Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Chevy electric car

GM: CEO touts Chevy electric car as a viable competitor despite hefty price tagBy Daniel PyeE-mail DanLockport Union-Sun & Journal
General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson Tuesday unveiled details about the Chevrolet Volt — an electric car the company hopes will position it as a leader once again.The sales pitch is compelling on its surface. Using a new formula specifically created for this type of electric/gasoline vehicle, GM estimates the Volt will get the equivalent of 230 miles per gallon. Lithium ion batteries, charged overnight, power the car for up to 40 miles. After that, a small gasoline-powered engine provides the power.But the Environmental Protection Agency, which evaluates the miles-per-gallon ratings for vehicles, hasn’t tested a Volt and thus couldn’t confirm GM’s estimates. And while representatives of the company explained that the equation they used spreads the mileage over the cost of fuel per mile driven after combining electric- and gasoline-powered miles, they didn’t make that equation available for review.Regardless, mileage half as good as what GM is touting would be a major improvement over even the most economical cars on the market. Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S., gets 48 mpg. But with a late 2010 estimate for the Volt landing in showrooms, a rumored $40,000 price tag could stop prospective buyers in their tracks.Henderson acknowledged that problem as a valid concern for the product’s success, but worked to offset it in his overview. A $7,500 tax credit will come along with the vehicle, and he said a selling price hasn’t actually been decided at this stage of development. And even though the new technology comes at a price, Henderson is confident the eye-catching fuel economy will make up for much of the related costs the consumer will be asked to bear upfront.“Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy we believe can and will be a game-changer for us,” Henderson said.While the company does have a lead, GM isn’t the only one in the plug-and-drive game. Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co. and Daimler AG are all developing plug-ins and electric cars, and Toyota Motor Corp. is working on a plug-in version of its gas-electric hybrid system. Nissan Motor Co. announced last month that it would begin selling an electric vehicle in Japan and the U.S. next year. All of these vehicles will likely come at a higher cost, and whether they will sell in areas surrounding Buffalo — the third poorest city in the nation — remains to be seen.The list of concerns over the cars doesn’t end with the price, either. For commuters with a garage that contains a readily-available power outlet, they could be a viable option. For apartment residents or those whose homes offer only on-street parking, finding a way to plug the car in at night is a much trickier proposition.Henderson said he has discussed the issue with a handful of entrepreneurs interested in developing a new type of fueling station, where people can fill up with gas, diesel, ethanol, hydrogen and other types of fuel all in one location. While that idea could support the development of hydrogen fuel cell and ethanol-powered vehicles, the hours required to charge the electric car would make taking it to a filling station for electricity impossible.“If you’re going to park on the street, I don’t know what to do actually,” Henderson admitted. “It’s a problem that we and others have to fix.”Other concerns about the battery’s performance in extreme temperatures also surfaced during the question and answer session. Frank Weber, the executive handling the Volt, said the company is running tests in various climates and that while the fuel economy estimates may vary due to temperature, the car won’t be rendered inoperable even in very cold temperatures.“There is no temperature when the vehicle is not running,” Weber said.Only about 40 of the cars exist right now, but GM is hoping to have the Volt available in showrooms by the fourth quarter of 2010. Once they’re available to the public, emphasis must shift from producing the car to marketing it. GM is already working on that, pushing a viral marketing campaign with the phrase “What is 230?” that generated a confused buzz in a public that finally received an answer to the question Tuesday. The public will now have more than a year to mull the notion. Other innovations, like a partnership with eBay that will let customers negotiate for and purchase vehicles securely from home, are aimed at appealing to a new generation of car buyers. And even though the company has a fairly loyal customer base, GM’s continued survival will depend heavily on its ability to appeal to consumers outside that group. While he is optimistic that brand names like Chevrolet and Cadillac haven’t received the same tarnish that the GM name now bears, Henderson has no illusions that building more efficient cars is the end of the battle since overseas manufactures have a giant head start in the marketing of fuel economy.“We not only need to do it, we need to convince people that we have it,” Henderson said.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment