volt

A new project from General Motors will examine ways that Chevy Volt batteries could get a second life helping provide renewable energy.

Joining forces with power grid supplier ABB Group, GM will study whether it can reuse batteries that formerly powered Volt electric cars to store energy created by wind and solar power generators. The goal is to find cost-effective and creative ways to improve the efficiency of the country's electrical grid, the automaker said today in a statement. The Volt, priced at $41,000 before a federal tax credit, is set to launch later this year.

Specifically, the … Read more

A select group of OnStar customers will have the opportunity to start beta testing Facebook in their cars today. We attended a demonstration of OnStar's new Facebook app to see how it works.

Participants can add their Facebook log-in to their OnStar account via the Web. Once enabled, you can hear Facebook status updates in the car. During a demonstration, an OnStar representative pushed the blue OnStar button and requested Virtual Advisor, a voice command gateway to OnStar services. After giving the command for Facebook, OnStar read the Facebook newsfeed out loud in the car.

The system, which uses … Read more

What will happen when millions of electric vehicles plug into the grid at at the same time? If ZigBee Alliance's blueprints for the SmartGrid go according to plan, not much.

The ugly specter of mass blackouts caused by hoards of EVs rolling into garages and plugging in at the same time is just one of the many arguments EV detractors use against electric vehicles and plug-ins. But EV adoption is inevitable, and the smart grid should make sure that energy loads will be balanced and shifted as needed to recharge them without causing widespread power failure. And eventually, ZigBee predicts, electric cars and plug-ins will become part of the energy solution supplying power to the grid.

But let's back up.

If you haven't heard of the ZigBee Alliance, you're not alone. Before I started this article, I'd never heard of it until I was forwarded one of its press releases. Named after a little-known Nordic elf that has nothing to do with wireless networks or energy, the ZigBee is a standard for wireless sensor networks on which the Smart Grid operates. "And the domain name was available," says Bob Heile, who is chairman of the curiously named group and one of the founders of 802.11.

More than 300 metering, computer, chip processing, electronics, and automotive companies are members the ZigBee Alliance. By incorporating ZigBee's technology in their products, many of these companies are laying the infrastructure that will enable utility companies, networked homes and buildings, and appliances to communicate wirelessly and automate metering as part of the smart grid. That includes electric vehicles.

Electric and plug-in vehicles will undoubtedly be a significant drain on the smart grid--each plugged-in EV has the equivalent drain of another house for hours at a time. But they're also uniquely designed to be able to give back.

"They are essentially batteries with wheels," says Heile. "Ultimately, long after the EV infrastructure is in place and consumers adopt them, there will be opportunities to load shift."

This means that at peak hours people can sell the energy stored in EV batteries back to utility companies. But don't think you can offset the cost of a new Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt by becoming a homespun energy trader of sorts--that technology is still years away.

The typical EV and smart meter rhetoric goes something like, "You can charge your car overnight when electricity rates are cheaper." But the technology isn't entirely there to support that rational. Right now if you don't own a smart meter (you would know if you do) and you plug an EV into an outlet, it doesn't know what the device is or who it belongs to, or when to charge it other than right now. But in the future, it will know who you are by the car you drive so that when you charge at a friend's house, you'll get the bill. Or so the theory goes. … Read more

It's not even in showrooms yet and GM is already looking for ways to improve the Volt.

The extended range plug-in vehicle will make its market debut equipped with GM's fuel-sipping 1.4-liter engine that has been optimized to work with the Volt's battery and electric motor. GM didn't have time to develop a new powerplant specifically for the Volt, so it tuned its existing 1.4-liter engine to operate within a narrow band, typically around 1,800 rpm, to deliver adequate power to car's battery while keeping fuel consumption low.

It got the job … Read more

Chevrolet's quest for more vehicles that match the styling appeal of the Equinox crossover and Camaro muscle car will continue in the next several years.

For instance, a more upscale Impala is in the works, with a low production volume and limited rental fleet sales, one source says. That would follow the example set by the 2010 Ford Taurus. But the new Impala is not coming until the 2014 model year.

In the nearer term, Chevrolet will prepare for rising federal fuel economy standards by decreasing the displacement of its V-6 engines, adding more four-cylinder engines, and introducing redesigned small cars.

Here are Chevrolet's 2011-13 model year highlights:

Spark: This minicar will enter the United States as a 2013 model with three- and four-cylinder engines. General Motors Co. is expected to build the first Sparks for this market in South Korea, home of the Spark's sibling, the five-door Daewoo Matiz hatchback. Spark production may move to Mexico later.

The Spark already is on sale in Europe, South Africa, and other markets. Expect midcycle updates in time for the U.S. model's debut.

Aveo: GM will start producing the redesigned subcompact in mid-2011 at Orion Township, Mich. The car will be longer and wider than the current Aveo and have a five-door hatchback and four-door sedan. Production is expected to reach 60,000 to 70,000 annually. … Read more

Some General Motors dealers across the U.S. have been attempting to profit from would-be early adopters of the Chevy Volt by tacking on high premiums.

In the last few days, car sites have become awash with anecdotal complaints about various dealerships telling interested buyers they will have to pay more than the price GM announced in July if they want one of the first run cars.

The most egregious example reportedly took place at one Southern California Chevy dealership, which unwittingly told an Edmunds.com staffer via e-mail that he would have to pay $20,000 in addition to … Read more

NASHVILLE--The Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf have less in common, aside from the hype behind them, than you might think. But marketers are preparing the two battery-powered cars for head-to-head battle for green-conscious American consumers, even though the two will compete head-on in just a handful of markets.

Last week, General Motors said it will price the Volt at $41,000, a stiff $8,220 above the Leaf's retail price, set in March, of $32,780. The Volt's price includes a shipping charge; Nissan hasn't set the Leaf's shipping charge. Also, a buyer of either car is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

But backed by anticipated strong residual value from an aggressive eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the Volt, GM said it also will offer a lease on the battery-driven Chevy of $350 a month for 36 months after a $2,500 down payment.

That plan clearly targets the Leaf's lease plan of $349 a month for 36 months after $1,999 down. And leasing likely will dominate electric-car transactions for the near future, said Mark Perry, Nissan North America's director of Leaf product planning.

"It doesn't matter," Perry said as he drove to an electric-vehicle conference in San Jose, Calif., last week. "We're still the most affordable electric vehicle."

Nissan immediately said it would offer an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the Leaf, citing "U.S. market competitive conditions." … Read more

"Pretty smooth," President Obama said as he stepped out of a Chevy Volt to resume his tour of the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant on Friday. The president took a of test drive of about 40 feet, according to a GM news release.

President Obama's visit corresponds with GM's announcement that the plant will receive $336 million in new investment to prepare it to produce the Volt electric vehicle. The money is part of more than $700 million that GM has invested in eight Michigan facilities since 2008 to support the Volt's production.

According to … Read more

Chevy prices the Volt - gulp. How to just about steal a Volt or Nissan Leaf. A first drive in the new VW Jetta, Ford Explorer & Mitsubishi electric car. And the James Bond car museum is gonna' be where?

• Cooley takes you for a spin in the Mitsubishi i MiEV

• Chevy prices the Volt. Too expensive?

• First drive in the new 2011 Jetta

• New 2011 Ford Explorer is a different SUV for different times

• Nissan Leaf

• James Bond car museum to locate south of Chicago. Way south.… Read more