Green Tech

DETROIT--General Motors on Monday opened the doors to the OnStar EV Lab here, a testing center for in-car communications the company hopes will give its electric Chevy Volt more high-tech appeal.

The OnStar EV Lab, housed in GM's downtown Detroit corporate headquarters, is now using the OnStar communications system to gather data on 19 Chevy Volt vehicles for engineering purposes. The same technology will give consumers the ability to tap online services and perform tasks specific to a plug-in electric vehicle, company executives said.

Photos: OnStar EV Lab connects to Chevy Volt

When GM releases the Volt at the end of next year, consumers will be able to program when to charge the vehicle much like they operate home heating and cooling system, said Tony Posawatz, the vehicle line director for the Chevy Volt. GM is considering more advanced features as well, such as demand response where car charging slows down during peak times in exchange for lower rates from the utility.

"The car will have to talk to the grid and be able to pull very sensitive (utility) data," Posawatz said. "Electric vehicle customers want to manage their energy--they're very into data. OnStar is an enabling tool for us."

The OnStar system could broker communications with the utility so that consumers can charge at off-peak times, such as the middle of the night, and potentially take advantage of lower rates. "Smart charging," or charging at off-peak times, is important to manage so that plug-in electric vehicles don't add to peak-time electricity demand. In the near term, utility executives say the biggest concern is that many cars in one local area will tax one particular electricity distribution point.

Because rolling the Volt out will require coordination with utilities, General Motors plans to offer the Volt only in certain regions of the U.S. when the car is first made available. "It certainly won't be a nation-wide roll-out," Posawatz said.

The Chevy Volt at GM's newly opened OnStar EV Lab.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Having an integrated communications system, which uses the digital cellular network, with OnStar is a boon to Volt engineers because there isn't a lot of available data on battery performance from cars of similar design, company executives said. The Volt is an extended-range electric vehicle that can drive 40 miles on battery charge and then uses an internal combustion engine to sustain the battery charge for longer rides.

There are 20 modules on the Volt that can feed information back to GM engineers at the OnStar EV Lab, allowing them to get performance and diagnostic information on individual cars. The system also allows GM to get data on the battery subsystem, which the company is testing rigorously as it finalizes the car. For example, OnStar can monitor battery charge, temperature, and the performance of the liquid-cooling system.

OnStar, which is a subsidiary of GM, now has 5.6 million subscribers who pay either $199 or $299 per year for services, such as road-side assistance or remote car unlocking, which are handled by people in GM call centers. Although the system was designed to poll performance data on gasoline cars, GM executives said that the technology platform is flexible enough to work with different powertrains.

GM plans to offer the OnStar service in China next year. Also, GM intends to sell the Chevy Volt in China, western Europe, and Canada, executives said.

The Chevy Volt may be the most exciting car coming from General Motors, but costs remain a barrier to wide-scale adoption, according to Bob Lutz, the company's vice chairman and design guru.

During a Web chat last week, Lutz said gasoline prices will need to go significantly higher in the U.S. before the car can become "generalized." His comments were reported on Thursday by GM-Volt.com, a site not affiliated with GM.

"The Volt technology is very exciting, but costs will have to come down before it can become generalized, and U.S. fuel prices will have to rise to world levels, meaning $5 or $6 per gallon," Lutz said. That was in response to a question about GM's plans to use the Volt power train, called Voltec, with other vehicles.

The first edition of the Volt, due late next year, will deliver a jump in fuel economy, offering over 100 miles per gallon. The car runs 40 miles on a large lithium ion battery and then uses a gasoline engine for longer trips.

GM executives have said before that this first-generation technology will be expensive--unconfirmed reports have put the price at about $40,000 before federal tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles.

The company is already working on bringing the costs down--particularly for the battery components--for the follow-on editions, according to the company.

Several automakers are betting on plug-in electric vehicles, which will start to come to market over the next year. This week's Frankfurt Motor Show showcased several electric and gas-electric concept cars.

Studies have shown that electric cars are less polluting than gasoline cars, particularly if vehicles are charged at off-peak times. They also allow more people to "fuel up" with a domestic source of energy.

But the high costs of battery components and range limitations of all-electric cars mean that plug-in electric vehicles will remain a small slice of the overall market, according to experts.

The Boston Consulting Group earlier this year released an analysis that predicted electric vehicles are likely to have 3 percent market share in 2020, compared to a projected 20 percent share for hybrid-electric vehicles.

