not all the states are taking the California rules in whole, some are cherry-picking and paperwork has to filed in each state verifying that the manufacturer is in compliance. This can be particularly problematic if the rules are based on sales within a given state and sales of different types of vehicles vary from state to state. A single national rule simplifies things and allows manufacturers to aggregate sales averages over the whole country.

[Source: General Motors]

Although the target launch date is still over two years away and there haven't been any major hitches, some consultants are expressing doubts that the GM Volt program will end in success. The "experts" to which I refer are members of the Gerson Lehrman Group Automotive Council who conducted an analysis of a Reuters story that appeared on the MSNBC website detailing the efforts and progress of the Volt program.

The most critical of the four assessments (two of which lie behind a subscription service and whose tone can only be estimated to be positive and mixed by their given report titles) was written by Mark Fendley who is the "Continuous Improvement Manager at BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg, South Carolina" and has been with that company since 1998 according to the GLG website. His report, titled, "The Volt - GM's Attempt at Green Marketing without the Green Product or the Green Return," contends that the battery technology behind the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is too unproven, environmentally destructive, and expensive to "ensure a 2010 launch." No sources are given to bolster the environmental claims in the article. Also unmentioned, unfortunately, are any details of the battery tech an all-electric car his employer is rumored may produce.

The other viewable report, written by Michael Kowalski (described as a self-employed consultant who is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University and who worked for GM as a staff engineer from 1970 until 2002) is titled, "Can the General Motors Volt meet the expectations?" and is a little less hysterical in tone. He does make sobering mention of GM's diesel engine "experiment" in the '80s and outlines some of that company's other efforts to develop alternative drivetrains. Although we can't say we completely agree with his analysis, especially as it pertains to GM using nickel metal-hydride as a battery chemistry it could fall back on, it does make for an interesting read. We look forward to reading analysis from our own experts (i.e., our readers) in the comments section following this post.

[Source: Gerson Lehrman Group]

The Chevy Volt (in camo) in the GM wind tunnel

I'll come right out and say that writing for a blog is so dramatically different from a lot of the other kinds of writing I've done for the last 15 years that I find it hard sometimes to figure out just how writing a thousand or so newspaper articles could have prepared me for blogging. The report on where GM is at today with the Chevy Volt I'm about to file is an example of how much cooler it is to write on AutoblogGreen about the Volt than it would be to write a 600-word story for the Detroit News or whoever. Here goes.

What you'll find in the links below are posts about the various stops on the big media tour that GM took about 70 or so journalists on last week. I gave you my first impression the day of the event, but this is a chance to, in a way, take you along on the tour. I've organized the posts in chronological order, but each post is self-contained so feel free to click on what you're most interested in. Each one includes at least one audio clip (most have two) from GM representatives about their role in moving the Volt from concept to production car. They're all worth a listen if you want to know more about this vehicle. Ready? Let's go.

• The April 2008 Chevy Volt update: Denise Gray, the battery lady
• The April 2008 Chevy Volt update: A visit to the Battery Systems Lab
• The April 2008 Chevy Volt update: Wicked 3D in the Visualisation Center
• The April 2008 Chevy Volt update: Designing the Volt interior and exterior
• The April 2008 Chevy Volt update: Breezing through the GM Aero lab/wind tunnel

As I was recording the presentation in GM's mega-expensive Visualization Center, I wasn't sure if I would be able to use it. I mean, the whole point of the VC is to, well, see things. And, since GM prohibited video and still photography on this tour (audio was OK; I checked), what was going to be valuable to readers during this stop on the tour? While I can't hand you the nifty 3D glasses we wore to see the E-Flex structure on the giant screen, I was pretty fascinated by this presentation and think you might be, too.

The presenters in the VC were Sam Lute, the room lead, and Andrew Farah, the chief vehicle engineer of the Volt. Farah might be familiar to some readers for his work on the EV1 - and he was selected to work on the Volt because of his history with EV1. Listening to Farah speak (he takes up about 50 minutes of the 55-minute audio clip below) is a real lesson in what the Volt engineer are dealing with as they design the car. How can the dip in the battery's structure distribute energy in the case of a crash? How will they deal with gasoline (or E85) that sits in the fuel tank for a year? How about if there's no fuel in the tank at all? Are there any parts of the ICE, specifically durability components that are needed in a motor that runs all the time but will just weigh the car down if the engine only turns on twice a day for five miles, that can be removed? How often will you need to change the oil in a car like this? Will there need to be and "driver education" to explain the benefits of driving around with just a third of the tank full of gas? Should the computer be designed to run the engine even if the battery doesn't need to be charged, perhaps even as the car is sitting for weeks on end? Farah doesn't have all the answers, but there's a lot to learn in the clip below.



I also got to speak with Farah a bit more about the potential of using the Volt sans gasoline. His take? Yes, it'd be possible. If you don't have 55 minutes for the full presentation, perhaps this five-minute interview will be more your style:

• Next: designing the Volt interior and exterior

Currently, there are a few small manufacturers marketing in the small, three-wheeled vehicle segment. Obviously, ZAP comes to mind with their electric Xebra sedan and pickup truck. Bajaj sells small three-wheeled utility vehicles here as well. It looks like we can add Trifun to that list, as they reportedly plan to sell a few thousand three-wheeled vehicles this year in the U.S.

A high quality 1 liter four cylinder engine, manufactured by GM joint venture Wuling, powers pickup truck, sedan and surrey - basically a sedan with a removable canvas top - models. Each machine also features a 5-speed manual transmission and should be capable of highway speeds. These vehicles, all of which come equipped with air conditioning standard, are expected to start just under $10 grand, placing them a bit higher than the less-speedy Bajaj units but undercutting any traditional sedan available in the states.

[Source: Trifun via Jalopnik]

According to Bob Lutz, General Motors has known how to make a hybrid for years, but held off of building one because they projected that they would lose as much as $250 million per year building them. What they hadn't counted on, though, was that a huge perception gap would grow in the public eye between GM's technological know-how versus Toyota's, a gap that would end up costing the company much, much more than $250 per year. So Lutz is now clear they won't make that mistake again. "We won't make a dime on this car [the Volt] for years, and the board is OK with that." The unanswered questions remain: just how much is the Volt going to cost, and how much of a loss will GM take on each one? The answers to those important questions will surely make or break the future of the range-extended plug-in hybrid project from GM.

[Source: The Detroit News]