GM to unveil electric car prototype

[eagle33199]

Teaser:
General Motors Corp., vilified by environmentalists for killing the electric car, is hoping to bring one back.

But the new electric won't be an emissions-free vehicle, unlike the initial GM electric, the EV1.

The new car, to be unveiled as a prototype early next year, would use an onboard internal-combustion engine as a generator to produce electricity to extend the range of the vehicle's rechargeable batteries.


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ev9n...1&cset=true

So let me get this straight... they're calling it an electric car despite the fact that it has a gasoline engine? WTF? Sounds more like a PHEV to me...

[Marlin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 10 2006, 11:18 AM) [snapback]346881[/snapback]</div>

So let me get this straight... they're calling it an electric car despite the fact that it has a gasoline engine? WTF? Sounds more like a PHEV to me...
[/b]

Well, no, because the internal combustion engine is only a generator and is not connected directly to the wheels.

Its more like having an electric pickup truck with a gasoline backup generator in the bed. When the pickup's batteries run down, you crank up the backup generator to charge them up again.

[Ken Cooper]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 10 2006, 08:18 AM) [snapback]346881[/snapback]</div>

Teaser:
General Motors Corp., vilified by environmentalists for killing the electric car, is hoping to bring one back.

But the new electric won't be an emissions-free vehicle, unlike the initial GM electric, the EV1.

The new car, to be unveiled as a prototype early next year, would use an onboard internal-combustion engine as a generator to produce electricity to extend the range of the vehicle's rechargeable batteries.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ev9n...1&cset=true

So let me get this straight... they're calling it an electric car despite the fact that it has a gasoline engine? WTF? Sounds more like a PHEV to me...
[/b]

Electric cars get their energy through a power grid, in most cases from oil or coal fired powerplants. What does it matter where the power source is located. Heck, the closer it is to the batteries the more efficient it will be. My guess is that a gasoline engine that only has to charge batteries and not supply drive torque can be made to emit considerably less pollution than the power plants would emit doing the same job.

Question: Would an electric car be considered an electric car if it used on-board solar or wind power to charge the batteries? Of course! But in each case it would be using an on-board power source for charging. How's that so different than using other types of on-board power?

Question: Which goal alternative that might be used by a car manufacturer would you admire most?

a. Build an electric car.

b. Build a car that yields the highest possible efficiency and, in total, generates the fewest pollutants.

As I see it, an electric car is a car that derives all its drive torque from electric motors. How the batteries get charged is immaterial.

[clett]

This has all happened before... a LONG time ago!

GM actually displayed a series-hybrid EV as far back as 1998, at the Detroit Auto Show.

It was a modified EV1, with the following attributes:

"The series hybrid prototype had a gas turbine engine APU placed in the trunk. A single-stage, single-shaft, recuperated gas turbine unit with a high-speed permanent-magnet AC generator was provided by Williams International; it weighed 220 lb (99.8 kg), measured 20 inches (50.8 cm) in diameter by 22 inches (55.9 cm) long and was running between 100,000 and 140,000 rpm. The turbine could run on multiple fuels, from reformulated gasoline to compressed natural gas. The APU started automatically when the battery charge dropped below 40% and delivered 40 kW of electrical power, enough to achieve speeds up to 80 mph (128.8 km/h) and to return the car's 44 NiMH cells to a 50% charge level.

A fuel tank capacity of 6.5 gallons (24.6 l) and fuel economy of 60 to 100 mpg (3.9 to 2.4 L/100 km) in hybrid mode, depending on the driving conditions, allowed for a highway range of more than 390 miles (627.6 km). The car accelerated to 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 9 seconds."

It seems the really efficient device in the GM stable is the PR department!

(PS Who fancies a quick wager? I reckon whatever they unveil in January will have worse specs than the vehicle they showed in 1998!)

[eagle33199]

Thanks for making my point better than i could say it, clett...

The new car is not an electric vehicle. It's a series hybrid - just because the gas engine only provides electric power doesn't suddenly make it an electric vehicle. It still consumes gas!

I'm all for finding the most efficient and clean manor of propulsion for the masses, but i think this qualifies almost as false advertising, in that it's a series hybrid, not an electric vehicle.

The fact that it has big batteries and can be plugged in is great, and it's clear from the article that the gas engine only kicks in when the batteries get low (as opposed to the current Prius, which kicks in when you start moving too fast...).

[usbseawolf2000]

Damage control.

[DaveinOlyWA]

call it what you want, at least its a move in a positive direction for gm and i applaud that.

[eagle33199]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Nov 10 2006, 10:43 AM) [snapback]346936[/snapback]</div>

call it what you want, at least its a move in a positive direction for gm and i applaud that.
[/b]

Agreed... it'll be a real coup if they can come out with a PHEV before everyone else.

[Marlin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 10 2006, 12:12 PM) [snapback]346913[/snapback]</div>

The new car is not an electric vehicle. It's a series hybrid - just because the gas engine only provides electric power doesn't suddenly make it an electric vehicle. It still consumes gas![/b]

Q: What's the difference between a series hybrid and an electric vehicle?

A: An electric vehicle travels 40 miles on battery and then stops dead on the road. A series hybrid travels 40 miles on battery and then generates its own electricity to continue on to it's destination.

(Someone is going to complain about the "40 miles" part. Fine, just put what ever number there you want. It's just a matter of the size of the batteries and doesn't change the statement)

The gasoline generator is there only to extend the range. If you put a generator in the trunk of an electric vehicle, is it no longer an electric vehicle?

Contrast this vehicle with a plugin Prius. You can put as big a battery as you want in a Prius and it will still have to use it's gasoline engine to accelerate and to travel at highway speeds. Therefore, it would be incorrect to call the Prius anything other than a hybrid. The GM vehicle mentioned in the article is an electric vehicle that is capable of charging itself. If you never filled it with gas, then it would function just like any other electric vehicle.

[DaveinOlyWA]

a small high efficiency gas engine to provide a base charge for an otherwise plug in hybrid i think is an excellent idea. its an interesting twist that does solve gm's problem with wanting to be known as an innovator which imm is the real reason why they have taken so long to get into the hybrid game. they simply were unwilling to do what ford did by acknowledging that Toyota had the best idea. so they went out and developed their own system and on paper, it sounds good.

didnt read the link because its a register page so dont know particulars but what what i gather, the only thing now is being able to execute. we will see how that goes