An executive from Toyota, which has sold more than 2 million hybrid Priuses, said this week that it will take until 2020 before electric vehicles will be suitable for the "mass market."

MILFORD, Mich.--It was brief, but my ride in a Chevy Volt was decidedly fun, even exciting.

On Tuesday, I visited the sprawling Milford Proving Grounds in southeastern Michigan, where General Motors vehicles have been put through the paces since the 1920s.

I was one of the lucky few who got the last ride of the day in a pre-production version of the Volt, which was "almost stolen" from the car's development team by Frank Weber, the global vehicle line executive for the Volt, to give journalists a taste of the upcoming plug-in electric sedan.

In addition to being a key figure in the Volt's development, Weber clearly has got a car engineer's love of driving. His high-speed tour around the track gave me a feel for the "driving experience" GM executives tout with the Volt, which is due late next year.

I was prepared for the zippy acceleration. Models will vary of course, but electric vehicles can boast great acceleration--the Tesla Roadster is faster off the line than many sports cars, for instance--and they deliver their full torque at all speeds.

What surprised me though was the handling. As Weber dipped around the couple turns we took, the car seemed to really stick to the road, and I didn't slide off my seat at all.

It makes sense that it felt like the car "hugged" the road. The large, 400-pound battery pack, which is positioned under the back seats, gives the Volt a low center of gravity, and the car has a good weight distribution, GM executives said.

During the drive, Weber--obviously enamored with its performance--said that you feel much closer to the electric car when you drive because of the responsive acceleration. "It's more like flying than driving a vehicle," he said. And, of course, the ride was very quiet as the car was running on batteries.

I've never taken a Lamborghini or Ferrari around a test track, but I can say the Volt's acceleration and handling are noticeably sportier than sedans like the Prius or the alternative fuel SUVs I also drove at Milford.

Watching the video, you can get a feel for how Weber showed off the Volt's acceleration and, on the last turn, the handling.

Under construction
Earlier in the day, I took a tour of GM's pre-production facility at its Tech Center in Warren, Mich., where I gained a bit more insight into the interplay between the Volt's two power sources--its batteries and the internal combustion engine.

WARREN, Mich.--General Motors' announcement on Tuesday that it expects that the Chevy Volt will get an eye-popping 230 miles per gallon begs an obvious question: how can the mileage of electric vehicles be compared to gasoline cars?

It's a problem that the Environmental Protection Agency is working on with the Department of Energy, the Society of Auto Engineers, and California, an EPA representative said on Wednesday. But that system for testing mileage is still in development and not yet public.

The EPA also put out a statement on Tuesday saying that it has not tested the Volt for mileage yet and "cannot confirm the economy values claimed by GM." GM said that its mileage estimate, including triple digit combined city and highway driving, was based on a draft methodology developed by the EPA.

The lack of verifiable tests, however, hasn't stopped automakers from tantalizing consumers. The all-electric Nissan Leaf, due in late 2010, boasts the equivalent of 367 miles per gallon, and the electric Tesla Roadster claimed over 100 miles per gallon mileage as well.

Pressed on how mileage numbers for the Volt were arrived at, GM executives offered some details, saying that the number will vary depending on how far people drive before they replenish the car's batteries.

"I'm confident that we will be in triple digits" with Chevy Volt mileage, said GM CEO Fritz Henderson at a press conference on Tuesday.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

The draft EPA methodology figures that a plug-in electric vehicle driver will go a certain number of miles on batteries alone and then another portion on the gasoline engine, explained Frank Weber, the global vehicle line executive for the Chevy Volt. To arrive at the mix between battery versus gasoline, the EPA is studying average American driving patterns, executives said.

The EPA is also developing another, less familiar metric for electric vehicles. In the Volt's case, it will take 25 kilowatt-hours to go 100 miles. Weber said the models behind the EPA methodology are "robust," adding that he expects the EPA to disclose more about the tests later this year.

To come up with 230 miles per gallon for city driving, GM assumes that Volt owners charge the car's batteries once a day, which enables them to do the majority of their driving from electricity drawn from the socket. The Volt, due late next year, is designed to run 40 miles on electric charge and then use a gasoline engine to sustain the battery for longer trips.

Misleading?
Triple digit combined fuel efficiency is certainly impressive--the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids both sport combined mileage of about 50 miles per gallon depending on driving style.

But immediately after GM's announcement, people began complaining that the claim is misleading.

... Read more

WARREN, Mich.--For all the attention on the electric Chevy Volt, General Motors has big expectations for another key car segment: small cars.

