GM Announces New Hybrid System

Yes, but the lithium ion batterys will only be used to run the dashboard clock!!








Just kidding!

 

What's new about this?

They've been saying the same thing for over a year now. Of course, some of us remember 5 years back when GM boasted it would be the first automaker to sell 1,000,000 hybrids. In other words, don't award merit until it is actually earned.

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Try reading it before asking questions, it's always helpful.

But to summarize it for you, it's a new version of BAS which, as one commenter put it, blurs the lines between mild and full hybrids. It's capable of driving the car on it's own, yet retains the simplicity and cost effectiveness of the original BAS system.

It is interesting that the lines between a 'mild' and 'full' hybrid are starting to blur... Honda did it with the last version of IMA, and GM is taking it a step further with the next version of BAS.

And to preempt John's next comment... the type of hybrid system used has nothing to do with emissions.

 

"The company said the hybrid system would debut in North America before the Chevrolet Volt, which is an electric car with a small conventional motor used to recharge the batteries. " -from the article

won't "anything and everything" debut before the Volt! I'm just sayin'

anyone else notice the "GM plant closures" link to the right of the article? hmmm...

 

"GM said in a statement that the new hybrid system would save fuel by turning the engine off at idle and cutting off fuel during deceleration. It would offer brief electric-only power, the company said in a statement."

I wonder about cutting off fuel during deceleration. Wouldn't that be the same thing as shifting to "B" gear in a Prius? I am assuming that that the hybrid vehicles GM is talking about do not have the ability to do regenerative breaking.

 

B mode is engine braking, and actually lessens the regen charging in the Prius.

In most hybrids the engine can be off during coasting to a stop.

As far as I know, regen in all hybrids charges the battery during decelerartion, saving fuel, and recovering the "wasted" energy and storing it for later boost, furthering the fuel savings. some systems do this better than others. And i think most on this fourm agree which that is.

 

I agree with everything you wrote -- I was just pointing out that the intended vehicles didn't seem to use the deceleration phase to recharge batteries and that an ICE without fuel becomes a momentum brake (or engine brake). A Prius owner would have specific, albeit limited, conditions for using the "B" gear but the intended GM vehicles would never reach the "I have a full battery charge and just want to use the engine as a brake" stage.

 

this system outlined in the report, seems to be garbage.

honestly GM make an effort at least to create a great hybrid system, it seems they are more concerned with mass production than the quality of the system.

if the volt comes out and provides electric only power for however long they say, that would be a great car. So far i think the volt is just a waste of a news story, whenever it comes out ill congratulate GM for creating a great car ( if it lives up to those specs outlined in the prototype)

 

There are two blaring laughable moments in this article.

"GM said the new hybrid system eventually will spread worldwide, and it expects sales volumes to exceed 100,000 vehicles per year. The system would build on GM's current hybrids, reducing engineering costs and the cost to consumers, the company said."

AND

"The new system will produce a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in fuel economy over what a nonhybrid vehicle would get in 2010, GM spokesman Brian Corbett said."

15-20% fuel increase.

And a little chuckle: they're still calling the Volt an "electric car" and claiming it will be out in 2010.

Gee, those GM guys....they should run for public office.

The Prius DOUBLED my mileage. That's a, uh....wait a minute...oh yes....100% increase.

Who are they trying to kid with this?

 

Blurs? Not a chance.

FULL hybrids have two motors and a power-split-device, providing flexibility well beyond the dreams of any ASSIST (aka mild) hybrid. One of the motors is significantly bigger too, as well as liquid cooled, providing quite a bit more power and much longer operational time.

There is simply no comparison.

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Indeed, huge chance. If the end result is the same... does the consumer care how it's achieved?

Try to think past the short term...

 

Ironically, that advice is for yourself.

How is a mild hybrid anything but short term?

Read the last sentence in my previous post. FULL hybrids can easily offer the ability for sustained electric-only propulsion, quite unlike the other.

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John...

Hybrids are a stop-gap approach.

Full Stop.

Smaller and more efficient systems, like newer IMA and BAS implementations, that give the same benefits of HSD are a better usage of resources to handle what's a stop-gap solution.

 

Then, the lithium-ion battery is made in Japan.
News Releases : March 4 , 2008 : Hitachi Global

Ken@Japan

 

When will we ever see the headline "GM sells 100,000 hybrids"?

Seems it's always 'will sell', 'projected to sell'.

Sure it's nice to look to the future and all, but someday you've got to actually sell what you "project".

And, as I've said before, the benefit of HSD over ALL OTHER hybrid systems is simply that HSD is in more drivers hands.

Here's a lofty goal GM: put out a competitive hybrid system, an HSD-killer if you will, make it affordable, and people will buy it. Until then shut up about it.

So far the sales numbers reflect the superiority of HSD. Period.

 

This new version of the GM bas is better then the last and is possibly competitive with Honda's mild hybrid system but nothing compared to HSD.

The good part its is cheap to build and add to a car, the bad part is the power is being applied to the belt of the engine. Thats a really lousy place for it to be, especially if its going to move the car even at low speeds. The gas engine also needs to move even though its 'off'
. If it was a $1500 option it would make sense in many cars. At $3000 or more it starts to be a rip off.

 

Although it did idle when stationary my Camry would shut down the injectors during deceleration and that was back in 1990. Nothing new there.

 

Since when does an announcement by GM that they will build this or that car qualify as news? Announcements by GM are about as reliable as the Weekly World News. As finman points out, it will be news when they actually start selling something.

 

No doubt that hybrids are a stop-gap, but the idea is that methods used in full hybrids can be utilized in the next generation of vehicles. I'm sure eventually there will be no hybrids on the road, but full hybrids are going to be the vehicle of change to revolutionize the methods of transportation.

Your assertion that systems like the BAS provide the same benefits of HSD is just not true. At least not in either mpg or emissions and I can't think of any other benefits you would be referring to. For example, the Malibu Hybrid is 27 mpg combined and scores a 6 out of 10 on EPA pollution (Bin 5 down to LEVII). TCH is 34 mpg combined (26% better) and 8 to 9.5 out of 10 on EPA Pollution (Bin 3 down to SULEV II). Plus, 1.4 tons less CO2 emitted yearly (21% less than Malibu Hybrid). Looks like mild hybrids like the BAS are the real stop-gap with little to no impact in bringing forth the next generation of automobiles.