The auto giant opened up its design studios and testing grounds to the media on Tuesday to showcase its product pipeline of 25 new models over the coming two years. Having dramatically cut costs, its turnaround now rides on its ability to sell new cars.

Certainly, GM will continue to sell SUVs, trucks, and large sedans--highly profitable product categories that flourished when gasoline was cheaper than now. But GM's designers have sharpened their focus on smaller fuel-efficient cars and crossovers, betting that rising gasoline prices are inevitable.

"The days when we did a great Silverado (pickup truck) and did an adequate small car--over. We can't do that as a company," CEO Fritz Henderson said during a press conference on Tuesday. "If we do (small cars) well, I think we'll reopen ourselves to a market that frankly we haven't done as well as we should."

The Chevy Spark, one of GM's upcoming 'small and cool' cars.

(Credit: General Motors)

The smaller cars--none would qualify as a tiny, two-seater--will help the company meet fleet mileage mandates and help GM better compete on fuel efficiency, company executives and analysts said.

But GM's vice president of global design, Ed Welburn, made clear that the goal isn't just to turn out "econoboxes" that post good mileage ratings.

"Cool and small is the next big thing," said Welburn said. "Small cars have been done before but it was always like, 'I can't afford big so I have this.' I believe small cars can be cool."

Higher gasoline prices
During a tour of GM's design studios on Tuesday, company executives showed the compact cars and smaller crossovers in its pipeline. Later this year, GM will release the Chevrolet Cruze, a four-door compact, and introduce a two-door compact, the Chevy Spark, in 2012.

Although the Chevrolet entry-level brand will tend to have most of its compacts, even its higher-end brands--Buick, GMC, and Cadillac--will introduce or are exploring smaller models.

On Tuesday, Welburn took the wraps off an entry-level Cadillac. Even designers at its GMC brand, known for its giant SUVs and trucks, have created a model of a compact, which roughly resembles a Nissan Cube.

Meanwhile, its Buick lineup will feature a smaller crossover, a new compact sedan, and a plug-in hybrid crossover, which will all be available over the next two years.

GM has been able to get substantially better fuel efficiency on its large vehicles, too, noted Dennis Virag, the president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Chevy Equinox, for example, gets about 32 miles per gallon while most SUVs get about 20 or 22, he said.

"The whole trend in the industry is towards smaller and fuel-efficient vehicles but the consumer still wants the amenities," Virag said.

Henderson said that GM is seeking to meet or exceed the industry benchmark on fuel efficiency not only to meet government mandates but to appeal to consumers who expect gasoline prices to continue going up.

"Our fundamental premise of planning for higher gas prices is the right premise," he said.

Corrected at 9:17 a.m. PDT: The name of the maker of the Cube was incorrect. It is Nissan.

WARREN, Mich.--Got an opinion about how General Motors designs its cars and trucks? Let them know.

GM on Tuesday unveiled a blog Web site called The Lab that it hopes will give the struggling auto giant a bead on customer preferences. It's part social-marketing campaign and part product research, company executives said here on Tuesday.

"We want to use this to show where the company is headed, but there are limitations--we're not going to show concepts of cars that will come out next year," said Dave Rand, the director of design at GM's Tech Center, one of its main research centers. "The ideas we'll show will tend to be further out and not be as rigid."

Instead of giving away secrets of planned products, the idea is to get feedback on concepts, such as whether a new type of car will fly with customers, using images and videos to illustrate the company's ideas.

Work for you? A digital model of a bare-bones car shown on GM's new site for communicating design ideas with customers.

(Credit: GM)

The first three projects hosted on The Lab are for a bare necessities compact car, a bare necessity truck, and an Eco Initiative to better understand the interests of "green" buyers.

The Lab is set up to be like a social-networking site where people have a profile and log in. People can rate designs and provide comments. There will also be a way to opt in and provide demographic information in exchange for access to new designs, company executives said.

Rand said that providing an inside look of GM designers' work is not meant to replace auto shows or building models of concept cars. But getting feedback from fans and foes will allow designers to cycle through concepts more quickly.

"The way we used to do research through (customer) clinics is cumbersome and expensive," he said.

Currying favor with customers
GM discussed The Lab with a handful of journalists at a media and analyst day hosted by the company's top management where the company gave a glimpse of its lineup over the next two years.

The emphasis of the discussions was intentionally on product and designs that company executives hope will drive revenue now that GM has slashed costs and restructured through bankruptcy.

GM is also seeking to spiff up its corporate image with consumers, using social media of all sorts to get out its message. The media event, for example, was Webcast and open to questions from the public, while communications specialists used Twitter to answer questions online during the day.

In another sign of GM trying to better understand American consumers, GM's top executives, including CEO Fritz Henderson and his staff, met for a full day with consumers on Monday, many of whom do not own GM vehicles.

GM's Rand said that The Lab site will allow GM to share designs that it doesn't now. But, it clearly needs to temper some of that openness so as not to give away trade secrets. During media tours of GM's design studios on Tuesday, journalists were barred from carrying cameras.

"We're going to be walking the line, quite frankly. We're trying to be more transparent, but at the same time we're somewhat protective because it's intellectual property," Rand said.

WARREN, Mich.--The gas-electric Chevy Volt will get triple-digit mileage, including an estimated 230 mpg for city driving, General Motors said Tuesday.

The 230 mpg--teased in a stealth advertising campaign on billboards and during baseball games--is based on a draft methodology for electric vehicles developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, GM CEO Fritz Henderson said here.

The struggling auto giant held a media event to offer an update on its product and technology plans as it tries to stimulate sales following a bankruptcy and restructuring that has left it 60 percent owned by the U.S. Treasury Department and 11 percent owned by Canada.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson at company's Tech Center in Warren, Mich.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Henderson said that GM is confident that the combined highway and city mileage for the Chevy Volt, due to go on sale in late 2010, will be in the triple digits. Expressed in electrical terms, the performance will be 25 kilowatt-hours for 100 miles.

"Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy, we believe, will be a game changer for us," Henderson said.

Other plug-in electric sedans are also expected to have triple-digit fuel efficiency once they come to market. The all-electric Tesla Motors' Roadster, which is available now, advertises triple-digit fuel economy as well.

The EPA model is being developed for cars used in different climates and a mix of electric and gas driving conditions, GM executives said. City mileage will be better for the Volt because the extended-range electric power train runs for 40 miles on battery alone and then uses an internal combustion engine to recharge batteries.

The cost of fueling a Volt will be significantly less than gassing up at the pump, Henderson said. In Detroit, where off-peak electricity rates are 5 cents a kilowatt hours, it will cost about 40 cents to recharge batteries overnight.

On the cost of the car itself, Henderson said that GM has not priced the Volt but that it will be expensive because it is a first-generation product. Unconfirmed estimates are said to be around $40,000.

The car will qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit and GM is working on bringing down the cost of future generations of the Volt, particularly the battery system, he said.

General Motors and eBay will start a trial program Tuesday to let Californians buy cars online.

Dealers at 225 locations in California will participate in the program, which will run from Tuesday until September 8. It will be available at the co-branded Web site, gm.ebay.com.

The site will allow people to compare prices, arrange financing, and check a used car's eligibility for the Cash for Clunkers trade-in program. There is the "Buy It Now" option where people agree to pay the advertised price or can make an offer using eBay's auctioning system.

The trial will be started with 20,000 GM models from 2008, 2009, and 2010. After purchase, cars will be picked up at the dealership.

Gathering information online when buying a car has become commonplace in the United States. GM and eBay cited a J.D. Power & Associates study that found that more than 75 percent of people did research online while buying a new vehicle.

"As the dealer showroom expands from the parking lot to the laptop, this makes it easier for a customer to browse available new-car inventory, make an offer, buy it now, or send a message asking for more information from a dealer," Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales, said in a statement.

eBay said that its eBay Motors site for selling used cars has been getting 12 million individual visits per month.

One car dealer in California, Inder Dosanjh, told the Associated Press that he already sells used cars on eBay and plans to put his new vehicle inventory on the new site this week. "I think they should have done this a long time ago," he told the AP.

Is the Chevrolet Spark GM's next compact to be made in the U.S.A.?

(Credit: GMC)

General Motors announced today plans to build a small, fuel-efficient car at an idled UAW manufacturing plant in the United States.

The news tempers previously announced plans to import 17,300 small vehicles from China in 2011, which probably didn't go over well with the UAW.

Currently, about 67 percent of GM cars and trucks sold in the U.S. are built in the U.S. By producing another car domestically, GM anticipates that U.S. production levels will increase beyond 70 percent by 2013.

The proposed car was not announced, but an article from Automotive News speculated that the Chevrolet Spark is one of three small cars that General Motors could export from China to the U.S. The Chevrolet Lova and Aveo were also named as import possibilities.

The U.S. automaker already has the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt slated for production next year to help it comply with increased efficiency requirements of a fleetwide fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.